Sen. Jim Beall

(1) Existing law, the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. Existing law provides for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. This bill would repeal these provisions. (2) Under existing law, various measures have been approved by the voters to provide funds for water supply and protection facilities and programs. Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 84 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $5,388,000,000 for the purposes of financing safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements. Existing law, the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006, approved by the voters as Proposition 1E at the November 7, 2006, general statewide election, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $4,090,000,000 for the purposes of financing disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects. Existing law, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 50 at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, authorizes, for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality, and water reliability program, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,440,000,000. Existing law, the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000, approved by the voters as Proposition 13 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $1,970,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, clean water, watershed protection, and flood protection program. Existing law, the Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act, approved by the voters as Proposition 204 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $995,000,000 for the purposes of financing a safe, clean, reliable water supply program. Existing law, the Water Conservation and Water Quality Bond Law of 1986, approved by the voters as Proposition 44 at the June 3, 1986, statewide primary election, authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $150,000,000 for the purposes of financing a water conservation and water quality program. This bill would enact the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,120,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill, upon voter approval, would reallocate $425,000,000 of the unissued bonds authorized for the purposes of Propositions 1E, 13, 44, 50, 84, and 204 to finance the purposes of a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill would provide for the submission of these provisions to the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law created the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) as an independent public entity in the state government, not affiliated with an agency or department. The Exchange is governed by an executive board consisting of 5 members who are residents of California. Of the members of the board, 2 are appointed by the Governor, one is appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one is appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. The Secretary of California Health and Human Services or his or her designee serves as a voting, ex officio member of the board. Each person appointed to the board is required to have demonstrated and acknowledged expertise in at least 2 listed areas, including, but not limited to, individual health care coverage, health care finance, and purchasing health plan coverage. This bill would add marketing of health insurance products, information technology system management, management information systems, and enrollment counseling assistance, with priority to cultural and linguistic competency, to the list of areas of expertise.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law also provides for the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program (Drug Medi-Cal) , under which each county enters into contracts with the State Department of Health Care Services to provide various drug treatment services to Medi-Cal recipients, or the department directly arranges to provide these services if a county elects not to do so. For purposes of Drug Medi-Cal, existing law requires that the maximum allowable rate for group outpatient drug free services be set on a per person basis and requires that a group consist of a minimum of 4, and a maximum of 10, individuals, at least one of which must be a Medi-Cal eligible beneficiary. This bill would instead require a group to consist of a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 12 individuals, at least one of which is a Medi-Cal eligible beneficiary. The bill would also require, if one of the individuals in a 2-member group is ineligible for Medi-Cal, that the individual who is ineligible for Medi-Cal be receiving outpatient drug free services for a substance abuse disorder diagnosed by a physician.

This measure would urge the United States Congress to enact legislation that would establish reasonable deadlines for the prohibition of the testing and marketing of cosmetic products that have been tested on animals. The measure would also urge the federal government to mandate alternative methods to animal testing of cosmetic products and to prioritize the validation and acceptance of additional nonanimal tests.

This measure would proclaim the Legislature's support for the extension of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and would memorialize the United States Congress to promptly renew the extension of unemployment benefits.

This measure would designate April 2014 as Autism Awareness Month and would encourage residents to show support for autism awareness by lighting their homes, businesses, schools, and places of worship with blue light bulbs.