Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a statewide system for the collection of information determining the incidence of cancer known as the Ken Maddy California Cancer Registry. Existing law authorizes the department to designate any demographic parts of the state as regional cancer incidence reporting areas and establish regional cancer registries to provide cancer incidence data. Under existing law, all cancers diagnosed or treated in the reported area are required to be reported to the representative of the department authorized to compile that data, or any other person or entity designated to cooperate with that representative. Existing regulations require cancer reporting facilities and physicians to employ a mechanism to ensure that their patients are informed that the facility will report each patient with cancer to the State Department of Public Health as required by law. Under existing law, health care practitioners, including, among others, physicians and surgeons, and any hospital or other facility providing diagnostic or treatment services to patients with cancer are required to grant to the department or the authorized representative access to all records that would identify cases of cancer or would establish characteristics of the cancer, treatment of the cancer, or medical status of any identified cancer patient. All information collected pursuant to those provisions is generally required to be kept confidential. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into agreements to furnish confidential information to specified persons and entities, including other states' cancer registries, local health officers, and health researchers. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to inform a patient diagnosed with cancer by, or receiving cancer therapy treatment from, a specified health care practitioner, or a hospital or other facility within an area designated as a cancer reporting area of the reporting requirement, and would require the department to also notify a patient of specified information, including, among other things, that the department is authorized to release confidential patient information to health researchers. The bill would prohibit cancer reporting facilities and physicians from being required to employ a mechanism to ensure that their patients are informed that the facility will report each patient with cancer to the State Department of Public Health. This bill would require the department to notify the patient, in a cost-effective manner, within 6 months of his or her case being reported to the department.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the "Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights," which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to assure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain sexual assault offenses, if the identity of the perpetrator is in issue, if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits. This bill instead would, with respect to specific sex offenses, encourage a law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the sexual assault offense occurred to submit sexual assault forensic evidence received by the agency on or after January 1, 2016, to the crime lab within 20 days after it is booked into evidence, and ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program, as defined, is in place to submit forensic evidence collected from the victim of a sexual assault to the crime lab within 5 days after the evidence is obtained from the victim. The bill would also encourage the crime lab, with respect to sexual assault forensic evidence received by the lab on or after January 1, 2016, to process that evidence, create DNA profiles when able, and upload qualifying DNA profiles into the Combined DNA Index System as soon as practically possible, but no later than 120 days after initially receiving the evidence, or to transmit the sexual assault forensic evidence to another crime lab as soon as practically possible, but no later than 30 days after initially receiving the evidence, as specified. The bill would also revise the provisions requiring a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain sexual assault offenses, to make the requirement applicable without regard to whether the identity of the perpetrator is in issue, if the law enforcement agency does not analyze DNA evidence, and to require those entities to notify the victims within 6 months of the time limits established under existing law. By imposing a higher level of service on local law enforcement agencies, 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law requires all bond issues proposed by a county, city and county, city, district, or other political subdivision, or by any agency, department, or board thereof, to be submitted to the voters for approval. Existing law requires all official materials for the bond issue proposal to contain a statement of specified tax rate data. This bill would require the statement to include the best estimate from official sources of the total debt service that would be required to be repaid if all the bonds are issued and sold.
Under existing law, prosecution for specified felony sex offenses, including rape, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and acts of sexual penetration, that are alleged to have been committed when the victim was under 18 years of age, may be commenced at any time prior to the victim's 28th birthday. This bill would authorize prosecution of those crimes at any time prior to the victim's 40th birthday when the crime was committed on or after January 1, 2015, or for which the previous statute of limitations has not run as of January 1, 2015.
