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 specified health insurance policies that provide coverage for outpatient prescription drugs to cover medically necessary prescription drugs and subjects those policies to certain limitations on cost sharing and the placement of drugs on formularies. Existing law authorizes a health care service plan and a health insurer to utilize formularies, prior authorization, step therapy, or other reasonable medical management practices in the provision of outpatient prescription drug coverage. This bill would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, that provide outpatient prescription drug benefits to cover all medically necessary prescription drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating substance use disorders that are appropriate for the specific needs of an enrollee or insured. The bill would require those drugs to be placed on the lowest cost-sharing tier of the plan or insurer's prescription drug formulary, unless specified criteria are met. The bill would, among other prohibitions, prohibit prior authorization or step therapy requirements on a prescription drug approved by the FDA for treating substance use disorders, unless specified criteria are met. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides for the regulation and development of aquaculture and requires the owner of each aquaculture facility to register with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law authorizes the department, among other powers, to assess annual registration fees on owners of aquaculture facilities and to prohibit an aquaculture operation or the culturing of any species at any location where it would be detrimental to adjacent native wildlife. Existing law authorizes the Fish and Game Commission to lease state water bottoms or the water column to any person for aquaculture, as prescribed, and requires the department to notify the State Lands Commission of all applications for water bottom leases and of all leases for aquaculture executed, renewed, or assigned. Under existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, the California Coastal Commission is responsible for the implementation of the act and for state coastal zone planning and management. This bill would require the department to, by January 1, 2022, create, as prescribed, a master permitting program with 3 permit types, as specified, for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects. The bill would require the master permitting program to include and incorporate all necessary information and materials required by the State Lands Commission and the Fish and Game Commission to apply for, prepare, review, and finalize a water bottom lease or ground lease of state lands required by a proposed mariculture project. The bill would require the department to approve, deny, or return for revision a master permit application within 4 months and similarly require that the State Lands Commission or the Fish and Game Commission, or both, if applicable, approve or deny a water bottom lease or ground lease within 4 months, as prescribed. The bill would provide an administrative appeal process for applicants to contest the denial of a water bottom lease or ground lease. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, if feasible, to develop best management practices for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects, as prescribed, and incorporate these practices into the master permitting program. The bill would require the department to incorporate all duties and responsibilities over shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration currently possessed and implemented by the California Coastal Commission into the master permitting program, and, commencing January 1, 2022, would provide the department with all jurisdiction, duties, and responsibilities over shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects, and eliminate the California Coastal Commission's authority and jurisdiction to approve, deny, or otherwise affect those projects. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the department, in consultation with several specified entities, to produce a comprehensive, publicly available map of state waters indicating the suitability of particular areas and sites for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2023, and each year for 5 years thereafter, the department, in consultation with several specified entities, to annually designate, as prescribed, at least 5 square miles of state waters as suitable for shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration projects. The bill would require the department to ensure the inclusion of socially disadvantaged mariculturalists in the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies and programs relating to shellfish, seaweed, and other low-trophic mariculture production and restoration. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations and adopt definitions to implement its provisions.
Existing law authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to retain license plate data captured by license plate reader technology, also referred to as an automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system, for not more than 60 days unless the data is being used as evidence or for the investigation of felonies. Existing law authorizes the department to share that data with law enforcement agencies for specified purposes and requires both an ALPR operator and an ALPR end-user, as those terms are defined, to implement a usage and privacy policy regarding that ALPR information, as specified. Existing law requires that the usage and privacy policy implemented by an ALPR operator or an ALPR end-user include the length of time ALPR information will be retained and the process the ALPR operator and ALPR end-user will utilize to determine if and when to destroy retained ALPR information. This bill would prohibit those usage and privacy policies from including a length of time longer than 2 weeks that ALPR information will be retained and would require those usage and privacy policies to include the process utilized to determine if and when to destroy ALPR information retained for 2 weeks or less. Existing law requires an ALPR operator to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices. Under existing law, the reasonable security procedures and practices must include operational, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect ALPR information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. This bill would additionally require those procedures and practices to include an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year and the destruction of all ALPR information retained for longer than 2 weeks. Existing law requires an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to maintain a record of that access and require that ALPR information only be used for the authorized purposes described in the usage and privacy policy. This bill would additionally require an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to conduct an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year and to confirm that all ALPR information retained for longer than 2 weeks has been routinely destroyed. This bill would require the Department of Justice, on or before July 1, 2021, to draft and make available on its internet website a policy template and would permit local law enforcement agencies to use the template as a model for their ALPR policies. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to develop and issue guidance to help local law enforcement agencies identify and evaluate the types of data they are currently storing in their ALPR database systems.
