Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of various community care facilities by the State Department of Social Services. This bill would enact the Home Care Services Act of 2011 and would provide for the licensure and regulation of home care organizations, as defined, by the State Department of Social Services. The bill would establish home care organizations as being recognized in the health care industry. The bill would impose various licensure requirements on a home care organization and would also impose a civil penalty on an individual or entity that operates a home care organization without a license. The bill would require a home care organization to provide a client with specified information before arranging for the provision of home care services, as defined, to that client, including, but not limited to, the types and hours of available home care services and the extent to which payment may be expected from specified sources. In addition, the home care organization would be required to, among other things, distribute to the client its advance directive policy and provide a written notice to the client of certain rights. The bill would also prohibit a home care organization from hiring an individual as a home care aide unless that individual meets certain requirements, including, but not limited to, demonstrating that he or she has specified language skills. The bill would require a home care organization to conduct background clearances on home care aides, as specified, and to require home care aides to demonstrate they are free of active tuberculosis. The bill would also require a home care organization to conduct regular evaluations of its home care aides, as specified, and to ensure that home care aides demonstrate basic competency in certain areas. The bill would establish the Home Care Organization Fund, would authorize the department to impose various fees to be deposited in that fund, and would make a continuous appropriation from that fund to the department to carry out the provisions of the act. The bill, in addition, would prescribe enforcement procedures and penalties for violations of the act.
Sponsored bills
The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) establishes the Marine Life Protection Program to reexamine and redesign California's marine protected area system. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Game to prepare, and the Fish and Game Commission to adopt, a master plan that guides the adoption and implementation of the program, including recommended alternative networks of marine protected areas. Under the MLPA, the taking of a marine species in a marine life reserve, a type of marine protected area, is prohibited for any purpose, including recreational and commercial fishing, except as authorized by the commission for scientific purposes. This bill would authorize Native American tribes to submit proposals for comanagement of marine species within marine protected areas that are designated or proposed to be designated under the MLPA. The bill would require comanagement proposals to include prescribed information, and would require submission of the proposals to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. The bill would authorize the secretary to request additional information before determining that a proposal is complete, and upon receipt of a proposal from the secretary, would require the Director of Fish and Game to consult with the tribe to develop memoranda of understanding or other agreements to, among other things, provide access to the tribe for traditional hunting and gathering and cultural activities. If multiple tribal governments or groups submit proposals to the secretary, the bill would require the secretary to prioritize the proposals for negotiation, as provided.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to review and adopt a procurement plan for each electrical corporation in accordance with specified elements, incentive mechanisms, and objectives. The act requires that an electrical corporation's proposed procurement plan include certain elements, including a showing that the electrical corporation will first meet its unmet needs through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible. The act additionally requires the commission, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to identify all potentially achievable cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and to establish efficiency targets for electrical corporations to achieve pursuant to their procurement plan. Existing law relative to the restructuring of the electrical services industry requires the commission, in evaluating energy efficiency investments, to ensure that local and regional interests, multifamily dwellings, and energy service industry capabilities are incorporated into an electrical corporation's energy efficiency program portfolio design and that local governments, community-based organizations, and energy efficiency service providers are encouraged to participate in program implementation, where appropriate. This bill would require the commission, in evaluating energy efficiency investments, to ensure that local and regional interests, multifamily dwellings, and energy service industry capabilities are incorporated into an electrical corporation's energy efficiency program portfolio design, and to encourage participation from local governments, community-based organizations, and energy efficiency service providers in program design, revision, and implementation, where appropriate. The bill would require an electrical corporation, when developing or revising its energy efficiency program portfolio design, to collaborate with, and seek comments from, county climate protection authorities or other public agencies that are directly authorized to implement regional or countywide climate protection and energy efficiency programs. 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 the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and place additional duties upon electrical corporations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. 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.
The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from imposing taxes for local purposes, but allows the Legislature to authorize local governments to impose them. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of any county to levy any tax that may be levied by any charter city, subject to the voters' approval pursuant to Article XIIIA and Article XIIIC of the California Constitution.
