Sen. Jim Beall

Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (the Greene Act) , requires the State Allocation Board to allocate to applicant school districts prescribed per-unhoused-pupil state funding for construction and modernization of school facilities, including hardship funding and supplemental funding for site development and acquisition. This bill, on and after July 1, 2011, would require all new construction projects submitted to the Division of the State Architect pursuant to the Greene Act to include locks that allow doors to classrooms and rooms with an occupancy of 5 or more persons to be locked from the inside, except as specified.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Under existing law, a health care service plan contract and a health insurance policy are required to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of severe mental illnesses of a person of any age. Existing law does not define "severe mental illnesses" for this purpose but describes it as including several conditions. This bill would expand this coverage requirement for certain health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2011, to include the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness of a person of any age and would define mental illness for this purpose as a mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV, including substance abuse but excluding nicotine dependence and specified diagnoses defined in the manual, subject to regulatory revision, as specified. The bill would specify that this requirement does not apply to a health care benefit plan, contract, or health insurance policy with the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System unless the board elects to purchase a plan, contract, or policy that provides mental health coverage. Because this bill would expand coverage requirements for health care service plans, the willful violation of which would be a crime, it 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 establishes the California State University and its various campuses under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University. Existing law requires the California State University to offer undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education, including teacher education. This bill, until July 1, 2018, would authorize the California State University to establish a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program at 3 campuses chosen by the Board of Trustees to award the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. The bill would distinguish the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the doctor of philosophy degree offered at the University of California. The bill would require the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program to be designed to enable professionals to earn the degree while working full time, train nurses for advanced practice, and prepare clinical faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing programs. The bill would require the California State University to enroll and maintain no more than 90 full-time equivalent students in the degree pilot program at all 3 campuses combined. The bill would require initial funding to come from existing budgets, without diminishing the quality of undergraduate programs or reducing enrollment therein. The bill would require the California State University, the Legislative Analyst's Office, and the Department of Finance to jointly conduct a statewide evaluation of the degree pilot program and report the results to the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1, 2017.

Existing law authorizes the Employment Development Department to administer the disability compensation program. Existing law requires the department, among other duties, to make disability benefit payments by checks drawn on a specified bank, as provided. The bill would remove the requirement to pay by check and thus allow the director to make these payments using electronic technology. Existing law requires a claim for disability benefits to be supported by a certification of a treating physician or practitioner, and defines a practitioner as a person duly licensed or certified in California acting within the scope of his or her license or certification who is a dentist, podiatrist, or as to normal pregnancy or childbirth, a midwife, nurse midwife, or a nurse practitioner. This bill would modify the definition of practitioner, as prescribed. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law prohibits the purchase, receipt, possession, or control of firearms for a period of 5 years by persons that have been admitted to a mental health facility on the basis of their being a threat to themselves or others or as a result of being certified for intensive treatment. Existing law requires a mental health facility that admits a person described above to immediately report specified information to the Department of Justice with respect to the person. This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2012, that those reports be submitted electronically, as specified.

(1) Existing law provides for various programs to encourage the participation of small businesses and disabled veteran business enterprises, as certified by the Department of General Services, in state agency contracts. Existing law revokes, for a specified period, the small business or microbusiness certification of a business that obtained the classification as a small business or microbusiness by reason of having furnished incorrect supporting information or withholding relevant information, and suspends that business from transacting with the state, as specified. Existing law extends the period of revocation and suspension for additional or subsequent violations and requires the business to pay specified costs to the state related to the contract. This bill would increase the period of certification revocation and suspension for these violations, revoke the disabled veteran business enterprise certification of the business if the business has both certifications, revise the types of costs payable to the state, and additionally prohibit a business or person from contracting with the state until the amounts are paid. (2) Existing law also revokes, for a specified period, the small business or microbusiness or disabled veteran business enterprise certification of a person who, among other activities, fraudulently attempts to become certified as a disabled veteran business enterprise or as a small business or microbusiness and imposes civil penalties upon those persons. Existing law additionally suspends, for a specified period, that person from bidding on or participating in any state contract or project. Existing law extends the period of revocation and suspension for additional and subsequent violations, and requires the person to pay specified costs to the state related to the contract. This bill would increase the period of certification revocation and suspension for these violations, and would revoke both certifications for these violations if a business is certified both as a small business or microbusiness enterprise and a disabled veteran business enterprise. This bill would impose civil penalties against any person who knowingly and fraudulently represents that a commercially useful function is being performed by a disabled veteran business enterprise in order to obtain or retain a bid preference or a state contract, and would subject that person to revocation of the disabled veteran business enterprise certification and suspension from bidding on or participating in any state contract or project for a specified period. This bill would additionally authorize an awarding department and contractor to terminate a contract if the contractor knowingly and fraudulently represents that a commercially useful function is being performed by a disabled veteran business enterprise or by a small business or microbusiness, and require the awarding department and the Controller to set off penalties and costs awarded to the state against payments due to the contractor, as specified. This bill would require persons or businesses found to have obtained small business or disabled veteran business enterprise certification by fraudulent or improper means to pay costs incurred by the awarding department or the Department of General Services, as specified.

Existing law provides for the regulation of various professions and vocations, including those of an athlete agent. This bill would make it unlawful for any person to hold himself or herself out as a certified athletic trainer unless he or she has been certified by the Board of Certification, Inc., and has either graduated from a college or university, after completing an accredited athletic training education program, as specified, or completed requirements for certification by the Board of Certification, Inc., prior to January 1, 2004. The bill would make it an unfair business practice to violate these provisions.

This measure would recognize September 2010 as Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in California, in order to raise awareness of the importance of substance use disorders treatment and to help those suffering from substance use disorders and their families to receive treatment.

This measure would recognize March 31, 2010, as the anniversary of the birth of César Chávez, and would call upon all Californians to participate in appropriate observances to remember César Chávez as a symbol of hope and justice to all persons.

This measure would recognize the contributions of the automotive aftermarket to the state and consumers and its efforts to educate the motoring public about the benefits of proper vehicle maintenance. The measure also would recognize and support the designation of April as National Car Care Month and encourage all citizens to participate in activities that promote proper vehicle maintenance.