Existing law, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, prohibits providers of health care, health care service plans, contractors, employers, and third party administrators, among others, from disclosing medical information, as defined, without the patient's written authorization, subject to certain exceptions, as specified. This bill would require the Government Operations Agency, on or before July 1, 2021, to appoint a working group, consisting of representatives from the public and private sectors, as specified, to explore the use of verifiable health credentials for communication of COVID-19 test results or other medical test results in this state. The bill would require the working group to report its recommendations to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2022. The bill would require the Department of Consumer Affairs to, among other things, in consultation with the working group, develop and maintain a verifiable issuer registry, as defined. The bill would prohibit a law enforcement agency, excluding a federal law enforcement agency, from requiring a patient to show a verifiable health credential.
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Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing state law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law entitles a family to receive an allowance for specified nonrecurring special needs after a family has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100, as specified, with the exception of funds deposited in a certain restricted account. This bill would except homeless assistance from that $100 liquid resources limit. Under existing law, a family is considered homeless for the purpose of establishing eligibility for homeless assistance benefits if, among other things, the family has received a notice to pay rent or quit. Existing law requires the family to demonstrate that the eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, as specified, and not other lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing a financial crisis that may result in homelessness if preventive assistance is not provided. This bill would eliminate the requirement for a family to demonstrate the reason for the eviction and the existence of the financial crisis. Existing law requires temporary shelter assistance to be granted or denied immediately upon the family's application for homeless assistance and requires the county welfare department to verify the family's homelessness within the first 3 working days. Under existing law, if the family meets the criteria of questionable homelessness established by the department, the county welfare department is required to refer the family to its early fraud prevention and detection unit, as specified. This bill would require the temporary shelter assistance to be granted or denied the same day as the family's application for homeless assistance. The bill would eliminate the requirement for the county welfare department to verify the family's homelessness within the first 3 working days, and instead would require the family, upon applying for homeless assistance, to provide a sworn statement that the family is homeless. The bill would specify that questionable homelessness means that there is reason to suspect that the family has permanent housing. Existing law authorizes a nonrecurring special needs benefit for permanent housing assistance to an eligible family to pay for the last month's rent and security deposits, if these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a residence. This bill would remove the reference to "reasonable" in requiring the payments to be conditions of securing a residence. Under existing law, a family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary result of a state or federally declared natural disaster is eligible for temporary and permanent homeless assistance. This bill would remove the requirement that the state or federally declared disaster be a natural disaster, thereby making the provision apply to any state or federally declared disaster. Under existing law, county welfare departments, and all other entities participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the right in their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the permanent housing. This bill would eliminate that provision. Under existing law, a CalWORKs applicant who provides a sworn statement of past or present domestic abuse and who is fleeing their abuser is deemed to be homeless and is eligible for temporary homeless assistance, consisting of 2 periods of not more than 16 cumulative calendar days of temporary shelter assistance in a lifetime. This bill would require the 2nd 16-day period to continue to be available to the applicant when the applicant becomes a CalWORKs recipient during the first 16-day period. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement and administer the bill's provisions through all-county letters or similar instructions until regulations are adopted. The bill would require the department to adopt emergency regulations no later than 18 months following the completion of all necessary automation to implement the bill. The bill would exempt the department from specific provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act relating to the adoption of emergency regulations, including the requirement for regulations to be reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would become operative on July 1, 2021, or on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement the bill, whichever date is later, except that the individual changes imposed by the bill that result in a cost would become operative only if necessary funds are appropriated for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would, instead, provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. By expanding the duties of county welfare departments administering the CalWORKs program, 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law makes it unlawful to, with bad faith intent, traffic in or use a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to the personal name of another living person or deceased personality without regard to the goods or services of the parties, except if the name is connected to a work of authorship. Existing law authorizes a court to consider specified factors in making a finding regarding bad faith intent, including that it was the intent of the person using the name to divert consumers from the person's or deceased personality's online location to a site that could harm the goodwill of that person or to tarnish or disparage that person. This bill would, instead, make it unlawful for a person, with bad faith intent, to register, traffic in, or use a domain name or subdomain name that is identical or confusingly similar to either the personal name of another living person or deceased personality without regard to goods or services or the name of a specified entity for the purpose of selling or reselling goods, as defined. The bill would provide that confusingly similar includes a misspelling of the domain or subdomain name. The bill would provide that this prohibition does not apply if the name is used with the consent of that specified entity or an authorized representative of that entity, and would create a presumption affecting the burden of proof that a person acted with bad faith intent if the entity or authorized representative did not consent to the registration, trafficking, or use of the domain or subdomain name. The bill would authorize a court to consider as a factor in making a finding regarding bad faith intent that a person intended to divert consumers from the online location of a specified entity to a site accessible under the domain name that could harm the goodwill represented by that entity's name either for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or disparage the entity by creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the site. The bill would create a private right of action for violation of these provisions and would provide that a remedy obtained for a violation of these provisions is cumulative with other available remedies.
