Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the 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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law prohibits certain discriminatory acts by health care service plans and health insurers. Existing federal law, beginning January 1, 2014, prohibits a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage from discriminating with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider's license or certification under applicable state law. Beginning January 1, 2014, this bill would prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer from discriminating against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider's license, as specified. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions relative to health care service plans would be a 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.
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Existing law specifies the duties of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and county agricultural commissioners with respect to the sale and control of nursery stock, as defined. Existing law requires a person to hold a valid license in order to sell nursery stock and makes a violation of these provisions a crime. Under existing law, the secretary is prohibited from refunding more than 12 of the minimum license fee to any person who applies for a license to sell nursery stock and who later decides not to do so. This bill would prohibit the secretary from returning more than 25% of the minimum license fee. Existing law requires the secretary, by regulation, to provide for periodic inspections of nurseries and authorizes the secretary to prescribe standards of cleanliness for nursery stock. Existing law sets forth suggestions for the standards of cleanliness. This bill would make specified standards of cleanliness, including, but not limited to, being free of pests and isolation of infested or infected plants, mandatory. The bill would also authorize the secretary to, by regulation, develop and implement an audit-based certification system for certification of nursery stock shipments. Under existing law, it is unlawful to move nursery stock without a valid nursery certificate unless the person has forwarded to the county agricultural commissioner, at or prior to the time of shipment, a manifest stating prescribed information. Under existing law, it is also unlawful to ship, or cause to be shipped, nursery stock from one county to another without a nursery stock certificate or shipping permit. Existing law authorizes the county agricultural commissioner to revoke or suspend the right to use a nursery stock certificate or shipping permit if the person fails to comply with the statutory provisions applicable to nursery stock. This bill would require the person to forward the manifest to the county agricultural commissioner prior to shipment. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the nursery stock provisions. By expanding the definition of 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 provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health and requires a licensed facility that maintains and operates an emergency department to provide emergency services and care to any person requesting the services or care for any condition in which the person is in danger of loss of life or serious injury or illness, as specified. Existing law requires hospitals to maintain a written policy regarding discount payments for financially qualified patients as well as a written charity care policy. Existing law requires a hospital to limit the expected payment for services it provides to certain low-income patients to the highest amount the hospital would expect to receive for providing services from a government-sponsored program of health benefits in which the hospital participates. 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 requires health care service plans, or their contracting medical providers, to reimburse providers for emergency services and care provided to their enrollees until the care results in stabilization of the enrollee. This bill would require a hospital with an out-of-network emergency utilization rate, as defined, of 50% or more to adjust its total billed charges for emergency services and care provided to a patient prior to stabilization to an amount no greater than 150% of the amount the hospital could expect to receive from Medicare for the services and care. The bill would specify that this provision does not apply to charges billed by emergency physicians, as defined, or to charges provided as treatment for an injury that is compensable for purposes of workers' compensation. The bill would also specify that its provisions do not apply if any other law requires the hospital to limit expected payment for the emergency services and care to a lesser amount, if a contract governs the total billed charges for the emergency services and care, or if a government program of health benefits, as specified, is the primary payer for the emergency services and care. The bill would require health care service plans or their contracting medical providers to reimburse hospitals in accordance with these provisions. Because a willful violation of that reimbursement requirement by a health care service plan or its contracting medical providers would be a 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 the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to enter into loan agreements with a sponsor or a participating party in order to finance a project related to infrastructure or economic development. Existing law requires the bank to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on various topics related to the operation of the bank's projects. This bill would authorize the bank, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enter into participation loan agreements, as defined, with financial institutions for the bank to purchase interests in loans made or held by financial institutions to small businesses. The bill would require the bank, if an appropriation is made to finance the participation loan program, to include in its annual report a summary of the participation loan agreement program, and would require the bank to also submit that portion of the report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would authorize the bank, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enter into syndicated loan agreements, as defined.
Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and imposes certain requirements on health care service plans. Existing law imposes various fines and administrative penalties for certain violations of these provisions, which are deposited in the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund. Existing law requires the first $1,000,000 in the fund to be transferred each year to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians in the Health Professions Education Fund for purposes of the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program. Existing law requires all remaining funds to be transferred each year to the Major Risk Medical Insurance Fund for purposes of the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program. This bill, beginning on the date that the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program becomes inoperative, would instead require all remaining funds over the first $1,000,000 to be transferred each year to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development for the purposes of the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act. The bill would require the Director of Finance to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in that regard.
Existing law provides that a city may purchase, lease, receive, hold, and enjoy real and personal property, and control and dispose of it for the common benefit. Other existing law establishes specific procedures for sale of public utility property owned by a municipal corporation, with special provisions that are applicable to the sale of property of a water utility. This bill would, until January 1, 2014, authorize the City of El Monte in the County of Los Angeles, which owns and operates a public utility for furnishing water service, to sell or transfer all or any part of the utility, as prescribed, if certain requirements are met. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of El Monte. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to pursue a comprehensive approach to stem the trafficking of illicit United States firearms and ammunition into Mexico, that includes, among other things, enhanced collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies, the allocation of a permanent source of federal funding to sustain local and state law enforcement operations to combat firearms and ammunition trafficking and other border-related crimes, the redirection of federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) , United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and United States Customs and Border Protection resources towards this effort, reenactment of a strong federal assault weapons ban, and stronger federal authority to crack down on corrupt gun dealers.
This measure would proclaim June 2012 as Scleroderma Awareness Month.
This measure would designate Monday, May 7, 2012, as California Peace Officers' Memorial Day, urge all Californians to use that day to honor California peace officers, and recognize specified California peace officers who were killed in defense of their communities.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which health care benefits are provided to qualified low-income individuals. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. This bill, commencing January 1, 2014, to the extent federal financial participation is available and to the extent required by federal law, would extend Medi-Cal eligibility to youths who were formerly in foster care and who are under 26 years of age, pursuant to prescribed provisions of federal law. Because each county is responsible for making Medi-Cal eligibility determinations, by expanding Medi-Cal eligibility 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 these statutory provisions.