(1) Existing law provides that a search warrant may only be issued upon probable cause, supported by affidavit, naming or describing the person to be searched or searched for, and particularly describing the property, thing, or things and the place to be searched. Existing law also states the grounds upon which a search warrant may be issued, including, among other grounds, when the property or things to be seized consist of any item or constitute any evidence that tends to show a felony has been committed, or tends to show that a particular person has committed a felony, or when there is a warrant to arrest a person. This bill would prohibit a government entity from compelling the production of or access to electronic communication information or electronic device information, as defined, without a search warrant, wiretap order, order for electronic reader records, or subpoena issued pursuant under specified conditions, except for emergency situations, as defined. The bill would also specify the conditions under which a government entity may access electronic device information by means of physical interaction or electronic communication with the device, such as pursuant to a search warrant, wiretap order, or consent of the owner of the device. The bill would define a number of terms for those purposes, including, among others, "electronic communication information" and "electronic device information," which the bill defines collectively as "electronic information." The bill would require a search warrant for electronic information to describe with particularity the information to be seized and would impose other conditions on the use of the search warrant or wiretap order and the information obtained, including retention, sealing, and disclosure. The bill would require a warrant directed to a service provider to be accompanied by an order requiring the service provider to verify by affidavit the authenticity of electronic information that it produces, as specified. The bill would authorize a service provider to voluntarily disclose, when not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, electronic communication information or subscriber information, and would require a government entity to destroy information so provided within 90 days, subject to specified exceptions. The bill would, subject to exceptions, require a government entity that executes a search warrant pursuant to these provisions to contemporaneously provide notice, as specified, to the identified target, that informs the recipient that information about the recipient has been compelled or requested, and that states the nature of the government investigation under which the information is sought. The bill would authorize a delay of 90 days, subject to renewal, for providing the notice under specified conditions that constitute an emergency. The bill would require the notice to include a copy of the warrant or statement describing the emergency under which the notice was delayed. The bill would provide that any person in a trial, hearing, or proceeding may move to suppress any electronic information obtained or retained in violation of its provisions, according to specified procedures. The bill would provide that a California or foreign corporation, and its officers, employees, and agents, are not subject to any cause of action for providing records, information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with the terms of a warrant, wiretap order, or other order issued pursuant to these provisions. (2) The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth in Evidence, which requires a 23 vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified. Because this bill would exclude evidence obtained or retained in violation of its provisions in a criminal proceeding, it requires a 23 vote of the Legislature.
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Existing law provides for the construction and operation of various toll bridges by the state, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, and private entities that have entered into a franchise agreement with the state. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, prohibit a toll from being imposed on the passage of a pedestrian or bicycle over these various toll bridges.
Existing law authorizes various local governmental entities, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in the county not exceed 2%. Existing law, the Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act, authorizes nine specified counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the County of San Mateo, to establish a county transportation authority and levy a retail transactions and use tax of either 0.5% or 1% for specified transportation purposes if certain requirements are met, including that the ordinance levying the tax meets the requirements of the Transactions and Use Tax Law and is approved by 23 of the electors voting on the measure. This bill would authorize the County of San Mateo to, in accordance with the Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act, impose a transactions and use tax for countywide transportation programs at a rate of no more than 0.5% that, in combination with other specified taxes, would exceed the combined rate limit. The bill would also authorize the Transportation Agency for Monterey County to impose a transactions and use tax for the support of countywide transportation programs at a rate of no more than 0.375% that, in combination with other specified taxes, would exceed the combined rate limit. These provisions would be repealed by their own terms on January 1, 2026, if an ordinance is not approved, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Mateo and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County.
(1) Under existing law, the commission of any act of sexual abuse, misconduct, or relations with a patient, client, or customer is unprofessional conduct, except that it is not unprofessional conduct when sexual contact is between a physician and surgeon and his or her spouse or person in an equivalent domestic relationship, as specified. This bill would expand the exception by providing that it would not be unprofessional conduct when consensual sexual contact is between a licensee and his or her spouse or person in an equivalent domestic relationship, as specified. (2) Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of dentists and dental assistants by the Dental Board of California and authorizes the board to appoint an executive officer to exercise powers and perform duties delegated by the board to him or her. These provisions are in effect only until January 1, 2016, and, upon repeal of those provisions, the board will be subject to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. The act prescribes various fees that are required to be paid by dentists and dental assistants for, among other things, an initial license and the renewal of that license. This bill would extend the provisions relating to the Dental Board of California and the executive officer to January 1, 2020. The bill would also change various fees that would be required to be paid by a dentist, a dental assistant, or certain educational programs, as specified. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2016, require that an initial license for a dentist be no greater than $650 and would require the fee for the renewal of that license to be no greater than $650. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2018, require that an initial license be no greater than $800 and would require the fee for a renewal of that license to be no greater than $800. The bill would also require, by July 1, 2016, every applicant and licensee under the act to report to the board his or her electronic mail address, and would require the board to annually send an electronic notice to each applicant and licensee that requests confirmation of the applicant's or licensee's electronic mail address. The act authorizes the board to license a person as a registered dental assistant if he or she meets certain requirements, including a written and practical examination. This bill would require the Dental Board of California, in consultation with the Office of Professional Examination Services, to conduct a review to determine on or before July 1, 2017, whether a practical examination is necessary to demonstrate the competency of registered dental assistants and to submit that determination to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature by that date, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to vote to suspend the practical examination if the review concludes that the practical examination is unnecessary or does not accurately measure the competency of registered dental assistants. The bill would provide that the suspension of the practical examination commences on the date the board votes to suspend the practical examination and would continue being suspended until July 1, 2017. The bill would require the board to post a notice on its Internet Web site if it suspends the practical examination. Existing law creates the Dental Assisting Council of the Dental Board of California, which considers all matters relating to California dental assistants and is composed of members who serve terms, as specified. Existing law requires the board to make all the initial appointments of members by May 1, 2012. This bill would prohibit a member from serving more than two full terms. The bill would remove the requirement for the board to make all initial appointments by May 1, 2012. (3) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of vocational nurses under the Vocational Nursing Practice Act, and psychiatric technicians under the Psychiatric Technicians Law, by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California, and requires the board to, among other things, appoint an executive officer, who is required to be a licensed vocational nurse, registered nurse, or psychiatric technician. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2016. This bill would remove the requirement that the executive officer be a vocational nurse, registered nurse, or psychiatric technician, and would extend the repeal date of the provisions relating to the board to January 1, 2018. (4) Existing law establishes the Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund in the State Treasury, and establishes the Vocational Nurses Account and the Psychiatric Technician Examiners Account within the fund. Existing law authorizes the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California to collect specified fees and fines related to the board's licensure and regulation of vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians, and prohibits the board from charging expenses for these respective activities against funds received from any other source. This bill, beginning July 1, 2016, would remove that prohibition, abolish the Vocational Nurses Account and the Psychiatric Technician Examiners Account, and specify that all money in the Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund shall be used to carry out the Vocational Nursing Practice Act and the Psychiatric Technicians Law. (5) Existing law authorizes the Director of Consumer Affairs to investigate the work of the boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, obtain a copy of the records of official matters in possession of the boards, and require reports from the boards as the director deems reasonably necessary. Existing law requires the director to provide certain reports to the Legislature, including, but not limited to, a copy of an independent review of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education's staffing resources needs and requirements. This bill would require the director to appoint an administrative and enforcement program monitor no later than March 1, 2016, and would require the monitor to monitor and evaluate the administrative process and disciplinary system and procedures of the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California for a period of no more than 2 years, as specified. The bill would require the monitor to submit a report of his or her findings and conclusions to the Legislature, the department, and the board by July 1, 2016, subsequent reports by November 1, 2016, and February 1, 2017, and a final report before January 1, 2018. The bill would require the board and its staff to cooperate with the program monitor. The bill would also require the department's internal audit unit to review the board's financial needs, fee structure, budget, and expenditures, and require the director to provide the Legislature with a copy of the review no later than October 1, 2016. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2018. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 205 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by AB 177 and AB 180 that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last. (7) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 1724 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by AB 483, that would become operative only if this bill and AB 483 are chaptered and become effective January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last.