Existing law establishes the Native American Heritage Commission and vests the commission with specified powers and duties. Existing law requires the commission to publish a document that lists the California Indian tribes as well as to consult in matters pertaining to repatriation under the act. The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 requires all agencies and museums that receive state funding and have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes, as specified. The act requires those entities to complete an inventory and summary of those objects, as specified, and to provide the inventories and summaries to the commission. The act provides a process by which a California Indian tribe can request the return of human remains and cultural items. The act defines various terms, including "California Indian tribe" and "museum." The act defines "California Indian tribe" as a tribe that either meets the federal definition of Indian tribe or that is indigenous to California and is not reorganized by the federal government, is listed on the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch Acknowledgment and Research petitioner list, and is determined by the commission to be a tribe that is eligible to participate in the repatriation process under the act. The act defines "museum" as an entity, including a higher educational institution, excluding school districts, that receives state funds. This bill would revise various definitions, including, among others, the definition of "California Indian tribe" to include both a tribe that meets the federal definition of Indian tribe and a tribe that is not recognized by the federal government, but that is a native tribe located in California that is on the list maintained by the commission; the definition of "museum" to specify it receives state funds; the definition of "preponderance of the evidence" to specify that tribal traditional knowledge alone may be sufficient to meet this standard; and the definition of "reasonable" to specify that tribal traditional knowledge can and should be used to establish reasonable conclusions with respect to determining cultural affiliation and identifying cultural items. This bill would revise and recast the process of creating the inventories and summaries by, among other things, requiring consultation with California Indian tribes during the creation of the preliminary inventories and summaries and after submission to the commission. The bill also would revise and recast the process by which a direct lineal descendent or a California Indian tribe can request the return of human remains or cultural items. The bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes. This bill would require every state agency, as defined, with significant interaction with tribal issues, peoples, or lands, and request the Regents of the University of California, to designate one or more liaisons for the purpose of engaging in consultation with California Native American tribes on the tribal contact list and educating the agency on topics relevant to the state's relationship with those tribes.
(1) Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, governs local emergency medical services (EMS) systems. The existing act establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination and integration of EMS systems. Among other duties, existing law requires the authority to develop planning and implementation guidelines for EMS systems, provide technical assistance to existing agencies, counties, and cities for the purpose of developing the components of EMS systems, and receive plans for the implementation of EMS and trauma care systems from local EMS agencies. Existing law makes a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would establish within the act until January 1, 2024, the Community Paramedicine or Triage to Alternate Destination Act of 2020. The bill would authorize a local EMS agency to develop a community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination program, as defined, to provide specified community paramedicine services. The bill would require the authority to develop, and after approval by the Commission on Emergency Medical Services, adopt regulations and establish minimum standards for the development of those programs. The bill would require the director of the authority, on or before March 1, 2021, to establish a community paramedicine and triage to alternate destination oversight advisory committee to advise the authority on the development and oversight of specialties for those programs. The bill would require the authority to review a local EMS agency's proposed program and approve or deny the proposed program no later than 6 months after it is submitted by the local EMS agency. The bill would require a local EMS agency that opts to develop a program to perform specified duties that include, among others, integrating the proposed program into the local EMS agency's EMS plan. The bill would require the Emergency Medical Services Authority to submit an annual report on the community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination programs operating in California to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would also require the authority to contract with an independent 3rd party to prepare a final report on the results of the community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination programs on or before April 1, 2023, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person or organization from providing community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination services or representing, advertising, or otherwise implying that it is authorized to provide those services unless it is expressly authorized by a local EMS agency to provide those services as part of a program approved by the authority. The bill would also prohibit a community paramedic or a triage paramedic from providing their respective services unless the community paramedic or triage paramedic has been certified and accredited to perform those services and is working as an employee of an authorized provider. Because a violation of the act described above is punishable as a misdemeanor, and because this bill would create new requirements within the act, the bill would expand an existing crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes a county to establish an emergency medical care committee and requires the committee, at least annually, to review the operations of ambulance services operating within the county, emergency medical care offered within the county, and first aid practices in the county. Existing law requires the county board of supervisors to prescribe the membership, and appoint the members, of the committee. This bill would, if the county elects to develop a community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination program, require the committee to be established, if one is not already established, to include additional members, as specified, and to advise the local EMS agency on the development of its community paramedicine or triage to alternate destination program. The bill would specifically require the mayor of a city and county to appoint the membership. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2024. (3) Existing law establishes the Commission on Emergency Medical Services with 18 members. The commission, among other things, reviews and approves regulations, standards, and guidelines developed by the authority. This bill would increase the membership of the commission to 19 members and modify the entities that submit names for appointment to the commission by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly. (4) 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 Student Loan Servicing Act, prohibits a person from engaging in the business of servicing a student loan in California without first obtaining a license. Existing law commits the administration of these provisions to the Commissioner of Business Oversight and grants the commissioner various powers in this regard, including the authority to conduct investigations of applicants and licensees. The act requires an applicant for a license to submit audited financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and acceptable to the commissioner that indicate a net worth of at least $250,000 and requires a licensee to maintain a minimum net worth of $250,000. Existing law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, regulates the collection of consumer debts by debt collectors, as defined. Under existing law, a debt collector who violates the act is liable to a debtor for actual damages resulting from the violation, and is subject to additional civil penalties for any willful or knowing violation of the act, and other specified remedies. This bill would authorize the commissioner to allow a licensee that is a wholly owned subsidiary of a public holding company required to comply with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission to satisfy the requirement to submit audited financial statements with an application for a license and to maintain a minimum net worth of $250,000 by submitting the annual consolidated audited financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as specified. This bill would impose new requirements on a student loan servicer, defined as any person engaged in the business of servicing student loans in the state. These requirements would include the timely posting, processing, and crediting of student loan payments within certain timeframes, applying overpayments consistent with the best financial interest of a student loan borrower, as defined, applying partial payments to minimize late fees and negative credit reporting, maintaining records, timely processing of paperwork, and diligently overseeing service providers. The bill would require a student loan servicer to provide specialized training for customer service personnel that advises military borrowers, borrowers in public service, borrowers with disabilities, and older borrowers. The bill would prohibit a student loan servicer from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices, or abusive acts or practices in connection with the servicing of a student loan, as specified. The bill would authorize a consumer who suffers damages as a result of a person's failure to comply with these provisions as well as all applicable federal laws relating to student loan servicing to bring an action for actual damages, injunctive relief, restitution, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and other relief, including treble damages in certain circumstances. The bill would require a consumer to give specified notice to a person before bringing an action for damages against that person for a violation of the bill's provisions and would provide that person an opportunity to cure the alleged violation, as specified. The bill would prohibit an attempt to cure a violation by a person who receives a notice of that violation from being admissible in court against that person but would authorize the attempt to cure to be admitted as evidence by that person, as specified. The bill would define terms for purposes of its provisions. The bill would require, beginning on July 1, 2021, the commissioner, as specified, to designate a Student Loan Ombudsman to work within the department and to hire additional staff, as needed to implement these provisions. The bill would require the Student Loan Ombudsman to receive and review complaints, to refer complaints to an appropriate unit within the department that would be authorized to investigate the complaint, and to refer complaints regarding servicers not subject to licensing under the Student Loan Servicing Act to the Department of Justice, which would be permitted to investigate those complaints. The bill would require complaints regarding any private postsecondary educational institution licensed by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to be referred to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education's Office of Student Assistance and Relief. The bill would require the Student Loan Ombudsman to confer with the Department of Justice and the Office of Student Assistance and Relief regarding the student loan servicing complaints, the proper referral processes for those complaints, and the reporting requirements imposed by the bill. The bill would require the Student Loan Ombudsman not later than 18 months after the operative date of the bill, and no less than once yearly thereafter, to submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature regarding the implementation of these provisions, the types of complaints received, and other data and analysis on student loan issues. The bill would also, beginning July 1, 2021, authorize the Commissioner of Business Oversight to monitor for risks to consumers in the provision of student loan servicing and would authorize the commissioner to gather information regarding the organization, business conduct, and activities of student loan services. The bill would authorize the commissioner to gather and compile information from student loan servicers and to develop and publicize metrics based on the data collected. Among other actions, the bill would authorize the commissioner to require student loan servicers to file, under oath or otherwise, annual or special reports or answers in writing to specific questions. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include related legislative findings and would make conforming and nonsubstantive changes to provisions in the Student Loan Servicing Act. 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 allows the proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure to withdraw the measure after filing the petition with the appropriate elections official at any time before the Secretary of State certifies that the measure has qualified for the ballot. Withdrawal of a statewide initiative or referendum measure is effective upon receipt by the Secretary of State of a written notice of withdrawal, signed by all proponents of the measure. This bill would prohibit a written notice of withdrawal submitted by the proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure from including any conditions that must be satisfied in order for the Secretary of State to deem the withdrawal to be effective, and would require the Secretary of State to reject any notice that purports to impose such a condition on the withdrawal of a measure. The bill would expressly state that these provisions will become operative on January 1, 2021.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission and authorizes the commission to exercise ratemaking and rulemaking authority over all public utilities, as defined, subject to control by the Legislature. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to supervise and regulate every public utility, including electrical corporations, and to do all things that are necessary and convenient in the exercise of that power and jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law authorizes the commission, in a proceeding on an application by an electrical corporation to recover costs and expenses arising from a catastrophic wildfire occurring on or after January 1, 2019, to allow cost recovery if the costs and expenses are just and reasonable, after consideration of the conduct of the utility, including consideration of specified factors. Existing law establishes the Wildfire Fund to pay eligible claims arising from a covered wildfire, as provided. Existing law requires the commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider using its existing authority to require certain electrical corporations to collect a nonbypassable charge from its ratepayers to support the Wildfire Fund, and requires the commission to direct those electrical corporations to collect that charge if the commission determines that the imposition of the charge is just and reasonable and that it is an appropriate exercise of its authority, as specified. This bill would enact the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Act of 2020 and would require the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the commission, to adopt an interim expenditure plan and an expenditure plan that are focused on reducing wildfire risk on the ground and in communities through activities such as defensible space implementation, home hardening, improved public safety, including expenditures to add trained emergency medical technicians to the workforce, and other authorized activities, as well as to prepare residents for wildfires through public education and outreach, as provided. The bill would establish the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require moneys in the fund be used for the implementation of those plans. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, upon the adoption of the interim plan, to notify the State Controller of the adoption. The bill would require, within 30 days of the notification, the transfer of $500,000,000 from the Surplus Money Investment Fund to the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund, and would appropriate the money to the Natural Resources Agency for the implementation of the interim expenditure plan. The bill would provide for the repayment of the moneys transferred from the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund to the Surplus Money Investment Fund, as provided. The bill would require the commission to require large electrical corporations, as defined, to collect, on and after a specified time, a nonbypassable charge from their ratepayers, as provided, to finance the bonds issued for the support of the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund, as described below. Existing law, until January 1, 2003, authorizes the Department of Water Resources to enter into contracts for the purchase of electric power. Existing law authorizes the department to sell power to retail end use customers and local publicly owned electric utilities under certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes the department to issue revenue bonds and entitles the department to recover, as a revenue requirement, amounts necessary to enable it to finance the bonds and purchase electric power pursuant to these provisions. Existing law authorizes the department to issue Wildfire Fund bonds on and after either the date on which the department legally defeases all of its remaining bonds under the provisions described above or the date on which it pays those obligations in full at maturity, whichever is earlier, to support the Wildfire Fund. Existing law entitles the department to recover, as a revenue requirement, amounts necessary to enable it to finance the bonds in support of the Wildfire Fund. Existing law requires those bond proceeds and revenues received by the department to be deposited in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund. Existing law continuously appropriates the moneys in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund to the department for specified purposes, including transfers to the Wildfire Fund and repayment of the bonds issued in support of the Wildfire Fund. This bill would authorize the department to issue bonds, in an aggregate amount of up to $3,000,000,000, the repayment of which, including interest, commences on the date on which the department has paid in full, at maturity, or legally defeases any outstanding bonds issued for the support of the Wildfire Fund or on January 1, 2036, whichever is later, to support the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund. The bill would entitle the department to recover, as a revenue requirement, amounts necessary to enable it to finance the bonds in support of the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund. The bill would require those bond proceeds and revenues received by the department to be deposited in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the Department of Water Resources Charge Fund to the department for specified purposes, including transfers to the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund and repayment of the bonds issued for the support of the Wildfire Prevention and Community Resilience Fund. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be codified in the act and would require action by the commission, a violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3289 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by SB 350 to be operative only if this bill and SB 350 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, prohibits a person from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco products, as defined, to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law also prohibits the use of tobacco products in county offices of education, on charter school or school district property, or near a playground or youth sports event, as specified. This bill would prohibit a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, as those terms are defined, except as specified. The bill would make a violation of this prohibition an infraction punishable by a fine of $250 for each violation. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that these provisions do not preempt or prohibit the adoption and implementation of local ordinances that impose greater restrictions on the access to tobacco products than the restrictions imposed by the bill, as specified. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. By creating 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.
Existing law authorizes a county to establish a pretrial diversion program for defendants who have been charged with a misdemeanor offense and authorizes other diversion programs. This bill would establish the COVID-19 Alternative Adjudication Program. The bill would require a court to dismiss an accusatory pleading under the program if the defendant meets specified conditions including, among others, that 6 months have passed since the person was released from custody on the charge and the defendant or minor has not been charged with a misdemeanor or felony occurring after the charge at issue was filed, with specified exceptions. The bill would require a court dismissing a pleading pursuant to the program to determine whether restitution is owed to a victim as a result of an offense dismissed pursuant to the program, and would deem the arrest upon which the charges were based to have never occurred.