Existing law imposes an oil spill prevention and administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed $0.05 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, on persons owning crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal. The fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the fund are available for specified purposes, including to cover the costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network for training and field collection, and search and rescue activities. This bill would extend the authority to use money in the fund to other costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
(1) The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires a person undertaking development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit in accordance with prescribed procedures. Existing law authorizes the superior court to impose civil liability on a person who performs or undertakes development that is in violation of the act or that is inconsistent with a previously issued coastal development permit, and on a person who violates the act in any other manner. This bill would provide that a person who violates the act is subject to an administrative civil penalty that may be imposed by the California Coastal Commission by a majority vote of the commissioners, upon consideration of various factors, in a public hearing, and in an amount no less than $5,000 and no more than $50,000 for each violation. This bill would provide that a person, as defined, shall not be subject to both monetary civil liability imposed by the commission and monetary civil liability imposed by the superior court for the same act or failure to act. In the event that a person who is assessed a penalty by the commission fails to pay the penalty, fails to comply with a restoration or cease and desist order, or challenges any of these actions in a court of law, the commission may maintain an action or otherwise engage in judicial proceedings to enforce those requirements and the court may grant any relief, as specified. This bill would also allow the commission to record a lien on the property of a violator in the amount of the penalty assessed by the commission if the violator fails to pay the fine. (2) The act also requires that all funds derived from the payment of a penalty are to be deposited into the Violation Remediation Account of the State Coastal Conservancy Fund, until appropriated by the Legislature, for purposes of carrying out the act. This bill would instead require that all funds derived from the payment of a penalty be deposited into the Coastal Act Services Fund, until appropriated by the Legislature, for the purposes of carrying out the act.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) and sets forth its powers and duties with respect to health facility construction, health policy and planning, and health professions development. This bill would require an owner of a specified health facility to install prescribed carbon monoxide devices in that facility in or around areas that contain a fossil fuel burning appliance within 180 days after regulations are approved by the OSHPD. This bill would require the OSHPD to prescribe the criteria for the number and placement of carbon monoxide devices in a facility and to adopt and enforce regulations prescribing building standards for the adequacy and safety of facility physical plants for these purposes. 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 relative to private energy producers requires every electric utility, as defined, to make available to an eligible customer‑generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer‑generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. Existing law requires the electric utility, upon an affirmative election by the eligible customer-generator to receive service pursuant to this contract or tariff, to either: (1) provide net surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity generated in the 12-month period, or (2) allow the eligible customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit for kilowatthours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to the surplus customer-generator. This bill would authorize an agricultural customer-generator with multiple meters to elect to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the generation facility is located, if those properties are solely owned by the agricultural customer-generator, as provided.
Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to perform all duties imposed upon him or her by the provisions of the Insurance Code and other laws regulating the business of insurance in this state, and to enforce the execution of those provisions and laws. This bill would additionally authorize the commissioner, in the exercise of his or her discretion to take enforcement action, to impose upon an insurer, licensee, or other entity or person subject to the commissioner's authority specified remedies, either by way of settlement or following a hearing, whenever the commissioner finds that there has been a violation of an applicable insurance provision, as prescribed.
(1) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act authorizes the issuance of an on-sale beer and wine eating place license, which authorizes the sale of beer and wine for consumption on or off the licensed premises, provided the licensee maintains the licensed premises as a bona fide public eating place, as defined, and meets other specified requirements. This bill would expand the definition of bona fide public eating place, for purposes of the on-sale beer and wine eating place license, to include a cooking school that provides courses and instructions in the preparation of food and maintains suitable kitchen facilities, as provided. The bill would make other related changes to a provision containing compliance requirements imposed upon bona fide eating places for which an on-sale license has been issued. (2) Existing law generally prohibits the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages at a public schoolhouse or any grounds thereof. Existing law provides that this prohibition does not apply if the alcoholic beverage is possessed, consumed, or used during an event at a community center owned by a community services district, as provided. This bill would expand that exception to this prohibition to include events held at a community center owned by a city. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 25608 of the Business and Professions Code, proposed by AB 319, to be operative only if AB 319 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective January 1, 2012, and this bill is chaptered last. (4) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides that a violation of specified provisions of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would expand an existing crime by imposing requirements on additional licensees under the act; thus, 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.