The Pharmacy Law governs the practice of pharmacy in this state, including the permissible duties of licensed pharmacists. The Pharmacy Law authorizes a pharmacist filling a prescription order for a drug product prescribed by its trade or brand name to select another drug product with the same active chemical ingredients of the same strength, quantity, and dosage form, and of the same generic drug name as determined, as specified, of those drug products having the same active chemical ingredients. A knowing violation of the Pharmacy Law is a misdemeanor. This bill, except as specified, would authorize a pharmacist to select an alternative biological product when filling a prescription order for a prescribed biological product if the alternative biological product is interchangeable, as defined, and the prescriber does not personally indicate in a prescribed manner that a substitution is not to be made. The bill would require a pharmacist or a designee, within a specified period following the dispensing of a biological product, to make an electronically accessible entry in a described entry system of the specific biological product provided to the patient. The bill would provide an alternate means of communicating the name of the biological product dispensed to the prescriber if the pharmacy does not have access to one or more of the described entry systems. The bill would also require that the substitution of a biological product be communicated to the patient. The bill would prohibit a pharmacist from selecting an alternative biological product that meets the requirements of these provisions unless the cost to the patient of the alternative biological product selected is the same or less than the cost of the prescribed biological product. Because a knowing violation of these requirements would be a misdemeanor, the bill would create new crimes, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the California State Board of Pharmacy to maintain on its public Internet Web site a link to the current list, if available, of biological products determined by the federal Food and Drug Administration to be interchangeable. 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.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to retain license plate data captured by license plate recognition (LPR) 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 prohibits the department from selling the data or from making the data available to an agency that is not a law enforcement agency or an individual that is not a law enforcement officer. Existing law authorizes the department to use LPR data for the purpose of locating vehicles or persons reasonably suspected of being involved in the commission of a public offense, and requires the department to monitor the internal use of the data to prevent unauthorized use and to submit to the Legislature, as a part of the annual automobile theft report, information on the department's LPR practices and usage. This bill would impose specified requirements on an "ALPR operator" as defined, including, among others, maintaining reasonable security procedures and practices to protect ALPR information and implementing a usage and privacy policy with respect to that information, as specified. The bill would impose similar requirements on an "ALPR end-user," as defined. The bill would require an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to maintain a specified record of that access and require that ALPR information only be used for authorized purposes. The bill would, in addition to any other sanctions, penalties, or remedies provided by law, authorize an individual who has been harmed by a violation of these provisions to bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against a person who knowingly caused the harm. The bill would require a public agency, as defined, that operates or intends to operate an ALPR system to provide an opportunity for public comment at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing body of the public agency before implementing the program. The bill would also prohibit a public agency from selling, sharing, or transferring ALPR information, except to another public agency, as specified. (2) Existing law requires any agency, and any person or business conducting business in California, that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information, as defined, to disclose in specified ways, any breach of the security of the system or data, as defined, following discovery or notification of the security breach, to any California resident whose unencrypted personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person. Existing law defines "personal information" for these purposes to include an individual's first name and last name, or first initial and last name, in combination with one or more designated data elements relating to, among other things, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial accounts, and medical information. This bill would include information or data collected through the use or operation of an automated license plate recognition system, when that information is not encrypted and is used in combination with an individual's name, in the definition of "personal information" discussed above. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1798.29 of the Civil Code proposed by SB 570 and AB 964 that would become operative if this bill and one or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill also would incorporate additional changes to Section 1798.82 of the Civil Code proposed by SB 570 and AB 964 that would become operative if this bill and one or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law authorizes an adult to give an individual health care instruction and to appoint an attorney to make health care decisions for that individual in the event of his or her incapacity pursuant to a power of attorney for health care. This bill, until January 1, 2026, would enact the End of Life Option Act authorizing an adult who meets certain qualifications, and who has been determined by his or her attending physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, as defined, to make a request for a drug prescribed pursuant to these provisions for the purpose of ending his or her life. The bill would establish the procedures for making these requests. The bill would also establish specified forms to request an aid-in-dying drug, under specified circumstances, an interpreter declaration to be signed subject to penalty of perjury, thereby creating a crime and imposing a state-mandated local program, and a final attestation