Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) , also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. If a qualified health plan covers abortion services, PPACA requires the plan to deposit the premium amounts that equal the actuarial value of the coverage of those services into a separate account, as specified. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, requires the Department of Managed Health Care to license and regulate health care service plans and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also requires the Department of Insurance to regulate health insurers. This bill would require, beginning July 1, 2023, a health care service plan or health insurer offering qualified health plans, as defined, through the Exchange to annually report the total amount of funds in the segregated account maintained pursuant to PPACA. The bill would require the annual report to include the ending balance of the account and the total dollar amount of claims paid during a reporting year. By expanding the scope of a crime, this 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, the Reproductive Privacy Act, provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions, including the fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose and to obtain an abortion. This bill would establish, using a $20,000,000 appropriation made in the Budget Act of 2022 for this purpose, the Los Angeles County Abortion Access Safe Haven Pilot Program for the purpose of expanding and improving access to reproductive and sexual health care, including abortion, in the County of Los Angeles. The bill would require any funds allocated for the Los Angeles County Abortion Access Safe Haven Pilot Program to be used by the County of Los Angeles or its program administrator to administer a pilot project to support innovative approaches and patient-centered collaborations to expand and improve access to sexual and reproductive health care and to maintain a financial reporting system. The bill would authorize the funds to be used for implementing recommendations from the County of Los Angeles, including building secure infrastructure, among other things. The bill would require the program administrator to determine a funding framework to prioritize funding for pilot programs and projects and to provide an annual report to the Legislature on the projects and collaborations funded by the program. The bill would exempt specified program information from public disclosure. 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.
(1) Existing law authorizes a judge to enter an ex parte order authorizing interception of wire or electronic communications within the territorial jurisdiction of the court. Existing law also authorizes a peace officer to apply for, and a magistrate to issue, an order, or extension of an order, authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or trap and trace device. This bill would prohibit the issuance of an ex parte order authorizing interception of wire or other electronic communication or an order, or extension of an order, authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or trap and trace device for the purpose of investigating or recovering evidence of a prohibited violation. The bill would define "prohibited violation" for this purpose as a violation of a law that creates liability for, or arising out of, either providing, facilitating, or obtaining an abortion or intending or attempting to provide, facilitate, or obtain an abortion that is lawful under California law. Existing law provides for the issuance of a search warrant upon specified grounds. This bill would prohibit the issuance of a search warrant for any item or items that pertain to an investigation into a prohibited violation. Existing law requires a California corporation that provides electronic communication services or remote computing services to the general public to comply with a warrant issued by another state to produce records that would reveal the identity of the customers using those services, data stored by, or on behalf of, the customer, the customer's usage of those services, the recipient or destination of communications sent to or from those customers, or the content of those communications as if that warrant had been issued by a California court. This bill would require an out-of-state warrant for the records listed above to include an attestation that the evidence sought is not related to an investigation into, or enforcement of, a prohibited violation. The bill would prohibit the production of records by a California corporation when the corporation knows or should know that the warrant relates to an investigation into, or enforcement of, a prohibited violation. (2) Existing law includes a declaration of the Legislature that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to reproductive decisions, including the fundamental right to choose to bear a child or obtain an abortion. Existing law prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a woman's fundamental right to choose to bear a child or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, as defined, or when necessary to protect her life or health. Existing law, the Reproductive Rights Law Enforcement Act, requires the Attorney General to carry out certain functions relating to anti-reproductive-rights crimes in consultation with, among others, subject matter experts. Existing law requires all law enforcement agencies to develop, adopt, and implement written policies and standards for responding to anti-reproductive-rights calls by January 1, 2023. This bill would prohibit a state or local law enforcement agency or officer from knowingly arresting or knowingly participating in the arrest of any person for performing, supporting, or aiding in the performance of an abortion or for obtaining an abortion, if the abortion is lawful in this state. The bill would prohibit a state or local public agency from cooperating with or providing information to an individual or agency from another state or a federal law enforcement agency, as specified, regarding a lawful abortion. The bill would prohibit specified persons, including a judicial officer, court employee, an authorized attorney, among others, from issuing a subpoena in connection with a proceeding in another state regarding an individual performing, supporting, or aiding in the performance of an abortion in this state, or an individual obtaining an abortion in this state, if the abortion