(1) Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires every local public agency, as defined, to have an emergency communication system and requires the digits "911" to be the primary emergency telephone number within the system. Existing law specifies provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for the mentally disordered in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs. Existing law specifies that county mental health services should be organized to provide immediate response to individuals in precrisis and crisis and to members of the individual's support system on a 24-hour, 7-day-per-week basis and authorizes provision of crisis services offsite as mobile services. Existing federal law, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, designates the 3-digit telephone number "988" as the universal number within the United States for the purpose of the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system operating through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline maintained by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse and the Veterans Crisis Line maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. This bill would enact the Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to verify, no later than July 16, 2022, that technology that allows for transfers between 988 centers as well as between 988 centers and 911 public safety answering points, is available to 988 centers and 911 public safety answering points throughout the state. The bill would require, no later than 90 days after passage of the act, the office to appoint a 988 system director, among other things. The bill would require, no later than July 1, 2024, the office to verify interoperability between and across 911 and 988. The bill would require the office to consult with specified entities on any technology requirements for 988 centers. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to create, no later than December 31, 2023, a set of recommendations to support a 5-year implementation plan for a comprehensive 988 system. The bill would require that agency to convene a state 988 advisory group, as described, for purposes of advising the agency on the set of recommendations. The bill would require the agency to report annually, on or before December 31, beginning December 31, 2024, and until December 31, 2029, to the Legislature on the status of 988 implementation in the state, as described. The Administrative Procedure Act generally governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. The bill would provide that regulations and other similar instruments made pursuant to these provisions by the Office of Emergency Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency are not subject to the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. (2) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2021, to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, as defined, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions. This bill would require health care service plans and insurers to cover medically necessary treatment of a mental health or substance use disorder, including behavioral health crisis services, provided by a 988 center or mobile crisis team, regardless of whether the service is provided by an in-network or out-of-network provider, at the in-network cost-sharing amount, as defined. By creating a new crime under the Knox-Keene Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law, the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharges Act, generally imposes a surcharge on each access line for each month or part thereof for which a service user subscribes with a service supplier, at an amount no greater than $0.80, based on the Office of Emergency Services' estimate of the number of access lines to which the surcharge will be applied per month for a calendar year period that it estimates, pursuant to a specified formula, will produce sufficient revenue to fund the current fiscal year's 911 costs. Existing law imposes a surcharge on the purchase of prepaid mobile telephony services at the time of each retail transaction in this state, at the rate equal to the monthly surcharge amount per access line, to be paid by prepaid consumers and collected by sellers, as defined. Existing law exempts certain lines from the surcharge, including lines supplying lifeline service. Existing law requires the surcharge to be remitted to, and administered by, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, in accordance with specified provisions. Existing law makes certain violations of the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act a crime. Existing law requires amounts to be paid to the state pursuant to the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act to be deposited into the State Emergency Telephone Number Account and that the amounts deposited, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be spent solely for specified purposes, including payment for the installation of, and ongoing expenses for, a basic system. This bill would create a separate surcharge, beginning January 1, 2023, on each access line for each month or part thereof for which a service user subscribes with a service supplier. The bill would set the 988 surcharge for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years at $0.08 per access line per month and, for years beginning January 1, 2025, at an amount based on a specified formula, but no greater than $0.30 per access line per month. This bill would make applicable relevant provisions of the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act to the 988 surcharge, as provided, including existing surcharge exemptions. The bill would authorize the 911 and 988 surcharges to be combined into a single-line item, as described. The bill would provide for specified costs to be paid by the fees prior to distribution to the Office of Emergency Services. The bill would make conforming changes in regard to the 988 surcharge. This bill would create the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund and would require the fees to be deposited along with other specified moneys into the fund. The bill would provide that the funds be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes and in accordance with specified priorities. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to require an entity seeking moneys available through the fund to annually file an expenditure and outcomes report containing specified information. (4) This bill would appropriate $300,000 from the General Fund to the 988 State Suicide and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Fund for expenditure by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration in the 2022–23 fiscal year for purposes of implementing the amendments to the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 41100 of the Revenue and Taxation Code proposed by SB 1496 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1496 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (6) By expanding the scope of crimes imposed by the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act, 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. (7) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, to advocate for causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establish the California Employee Ownership Hub within the Office of Small Business Advocate to increase awareness and understanding of employee ownership among stakeholders, assist business owners and employees in navigating available resources, and streamline and reduce barriers to employee ownership. The bill would require an Employee Ownership Hub Manager to administer the hub, and would authorize the manager to be responsible for prescribed duties, including partnering with specified state agencies and private entities to promote employee ownership transitions.
