Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, regulates the practice of telemedicine, defined as the practice of health care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of medical data, and education using interactive audio, video, or data communications. Existing law, until January 1, 2013, authorizes "teleophthalmology and teledermatology by store and forward" under the Medi-Cal program, to the extent that federal financial participation is available. Existing law defines "teleophthalmology and teledermatology by store and forward" as an asynchronous transmission of medical information to be reviewed at a later time by a physician at a distant site who is trained in ophthalmology or dermatology, where the physician at the distant site reviews the medical information without the patient being present in real time. This bill would expand the definition of "teleophthalmology and teledermatology by store and forward" to include an asynchronous transmission of medical information to be reviewed at a later time, for teleophthalmology, by a licensed optometrist.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards and bureaus within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires certain boards and bureaus to disclose on the Internet information on licensees. This bill would require the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau to disclose on the Internet information on specified licensees. (2) Under existing law, if, upon investigation, any of a list of specified state regulatory agencies has probable cause to believe that a person is advertising in a telephone directory with respect to the offering or performance of services, without being properly licensed by or registered with that agency, the agency is authorized to issue a specified citation. This bill would add the Physical Therapy Board of California to those authorized agencies. Existing law requires specified healing arts boards to report to the State Department of Health Care Services the name and license number of a person whose license has been revoked, suspended, surrendered, made inactive, or otherwise restricted, and requires specified healing arts boards to create and maintain a central file of the names of all persons who hold a license from the board, and to prescribe and promulgate written complaint forms, as specified. This bill would also subject the California Board of Occupational Therapy to these requirements, and would subject the Acupuncture Board to the requirement to create and maintain a central file of the names of its licensees and to prescribe and promulgate written complaint forms, as specified. (3) Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered dental hygienists, registered dental hygienists in alternative practice, registered dental hygienists in extended functions, and registered dental assistants, among others. Existing law authorizes a person holding a license as a registered dental hygienist, registered dental hygienist in alternative practice, or registered dental hygienist in extended functions as of July 1, 2009, to perform the duties of a registered dental assistant, and requires persons issued one of those licenses on or after July 1, 2009, to also receive a registered dental assistant license before performing the duties of a registered dental assistant. This bill would instead authorize a person holding a license as a registered dental hygienist, registered dental hygienist in alternative practice, or registered dental hygienist in extended functions as of December 31, 2005, to perform the duties of a registered dental assistant, and would require persons issued one of those licenses on or after January 1, 2006, to also receive a registered dental assistant license before performing the duties of a registered dental assistant. (4) Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California. The act requires each applicant for a physician and surgeon's license to meet specified training and examinations requirements, authorizes the appointment of examination commissioners, requires that examinations be conducted in English, except as specified, allows the examinations to be conducted in specified locations, requires notice of examinations to contain certain information, and requires examination records to be kept on file for a period of 2 years or more. The act authorizes a person whose certificate has been surrendered, revoked, suspended, or placed on probation, as specified, to petition for reinstatement of the certificate or modification of the penalty if specified requirements are met. Under existing law, any person who meets certain eligibility requirements, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the person is academically eminent, as defined, may apply for a special faculty permit that authorizes the holder to practice medicine, without a physician's and surgeon's certificate, within the medical school itself and certain affiliated institutions. This bill would revise the training requirements for a physician and surgeon's license, and would delete the requirement of passage of a clinical competency examination that is applicable to certain applicants. The bill would delete the provisions related to the appointment of examination commissioners, examinations being conducted in English and examination interpreters, the location of examinations, and examination notices. The bill would also delete the requirement that the board keep examination records on file for at least 2 years, and would instead require the board to keep state examination records on file until June 2070. The bill would revise the requirements for a petition for reinstatement or modification, as specified. The bill would require the holder of a special faculty permit to meet the same continuing medical education requirements as the holder of a physician's and surgeon's certificate and would also require a special faculty permitholder to show that he or she meets these requirements at the time of permit renewal. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of podiatrists by the Board of Podiatric Medicine in the Medical Board of California. Existing law authorizes the Board of Podiatric Medicine to issue an order of nonadoption of a proposed decision or interim order of the Medical Quality Hearing Panel within 90 calendar days. Existing law requires an applicant for a certificate to practice podiatric medicine to meet specified application procedures. This bill would instead authorize the Board of Podiatric Medicine to issue an order of nonadoption of a proposed decision or interim order of the Medical Quality Hearing Panel within 100 calendar days. The bill would revise the application procedures for a certificate to practice podiatric medicine, as specified. (5) Existing law, the Occupational Therapy Practice Act, provides for the licensure of occupational therapists and the certification of occupational therapy assistants by the California Board of Occupational Therapy. Existing law requires an occupational therapist to document his or her evaluation, goals, treatment plan, and summary of treatment in the patient record. Existing law authorizes a limited permit to practice occupational therapy to be granted if specified education and examination requirements are met, but provides that if the person fails to qualify for or pass the first announced licensure examination, all limited permit privileges automatically cease upon due notice. Existing law requires an applicant applying for a license or certification to file with the board a written application provided by and satisfactory to the board, showing that he or she meets certain requirements, including, but not limited to, successful completion of an educational program's academic requirements approved by the board and accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association's Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) and successful completion of a period of supervised fieldwork experience. Existing law also specifies the curriculum requirements for an education program for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants. This bill would require an occupational therapy assistant to document in the patient record the services provided to the patient, and would require an occupational therapist or assistant to document and sign the patient record legibly. The bill would revise the provisions related to limited permit privileges to instead provide that a person's failure to pass the licensure examination during the initial eligibility period would cause the privileges to automatically cease upon due notice. The bill would require that the applicant successfully complete the educational program's academic requirements approved by the board and accredited by ACOTE, or accredited or approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA) predecessor organization, or approved by AOTA's Career Mobility Program. The bill would also revise those curriculum requirements for an educational program. The bill would authorize an applicant who is a graduate of an educational program and is unable to provide evidence of having met the curriculum requirements to demonstrate passage of a specified examination as evidence of having successfully satisfied the curriculum requirements. The bill would require an applicant who completed AOTA's Career Mobility Program to demonstrate participation in the program and passage of a specified examination as evidence of having successfully satisfied the educational program and curriculum requirements. The bill would revise the supervised fieldwork experience requirement. The bill would require a licensee to report to the board violations of the Occupational Therapy Practice Act by licensees or applicants for licensure and to cooperate with the board, as specified. (6) Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law authorizes a registered nurse whose license is revoked or suspended, or who is placed on probation, to petition for reinstatement of his or her license or modification of the penalty after a specified time period. This bill would require a petition by a registered nurse whose initial license application is subject to a disciplinary decision to be filed after a specified time period from the date upon which his or her initial license was issued. Existing law provides for the certification and regulation of nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives by the Board of Registered Nursing and specifies requirements for qualification or certification as a nurse practitioner. Under the act, the practice of nursing is defined, in part, as providing direct and indirect patient care services, as specified, including the dispensing of drugs or devices under specified circumstances. The practice of nursing is also described as the implementation, based on observed abnormalities, of standardized procedures, defined as policies and protocols developed by specified facilities in collaboration with administrators and health professionals, including physicians and surgeons and nurses. This bill would authorize the implementation of standardized procedures that would expand the duties of a nurse practitioner in the scope of his or her practice, as enumerated. The bill would make specified findings and declarations in that regard. (7) Existing law, the Physician Assistant Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of physician's assistants by the Physician Assistant Committee of the Medical Board of California. Existing law authorizes the committee to grant interim approval to an applicant for licensure as a physician assistant. This bill would delete that authority to grant interim approval and would make conforming changes. (8) Existing law, the Naturopathic Doctors Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of naturopathic doctors by the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine. Existing law requires licensees to obtain continuing education through specified continuing education courses. Existing law requires a licensee on inactive status to meet certain requirements in order to restore his or her license to active status, including paying a reactivation fee. This bill would revise the standards for continuing education courses. The bill would delete the requirement that a licensee on inactive status pay a reactivation fee in order to restore his or her license to active status, and would instead require him or her to be current with all licensing fees. (9) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of respiratory care practitioners by the Respiratory Care Board of California. Existing law authorizes the board to direct a practitioner or applicant who is found to have violated the law to pay a sum not to exceed the costs of