Asm. Heath Flora

Existing law establishes the Department of Consumer Affairs under the direction of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Existing law establishes various boards within the department for the licensure and regulation of various health care providers, including physicians and surgeons and nurses. Existing law generally provides for mental health services, including the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act, which contains provisions governing the organization and financing of community mental health services for persons with mental disorders in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs, and the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative statute enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election that establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. This bill would require the director to establish a mental health resiliency program, as specified, to provide mental health services to licensed health care providers who provide or have provided consistent in-person healthcare services to COVID-19 patients. The bill would require the relevant boards to notify licensees and solicit applications for access to the program immediately upon the availability of services. The bill would require an applicant to make an attestation that states, among other things, that the applicant is an eligible licensee, as defined. The bill would make an applicant who willfully makes a false statement in their attestation guilty of a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2025. The bill would require the department and relevant boards, no later than June 30, 2025, to report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature prescribed information regarding the program. The bill would exempt the records associated with the mental health resiliency program from disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act. 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 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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 federal law establishes eligibility requirements, including specified income eligibility standards, for receipt of CalFresh benefits. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before July 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, to submit a request for a federal waiver to exclude the basic allowance for housing provided to specified uniformed service members from countable income in the determination of eligibility and benefit level for purposes of receiving CalFresh benefits. The bill would, upon federal approval of the waiver, require the department, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, advocates for CalFresh recipients, and the Military Department, to issue an all-county letter instructing counties on updated eligibility requirements and benefit calculations for uniformed service members receiving a basic allowance for housing. To the extent the bill would expand the duties of counties, 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, 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.

Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency to provide fire protection and prevention services, as specified. This bill would require the department to maintain a standard minimum level of staffing for each of its engines, as specified, without the regular practice of forcing overtime on its personnel. The bill would require the department to increase its existing firefighter fuel crews, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2024, to provide to the Legislature a long-term staffing plan to meet the new era of wildfire firefighting.

Existing law establishes 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. Existing law requires the department to establish a list of covered services and maximum allowable reimbursement rates for prosthetic and orthotic appliances and requires that the list be published in provider manuals. Existing law prohibits reimbursement for prosthetic and orthotic appliances from exceeding 80% of the lowest maximum allowance for California established by the federal Medicare Program for the same or similar services. This bill would instead require reimbursement for these appliances to be set at least at 80% of the lowest maximum allowance for California established by the federal Medicare Program, and would require that reimbursement to be adjusted annually, as specified.

This measure would recognize that the Antelope Valley will henceforth be affectionately and acceptably referred to by the State of California as the Aerospace Valley.

This measure would designate the month of October 2022 as California Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The measure would also recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Hindu heritage to the state and seek to increase awareness and understanding of the Hindu American community.

This measure would recognize September 20, 2022, and every year on that date thereafter, as California Surfing Day to celebrate the California surfing lifestyle, would commend all those who honor the history, culture, and future of surfing, as well as the sport of surfing and the protection of our beach and ocean environments, would express support for future surfers and encourage potential surfing Olympians to work diligently, and would encourage all Californians to enjoy California Surfing Day.