The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practices Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations, as defined, unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act authorizes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to exempt from some or all of those provisions of the act a person engaging in specified forest management activities including the cutting or removal of trees in compliance with existing law relating to defensible space that eliminates the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials and maintaining a fuel break for a distance of no more than 150 feet on each side from an approved and legally permitted structure, as provided. This bill would, until no later than January 1, 2019, also authorize the board to exempt from some or all of those provisions of the act a person engaged in forest management whose activities are limited to the cutting or removal of trees on the person's property in compliance with existing law relating to defensible space that eliminates the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials and maintaining a fuel break for a distance of no more than 300 feet on each side from an approved and legally permitted habitable structure, as provided. The bill would require the board to adopt regulations to implement the above provisions no later than January 1, 2016. The bill would require the department to evaluate the effects of these provisions and to report its recommendations, no later than January 1, 2019, to the Legislature based on that evaluation.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 provides the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Industrial Relations with the power, jurisdiction, and supervision over all employment and places of employment necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and to protect employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations by January 1, 2016, to convene an advisory committee, composed as specified, to evaluate whether changes are needed to align certain safety orders relating to personal protective clothing and equipment for firefighters with standards promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) . The bill would require the committee to present its findings and recommendations to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board by July 1, 2016, and require the board no later than July 1, 2017, to render a decision regarding the adoption of changes to the safety orders, or other applicable standards and regulations, in order to maintain alignment with the NFPA standards. The bill would require the board, by July 1, 2018, and every 5 years thereafter, to complete a comprehensive review of all revisions to NFPA standards pertaining to personal protective equipment, as specified, and if the review finds that the revisions to applicable standards provide a greater degree of personal protection than the safety orders, the bill would require the board to consider modifying existing safety orders and to render a decision in that regard, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires the board of governors to appoint a chief executive officer, to be known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts, administered by governing boards, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts. Existing law requires community colleges to offer instruction through, but not beyond, the 2nd year of college and authorizes community colleges to grant associate degrees in arts and science. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2015, authorize the board of governors, in consultation with the California State University and the University of California, to establish a statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program at not more than 15 community college districts, with one baccalaureate degree program each, to be determined by the chancellor and approved by the board of governors. The bill would prohibit each participating district from offering more than one baccalaureate degree program within the district, as specified. The bill would require a district baccalaureate degree pilot program to commence by the beginning of the 2017–18 academic year, and would require a student participating in a baccalaureate degree pilot program to complete his or her degree by the end of the 2022–23 academic year. The bill would require participating community college districts to meet specified requirements, including, but not limited to, offering baccalaureate degree programs and program curricula not offered by the California State University or the University of California, and in subject areas with unmet workforce needs, as specified. This bill would also require the governing board of a participating community college district to submit certain items for review by the chancellor and approval by the board of governors, including, among other things, the administrative plan for the baccalaureate degree pilot program and documentation of consultation with the California State University and the University of California. The bill would provide that the Legislative Analyst's Office shall conduct both a statewide interim evaluation and a statewide final evaluation of the statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program implemented under this article, as specified, and report to the Legislature and Governor, in writing, the results of the interim evaluation on or before July 1, 2018, and the results of the final evaluation on or before July 1, 2022. The bill would provide that on or before March 31, 2015, the board of governors shall develop, and adopt by regulation, a funding model for the support of the statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program, as specified. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2023, and would repeal the provisions on January 1, 2024.
Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation is in full possession and control of the state highway system. Existing law provides for placement of signs on state highways, as specified. This bill would require the department to erect, at appropriate locations on highways in the state highway system, generic directional signs to each Veterans' Home of California, upon receiving funds from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost.
Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of the Veterans Home of California at various sites for aged and disabled veterans who meet certain eligibility requirements. Existing law requires members of the homes to pay fees and charges as determined by the department, but prohibits the total of the member's fees and charges for specified types of care for any fiscal year to be greater than a certain percentage of the member's annual income. Existing law also requires nonveteran spouses who become members of the home on or after July 1, 2009, to pay fees and charges based on the level of care, as specified, or an amount equal to the annual amount of federal per diem received for a veteran member in domiciliary care, whichever is greater, as provided. This bill would instead require nonveteran spouses to pay the same fees and charges as paid by the veteran members of the home, as determined by the department and subject to the same prohibitions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1012.3 of the Military and Veterans Code proposed by AB 614 that would become operative if this bill and AB 614 are both chaptered and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law, the Private Investigator Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of private investigators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services within the Department of Consumer Affairs and makes a violation of the licensing requirements a crime. Existing law defines a person, for purposes of the act, to include any individual, firm, company, association, organization, partnership, and corporation. Under existing law, a license is not assignable. Existing law, the California Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, governs the formation and operation of limited liability companies. The act authorizes a limited liability company to engage in any lawful business activity, except as specified, but prohibits construing the act to permit a limited liability company to render professional services, as defined. Existing law authorizes a limited liability company to render services that may be lawfully rendered only pursuant to a license, certificate, or registration authorized by the Business and Professions Code if the provisions of that code authorize a limited liability company to hold that license, certificate, or registration. This bill, until January 1, 2018, would authorize the bureau to issue a private investigator license to a limited liability company and would make related conforming changes. The bill would require a limited liability company applicant for a private investigator license to provide specified information to the bureau, including the true name and complete residence address of each of the managing members and any other officers or members who will be active in the business. The bill would require a limited liability company, as a condition of licensure, to maintain liability insurance, as specified, for damages arising out of claims based on acts, errors, or omissions arising out of the private investigator services it provides. The bill would require a Certificate of Liability Insurance, as specified, to be submitted to the bureau, and would require the insurer issuing the certificate to report specified information to the bureau related to the policy. The bill would authorize suspension, as provided, of the license of a licensee that fails to maintain sufficient insurance, or fails to provide proof of the required insurance upon request by the bureau, and would render each member of the limited liability company personally liable, up to $1,000,000 each, for damages resulting to 3rd parties in connection with the company's performance during the period of suspension, as specified. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize a licensee to apply to the Chief of the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to assign a license, as provided, to another business entity, upon receipt of consent by the chief and the payment of a processing fee not to exceed $125. 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.