investigation and prosecution. This bill would also authorize the board to direct a practitioner or applicant who is found to have violated a term or condition of board probation to pay a sum not to exceed the costs for investigation and prosecution. Existing law exempts certain healing arts practitioners from liability for specified services rendered during a state of war, state of emergency, or local emergency. This bill would also exempt respiratory care practitioners from liability for the provision of specified services rendered during a state of war, state of emergency, or local emergency. (10) Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, the knowing violation of which is a crime, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacies by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law authorizes a pharmacy to furnish dangerous drugs only to specified persons or entities, and subjects certain pharmacies and persons who violate the provision to specified fines. This bill would provide that any violation of this provision by any person or entity would subject the person to the fine. Existing law prohibits a person from acting as a wholesaler of any dangerous drug or device without a license from the board. Existing law requires a nonresident wholesaler, as defined, to be licensed prior to shipping, mailing, or delivering dangerous drugs or dangerous devices to a site located in this state. This bill would modify that definition and would also require a nonresident wholesaler to be licensed prior to selling, brokering, or distributing dangerous drugs or devices within this state. By subjecting these nonresident wholesalers to these licensure requirements which include, among other things, payment of specified fees, the bill would increase that part of the revenue in the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund that is continuously appropriated and would thereby make an appropriation. Existing law requires a pharmacy or pharmacist who is in charge of or manages a pharmacy to notify the board within 30 days of termination of employment of the pharmacist-in-charge or acting as manager, and provides that a violation of this provision is grounds for disciplinary action. This bill would instead provide that failure by a pharmacist-in-charge or a pharmacy to notify the board in writing that the pharmacist-in-charge has ceased to act as pharmacist-in-charge within 30 days constitutes grounds for disciplinary action, and would also provide that the operation of the pharmacy for more than 30 days without supervision or management by a pharmacist-in-charge constitutes grounds for disciplinary action. The bill would revise the definition of a designated representative or designated representative-in-charge, and would define a pharmacist-in-charge. Existing law makes a nonpharmacist owner of a pharmacy who commits acts that would subvert or tend to subvert the efforts of a pharmacist-in-charge to comply with the Pharmacy Law guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would apply this provision to any pharmacy owner. The bill would require the board, during a declared federal, state, or local emergency, to allow for the employment of a mobile pharmacy in impacted areas under specified conditions, and would authorize the board to allow the temporary use of a mobile pharmacy when a pharmacy is destroyed or damaged under specified conditions. The bill would require the board, if a pharmacy fails to provide documentation substantiating continuing education requirements as part of a board investigation or audit, to cancel an active pharmacy license and issue an inactive pharmacy license, and would allow a pharmacy to reobtain an active pharmacy license if it meets specified requirements. Because this bill would impose new requirements and prohibitions under the Pharmacy Law, the knowing violation of which would be a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires pharmacies to provide information regarding certain controlled substances prescriptions to the Department of Justice on a weekly basis. This bill would also require a clinic to provide this information to the Department of Justice on a weekly basis. (11) Existing law, the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of veterinarians by the Veterinary Medical Board. Existing law prohibits the disclosure of information about an animal receiving veterinary services, the client responsible for that animal, or the veterinary care provided to an animal, except under specified circumstances, including, but not limited to, as may be required to ensure compliance with any federal, state, county, or city law or regulation. This bill would specify that such disclosure is prohibited except as may be required to ensure compliance with the California Public Records Act. (12) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of educational psychologists, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law generally provides for a system of citations and fines that are applicable to healing arts licensees. This bill would prohibit the board from publishing on the Internet final determinations of a citation and fine of $1,500 or less for more than 5 years from the date of issuance of the citation. (13) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of accountants by the California Board of Accountancy in the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires an applicant for the certified public accountant license to comply with certain education, examination, and experience requirements under one of 2 provisions that set forth different standards, commonly referred to as the 2 "pathways." Existing law, under the first pathway, requires completion of a baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a college or university with completion of at least 24 semester units in accounting and 24 semester units in business related subjects, board exam passage, and 2 years of qualifying experience. Existing law, under the 2nd pathway, imposes the same educational and examination requirements as the first pathway, but also requires proof of completion of at least 150 semester units, and instead accepts one year of qualifying experience. This bill would make the first pathway inoperative as of January 1, 2014, except in certain circumstances, and would, on and after that date, with respect to the second pathway, require