Existing law prohibits a driver of a motor vehicle from following another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of the vehicle and the traffic upon, and the condition of, the roadway. This bill would require a determination of a reasonable and prudent distance between 2 vehicles, for those purposes, to take into account presence of vehicle automation technology, as described. Existing law requires motor vehicles being driven in a caravan or motorcade outside of a business or residence district to be operated so as to allow sufficient space, and in no event less than 100 feet, between each vehicle or combination of vehicles so as to enable any other vehicle to overtake or pass. This bill would provide that a caravan or motorcade consists of 3 or more motor vehicles. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
This measure would recognize that pancreatic cancer statistics call for aggressive measures now to develop early detection and treatment tools before the incidence dramatically increases, and would proclaim November 2015 as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in California.
This measure would designate the month of April 2015 as Autism Awareness Month and would encourage residents to show support for autism awareness.
This act would proclaim the month of April 2015 as Black April Memorial Month, in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.
Existing law prescribes the duties of the Department of Human Resources, which include the administration of salaries, hours, and other aspects of the state's personnel system. Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class of position in the state civil service, subject to merit limits and except as specified. Existing law requires the salary range to be based on the principle that like salaries be paid for comparable duties and responsibilities. This bill would require the Department of Human Resources to address salary compaction and parity in determining salaries for supervisory and managerial employees. The bill would also require the department, if it determines that revenues do not allow the department to implement a salary determination to increase any excluded and exempt employee salaries in a given year, to provide to the Legislature certain data on the salary determination.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, 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 law provides for the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which, either through employment by the recipient, or by or through contract by the county, qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons receive services enabling them to remain in their own homes. Under existing law, county welfare departments are required to provide visually impaired applicants and recipients with information on, and referral services to, entities that provide reading services to visually impaired persons. Existing law defines "supportive services" for purposes of the IHSS program. This bill would include within the definition of supportive services assistance in reading and completing financial and other documents essential for completing activities of daily living for a recipient of services under the IHSS program who is blind or visually impaired, or who has another disability that significantly impairs his or her ability to read. By expanding the scope of available services under the IHSS program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the Director of Health Care Services to seek any federal approvals necessary to ensure that Medicaid funds may be used in implementing this provision. 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 establishes various health research grant programs, including the Cancer Research Program, the Breast Cancer Research Program, and the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program. This bill, the California Blueprint for Research to Advance Innovations in Neuroscience (Cal-BRAIN) Act of 2014, would request the Regents of the University of California to establish the Cal-BRAIN program to leverage California's research assets and the federal BRAIN Initiative's funding opportunities to accelerate the development of brain mapping techniques, including the development of new technologies, in order to achieve certain goals. The bill would additionally request the University of California to convene certain stakeholders to develop a governing structure for the Cal-BRAIN program designed to do specified tasks, and to provide information about the program through an Internet Web site. These provisions would only be implemented to the extent that adequate funding is appropriated to the University of California, as specified.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, including the licensing and regulation of health facilities, which include general acute care hospitals. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a special permit authorizing a health facility to offer one or more special services when specified requirements are met. Existing law provides for the application by general acute care hospitals for supplemental services approval and requires the department to, upon issuance and renewal of a license for certain health facilities, separately identify on the license each supplemental service. Existing law requires a hospital to report specified summary financial and utilization data to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) within 45 days of the end of the every calendar quarter. This bill would require a general acute care hospital that provides observation services, as defined, in an observation unit, as defined, to apply for approval from the department to provide these services either as supplemental services or under a special permit. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for the provision of observation services in an observation unit under a special permit and as a supplemental service under the general acute care hospital's license. The bill would additionally set forth standards that apply to a hospital when providing observation services, generally, and, more specifically, to a hospital when providing observation services in an observation unit. The bill would require hospitals to include certain data relating to observation service visits and total observation service gross revenues in the reports filed with OSHPD. Because a violation of these provisions by a health facility 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.
Existing law, the Safe Place to Learn Act, requires the State Department of Education to assess whether local educational agencies have taken certain actions related to educational equity, including adopting a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on specified characteristics such as disability, gender, gender identity, race, or sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of the specified characteristics and adopting a process for receiving and investigating complaints of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on the specified characteristics. Existing law, the Interagency School Safety Demonstration Act of 1985 (the act) , requires certain schoolsite councils to develop a comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular school. The act requires the comprehensive school safety plan to identify appropriate strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety, including the development of a discrimination and harassment policy consistent with the Safe Place to Learn Act. The act also requires each school to forward its comprehensive school safety plan to the school district or county office of education for approval. This bill would require each local educational agency to develop and implement a policy against bullying, as specified, which includes, at a minimum, a procedure for referring victims of bullying to counseling, mental health, or other health services as appropriate; mandatory training for certificated employees on the prevention, and addressing, of bullying; and a procedure for the documentation of all incidents of bullying that take place within the local educational agency as well as the responsive actions taken, if any. The bill would require the local educational agency to report the documentation of the bullying incidents to the department, as provided. By requiring local educational agencies to develop and implement a bullying policy and to report certain information to the department, this bill would increase the duties of local school officials and thereby 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.