for an aid-in-dying drug. This bill would require specified information to be documented in the individual's medical record, including, among other things, all oral and written requests for an aid-in-dying drug. This bill would prohibit a provision in a contract, will, or other agreement from being conditioned upon, or affected by, a person making or rescinding a request for the above-described drug. The bill would prohibit the sale, procurement, or issuance of any life, health, or annuity policy, health care service plan contract, or health benefit plan, or the rate charged for any policy or plan contract, from being conditioned upon or affected by the request. The bill would prohibit an insurance carrier from providing any information in communications made to an individual about the availability of an aid-in-dying drug absent a request by the individual or his or her attending physician at the behest of the individual. The bill would also prohibit any communication from containing both the denial of treatment and information as to the availability of aid-in-dying drug coverage. This bill would provide a person, except as provided, immunity from civil or criminal liability solely because the person was present when the qualified individual self-administered the drug, or the person assisted the qualified individual by preparing the aid-in-dying drug so long as the person did not assist with the ingestion of the drug, and would specify that the immunities and prohibitions on sanctions of a health care provider are solely reserved for conduct of a health care provider provided for by the bill. The bill would make participation in activities authorized pursuant to its provisions voluntary, and would make health care providers immune from liability for refusing to engage in activities authorized pursuant to its provisions. The bill would also authorize a health care provider to prohibit its employees, independent contractors, or other persons or entities, including other health care providers, from participating in activities under the act while on the premises owned or under the management or direct control of that prohibiting health care provider, or while acting within the course and scope of any employment by, or contract with, the prohibiting health care provider. This bill would make it a felony to knowingly alter or forge a request for drugs to end an individual's life without his or her authorization or to conceal or destroy a withdrawal or rescission of a request for a drug, if it is done with the intent or effect of causing the individual's death. The bill would make it a felony to knowingly coerce or exert undue influence on an individual to request a drug for the purpose of ending his or her life, to destroy a withdrawal or rescission of a request, or to administer an aid-in-dying drug to an individual without their knowledge or consent. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that nothing in its provisions is to be construed to authorize ending a patient's life by lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia, and would provide that action taken in accordance with the act shall not constitute, among other things, suicide or homicide. This bill would require physicians to submit specified forms and information to the State Department of Public Health after writing a prescription for an aid-in-dying drug and after the death of an individual who requested an aid-in-dying drug. The bill would authorize the Medical Board of California to update those forms and would require the State Department of Public Health to publish the forms on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department to annually review a sample of certain information and records, make a statistical report of the information collected, and post that report to its Internet Web site. 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, the California Finance Lenders Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders by the Commissioner of Business Oversight and makes a willful violation of its provisions a crime. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2018, the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans for the purpose of allowing greater access for responsible installment loans in principal amounts of at least $300 and less than $2,500 administered by the commissioner. Existing law authorizes a licensee in the program to use the services of finders, as defined, to bring licensees and prospective borrowers together, at the finder's place of business, for the purpose of negotiating loan contracts, subject to a written agreement meeting specified requirements. This bill would expand the services that a finder, licensed or regulated under prescribed provisions of law, is authorized to perform to include, among other things, disbursement of loan proceeds to, and receipt of loan payments from, the borrower. This bill would require the licensee to develop and implement policies and procedures designed to respond to questions raised by applicants and borrowers regarding their loans, including those involving finders. Existing law establishes a maximum finder's fee of $45 per loan for the first 40 loans originated at the finder's location per month, and $40 per loan for loans thereafter during that month. This bill would delete those maximums and would authorize payment of finder compensation for certain services pursuant to a schedule that is mutually agreed to by the licensee and the finder, not to exceed $65 per loan, plus $2 per payment received by the finder on behalf of the licensee for the duration of the loan when the finder receives borrower loan payments on the licensee's behalf, as specified. The bill would require, if a loan applicant has questions that the finder is not permitted to answer, the finder to assist an applicant in making direct contact with the lender before the loan is consummated, and would require the licensee to ensure that a loan is not consummated until the licensee completes a 2-way communication, as defined, with the applicant. The bill would require a licensee to provide the commissioner with prescribed information relating to each finder, including, but not limited to, the finder's delinquency rate and default rate, and would authorize the commissioner to take prescribed action against a finder upon determination that it would be warranted by reported data, including, but not limited to, disqualifying the finder from providing services under the pilot program. Because a willful violation of these provisions would be 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.
The Nursing Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires the board to appoint an executive officer to perform duties delegated by the board. Existing law repeals those provisions establishing the board and the executive officer position on January 1, 2016. This bill would extend the repeal date to January 1, 2018. The act authorizes the board to take disciplinary action against a certified or licensed nurse or to deny an application for a certificate or license for certain reasons, including unprofessional conduct. Existing law establishes the California State Auditor's Office, which is headed by the California State Auditor, to conduct financial and performance audits as directed by statute. This bill would require the board, by February 1, 2016, to contract with the California State Auditor's Office to conduct a performance audit of the board's enforcement program, as specified. The bill would require the board to reimburse the office for the cost of the performance audit. The bill would require the office to report the results of the audit to the Governor, the department, and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2017. The bill would require the board's staff and management to cooperate with the office and provide the office with access to data, case files, employees, and information. The act authorizes any person who has served on active duty in the medical corps of the Armed Forces of the United States and who successfully completed the course of instruction to qualify him or her for rating as a medical service technician—independent duty, or other equivalent rating, and whose service in the Armed Forces was under honorable conditions to submit the record of that training to the board for evaluation. The act requires the board to grant a license to that person if he or she meets specified qualifications and the board determines that his or her education would give reasonable assurance of competence to practice as a registered nurse in this state. The act requires the board to maintain records of those applicants, including, but not limited to, applicants who are rejected from examination. This bill would repeal those provisions. The act requires the board to maintain a list of approved schools or programs of nursing in this state, as specified, and provides that an approved school or program of nursing is one that has been approved by the board and meets certain academic requirements. The act requires the board to deny an application for approval of, and to revoke the approval given to, any school of nursing that does not give student applicants credit for previous education and the opportunity to obtain credit for other acquired knowledge by the use of challenge examinations or other methods of evaluation. This bill would require the board to deny or revoke approval of a school of nursing that does not give student applicants credit in the field of nursing for military education and experience by the use of challenge examinations or other methods of evaluation. The bill would require the board, by January 1, 2017, to adopt regulations requiring schools seeking approval to have a process to evaluate and grant credit, as defined, for military education and experience. The bill would require the board to review a school's policies and practices regarding granting credit for military education and experience at least once every 5 years to ensure consistency in evaluation and application across schools. The bill would require the board to post on its Internet Web site information related to the acceptance of military coursework and experience at each approved school.
(1) Existing law, on and after January 1, 2016, requires any person operating a modified limousine that is modified prior to July 1, 2015, to ensure that the vehicle is equipped with at least 2 rear side doors and one or 2 rear windows that the rear seat passengers or all passengers of the vehicle may open from the inside of the vehicle in case of any fire or other emergency, as specified. Under this bill, the requirement that those modified limousines be equipped with one or 2 rear windows would instead apply on and after January 1, 2017. The bill would make other nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. (2) Existing law requires, not later than July 1, 2016, the Department of the California Highway Patrol to implement a program to conduct safety inspections of modified limousine terminals that are operated by passenger stage corporations pursuant to the Public Utilities Act or by charter-party carriers of passengers pursuant to the Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act. This bill would extend the operative date of the safety inspection program to July 1, 2017.