the 150 units to include 10 units of ethics study, as defined, and 20 units of accounting study, as defined. The bill would create the Advisory Committee on Accounting Ethics Curriculum within the jurisdiction of the board to be composed of 11 members, as specified, and would require the committee to, on or before January 1, 2012, recommend guidelines for the ethics study requirement to the board. The bill would require the board to adopt those recommendations by January 31, 2013, and would also require the board to adopt guidelines for the accounting study requirement by January 1, 2012, as specified. The bill would also require the board to, by September 1, 2010, hold a hearing on a specified report by the California Research Bureau and to, at the hearing, make recommendations on ensuring the relevancy of accountancy education to the modern practice of accounting, as specified. The bill would enact other related provisions. Existing law allows an out-of-state accountant to engage in the practice of accountancy in this state without obtaining a certificate or license if the individual has practiced for at least 4 of the last 10 years, the individual is licensed in another state deemed substantially equivalent to this state under the 2nd pathway, or the individual's qualifications are determined to be substantially equivalent to this state's qualifications under the 2nd pathway. Existing law provides for the repeal of these provisions on January 1, 2011. This bill would delete the January 1, 2011, repeal date for those provisions, thereby making them operative indefinitely. (14) Existing law, the Professional Fiduciaries Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of professional fiduciaries by the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau until July 1, 2011. Existing law also requires applicants to provide certain boards and bureaus with a full set of fingerprints for the purpose of conducting criminal history record checks. Existing law requires licensees to file and the bureau to maintain certain information in each licensee's file, including whether the licensee has ever been removed as a fiduciary by a court for breach of trust committed intentionally, with gross negligence, in bad faith, or with reckless indifference, or demonstrated a pattern of negligent conduct, as specified. This bill would require the bureau to disclose on the Internet information on its licensees and would require applicants to the bureau to comply with that fingerprint requirement. The bill would require licensees to file and the bureau to maintain information regarding whether the licensee has ever been removed for cause or resigned as a conservator, guardian, trustee, or personal representative, as well as various other details relating to that removal or resignation. The bill would also make a conforming change. (15) Existing law provides a comprehensive scheme for the certification and regulation of interior designers. Under existing law, a stamp from an interior design organization certifies that an interior designer has passed a specified examination and that he or she has met certain other education or experience requirements, such as a combination of interior design education and diversified interior design experience that together total at least 8 years. This bill would revise that provision by specifying that an interior designer may meet these requirements by having at least 8 years of interior design education, or at least 8 years of diversified interior design experience, or a combination of interior design education and diversified interior design experience that together total at least 8 years. (16) Existing law provides for the registration of professional engineers and the licensure of land surveyors by the Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Under existing law, in determining the qualifications of an applicant for registration or licensure, a majority vote of the board is required. This bill would delete that majority vote requirement. (17) Existing law, the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of funeral establishments and directors by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Under existing law, every funeral establishment holding a funeral director's license on December 31, 1996, shall, upon application and payment of fees for renewal, be issued a funeral establishment license. This bill would delete that provision. (18) Existing law creates the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, with revenues in the fund to be available to provide shorthand reporting services to low-income litigants in civil cases. Existing law requires all unencumbered funds remaining in the Transcript Reimbursement Fund as of June 29, 2009, to be transferred to the Court Reporters' Fund, and repeals these provisions on January 1, 2011. This bill would instead provide for the transfer of those unencumbered funds on January 1, 2011. (19) Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, pursuant to which medical benefits are provided to public assistance recipients and certain other low-income persons. Existing law provides that federally qualified health center services and rural health clinic services, as defined, are covered benefits under the Medi-Cal program, to be reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis. For those purposes, a "visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between a patient of a federally qualified health center or a rural health clinic and a "physician," which is defined to include a medical doctor, osteopath, podiatrist, dentist, optometrist, and chiropractor. This bill would instead provide that the term "physician" includes a physician and surgeon, podiatrist, dentist, optometrist, and chiropractor. (20) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 27 and 146 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by AB 48, to be operative only if AB 48 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 101 and 149 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by AB 20 of the 2009–10 Fourth Extraordinary Session, AB 48, and AB 1535, to be operative only if this bill and one, two, or all three other bills are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 800 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by SB 820, to be operative only if both bills are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 