Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons. Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. Existing law establishes the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. This bill would require the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, by July 1, 2021, to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan for addressing homelessness in the state, as specified. The bill would require the council, by January 1, 2021, to implement strategic plans to assist federal Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care lead agencies in better implementing Housing and Urban Development recommended activities and meeting Housing and Urban Development requirements.
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Existing law establishes 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. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing federal law authorizes a state to provide in its Medicaid state plan that in determining eligibility under the federal Medicaid program for a child, the state is authorized to rely on a finding made within a reasonable period from an Express Lane agency, as defined, when it determines whether a child satisfies one or more components of eligibility for medical assistance under the federal Medicaid program. Existing law establishes the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) , which is administered by the State Department of Public Health and counties and under which nutrition and other assistance are provided to eligible low-income pregnant women, low-income postpartum and lactating women, and low-income infants and children under 5 years of age, who have been determined to be at nutritional risk. Existing law requires the former Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board and former State Department of Health Services, in collaboration with program offices for the WIC Program and other designated entities, to design, promulgate, and implement policies and procedures for an automated enrollment gateway system, subject to appropriation, allowing children applying to the WIC Program to obtain presumptive eligibility for, and to facilitate application for enrollment in, the Medi-Cal program or the former Healthy Families Program, to the extent federal financial participation is available, as specified. This bill would delete the above-described provisions relating to the automated enrollment gateway system and would instead require the State Department of Health Care Services, in collaboration with the same designated entities, to design, promulgate, and implement policies and procedures for an automated enrollment pathway, designating the WIC Program and its local WIC agencies as Express Lane agencies and using WIC eligibility determinations to meet Medi-Cal eligibility requirements. The bill would require the pathway to perform specified functions to streamline Medi-Cal enrollment and maximize health care coverage. The bill would require that benefits for applicants enrolling in the Medi-Cal program using the pathway be provided immediately through accelerated enrollment for children and presumptive eligibility for pregnant women. The bill would also require the pathway to modify the existing WIC enrollment system and Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment systems to electronically transfer to the WIC Program the Medi-Cal eligibility determinations and contact information of Medi-Cal enrollees who are eligible for the WIC Program for the purpose of local WIC agencies contacting prospective WIC enrollees to complete their enrollment in the WIC Program. The bill would, while the automated enrollment pathway is being developed, require the department, in coordination with the WIC Program and local WIC agencies to, among other things, conduct regular data matches to identify which WIC recipients are not enrolled in the Medi-Cal program and which Medi-Cal beneficiaries are eligible for, but not enrolled in, the WIC Program, and to provide specified notices about program eligibility to those persons. The bill would require the department to seek approval of any amendments to the state plan necessary to implement these provisions, and would condition their implementation on the department obtaining all necessary federal approvals. The bill would also require the department to complete the project approval lifecycle process, as specified, for the automated enrollment pathway prior to implementing these provisions. Because counties are responsible for making eligibility determinations under the Medi-Cal program, by revising eligibility requirements, 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, 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 authorizes any postsecondary higher educational institution with a medical center to establish diagnostic and treatment centers for Alzheimer's disease, and requires the State Department of Public Health to administer grants to the postsecondary higher educational institutions that establish a center pursuant to these provisions. Until January 1, 2025, this bill would require the department to implement the action agenda items in the Healthy Brain Initiative, as defined, to the extent resources are available. The bill would require the department to annually notify the Legislature about activities conducted pursuant to these provisions. Until January 1, 2025, the bill would also, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the department to establish a pilot program in up to 8 local health jurisdictions, as specified, and award participating local health jurisdictions one-time grant funding over 3 consecutive fiscal years, to develop local initiatives that are consistent with the Healthy Brain Initiative. The bill would require the department to conduct an evaluation of the pilot program and produce a report, to be submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 2023, describing best practices and making recommendations regarding which solutions and innovations are most feasible to replicate.
