Asm. Jim Patterson

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Under existing law, an individual is eligible for Medi-Cal benefits, as though the individual was pregnant, for all pregnancy-related and postpartum services for a one-year period beginning on the last day of pregnancy. Existing law also establishes the Medi-Cal Access Program, which provides health care services to a person who is pregnant or in their postpartum period and whose household income is between specific thresholds and to a child under 2 years of age who is delivered by a mother enrolled in the program, as specified. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2023, to establish a health expense account program for pregnant Medi-Cal beneficiaries and pregnant subscribers of the Medi-Cal Access Program. The bill would make a Medi-Cal beneficiary who is pregnant or a pregnant subscriber of the Medi-Cal Access Program eligible for reimbursement for "out-of-pocket pregnancy-related costs," as specified, in an amount not to exceed $1,250. The bill would require the person to submit the request for reimbursement within 3 months of the end of the pregnancy in order to be reimbursed. The bill would require the department to seek to maximize federal financial participation in implementing the program. The bill would require the department, to the extent federal financial participation is unavailable, to implement the program only with state funds. The bill would require the department to contract out for purposes of implementing the health expense account program, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to implement the above-described provisions through all-county or plan letters, or similar instructions, and would require regulatory action no later than January 1, 2026.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a credit for a personal exemption for dependents. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, would allow a credit against those taxes to a taxpayer who holds a Certificate of Still Birth for the unreimbursed medical and burial or cremation costs, not to exceed $2,000 per certificate, paid or incurred during the taxable year in which the still birth occurred or within the first 6 months of the next taxable year, as provided. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would proclaim March 7, 2022, to March 11, 2022, inclusive, as School Breakfast Week and would recognize the importance of school nutrition programs and school nutrition staff in addressing the needs of the state's pupils.

This measure would proclaim the week of March 6, 2022, to March 12, 2022, inclusive, as Women in Construction Week.

This measure would proclaim March 2022 as Visual and Performing Arts Education Month and urge all residents to become interested in and give full support to quality visual and performing arts education programs for children and youth.

Existing law establishes, within the Department of Technology, the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy. Existing law requires the office to oversee the acquisition and management of contracts for the development and construction of, and for the maintenance and operation of, a statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network, as defined, to provide an opportunity for last-mile providers, anchor institutions, and tribal entities to connect to, and interconnect with other networks and other appropriate connections to, the broadband network to facilitate high-speed broadband service, as specified. Existing law requires the office, in consultation with the Department of Finance, to submit annually a report to the budget committees of the Legislature on the broadband network in compliance with specified law. Existing law also generally imposes requirements on a state or local agency that submits a required or requested report to the Members of either house of the Legislature, including that the report include a summary of its contents. This bill would provide that the report submitted annually to the budget committees of the Legislature shall be subject to the same requirements as a report that is submitted to Members of either house of the Legislature generally and shall be submitted in compliance with those provisions.

Existing law makes it a crime to possess for sale or purchase for purpose of sale, transport, sell, furnish, administer, give away, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, derive, process, or prepare various controlled substances, including, among others, fentanyl, peyote, and various other opiates and narcotics. This bill would require a person who is convicted of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, the above crimes to receive a written advisory of the danger of manufacturing and distribution of controlled substances and that, if a person dies as a result of that action, the manufacturer or distributor can be charged with murder. The bill would require that the fact the advisory was given be on the record and recorded on the abstract of conviction.

This measure would recognize February 2022 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents of African Americans and the achievements and contributions they make to their communities to create equity and equality for education, economics, and social justice. The measure would also recognize the significance in protecting citizens' right to vote and remedying racial discrimination in voting.