2570.5, 2570.6, 2570.7, and 7616 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by both this bill and SB 821, to be operative only if SB 821 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 3635 and 3636 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by both this bill and AB 20 of the 2009–10 Fourth Extraordinary Session, to be operative only if AB 20 of the 2009–10 Fourth Extraordinary Session and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 4040 and 4076 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by SB 470, to be operative only if SB 470 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. The bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4110 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by AB 1071, to be operative only if AB 1071 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last. (21) 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 requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each year for specified reasons. Existing law also designates particular days each year as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and encourages those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on those dates. This bill would provide that the Governor proclaim May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day, and would designate that date as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and would encourage those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on that date. This bill would incorporate amendments to Section 37222 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and AB 264, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law provides that the crime of being a spectator at a dog fight is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. This bill would increase the penalty for the crime of being a spectator at a dog fight to imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both that imprisonment and fine. Because it would impose local incarceration costs 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.
(1) The Real Estate Law provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to suspend or revoke the license of a real estate licensee or corporation, or to deny the issuance of a license to an applicant or corporation, for specified violations. This bill would further authorize the commissioner to suspend or revoke those licenses, or to deny issuance of those licenses, upon a violation of specified federal lending laws or regulations or upon the violation or failure to comply with specified provisions of state law relating to mortgages. (2) Existing law imposes certain limitations and prohibitions on licensed persons, as defined, with respect to the making of a covered loan, defined as a consumer loan in which the original principal balance of the loan does not exceed the most current conforming loan limit for a single-family first mortgage loan established by the Federal National Mortgage Association in the case of a mortgage or deed of trust, and as specified. Existing law does not regulate or define the term "higher-priced mortgage loan." This bill would establish "higher-priced mortgage loans," as defined, as a new category of regulated loans. The bill would, among other things, limit prepayment penalties and prohibit provisions for negative amortization. The bill would prohibit a licensed person, as defined, from making false, deceptive, or misleading statements or representations in connection with higher-priced mortgage loans. The bill would also, among other things, prohibit a mortgage broker, as defined, who arranges higher-priced mortgage loans with prepayment penalties from receiving a compensation that exceeds certain amounts. The bill would provide that a violation of the provisions regulating higher-priced mortgage loans by a licensed person is also a violation of the person's licensing law. The bill would authorize a licensing agency or the Attorney General to enforce the provisions regulating higher-priced mortgage loans. The bill would authorize civil penalties in an amount up to $10,000 against a licensed person who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions regulating higher-priced mortgage loans, and would nullify prepayment penalties or yield spread premiums that violate these provisions. The bill would also establish specified duties for mortgage brokers performing mortgage brokerage services for higher-priced mortgage loans. The bill's provisions would apply to higher-priced mortgage loans originated on or after July 1, 2010. (3) Existing law imposes certain limitations and prohibitions on specified licensees, including commercial banks, credit unions, finance lenders, and residential mortgage lenders, with respect to the making of consumer loans. This bill would provide that a violation of specified federal lending laws or regulations by those licensees is also a violation of the licensing law of the licensee. The bill would also provide that a mortgage broker, as defined, providing mortgage brokerage services, as defined, to a borrower is the fiduciary of the borrower, and any violation of the broker's fiduciary duties is a violation of the mortgage broker's licensing law and specified civil penalty and liability provisions. The bill would further provide that this fiduciary duty includes a requirement that the mortgage broker place the economic interest of the borrower ahead of his or her own economic interest. (4) Because a violation of the bill's provisions by certain licensees may be punished as crimes under the licensing law of the licensees, 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.