(1) Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish fish hatcheries for the purposes of stocking the waters of California with fish, and requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain and operate those hatcheries. This bill would require the department to develop and implement a plan, in collaboration with specified scientists, experts, and representatives, as part of its fish hatchery operations for the improvement of the survival of hatchery-produced salmon, and the increased contribution of the hatchery program to commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. The bill would make the requirement to develop and implement the plan operative upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for this purpose. The bill would require the department to complete the development of the plan no later than 2 years after the operative date of the requirement to develop and implement the plan. The bill would require the department to submit to the Legislature a report no later than one year after that operative date that summarizes the progress in developing the plan and another report no later than 3 years after that operative date summarizing the progress made in implementing the plan. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2028, and would repeal them on January 1, 2029. (2) The Salmon, Steelhead Trout, and Anadromous Fisheries Program Act requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout and the Commercial Salmon Trollers Advisory Committee, to prepare and maintain a detailed and comprehensive program composed of specified elements for the protection and increase of salmon, steelhead trout, and anadromous fisheries. The act requires the department to consult with every public agency whose policies or decisions may affect the goals of the program. The act declares it the policy of the state and the department to encourage specified nonprofit salmon release and return operations operated by, or on behalf of, licensed commercial salmon fishermen for the purpose of enhancing California's salmon populations and increasing the salmon harvest by commercial and recreational fishermen. The act requires the department, to the extent that funds and personnel are available, to cooperate with fishing organizations in the siting and establishment of those operations to ensure the protection of natural spawning stocks of native salmon. This bill would require the department, in coordination with the above-described advisory committees, to develop, as an element of the program, a policy by January 1, 2022, for the use of releases, including in-river and ocean net pen releases, of salmon produced in state-managed and comanaged hatcheries during periods of drought or in other circumstances that result in significantly abnormal levels of mortality during onsite releases. The bill would require this policy to consider the effects of releases on the natural production of salmon. The bill would also require the department, no later than January 1, 2022, in consultation with those advisory committees, to develop and implement at least one additional ocean-based offsite hatchery salmon release operation. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2021, the department, in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency, to develop and post on its internet website a plan for sediment reduction and fishery restoration within the Elk River watershed in the County of Humboldt and for one additional hydrologic area affected by historic forest practices with endangered anadromous salmonids, as specified. The bill would require the department, when awarding grants as part of the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, to prioritize projects in accordance with that plan. (3) Existing law requires the Director of Fish and Wildlife to identify and list those streams and watercourses in the state, meeting designated conditions, for which minimum flow levels need to be established in order to assure the continued viability of stream-related fish and wildlife resources. Existing law requires the director to prepare proposed streamflow requirements for each identified stream or watercourse and, upon completion of the proposed streamflow requirements for any individual stream or watercourse, to transmit these proposed requirements to the State Water Resources Control Board. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to initiate studies to develop those requirements for those streams or watercourses in each fiscal year for which funds are appropriated and to complete studies on each stream or watercourse within 3 years. Existing law declares legislative intent that the department develop a program that will initiate studies on at least 10 streams or watercourses in each fiscal year. Existing law requires the department to impose and collect a filing fee of $850 from a user of water for certain types of permit applications filed with the state board to defray the cost of identifying streams and providing those studies. Existing law requires the state board to forward these fees to the department every 6 months. This bill would name the list of streams and watercourses identified by the director for these purposes as the California Endangered Rivers List. The bill would require the department to develop a program that will initiate studies on at least 3 streams or watercourses in each fiscal year. The bill would require the department to return the filing fees collected in a fiscal year to the state board for deposit in the Water Rights Fund if the department fails to initiate studies on at least 3 streams or watercourses in that fiscal year. (4) Existing law establishes the State Air Resources Board and vests the state board with regulatory jurisdiction over air quality issues. Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts (air districts) with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. This bill would require the state board, in coordination with affected air districts along the coast and in consultation with the federal Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the United States Navy, to develop and implement a voluntary vessel speed reduction incentive program for the Santa Barbara Channel and San Francisco Bay area regions to reduce air pollution, the risk of fatal vessel strikes on whales, and harmful underwater acoustic impacts. The bill would require the state board to implement the program by May 1, 2021, and would require the state board to submit a report to the Legislature by December 31, 2022, regarding the implementation of the program. By adding to the duties of air districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency to update all of the state's existing wetlands inventory resources in order to prepare a study to accomplish specified goals, and to report the study to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2003. This bill would require the agency to inventory the state's existing coastal wetlands resources and prepare a new study that meets these goals, and to submit the study to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023. The bill would require the study to be updated, at a minimum, once every 5 years after January 1, 2023. (6) Under existing law, the Budget Act of 2018, $6,000,000 was appropriated to the State Coastal Conservancy for support or local assistance to implement a beneficial reuse pilot program for dredged sediment in the Redwood City Harbor. Under existing law, this money is available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2020, and for liquidation until June 30, 2023. This bill would require the conservancy to submit a report, as provided, to the Legislature on that pilot program on or before December 31, 2022, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the conservancy to develop, in partnership with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a beneficial reuse program to place and reuse dredged sediment for coastal wetland restoration projects. (7) The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to, and approved by, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to adopt district forest practice rules and regulations, as provided, to ensure the continuous growing and harvesting of commercial forest tree species and to protect the soil, air, fish, wildlife, and water resources. The forest practice rules establish requirements specific to watersheds with listed anadromous salmonids for each forest district. Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2022, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, in consultation with specified state and federal agencies, to evaluate the above-referenced forest practice rules establishing requirements specific to watersheds with listed anadromous salmonids in order to support salmonid populations at all life history stages and to control pollutant inputs known to negatively impact salmonids. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2024, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to update those specified forest practice rules based on that evaluation, and would require any amendments to the rules to provide additional protections to listed anadromous salmonids. This bill would require timber harvesting plans filed on or after January 1, 2020, for lands containing or adjacent to watercourses bearing listed anadromous salmonids included on a specified list of water quality limited segments impaired by sediment to include an erosion control plan that is consistent with specified law. The bill would prohibit timber harvesting activity from being undertaken under a timber harvesting plan that requires an erosion control plan on ground with an extreme erosion hazard rating unless the timber harvesting plan has been reviewed by the California Geological Survey. (8) 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.
(1) Existing law generally requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate designated types of care facilities. The department is required to investigate the criminal record of certain individuals who provide services to the residents and clients of a community care facility, a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness, a residential care facility for the elderly, or a child daycare facility. Violations of the licensing requirements for these different types of care facilities are crimes. This bill would expand who is required to comply with the requirement for obtaining a criminal record clearance by including individuals who are otherwise associated at the facility and would expand a requirement for the department to maintain criminal record clearances of individuals in its active files. The bill would require, until an automated information system for tracking changes in facility associations is available, the department to permit a licensee who operates more than one of the same kind of care facility to coordinate the criminal record clearances for individuals associated with its facilities, and a licensee to update the department regarding individuals associated with its facilities, as specified. By expanding the requirements for these different licensees, this bill would expand the crimes for a failure to comply with those requirements, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. (2) 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 requires the Office of Systems Integration to implement a statewide automated welfare system for specified public assistance programs. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that representatives from the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, the Office of Systems Integration, the Interim Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) consortia, and counties meet with advocates, clients, and other stakeholders at least quarterly to review the development status of the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) project and to engage with stakeholders to discuss current and planned functionality changes, among other topics. This bill would additionally require those entities to discuss and recommend how the public-facing elements of CalSAWS may allow users to initiate applications for other health and human services benefits serving low-income Californians, including, but not limited to, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) , and other programs that are in substantial use, as specified, in order to minimize the burdens of the overall enrollment processes for eligible individuals and households to receive health and human services benefits. Existing federal law provides for the 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 law requires the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Public Health and appropriate stakeholders, to develop and submit to the Legislature a community outreach and education campaign to help families learn about, and apply for, CalFresh. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to oversee a state and local accountability partnership to increase CalFresh participation and retention, to foster continuous quality improvement in the administration of the CalFresh program, and establish specified statewide goals for CalFresh participation and improvement. The bill would require the department to take specified actions to support counties in increasing and retaining CalFresh participants so that counties can achieve the statewide participation goals, including, among others, maintaining a dynamic and publicly available CalFresh data dashboard. The bill would require county human services agencies to work with the department to increase CalFresh participation and retention rates and identify the most effective actions to increase access to, and participation in, CalFresh. The bill would encourage counties to implement cost-effective actions that can be implemented within existing resources or at the expense of the county, but would prohibit counties from being required to implement specific improvements that require additional funds unless the state provides the county with those additional funds. By imposing new requirements on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires each county welfare department, to the extent permitted by federal law, to exempt a household from complying with face-to-face interview requirements for the purpose of determining eligibility at initial application and recertification. This bill would, to the extent permitted by federal law, give an individual the option to apply, report, and recertify for CalFresh in person, by mail, online, or by telephone, and permit an individual to complete the interview requirement and client signature by telephone. The bill would authorize counties to implement any method of telephonic or electronic signature that is supported by county business practice and technology. The bill would require the department, with the input of stakeholders, to develop and execute a plan of support for counties that have not already implemented a telephone-based application and renewal process and to provide technical assistance or resources. The bill would require the application process to satisfy specified criteria, including simple, user-friendly language and instructions. The bill would require certain counties to comply with these provisions beginning on or before January 1, 2022, and require the remaining counties to comply with the provisions beginning on or before January 1, 2023. By imposing new duties on counties, 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, 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 California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program, under the administration of the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires the department to, among other things, provide rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to ensure housing affordability to people who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. This bill would require the department to develop and administer a program to award grants to qualified homeless shelters, as described, for the provision of shelter, food, and basic veterinary services for pets owned by people experiencing homelessness.
Existing law prohibits granting probation or suspending a sentence for persons convicted of specified crimes relating to controlled substances, including possessing or agreeing to sell or transport opiates or opium derivatives, possessing or transporting cannabis, planting or cultivating peyote, and various crimes relating to forging or altering prescriptions, among other crimes, if the person has previously been convicted of any one of specified felony offenses relating to controlled substances. Existing law also prohibits granting probation or suspending a sentence for persons convicted of specified crimes relating to controlled substances, including possessing for sale or selling 14.25 grams or more of a substance containing heroin and possessing for sale 14.25 grams or more of any salt or solution of phencyclidine or its analogs, among other crimes. This bill would delete various crimes relating to controlled substances, including, but not limited to, the crimes described above, from those prohibitions against granting probation or a suspended sentence. The bill would authorize the remaining prohibitions on probation to be waived by a court in the interests of justice. By making additional persons eligible for probation, 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 prohibits certain stores from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale and prohibits full-service restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws to consumers unless requested by the consumer. This bill would require a business, as defined, that accepts payment through cash, credit, or debit transactions, subject to certain exceptions, to provide a proof of purchase to a consumer only at the consumer's option and would prohibit a business from printing a paper proof of purchase if the consumer opts to not receive a proof of purchase, unless otherwise required by state or federal law. The bill would prohibit a paper proof of purchase provided to a consumer by a business from containing bisphenol A or bisphenol S, and from including items not essential to the transaction, including, but not limited to, coupons or advertisements. The bill would specify that the first and 2nd violations of any of those provisions would result in a notice of violation and any subsequent violation would be punishable by a civil penalty of $25 for each day the business is in violation, but not to exceed an annual total of $300. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney to enforce those provisions. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2022.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, would allow a credit against those taxes to a qualified taxpayer, as defined, in an amount equal to 3% of the amount of rent or lease payments in the form of certain federal housing assistance vouchers per qualified property, defined as a dwelling or unit rented or leased to persons receiving certain federal assistance. The bill would require the taxpayer, to be eligible for the credit, to obtain verification from the appropriate local housing authority, as defined, that the property for which a credit is claimed satisfies the definition of qualified property and to provide a copy of the verification to the Franchise Tax Board. This bill would limit the credit to 5 qualified properties per taxpayer per taxable year. The bill would also provide that the credit amount is $0 for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, unless otherwise specified in a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Act. By imposing new duties upon local government officials with respect to the verification of qualified properties, 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, 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.