Asm. Brian Maienschein

This measure would recognize May 2018 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.

Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services, which is required to, among other things, allocate and award funds to communities developing and providing ongoing citizen involvement and crime resistance programs. This bill would require the office, until January 1, 2023, to allocate and award funds to up to 11 district attorney offices that employ a vertical prosecution methodology for the prosecution of sexual assault crimes, as specified, involving disabled and developmentally disabled victims and that meet other specified criteria, including minimum staffing levels for the program. The bill would require the office, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit to the Legislature and the Governor's office a report that describes the counties that received funding pursuant to this program, the number of prosecutions for those sexual assault crime cases filed by the counties receiving funding, the number of sexual assault convictions obtained by those counties, and the sentences imposed by those counties. The bill would appropriate $2,650,000 from the General Fund to the office for funding the program.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 provides the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Industrial Relations with the power, jurisdiction, and supervision over all employment and places of employment necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws,and standards and to protect employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law requires every employer to comply with those standards. A violation of these standards and regulations under specific circumstances is a crime. This bill would require the board to adopt occupational safety and health standards for state public works projects to prevent and control coccidioidomycosis, more commonly known as Valley Fever. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law requires the State Public Health Officer to establish rules and regulations establishing minimum standards for organized camps, and regulations governing the operation of organized camps that he or she determines are necessary to protect the health and safety of the campers. Existing law establishes minimum standards for the operation, regulation, and enforcement of organized camps, as defined. This bill would require organized day camps to either be accredited by the American Camp Association or have a written description of operating procedures that describes the program of organized and supervised activities of the organized day camp and meets other specified requirements. The bill would define an "organized day camp," to be a program that provides group experiences for children under 18 years of age during the day, on days during school breaks, for a minimum of four hours per day on three or more consecutive days. The bill would exclude various programs and facilities from the definition of "organized day camp" for these purposes. The bill would require a local enforcement agency to issue an organized day camp a health and sanitation permit upon receipt of the written operating procedures or written verification that the camp is accredited by the American Camp Association, and, in the case of a tier 1 camp, as defined, verification that an initial inspection of the premises was conducted. The bill would also require those camps to, among other things, have adequate staff to carry out the program and keep a health history of every camper and staff member entering the organized day camp, as specified. The bill would authorize the local enforcement agency to inspect the camp and charge fees for camp oversight activities. The bill would also authorize a person alleging health and sanitation violations to file a complaint with the local enforcement agency and require the local enforcement agency to investigate. The bill would also require the State Public Health Officer to adopt regulations pertaining to organized day camps, and to make reasonable efforts to obtain the input and advice of prescribed organizations. Because this bill would impose additional duties upon local enforcement agencies regarding the oversight of organized day camps, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing state and federal law provides for various programs to provide services to elderly persons, as specified. This bill would provide for submission to the voters of the Elders Living with Dignity, Empathy, Respect, and Support (ELDERS) Bond Act of 2020. The bill would provide that, if enacted by the people, the state would be authorized to issue and sell general obligation bonds in the aggregate amount of $200,000,000. The proceeds of these bonds would be placed in a fund, which would be appropriated to the Controller, without regard to fiscal years, for allocation, at the request of the Treasurer. The bill would provide that money in the fund would be awarded by the California Health Facilities Financing Authority to public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations for the purpose of acquiring, renovating, constructing, or purchasing equipment for specialized day services centers for adults with chronic medical, cognitive, or behavioral health conditions, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease or related dementia, funding startup costs of eligible facilities, or program expansion of eligible facilities, as specified. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations relating to California's senior population.

Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires the eligibility of households to be determined to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing law, if a county has entered into a memorandum of understanding, requires the county to determine CalFresh program eligibility for children whose information is shared with the county on the National School Lunch Program application and to treat that application as an application for CalFresh if the pupil is not already enrolled in CalFresh. Existing law, the Health Care Reform Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention Planning Act, requires the State Department of Health Care Services to develop a single, accessible, standardized electronic application for insurance affordability programs, now known as the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment, and Retention System (CalHEERS) , and would require, if CalHEERS has the ability to prepopulate an application form for insurance affordability programs with personal information from available electronic databases, an applicant to be given the option, with his or her informed consent, to have the application form prepopulated. Existing law establishes the Office of Systems Integration within the California Health and Human Services Agency and specifies the duties of that office, including implementing a statewide automated welfare system. This bill would require the Office of Systems Integration to ensure that CalHEERS transfers an individual's application for health care benefits that is processed by CalHEERS to the county of residence of the individual if that individual is determined by CalHEERS to be potentially eligible for CalFresh benefits and the individual opts into applying for CalFresh benefits. The bill would require the county, upon receipt of the application received from CalHEERS, to treat the application as an application for CalFresh benefits and to process the application, as specified. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the department to issue guidance to county human services agencies regarding the process by which a county human services agency is to consider a CalHEERS application as a CalFresh application. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This measure would declare the support of the Legislature for the expansion of sensory-friendly movie screenings and similar programs for people with autism, and would encourage families to attend a sensory-friendly movie screening during April 2018, which is National Autism Awareness Month.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2018 as "State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," would designate April 24, 2018, as "State of California Day of Commemoration of the 103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.