Asm. Chris Ward

This measure would proclaim January 23, 2023, as Maternal Health Awareness Day.

This measure would honor the late civil rights pioneer Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The Pharmacy Law establishes the California State Board of Pharmacy in the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensing and regulation of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacies. That law prohibits the board from renewing a pharmacist license after the first renewal unless the applicant submits proof satisfactory to the board that the applicant has successfully completed 30 hours of approved courses of continuing pharmacy education. This bill would require that those 30 hours of approved courses of continuing pharmacy education include at least one hour of participation in a cultural competency course, as defined. The bill would also prohibit the board from renewing a pharmacy technician license unless the applicant submits proof satisfactory to the board that the applicant has successfully completed at least one hour of participation in a cultural competency course during the two years preceding the application for renewal. The bill would make the bill's provisions operative on January 1, 2024.

Existing law establishes and regulates the state prison for the confinement of persons convicted of certain felony offenses. Existing law also regulates county jails used for the confinement of persons awaiting trial and persons convicted of misdemeanors and certain felony offenses. Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system. The duties of the board, among others, include establishing standards for local correctional facilities and correctional officers. Under existing law, the board is composed of 13 members, as specified. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2023, add 2 additional members to the board, a licensed health care provider and a licensed mental health care provider, each appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The bill would also, commencing July 1, 2023, require the board to develop and adopt regulations pertaining to standards of care for incarcerated persons with mental health issues by local correctional facilities, including requirements for training of correctional staff, requirements for mental health screening, and requirements for safety checks of incarcerated persons.

Existing law establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial Relations, and charges the division with the enforcement of various laws affecting safe working conditions, including the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973. This bill would require a contracting entity, as defined, to require an entertainment events vendor to certify for its employees and employees of its subcontractors that those individuals have complied with specified training, certification, and workforce requirements, including that employees involved in the setting up, operation, or tearing down of a live event at its public events venue, as defined, have completed prescribed trainings of the United States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The bill would require the division to enforce those provisions by issuing a citation and a notice of civil penalty, as specified, and deposit those funds in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund.

(1) Existing law, commonly known as the California Family Rights Act, makes it an unlawful employment practice for a California public employer or an employer with 5 or more employees to refuse to grant a request from an employee who meets specified requirements to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave, as defined. This bill would expand the class of people for whom an employee may take leave to care for to include a designated person. The bill would define "designated person" to mean any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. The bill would authorize a designated person to be identified at the time the employee requests the leave. The bill would authorize an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period. (2) Existing law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, generally entitles an employee who works in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year to paid sick days, as specified, including the use of paid sick days for diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee's family member. Existing law defines "family member" for this purpose to include individuals who share a prescribed relationship with the employee. This bill would expand the definition of the term "family member" to include a designated person, which, for purposes of these provisions, would mean a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests paid sick days, subject to limitation by the employer, as prescribed.