is lawful in this state. The bill would not prohibit the investigation of criminal activity that may involve an abortion, provided that no information relating to any medical procedure performed on a specific individual may be shared with an agency or individual from another state for the purpose of enforcing another state's abortion law. (3) Existing law requires superior court judges in each county to prepare, adopt, and annually revise a uniform countywide schedule of bail for all bailable offenses, as specified. Existing law requires a bail schedule to contain a list of the offenses and amounts of bail applicable for each, as well as a general clause for designated amounts of bail for all offenses not specifically listed in the schedule. This bill would require a uniform countywide schedule of bail to set $0 bail for an individual who has been arrested in connection with a proceeding in another state regarding and individual performing, supporting, or aiding in the performance of an abortion in this state, or an individual obtaining an abortion in this state, if the abortion is protected, as specified. Existing law requires the Governor to recognize a demand for extradition of a person if the demand meets specified requirements. Existing law requires a magistrate, upon the filing of a verified complaint, to issue a warrant directed to any peace officer commanding the officer to apprehend an individual in this state who is convicted, or has violated the terms of bail, probation, or parole, or who is charged with a crime, in another state and who is believed to be in this state. This bill would require, within 24 hours of the filing of a verified complaint, the filing agency to electronically transmit to the Attorney General a complete copy of the verified complaint, the out-of-state indictment, information, complaint, or judgment, out-of-state warrant, and the affidavit upon which the out-of-state warrant was issued. (4) Existing law, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, determines how governmental entities may access information on electronic devices and from electronic communication service providers, as defined. This bill would prohibit a California corporation or a corporation whose principal executive offices are located in California that provides electronic communication services from providing records, information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with the terms of a warrant, court order, subpoena, wiretap order, pen register trap and trace order, or other legal process issued by, or pursuant to, the procedures of another state or a political subdivision thereof that relates to an investigation into, or enforcement of, a prohibited violation. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to commence a civil action to compel compliance with the above provisions, but would only impose civil liability if the corporation knew or should have known that the warrant, court order, subpoena, wiretap order, pen register trap and trace order, or other legal process relates to an investigation into or enforcement of a prohibited violation. (5) The bill would state that its provisions are severable. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person. The act defines "abortion" as a medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth. Existing law establishes the Abortion Practical Support Fund, administered by the Department of Health Care Access and Information, for the purpose of providing grants to increase patient access to abortion. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, or an entity designated by the agency, to establish an internet website where the public can find information on abortion services in the state. The bill would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information to annually evaluate the grant program funded by the Abortion Practical Support Fund and report its findings to the Legislature. The bill would also make related findings and declarations, and would specify that it is to be construed to effectuate its legislative intent to support access to abortion in California and build upon California's commitment to be a reproductive freedom state.
(1) Existing law requires a county coroner to hold inquests to inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of violent, sudden, or unusual deaths, including deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion. Existing law requires a coroner to register a fetal death after 20 weeks of gestation, unless it is the result of a legal abortion. If a physician was not in attendance at the delivery of the fetus, existing law requires the fetal death to be handled as a death without medical attendance. Existing law requires the coroner to state on the certificate of fetal death the time of fetal death, the direct causes of the fetal death, and the conditions, if any, that gave rise to these causes. This bill would delete the requirement that a coroner hold inquests for deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion, and would delete the requirement that an unattended fetal death be handled as a death without medical attendance. The bill would prohibit using the coroner's statements on the certificate of fetal death to establish, bring, or support a criminal prosecution or civil cause of damages against a person who is immune from liability based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, or who aids a pregnant person in exercising their rights under the Reproductive Privacy Act, as specified. (2) Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions. Existing law prohibits the state from interfering with a pregnant person's right to choose or obtain an abortion before the fetus is viable or when it is necessary to protect the life and health of the pregnant person. Under existing law, an abortion is unauthorized if either the person performing the abortion is not a health care provider that is authorized to perform an abortion or the fetus is viable. Existing law, the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, authorizes an individual whose exercise or enjoyment of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state, has been interfered with, or attempted to be interfered with, to institute or prosecute in their own name and on their own behalf an action for damages, as prescribed. This bill would prohibit a person from being subject to civil or criminal liability, or otherwise deprived of their rights, based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome or based solely on their actions to aid or assist a woman or pregnant person who is exercising their reproductive rights. The bill would clarify that an abortion is unauthorized if performed by a person other than the pregnant person and either the person performing the abortion is not a health care provider that is authorized to perform an abortion or the fetus is viable. The bill would authorize a party whose rights are protected by the Reproductive Privacy Act to bring a civil action against an offending state actor when those rights are interfered with by conduct or by statute, ordinance, or other state or local rule, regulation, or enactment in violation of the act, as specified, and would require a court, upon a motion, to award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff. The bill would also authorize a person aggrieved by a violation of the Reproductive Privacy Act to bring a civil action pursuant to the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act. The bill would provide for the indemnification of employees or former employees of public agencies who were acting within the scope of their employment. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 123466 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 2091 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2091 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person. The act defines "abortion" as a medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth. Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information to oversee and administer various health programs. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. Existing law establishes a schedule of benefits under the Medi-Cal program and provides for various services, including comprehensive clinical family planning services that are rendered through the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) Waiver Program. This bill would establish the California Reproductive Health Equity Program within the Department of Health Care Access and Information to ensure abortion and contraception services are affordable for and accessible to all patients and to provide financial support for safety net providers of these services. The bill would authorize a Medi-Cal enrolled provider to apply to the department for a grant, and a continuation award after the initial grant, to provide abortion and contraception services at no cost or a reduced cost to an individual with a household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level who is uninsured or has health care coverage that does not include both abortion and contraception, and who is not eligible to receive both abortion and contraception at no cost through the Medi-Cal and Family PACT programs. The bill would establish the California Reproductive Health Equity Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to provide this grant funding. The bill would require the department to conduct an annual evaluation of the program and report its findings to the Legislature. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. 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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires group health care service plan contracts and disability insurance policies to cover contraceptive services and methods without cost sharing, as specified. Existing law authorizes a religious employer to request a contract or policy that does not include contraception coverage for its employees. This bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer that provides health coverage to employees of a religious employer that does not include coverage and benefits for both abortion and contraception to provide an enrollee or insured with written information at specified times on the abortion and contraception benefits or services that may be available at no cost through the California Reproductive Health Equity Program. Because a willful violation of this provision by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations to post on its internet website information regarding abortion and contraception benefits or services that may be available at no cost through the California Reproductive Health Equity Program to employees whose employer-sponsored health coverage does not include coverage for both abortion and contraception. 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.
Existing law establishes a variety of health care workforce training programs and health professions education programs within the Department of Health Care Access and Information to, among other things, maximize the delivery of primary care and family physician services to specific areas of California where there is a recognized unmet priority need for those services and ensure an adequate supply of appropriately trained professional and vocational nurses. Existing law establishes the Health Professions Education Fund to support those programs by providing scholarships and loans to students from underrepresented groups who are accepted to or enrolled in schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, or other health professions. This bill would establish the California Reproductive Health Service Corps within the department for the purposes of recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse workforce of reproductive health care professionals who will be part of reproductive health care teams to work in underserved areas. The bill would require the corps to administer and oversee scholarships and stipends for scholars who are new reproductive health students, and loan repayment for scholars who have acquired debt from attending a reproductive health professional school in the past, in exchange for a 3-year term of obligated service in California at a corps-approved site. The bill would require the corps to prioritize the selection of scholars from historically excluded populations and underserved areas, and would require scholars to agree to complete abortion training as part of their health care education and to provide, or participate on a team that provides, reproductive health services and to commit to working at a corps-approved site in a specified area with a specified population. This bill would require the department to conduct an evaluation 5 years after implementation to assess the impact and effectiveness of the corps, and would require the department to report its findings to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2029.
(1) Existing law provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions. Existing law prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person. Existing law requires a health insurer to take specified steps to protect the confidentiality of an insured's medical information, and prohibits an insurer from disclosing medical information related to sensitive health care services to the policyholder or any insureds other than the protected individual receiving care. Existing law generally prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from disclosing medical information regarding a patient, enrollee, or subscriber without first obtaining an authorization, unless a specified exception applies, including that the disclosure is in response to a subpoena. Existing law prohibits an employer from using or disclosing medical information that it possesses pertaining to its employees without the patient having first signed an authorization, unless a specified exception applies, including that the disclosure is compelled by judicial or administrative process or by any other specific provision of law. Existing law authorizes a California court or attorney to issue a subpoena if a foreign subpoena has been sought in this state. This bill would prohibit compelling a person to identify or provide information that would identify or that is related to an individual who has sought or obtained an abortion in a state, county, city, or other local criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceeding if the information is being requested based on another state's laws that interfere with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action, as defined. The bill would authorize the Insurance Commissioner to assess a civil penalty, as specified, against an insurer that has disclosed an insured's confidential medical information. The bill would prohibit a provider of health care, a health care service plan, a contractor, or an employer from releasing medical information that would identify an individual or related to an individual seeking or obtaining an abortion in response to a subpoena or a request or to law enforcement if that subpoena, request, or the purpose of law enforcement for the medical information is based on, or for the purpose of enforcement of, either another state's laws that interfere with a person's rights to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action. The bill would prohibit issuance of a subpoena if the submitted foreign subpoena relates to a foreign penal civil action and the submitted foreign subpoena would require disclosure of information related to sensitive services, as defined. (2) Existing law sets forth the health care access rights of an incarcerated pregnant person and an incarcerated person who is identified as possibly pregnant or capable of becoming pregnant. Existing law prohibits the imposition of conditions or restrictions on an incarcerated person's ability to obtain an abortion. This bill would prohibit prison staff from disclosing identifying medical information related to an incarcerated person's right to seek and obtain an abortion if the information is being requested based on another state's law that interferes with a person's rights to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 2029.300 and 2029.350 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by SB 107 to be operative only if this bill and SB 107 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. Existing law authorizes the board to take action against all persons guilty of violating the Medical Practice Act. Existing law requires the board to enforce and administer various disciplinary provisions as to physician and surgeon certificate holders. Existing law, the Osteopathic Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of osteopathic physicians and surgeons by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. Under existing law, the board has disciplinary functions pursuant to the act. Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of nursing by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law provides for the certification of nurse-midwives by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law, the Physician Assistant Practice Act, establishes the Physician Assistant Board for the licensure and regulation of physician assistants. Existing law requires the Board of Registered Nursing and the Physician Assistant Board to enforce and administer various disciplinary provisions as to nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants. Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions. Under existing law, an abortion is unauthorized if either the person performing the abortion is not an authorized health care provider, as specified, or the fetus is viable. Under existing law, the failure of a physician and surgeon to comply with the Reproductive Privacy Act constitutes unprofessional conduct. This bill would prohibit the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California from suspending or revoking the certificate of a physician and surgeon solely for performing an abortion if they performed the abortion in accordance with the provisions of the Medical Practice Act and the Reproductive Privacy Act. The bill would also prohibit those boards from denying an application for licensure as a physician and surgeon, or suspending, revoking, or otherwise imposing discipline upon a physician and surgeon because the person was disciplined in another state in which they are licensed or certified solely for performing an abortion in that state, or the person was convicted in that state for an offense related solely to the performance of an abortion in that state. The bill would additionally prohibit the Board of Registered Nursing and the Physician Assistant Board from suspending or revoking the certification or license of a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant for performing an abortion if they performed the abortion in accordance with the provisions of the Nursing Practice Act or the Physician Assistant Practice Act, as applicable, and the Reproductive Privacy Act. The bill would also prohibit those boards from denying an application for certification or licensure as a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant, or suspending, revoking, or otherwise imposing discipline upon a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant because the person was disciplined in another state in which they are licensed or certified solely for performing an abortion in that state, or the person was convicted in that state for an offense related solely to the performance of an abortion in that state. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prohibits manufacturers and contract testing facilities from using traditional animal test methods within the state for which an appropriate alternative test method has been scientifically validated and recommended by the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods and adopted, as specified. Existing law exempts certain animal tests from these provisions, including animal tests performed for the purpose of medical research. Existing law provides that the exclusive remedy for a violation of these provisions is a civil action for injunctive relief brought by, among others, the Attorney General and makes a violation of these provisions punishable by a specified civil penalty. This bill would, in addition, prohibit a contract testing facility from conducting a canine or feline toxicological experiment, defined as any test or study of any duration that seeks to determine the effect of the application or exposure of any amount of a chemical substance on a dog or cat, unless the experiment is conducted for specified purposes. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, the district attorney of the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred, or the city attorney in certain instances to bring a civil action for a violation of these provisions, punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each day that each dog or cat is used in a canine or feline toxicological experiment.