Sen. Melissa Hurtado

Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. Existing law also requires the DMV to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. This bill would require the State Department of Education to apply to the DMV to sponsor a mental health awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the State Department of Education meets certain requirements. The bill would also establish the Mental Health Awareness Fund in the State Treasury and would require the revenue generated from the license plates to be deposited in the fund for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the State Department of Education, for mental health services in public schools.

Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Under existing law, the regional centers purchase needed services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers, or arrange for their provision through other publicly funded agencies. The services and supports to be provided to a regional center consumer are contained in an individual program plan (IPP) , which is developed by the planning team according to specified procedures. This bill would require the planning team to include at least one regional center representative authorized to make decisions on behalf of the regional center regarding services in the IPP. The bill would also make various revisions relating to the procedure for developing the IPP, including by requiring that changes to the IPP be made in a program planning meeting with the real-time participation of the consumer or, when appropriate, their parents, legal guardian, conservator, or authorized representative, unless specified requirements are satisfied, and by requiring the consumer, or, when appropriate, their parents, legal guardian, or conservator, to be allowed to attend a meeting held as part of an internal process to determine the services and supports to be purchased. Existing law requires a service agency, defined, in part, as a developmental center or regional center, to have a fair hearing procedure for resolving conflicts between the service agency and recipients of, or applicants for, services that meets prescribed requirements. Existing law provides for informal dispute resolution as part of the fair hearing procedure. This bill would make various changes to the fair hearing procedure, including by requiring the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with the State Department of Social Services for the provision of hearing officers and fair hearings. The bill would also revise the required training for hearing officers, require a service agency to submit a compliance report to the State Department of Developmental Services if the fair hearing decision is wholly or partially in favor of the complainant, establish a procedure for requesting a rehearing, and provide for the collection and reporting of data related to fair hearings.

Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board, on or before June 30, 2014, and until January 1, 2024, to annually aggregate and make available specified information regarding hydrogen-fueled vehicles and, based on that information, evaluate the need for additional publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations, as specified, and report those findings to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. Existing law requires the commission to allocate $20,000,000 annually to fund the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations identified by the state board, not to exceed 20% of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in operation in the state. Existing law requires the commission and the state board, on an annual basis, to jointly review and report progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state. Existing law requires the commission and the state board to consider certain information while conducting this review and determine the remaining cost and timing to establish a network of 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in operation in the state and whether funding from the Clean Transportation Program remains necessary to achieve this goal. This bill would delete the requirement that the state board aggregate and make available specified information and report to the commission on or before June 30, 2014. The bill would instead require the state board, on or before June 30, 2023, and annually thereafter, to determine the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations that are necessary to provide a publicly available hydrogen-fueling station network, taking into consideration the state board's 2020 Mobile Source Strategy and specified goals, recommendations, and data. The bill would delete the requirement that the commission allocate $20,000,000 annually to fund the number of publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations identified by the state board. The bill would instead require the commission to annually allocate from the moneys annually appropriated by the Legislature from the fund an amount determined appropriate by the commission to achieve the goal established by the state board of providing a publicly available hydrogen-fueling station network and to build the number of electric vehicle or "EV" charging stations estimated by the commission its biennial statewide assessment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as provided. The bill would require the commission to ensure that certain requirements are met regarding expenditures of the moneys allocated by the commission. The bill would require the commission and the state board, as part of their annual joint review and report, to determine the remaining cost and timing to establish a network of 200 statewide publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations, instead of 100 stations.

Existing law, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, until October 1, 2025, establishes procedural requirements and limitations on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 rental debt, as defined. Existing law, among other things, prohibits a tenant that delivers to a landlord or files with the court a declaration, under penalty of perjury, of COVID-19-related financial distress, as defined, from being deemed in default with regard to the COVID-19 rental debt, as prescribed. Existing law, the State Rental Assistance Program, establishes a program for providing rental assistance, using funding made available pursuant to federal law, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. This bill would, until January 1, 2025, create a grant program under the administration of the department and would require the department to, among other things, award a program grant, as defined, to a qualified applicant who submits a complete application, as defined, on a first-come, first-served basis, except that the bill would require the department to provide grants to all tier one applicants, as defined, before processing the applications of other applicants, as specified. The bill would define "qualified applicant" to mean a landlord who has applied for rental assistance funds pursuant to the State Rental Assistance Program and satisfies certain criteria, including that the landlord has received a negative final decision, as specified. The bill would also establish a fund, the moneys in which would be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of awarding program grants to qualified applicants. This bill would require a complete application to include, among other things, a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, by the landlord verifying certain facts, including that the landlord acknowledges that a program grant constitutes, as specified, full satisfaction of the tenant's obligation to the landlord with respect to the COVID-19 rental debt, as defined. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, 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.