(1) Existing law governs the removal of a child who has suffered or is at risk of suffering abuse or neglect from the home of the child's parent or guardian and the placement of that child in foster care. These provisions require the juvenile court to, among other things, conduct noticed detention, periodic status review, and dispositional hearings regarding the child, and direct the court to order, review, and receive into evidence social studies or evaluations regarding the child, including recommendations for placement. Under certain circumstances, the juvenile court may terminate parental rights and place the child for adoption or in long-term foster care, among other options for permanent placement. These provisions require county social workers to conduct the social studies or evaluations and to prepare reports and make recommendations to the court regarding temporary and long-term placement of the child, as specified. Existing federal law, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and state law govern the placement of children who are or who may be Indian children, as specified This bill would revise those provisions to require the juvenile court and social workers to consider and recommend tribal customary adoption, as defined, as an additional permanent placement option, without termination of parental rights, for a dependent child. The bill would provide that a tribal customary adoption order would have the same force and effect as an order of adoption. By imposing new duties on social workers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law governs independent and agency adoptions. This bill would specifically exempt tribal customary adoptions from those provisions. (3) The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court and necessary forms to implement tribal customary adoption as a permanent plan for Indian children before July 1, 2010. The bill would also require the Judicial Council to complete a study of these provisions and report its findings to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2013. (4) The amendments implementing tribal customary adoption would become operative on July 1, 2010, and would be repealed on January 1, 2014. (5) This bill would permit the Department of Social Services to adopt emergency regulations to implement and administer the provisions of this bill. (6) 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the Pierce's Disease Control Program in the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Pierce's Disease Management Account in the Food and Agriculture Fund. Existing law allows money in this account to be expended as specified to combat Pierce's disease and its vectors. Existing law declares that these provisions shall become inoperative on March 1, 2011. This bill would allow specified money in the account to also be expended for purposes relating to other designated pests and diseases, as provided. The bill would change the date on which the above provisions become inoperative to March 1, 2016. (2) Existing law creates in the Department of Food and Agriculture the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board, which consists of specified numbers of representatives of producers and processors, as defined, in the grape industry who are appointed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. Existing law sets forth the powers of the board and provides for an annual assessment to be paid by the processors into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund for the purposes of, among other things, research and other activities related to the transmittal of the plant killing Pierce's disease bacterium, and its vectors, particularly the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Existing law repeals these provisions on March 1, 2011. This bill would authorize the expenditure of the assessments for purposes relating to other designated pests and diseases, as provided, and would extend the repeal date of these provisions to March 1, 2016, except that this bill would make these provisions inoperative as of March 1, 2011, unless the secretary finds, in a referendum conducted by him or her, or a person designated by him or her, that a favorable vote has been given. The bill would require, no later than April 15, 2010, the secretary to establish a list of those individuals eligible to vote on the continued implementation of these provisions, as specified. The bill would also make a conforming change and other technical changes. (3) Existing law authorizes the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board to charge expenditures for administrative purposes, as specified, in an amount not to exceed a total of 7% of the assessments collected pursuant to these provisions. This bill would increase the amount that may be charged for administrative purposes to an amount not to exceed a total of 14% of the assessments collected. Because assessments collected pursuant to these provisions are deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which is continuously appropriated, by extending the collection of these assessments and authorizing expenditure for a new purpose, this bill would make an appropriation. (4) Existing law, operative until March 1, 2011, provides that the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall appoint an advisory task force to advise him or her on the control and management of Pierce's disease. This bill would extend these provisions to March 1, 2016. This bill would authorize the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board, after consulting with the advisory task force and upon making specified findings, to recommend to the secretary, and would authorize the secretary to determine, that a pest or disease affecting grapes grown in California and crushed for wine, wine vinegar, juice, concentrate, or beverage brandy be designated as an other designated pest or disease, and that money should be expended on research and outreach programs for specified purposes relating to the other designated pest or disease, except as provided. The bill would also make conforming changes.
(1) The Real Estate Law provides for the regulation and licensure of real estate brokers and real estate salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner. The California Finance Lenders Law provides for the regulation and licensure of finance lenders and brokers by the Commissioner of Corporations. The California Residential Mortgage Lending Act provides for the regulation and licensure of residential mortgage lenders and servicers by the Commissioner of Corporations. The Banking Law provides for the regulation of state commercial banks by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. The California Credit Union Law provides for the regulation of state credit unions by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. A willful violation of specified provisions of those acts is a crime. This bill would, until January 1, 2013, prohibit any person, including a real estate licensee, who negotiates, attempts to negotiate, arranges, attempts to arrange, or otherwise offers to perform residential mortgage loan modifications or other forms of mortgage loan forbearance, as specified, for a fee or other compensation paid by a borrower, from demanding or receiving any preperformance compensation, as specified, requiring any security as collateral for final compensation, or taking a power of attorney from a borrower, and would make a violation of that prohibition a misdemeanor or subject to specified fines. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also provide that these provisions do not apply to actions taken by a person who offers loan modification or other loan forbearance services for a loan owned or serviced by that person, including, but not limited to, collecting principal, interest, or other charges under the terms of a loan, before the loan is modified, including charges to establish a new payment schedule for a nondelinquent loan. This bill would also require any person, including a real estate licensee, who negotiates, attempts to negotiate, arranges, attempts to arrange, or otherwise offers to perform residential mortgage loan modifications or other forms of mortgage loan forbearance, as specified, for a fee or other compensation paid by a borrower, to provide a specified 14-point bold type statement regarding loan modification fees. The bill would make a violation of that prohibition a misdemeanor or subject to specified fines, thereby creating a new crime and imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would also provide that a real estate licensee who fails to comply with specified provisions related to mortgages, including the loan modification provisions, would be subject to disciplinary action by the Real Estate Commissioner, and would provide that a violation of the above by an attorney may also subject him or her to disciplinary action. The bill would add to the California Finance Lenders Law a prohibition on making a materially false or misleading statement or representation to a borrower about the terms or conditions of that borrower's loan, when making or brokering a loan. Because a willful violation of these provisions by certain licensees may be punished as crimes under their respective licensing laws, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The Real Estate Law provides for the regulation and licensure of real estate brokers and salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner. As used in the Real Estate Law, the term "advance fee" is defined as a fee that is claimed, demanded, charged, received, collected, or contracted from a principal for a listing, advertisement, or offer to sell or lease property, and as specified. This bill would redefine the term "advance fee" to mean a fee, regardless of the form, that is claimed, demanded, charged, received, or collected by a licensee from a principal before fully completing each and every service the licensee contracted to perform, or represented would be performed, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to require that materials used in obtaining advance fee agreements, as defined, be submitted to him or her at least 10 calendar days before the materials are used and makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, or both, to use any agreement that the commissioner has ordered not to be used. This bill would increase the maximum fine for using any advance fee agreement that the commissioner has ordered not to be used from $1,000 to $2,500. (3) Existing law provides that certain persons are exempt from regulation under certain provisions of the Real Estate Law dealing with real estate loans. This bill would further exempt from those provisions specified organizations that have been approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide counseling services, when those services are provided at no cost and in connection with residential mortgage loan modifications. (4) Existing law defines a foreclosure consultant as a person who offers, for compensation, to perform specified services for a homeowner relating to a foreclosure sale, and imposes regulations upon foreclosure consultants when servicing a foreclosure sale, as specified. Existing law excludes specified persons from the definition of a foreclosure consultant, including a person licensed under the Real Estate Law when making a direct loan or engaging in specified acts, and a person licensed to make loans as a finance lender, subject to the authority of the Commissioner of Corporations to terminate this exclusion, as specified. This bill would instead specify that a real estate licensee and a finance lender are excluded from the definition of a foreclosure consultant when acting under the authority of that person's license, and would delete the commissioner's authority to terminate the finance lender's exclusion. The bill would also delete obsolete statutory references from those provisions. (5) 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.(6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for any person to cut the solid part of the tail of any horse in the operation known as "docking." This bill would likewise prohibit the docking of cattle, as defined, but would exclude from the application of the crime of cattle docking emergency veterinary treatment performed, as specified. By expanding the scope of an existing 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.
Existing law, commonly known as the Radiation Protection Act of 1988, sets forth the duties of various agencies relating to the protection of the public health and safety from the harmful effects of radiation, including, among others, the duties of the State Department of Public Health regarding the licensing and regulation of radiologic technology, including, but not limited to, the inspection of mammographic X-ray equipment. Violation of provisions relating to radiologic technology is a misdemeanor. This bill would require a facility that operates a mammogram machine to post notices of serious violations, as defined, in an area that is visible to patients. The bill would require the facility to post the notice within 2 working days after receipt of the documents from the department and require that the documents remain posted for a minimum of 5 working days or until action correcting the violation has been completed, whichever is later. Because this bill would create a new 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.