Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law imposes various requirements on contracts and policies that cover prescription drug benefits. Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists by the California State Board of Pharmacy and prohibits the refilling of a prescription without the authorization of the prescriber, except as specified. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, that provides coverage for prescription drug benefits to permit and apply a prorated daily cost-sharing rate to refills of prescriptions that are dispensed by a participating pharmacy for less than the standard refill amount if the prescriber or pharmacist indicates that the refill is in the best interest of the enrollee or insured and is for the purpose of synchronizing the refill dates of the enrollee's or insured's medications, provided that certain requirements are satisfied. The bill would also require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, that provides coverage for prescription drug benefits to allow for the early refill of covered topical ophthalmic products at 70% of the predicted days of use. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the 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.
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Existing law provides for the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes. Existing law sets forth eligibility requirements and specified limits on the amount of compensation the board may award. Existing law authorizes the board to reimburse a crime victim or derivative victim for the amount of outpatient mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or derivative victim, including peer counseling services provided by a rape crisis center, as specified. This bill would additionally, until January 1, 2017, authorize the board to reimburse a crime victim or derivative victim for the amount of outpatient violence peer counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or derivative victim, as specified. By expanding the authorization for the use of moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law imposes specified requirements on animal owners in order to prevent or control the transmission of zoonotic diseases, such as rabies, and communicable diseases among animals. Existing law also provides for the licensing and registration of dogs, as specified. This bill would require a person seeking to bring a dog into this state, or importing dogs into this state for the purpose of resale or change of ownership, to obtain a health certificate with respect to that dog that has been completed by a licensed veterinarian and is dated within 10 days prior to the date on which the dog is brought into the state. The bill would require the person to submit the health certificate to the county health department, as specified. The bill would exempt from these requirements a person who brings a dog into the state that will not be offered for resale or if the ownership of the dog is not expected to change. The bill also would exempt from these requirements the import of a dog used for law enforcement or military work, a guide dog, as defined, or a dog imported as a result of a declared emergency or an investigation by law enforcement of an alleged violation of state or federal animal fighting or animal cruelty laws. The bill would authorize the agency receiving the health certificate to use the information on the health certificate as it deems appropriate, and to charge a fee in a reasonable amount sufficient to cover the costs associated with receiving and processing a health certificate submitted to the county health department pursuant to these provisions. By imposing a higher level of service on county health agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make a violation of its provisions an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 for each dog for which a violation has occurred, or, in lieu of punishment as an infraction, would authorize animal control personnel to issue an administrative fine for the same amount or a correction warning, subject to specified exceptions. By creating a new crime, the 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 specified reasons.
Existing law authorizes the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes. Existing law sets forth eligibility requirements and specified limits on the amount of compensation the board may award. Existing law requires the board to deny an application if the board finds that the victim or derivative victim failed to cooperate reasonably with a law enforcement agency in the apprehension and conviction of a criminal committing the crime. However, existing law specifies that an application for compensation cannot be denied pursuant to that provision solely on the basis of specified behavior by the victim, such as failure to make a police report. This bill would prohibit denial of an application for compensation under the above circumstances with respect to a claim based on sexual assault, as defined, committed by military personnel against military personnel, solely because the sexual assault was not reported to a superior officer or law enforcement at the time of the crime. The bill would set forth types of evidence of sexual assault the board would be required to consider in these cases, for purposes of determining if a claim qualifies for compensation. The bill would require both the perpetrator, as defined, and the victim to be active duty military personnel at the time the sexual assault occurred for these provisions to apply. By expanding the authorization for the use of moneys in the continuously appropriated Restitution Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in an amount equal to an applicable percentage of either 20% or 25%, respectively, of the qualified expenditures, as defined, attributable to the production of a qualified motion picture in California, or, where the qualified motion picture is a television series that relocated to California or is an independent film, as provided. Existing law imposes specified duties on the California Film Commission related to the administration of the credits, including a requirement to allocate the tax credits until July 1, 2017, and limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to qualified motion pictures in any fiscal year to $100,000,000 through the 2016–17 fiscal year. Existing law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, also allows a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. Existing law provides for a tentative minimum tax and further provides that, except for specified credits, no other credit shall reduce the tax imposed below the tentative minimum tax. This bill would establish similar credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2020. This bill would, as compared to the existing tax credits, extend the scope of the credits for a qualified motion picture to the applicable percentage of qualified expenditures up to $100,000,000, would extend the credit to qualified expenditures for television pilot episodes, and would determine an applicable percentage of 25% or 20% for qualified expenditures, with an additional credit amount available, as specified. This bill would limit the aggregate amount of these new credits to be allocated in each fiscal year to up to $330 million, and would, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on the jobs ratio, as defined, require the California Film Commission to allocate credit amounts subject to specified categories of qualified motion pictures. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, in lieu of the credits authorized under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for qualified motion pictures described above, allow a credit against qualified state sales and use taxes, as provided. This bill would also require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare reports related to the effectiveness and administration of the qualified motion picture credit under the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law. This bill would, for taxable years, beginning on or after January 1, 2016, additionally allow the credit under the Corporation Tax Law for qualified expenditures for the production of qualified motion pictures to reduce the tentative minimum tax. This bill would also make findings and declarations related to the entertainment industry, and would urge the United States Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to investigate and impose sanctions on specified motion picture productions and elements of production to combat unfair and illegal competition. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 23036 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, proposed by AB 2754, to be operative only if AB 2754 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, among other entities. Existing law establishes various eligibility criteria needed to qualify for a license and authorizes a board to deny a license on the grounds that the applicant has been convicted of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which application is made. This bill would provide that an individual who has satisfied any of the requirements needed to obtain a license while incarcerated, who applies for that license upon release from incarceration, and who is otherwise eligible for the license shall not be subject to a delay in processing the application or a denial of the license solely on the basis that some or all of the licensure requirements were completed while the individual was incarcerated.
Under existing law, all moneys in the possession of or collected by any state agency or department is state moneys and is subject to provisions governing its deposit and handling in trust accounts. Existing law creates the State Treasury System to deposit state moneys held by state agencies prior to expenditure. This bill would require each state agency, department, and entity to provide the Treasurer with its employer identification number. The bill would authorize the Treasurer to use those numbers to monitor state money deposited outside the centralized State Treasury System. The bill would also require a bank or financial institution to provide, upon request from the Treasurer, specified account information relating to these employer identification numbers to assist the Treasurer in monitoring accounts and state money deposited outside the centralized State Treasury System.
Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health administers various programs for the protection of public health. Existing law requires the department to submit a biennial report to the Legislature on the immunization status of young children in the state and the improvements made in ongoing methods of immunization outreach and education in communities where immunization levels are disproportionately low. This bill would require the department to post specified educational information regarding influenza disease and the availability of influenza vaccinations on the department's Internet Web site, and also would authorize the department to use additional available resources to educate the public regarding influenza, including, among other things, public service announcements. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations relating to the influenza virus.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialty license plates, including environmental license plates and specified special environmental design license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Existing law establishes the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund, and requires that funds in that account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated for the provision of early breast cancer detection services for uninsured and underinsured women. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to apply to sponsor a breast cancer awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the State Department of Health Care Services meets certain requirements. The bill would authorize the State Department of Health Care Services to accept and use donated artwork from California artists for the license plate. The bill would require the revenue generated from the license plates, as specified, to be deposited in the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law provide for a deduction and the carryover to specified taxable years of specified losses sustained as a result of certain disasters occurring in California in an area determined by the President of the United States to warrant specified federal assistance or proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of emergency. Those laws further allow a taxpayer to elect to deduct those disaster losses on the return for the taxable year preceding the taxable year in which the disaster occurred. This bill would extend these provisions to losses sustained in the County of San Diego as a result of the wildfires that occurred in May 2014 for which the Governor proclaimed a state of emergency. This bill would make a legislative finding and declaration relating to the statewide public purpose served by the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.