Under existing law, the State Department of Health Care Services is responsible for the administration and oversight of various health care programs, including those related to cancer screening and research. This bill, the California Childhood Cancer Research Fund Act, would request the Regents of the University of California to establish and administer the Childhood Cancer Research Grant Program to provide funding to various entities to support research and treatment for children impacted by cancer and the long-term effects of cancer treatment. The bill would create the Childhood Cancer Research Council composed of 7 members, including specialists in pediatric oncology, appointed by the Governor, Senate Committee on Rules, or Speaker of the Assembly, and would require the council to develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the program and make grant recommendations to the University of California in accordance with the program's goals. The bill would require the council to submit an annual report to the Legislature describing the grants made, grants in progress, program accomplishments, and future program directions. The bill would create the Andrew Hirschman Childhood Cancer Research Fund for the implementation and administration of the grant program, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would make these provisions operative until January 1, 2028.

Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council in state government consisting of various state agency heads and 3 public members. Existing law requires the council, among other things, to identify and review activities and funding programs of state agencies that may be coordinated to improve air and water quality, improve natural resource protection, increase the availability of affordable housing, improve transportation, meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, encourage sustainable land use planning, and revitalize urban and community centers in a sustainable manner. This bill, until January 1, 2026, would create the Farmworker Climate Resilience Adaptation Program, to be administered by the Strategic Growth Council, to award grants totaling $20,000,000 to eligible entities for the development and implementation of projects addressing the needs of farmworkers, their families, and communities for sustainable and equitable adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The bill would require the program to be guided by the Farmworker Climate Resilience Adaptation Task Force established by this bill, to be composed as specified, and would require the task force to meet not less than 6 times before June 30, 2023, as specified. The bill would require the task force to make recommendations about projects funded under this program and, on or before June 30, 2023, to report its findings and recommendations to the Strategic Growth Council, the state agencies involved in the task force, the Legislature, and the Governor. The bill would make the implementation of this program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.

Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Natural Resources Agency to provide fire protection and prevention services, as specified. This bill would require the department to maintain a standard minimum level of staffing for each of its engines, as specified, without the regular practice of forcing overtime on its personnel. The bill would require the department to increase its existing firefighter fuel crews, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2024, to provide to the Legislature a long-term staffing plan to meet the new era of wildfire firefighting.

This measure would dedicate the month of May 2022 as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social services to allocate certain funds through contracts with community-based providers or entities or through local assistance allocations to counties or Indian tribes that support new or expanded programs, services, practices, and training that builds system capacity and ensures the provision of a high-quality continuum of care that is designed to support foster children in the least restrictive setting that is consistent with a child's permanency plan. Existing law requires recipients of those funds to use the funds for specified purposes, one of which may be building system capacity for intensive, child-specific recruitment, family finding and engagement, and support programs for children with complex needs. This bill would specify that funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the bill shall be available to fund family finding and engagement techniques to find permanent families and relationship for foster children. The bill would require the department to use those funds to fund contracts with community-based organizations or entities, provide local assistance allocations to counties and Indian tribes, or both, to support new or expanded family finding and engagement programs. The bill would require entities receiving these funds to collect data to track outcomes and show the impact of family finding and engagement. The bill would also require the department to convene a collaborative leadership team to develop certain recommendations relating to family finding and engagement.

The California Constitution declares that defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy are inalienable rights, and that a person may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or equal protection of the laws. Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, declares that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions and prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion before viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person. This measure would amend the California Constitution to prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual's reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.