Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians. Existing law establishes 5 accounts within the CASF, including the Broadband Adoption Account. Existing law provides that moneys in the Broadband Adoption Account are available to the commission to award grants to increase publicly available or after school broadband access and digital inclusion, such as grants for digital literacy training programs and public education to communities with limited broadband adoption, including low-income communities, senior communities, and communities facing socioeconomic barriers to broadband adoption. Existing law provides that eligible applicants for moneys from the Broadband Adoption Account are local governments, senior centers, schools, public libraries, nonprofit organizations, and community-based organizations with programs to increase publicly available or after school broadband access and digital inclusion. This bill would expressly include nonprofit religious organizations as being within the nonprofit organizations that are eligible applicants for moneys from the Broadband Adoption Account.
Sponsored bills
This measure would proclaim September 20, 2021, as Latino Veterans Day.
This measure would acknowledge the Department of Veterans Affairs' staff for their service to California's veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This measure would designate the first full week of October of each year as "Public Power Week" in the State of California in honor of public power utilities and their customer-owners, policymakers, and employees who work together to provide the best possible energy service for the benefit of their communities.
This measure would recognize the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) for setting the most ambitious carbon reduction goal of any large utility in the country and applaud SMUD's commitment to finding innovative ways to reach its zero-carbon emissions goal without impacting reliability or rates. The measure would recognize that SMUD's zero-carbon emissions goal puts the Sacramento region on the map as an example to follow and as a region where innovative, climate-friendly businesses want to be, the achieving the zero-carbon emissions goal that brings benefits not only globally, but also locally, the reduced emissions improve our local air quality and overall health and create jobs, and that SMUD is helping create a cleaner, more prosperous, and healthier region for all.
This measure would declare California to be the first Compassionate State in the United States of America.
This measure would proclaim the month of July 2021 as California Parks and Recreation Professionals Month to celebrate the accomplishments and resilience of parks and recreation professionals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
This measure would designate the month of August 2021 as "HPV-Attributable Cancers, Screening, and Vaccination Awareness Month" in the State of California. The measure would encourage all Californians, the State Department of Public Health, and the State Department of Health Care Services to observe the month and appropriate activities that support prevention, including promoting screening and educational outreach to all eligible Californians, increasing the awareness of HPV-attributable cancer and prevention measures within the medical and public health community, and implementing programs to raise awareness about the causes and symptoms of, and prevention measures for, HPV-attributable cancers.
This measure would proclaim specified principles as the Cancer Patients' Bill of Rights to make clear the Legislature supports the best cancer care for cancer patients in the state.
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, including federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides that FQHC and RHC services are to be reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis. "Visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between a patient of an FQHC or RHC and specified health care professionals, including a physician and marriage and family therapist. Under existing law, "physician," for these purposes, includes, but is not limited to, a physician and surgeon, an osteopath, and a podiatrist. This bill would authorize reimbursement for a maximum of 2 visits taking place on the same day at a single location if after the first visit the patient suffers illness or injury requiring additional diagnosis or treatment, or if the patient has a medical visit and a mental health visit or a dental visit, as defined. The bill would authorize an FQHC or RHC that currently includes the cost of a medical visit and a mental health visit that take place on the same day at a single location as a single visit for purposes of establishing the FQHC's or RHC's rate to apply for an adjustment to its per-visit rate, and after the department has approved that rate adjustment, to bill a medical visit and a mental health visit that take place on the same day at a single location as separate visits, in accordance with the bill. This bill would also include a licensed acupuncturist within those health professionals covered under the definition of a "visit." The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2022, to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reflect certain changes described in the bill, and to seek necessary federal approvals. The bill would also make conforming and technical changes.