The Sex Equity in Education Act states the policy of the state that elementary and secondary school classes and courses, including nonacademic and elective classes and courses, be conducted without regard to the sex of the pupil enrolled in these classes or courses. Under existing law, the sex discrimination provisions of the act do not apply to any program or activity of the American Legion undertaken in connection with the organization or operation of any Boys State conference, Boys Nation conference, Girls State conference, or Girls Nation conference, or to any program or activity of any secondary educational institution specifically for the promotion of any of those conferences or for the selection of pupils to attend those conferences if the conferences comply with other nondiscriminatory provisions of state and federal law. This bill would prohibit public funds or resources from being used in connection with any secondary educational program of government instruction located in Sacramento that does not provide an equal opportunity for female and male pupils to participate and use facilities in Sacramento. The bill would specifically subject those American Legion programs and activities to this prohibition.
Existing law defines the crime of burglary to include entering a vehicle when the doors are locked with the intent to commit grand or petit larceny or a felony. Existing law makes the burglary of a vehicle punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would make forcibly entering a vehicle, as defined, with the intent to commit a theft therein a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year or imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. By creating a new 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.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law also establishes the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) Program, administered by the Office of Family Planning within the department, under which comprehensive clinical family planning services are provided to a person who has a family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and who is eligible to receive these services. Existing law provides that comprehensive clinical family planning services under the program includes preconception counseling, maternal and fetal health counseling, and general reproductive health care, among other things. This bill would expand comprehensive clinical family planning services under the program to include the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for persons of reproductive age.
This measure would designate the week of February 24, 2020, to March 1, 2020, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Existing law provides for programs relating to treatment of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) . Under existing law, the Office of AIDS, in the State Department of Public Health, is the lead agency within the state responsible for coordinating state programs, services, and activities relating to HIV, AIDS, and AIDS-related conditions. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to develop and review plans and participate in a program for the prevention and control of venereal disease. Existing law authorizes the department to establish, maintain, and subsidize clinics, dispensaries, and prophylactic stations for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of venereal disease, and authorizes the department to provide medical, advisory, financial, or other assistance to those clinics, dispensaries, and stations, as may be approved by the department. This bill would require the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the Chief of the Office of Aids to develop and implement a statewide master plan on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) , hepatitis C virus (HCV) , and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) , for the purpose of improving the health of people living with, and vulnerable to, those conditions, reducing new transmissions, and ending these epidemics. The bill would require the secretary and chief to create a stakeholder advisory committee and a cabinet-level workgroup to advise them in developing and implementing the master plan. The bill would require the master plan to be developed to accomplish key goals to end the HIV, HCV, and STD epidemics in California, including, but not limited to, increasing access to comprehensive HIV, HCV, and STD prevention services, and addressing social determinants of health that impact people living with, and vulnerable to, those conditions. The bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, in coordination with the Office of AIDS, to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2021, and submit updates annually thereafter, until October 1, 2031, regarding the master plan.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. This bill would require the commission, or the governing board of a local publicly owned electric utility, as applicable, to ensure that customers within its jurisdiction who have customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems are not subject to discriminatory fees or charges levied as a result of installing or using those customer-sited renewable energy or energy storage systems, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because this bill would require action by the commission to enforce its requirements and a violation of that commission action implementing its requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Because the bill imposes requirements on the boards of local publicly owned electric utilities, which are entities of local government, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including substance use disorder services that are delivered through the Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program and the Drug Medi-Cal organized delivery system. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. This bill would, to the extent funds are made available in the annual Budget Act, expand substance use disorder services to include contingency management services, subject to utilization controls. The bill would require the department to issue guidance and training to providers on their use of contingency management services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries who access substance use disorder services under any Medi-Cal delivery system, including the Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program and the Drug Medi-Cal organized delivery system. The bill would provide that contingency management services are not a rebate, refund, commission preference, patronage dividend, discount, or any other gratuitous consideration. The bill would authorize the department to implement these provisions by various means, including provider bulletin, without taking regulatory action, and would condition the implementation of these provisions to the extent permitted by federal law, the availability of federal financial participation, and the department securing federal approval.