Existing law, the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights, requires that sexual assault victims be provided with specified information about their case, including the status of the DNA testing of the rape kit evidence or other crime scheme evidence from the victim's case. Existing law, subject to commitment of sufficient resources to respond to requests for information, gives sexual assault victims the right to be informed whether or not a DNA profile of the assailant was obtained from testing of the rape kit or other evidence, whether that evidence has been submitted to the state database, and whether a DNA match was found. This bill would, instead, give the a victim of sexual assault the right to access the Department of Justice's SAFE-T database portal involving their own forensic evidence kit and the status of the kit, and the right to information relating to the testing of evidence and DNA in state and federal databases. Existing law, upon initial interaction with a sexual assault victim, requires a law enforcement officer or medical provider to provide the victim with a card that explains all of the rights of sexual assault victims, including, among other things, a clear statement that a sexual assault victim is not required to participate in the criminal justice system or to receive a medical evidentiary or physical examination to retain their rights under the law. This bill would require the card to also include a notification that a court may not imprison or otherwise confine or place in custody a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence for contempt if the contempt consists of refusing to testify concerning the crime. By requiring higher levels of service from local law enforcement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 680 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 1228 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1228 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, 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.
(1) Existing law requires the Governor to create a California Interagency Council on Homelessness for specified purposes, including to create partnerships among various entities, like participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care Program, and to identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. This bill would enact the HELP (Homeless Equity for Left Behind Populations) Act. The bill would require cities, counties, and continuums of care receiving state funding to address homelessness, on or after January 1, 2024, to include families, people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, and unaccompanied women within the vulnerable populations for whom specific system supports are developed to maintain homeless services and housing delivery. The bill would also impose other homelessness planning and data analysis requirements on these cities, counties, and continuums of care. The bill would prohibit victim service providers, as defined, from being required or expected to enter client-level data into specified homeless data systems and would permit any funding provided to cities, counties, and continuums of care, consistent with authorized program uses and limitations, to be used to support the development and the maintenance of comparable databases, as specified. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, as described. The bill would require initial goals to be established by January 1, 2025, and those goals to be evaluated at least every 2 years to determine whether updated goals are needed. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. (2) 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 authorizes the governing boards of 2 or more school districts to enter into an agreement, for a term not to exceed 5 school years, for the interdistrict attendance of pupils who are residents of the school districts. Existing law also authorizes the governing board of a school district to accept pupils from other school districts by adopting a resolution to become a school district of choice, as defined, in accordance with specified procedural requirements and limitations. This bill would authorize the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school to enter into an agreement with one or more local educational agencies to offer the same or similar corresponding individual courses and coursework to pupils from other local educational agencies who have been impacted by disruptions, cancellations, or teacher shortages in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics classes, or dual language immersion programs, as provided. The bill would require a local educational agency subject to the agreement to accept pupils through an unbiased process that prohibits an inquiry into, or evaluation or consideration of, specified pupil characteristics, as provided, to hold random drawings to determine approval for study when the number of pupils seeking a classroom opportunity exceeds the available number of seats in a classroom, as provided, and to publicly post certain information related to these opportunities. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to evaluate the success of these local educational agency collaborations, as provided. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2029, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2030.
The Psychology Licensing Law provides for the licensure and regulation of psychologists by the Board of Psychology. The act prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of psychology or representing that the person is a psychologist without a license, except as specified, and makes any violation of the act a crime. Existing law authorizes a person other than a licensed psychologist to register with the board as a registered psychological associate and perform specified psychological functions if specified requirements are met. This bill, on and after January 1, 2024, would authorize a person who is registered with the board as a psychological testing technician to administer and score standardized objective psychological and neuropsychological tests and observe and describe clients' test behavior and responses. The bill would set forth specified requirements for registration as a psychological testing technician, including submitting an application to the board and attesting under penalty of perjury that the information in the application is true and correct. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would set forth education and training requirements for registration as a psychological testing technician, including proof of completion of a minimum of 80 hours of education and training relating to psychological or neuropsychological test administration and scoring. The bill would require all psychological testing technician services to be provided under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist, would require supervisors of psychological testing technicians to meet specified requirements, and would assign specified responsibilities to the supervising psychologist, including monitoring the psychological testing technician's compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The bill would require a psychological testing technician to renew their registration annually, as specified, and would establish a fee of $75 for registration or renewal and a fee of $25 to add or change the psychological testing technician's supervisor. By expanding the scope of the Psychology Licensing Law, the violation of which is a 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 establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, that generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, and in the course of, employment. Existing law requires an employer to provide medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the injury. Existing law includes in the meaning of medical treatment services and supplies by physical therapists, chiropractic practitioners, and acupuncturists, that are licensed and within the scope of their practice. Existing law authorizes an insurer, employer, or entity that provides physician network services to establish or modify a medical provider network for the provision of medical treatment to injured employees, and requires that a network include an adequate number and type of physicians or other providers, as defined. This bill would include a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) as treatment the employer is reasonably required to provide, would expand the meaning of medical treatment to include the services of an LCSW, and would authorize an employer to provide an employee with access to an LCSW, as defined, acting within the scope of their practice. The bill would authorize medical provider networks to add LCSWs to the physician providers listing, authorize an LCSW to treat or evaluate an injured worker only upon referral from a physician, as defined, and prohibit an LCSW from determining disability, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of allowing licensed clinical social workers to treat work-related mental and behavioral health issues. Existing law requires that when a self-insured employer, group of self-insured employers, or the insurer of an employer contracts with a health care organization for health care services to be provided to injured employees, those employees subject to the contract are to receive medical services in the manner prescribed in the contract. Existing law requires that each contract provide all medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the injury. This bill would include an LCSW as treatment that the contract is required to provide.
Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency, and sets forth its mission to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law requires the department to administer and implement the Aging and Disability Resource Connection program, in collaboration with the Department of Rehabilitation and the State Department of Health Care services. This bill would establish the Dementia Care Navigator Grant Pilot Program, to be administered by the California Department of Aging, in partnership with organizations with expertise using community health workers, promotores, and health navigators. The bill would provide that the purpose of the pilot program is to incentivize organizations that provide services to local communities to provide dementia care navigation training services, as defined. The bill would authorize organizations with expertise using community health workers, promotores, and health navigators to apply for a grant. The bill would require the department to award grants on a competitive basis. The bill would require an organization that receives a grant pursuant to these provisions to provide to the department an annual report on the services provided on or before December 31 of the year the grant is received, as specified. The bill would make those provisions inoperative on July 1, 2027. The bill would also require the department to provide a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature on or before December 1, 2027. Implementation of these provisions would be contingent upon an appropriation and the provisions would repeal on January 1, 2028. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
Existing law authorizes area agencies on aging and other county agencies that provide services to older adults through an established multidisciplinary team to provide information regarding older adult clients only to other county agencies with staff designated as members of a multidisciplinary team that are, or may be, providing services to the same individuals for purposes of identifying and coordinating the treatment of individuals served by more than one agency. This bill would specifically authorize an area agency on aging or a county, or both, to establish an aging multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined, with the goal of facilitating the expedited identification, assessment, and linkage of older adults to services and to allow provider agencies and members of the personnel team to share confidential information, as specified, for the purpose of coordinating services. Under the bill, any discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange of the information or writings during a team meeting would be confidential and testimony concerning that discussion would not be admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding. The bill would require the sharing of information permitted under these provisions to be governed by protocols developed by each area agency on aging or county, as specified, and would require each area agency on aging or county to provide a copy of its protocols to the California Department of Aging. The bill would require the protocols to include a requirement that, unless otherwise permitted by law, an area agency on aging or county obtain the affirmative consent of an individual or their representative before the individual's information is shared and a requirement to notify an individual, among other things, that they may opt out of sharing information at any time. This bill would authorize the aging multidisciplinary personnel team to designate qualified persons to be members of the team for a particular case and would require every member who receives information or records regarding adults and families in their capacity as a member of the team to be under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or providing the information or records. The bill would also require the information or records to be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and confidentiality rights. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth-In-Evidence, which requires a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding or any trial or hearing of a juvenile for a criminal offense, as specified. Because this bill would exclude from a criminal or juvenile court proceeding any discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange of information or writings during an aging multidisciplinary personnel team meeting, which would otherwise be admissible, it requires a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act (CESA) , among other things, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency under certain circumstances and provides that a state of war emergency exists, with or without proclamation by the Governor, when specified conditions exist. During a state of war emergency or a state of emergency, the CESA authorizes the Governor to suspend any regulatory statute, or statute prescribing the procedure for the conduct of state business, or the orders, rules, or regulations of any state agency where the Governor determines and declares that strict compliance with any statute, order, rule, or regulation would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the emergency. During a state of emergency, the CESA also authorizes the Governor to temporarily suspend any state, county, city, or special district statute, ordinance, regulation, or rule imposing nonsafety related restrictions on the delivery of food products, pharmaceuticals, and other emergency essentials distributed through retail or institutional channels, as provided, until the termination of the state of emergency, or for a period of 60 days, whichever occurs first. If the Governor has proclaimed a state of emergency and the President has declared an emergency or a major disaster to exist in this state, the CESA also authorizes the Governor to, among other things, temporarily suspend or modify, for up to 60 days, public health, safety, zoning, or intrastate transportation laws, ordinances, or regulations if the Governor declares that the suspension or modification is essential to provide temporary housing for disaster victims. This bill would provide that the Governor may only suspend a statute or regulation during a state of emergency or state of war emergency, as described above, in connection with the specific conditions of emergency proclaimed by the Governor or state of war emergency, as applicable. With respect to the temporary suspension of statutes, ordinances, regulations, or rules imposing nonsafety related restrictions on emergency essentials, as described above, the bill would provide that the Governor may only temporarily suspend those statutes, ordinances, regulations, or rules in connection with the specific conditions of emergency proclaimed by the Governor. With respect to laws, ordinances, or regulations temporarily suspended or modified to provide temporary housing, as described above, the bill would provide that the Governor may only temporarily suspend those laws, ordinances, or regulations in connection with the specific conditions of emergency proclaimed by the Governor and declared by the President to be an emergency or major disaster. The bill would also make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes.