Existing law provides that, when a child is removed from his or her family by the juvenile court, placement of the child in foster care should secure, as nearly as possible, the custody, care, and discipline equivalent to that which should have been given the child by his or her parents. Existing law provides enumerated rights for children who are placed in foster care. Existing law establishes the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson to disseminate specified information, including the stated rights of foster youth, and to investigate and attempt to resolve complaints made by or on behalf of children placed in foster care, related to their care, placement, or services. This bill would enumerate rights for foster youth relating to mental health services. The bill would require the office, in consultation with various entities, to develop, no later than July 1, 2012, standardized information explaining the rights specified and to distribute this information to foster youth.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law, pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes. Under federal law, funding is made available for allocation nationally to high-speed rail and other related projects. Existing law provides for various programs to encourage the participation of small businesses, as certified by the Department of General Services, in state agency contracts, and sets forth the duties of the Director of General Services and the directors of other state agencies in this regard. Existing law imposes various penalties for certain unlawful actions in obtaining classification as a small business or in engaging in other unlawful actions. This bill would enact similar penalties relative to the certification of businesses as small business enterprises by the authority and for other unlawful actions.
Existing law provides for the creation of various programs to provide health care services to persons who have limited incomes and meet various eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families Program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and the Medi‑Cal program administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law provides for the regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Commencing January 1, 2014, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires every individual to be covered under minimum essential coverage, as specified, and requires every health insurance issuer issuing individual or group health insurance coverage to accept every employer and individual who applies for coverage. Existing law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchange by qualified individuals and small employers by January 1, 2014. This bill would establish the California Healthcare System to be administered by the newly created California Healthcare Agency under the control of a Healthcare Commissioner appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The bill would make all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits under the California Healthcare System, which would, on a single-payer basis, negotiate for or set fees for health care services provided through the system and pay claims for those services. The bill would require the commissioner to seek all necessary waivers, exemptions, agreements, or legislation to allow various existing federal, state, and local health care payments to be paid to the California Healthcare System, which would then assume responsibility for all benefits and services previously paid for with those funds. The bill would create the Healthcare Policy Board to establish policy on medical issues and various other matters relating to the system. The bill would create the Office of Patient Advocacy within the agency to represent the interests of health care consumers relative to the system. The bill would create within the agency the Office of Health Planning to plan for the health care needs of the population, and the Office of Health Care Quality, headed by a chief medical officer, to support the delivery of high-quality care and promote provider and patient satisfaction. The bill would create the Office of Inspector General for the California Healthcare System within the Attorney General's office, which would have various oversight powers. The bill would prohibit health care service plan contracts or health insurance policies from being issued for services covered by the California Healthcare System, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, and would authorize the collection of penalty moneys for deposit into the Healthcare Fund, which the bill would create. The bill would create the Payments Board to administer the finances of the California Healthcare System. The bill would create the California Healthcare Premium Commission (Premium Commission) to determine the cost of the California Healthcare System and to develop a premium structure for the system that complies with specified standards. The bill would require the Premium Commission to recommend a premium structure to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2014, and to make a draft recommendation to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public 90 days before submitting its final premium structure recommendation. The bill would specify that only its provisions relating to the Premium Commission would become operative on January 1, 2013, with its remaining provisions becoming operative on the earlier of the date the Secretary of California Health and Human Services notifies the Legislature, as specified, that sufficient funding exists to implement the California Healthcare System and the date the secretary receives the necessary federal waiver under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill would extend the application of certain insurance fraud laws to providers of services and products under the system, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by revising the definition of a crime. The bill would enact other related provisions relative to budgeting, regional entities, federal preemption, subrogation, collective bargaining agreements, compensation of health care providers, conflict of interest, patient grievances, and independent medical review. 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.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law requires a court to commence a hearing of an action or proceeding brought to challenge an agency action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA within one year of the date of the filing of the action or proceeding. This bill would require the hearing to commence within 9 months of the date of the filing of the action or proceeding. (2) Existing law requires the court to establish a briefing schedule and a hearing date upon the filing of a request for hearing by a petitioner. Existing law requires the briefing to be completed within 90 days from the date of the filing of the request, to the extent feasible. Existing law authorizes the court to extend the briefing schedule upon a showing of good cause. This bill would require the briefing to be completed within 90 days from the date of filing unless determined infeasible by the court. The bill would require the court to limit any extension of the briefing schedule for good cause to the shortest feasible period. (3) Existing law requires a person filing an action or proceeding alleging noncompliance with CEQA to file a request with the public agency for the preparation of the administrative record subject to the challenge. Existing law requires the public agency to prepare and certify the administrative record within 60 days from the date of the request. Existing law authorizes the court to grant an extension for the preparation of the record. Existing law provides that the extension is to be liberally granted by the court. This bill would instead require the public agency to prepare and distribute the administrative record to all parties for review within 45 days from the date of the request. Because the bill would require a public agency to distribute the administrative record, thereby increasing the level of service provided by the public agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the parties to complete the review and the public agency to certify the record not later than 15 days after the distribution of the record for review. The bill would provide that the extension is to be granted in limited circumstances. (4) Existing law requires a settlement meeting be held among the parties not later than 45 days after the filing of the action of proceeding alleging noncompliance with CEQA. This bill would shorten that time period to 30 days. (5) 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 requires that all expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in the preparation for, and conduct of, elections be paid from the county treasuries, except when an election is called by the governing body of a city. This bill would provide that expenses authorized and necessarily incurred for elections proclaimed by the Governor to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator or Assembly Member, or to fill a vacancy in the office of United States Senator or Representative in the Congress, are to be paid by the state. When an election proclaimed by the Governor is consolidated with a local election, the bill would provide that the state shall pay only those additional expenses directly related to the election proclaimed by the Governor.
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of profession and vocation licensees by various boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Within the department, there are healing arts boards and nonhealing arts boards. The department is under the control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. This bill would require the Department of Justice to serve or submit to a healing arts board for service accusations and default decisions within a specified timeframe and would also require the Department of Justice to set a hearing within a specified timeframe upon receiving a notice of defense, except as specified. The bill would prohibit a licensee regulated by a board within the department from including certain provisions in an agreement to settle a civil litigation action arising from his or her practice, as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes the director to audit and review, among other things, inquiries and complaints regarding licensees, dismissals of disciplinary cases, and discipline short of formal accusation by the Medical Board of California and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine. This bill would additionally authorize the director or his or her designee to audit and review the aforementioned activities by any of the healing arts boards. Existing law authorizes the director to employ investigators, inspectors, and deputies as are necessary to investigate and prosecute all violations of any law, the enforcement of which is charged to the department, or to any board in the department. Inspectors used by the boards are not required to be employees of the Division of Investigation, but may be employees of, or under contract to, the boards. This bill would authorize healing arts boards to employ investigators who are not employees of the Division of Investigation, and would authorize those boards to contract for investigative services provided by the Department of Justice. The bill would also establish within the Division of Investigation the Health Quality Enforcement Unit to provide investigative services for healing arts proceedings. The bill would require all healing arts boards within the department to report annually, by October 1, to the department and the Legislature certain information, including, but not limited to, the total number of complaints closed or resolved without discipline, the total number of complaints and reports referred for formal investigation, and the total number of accusations filed and the final disposition of accusations through the board and court review, respectively. The bill would also provide that it is an act of unprofessional conduct for any licensee of a healing arts board to fail to furnish information in a timely manner to the board or the board's investigators, or to fail to cooperate and participate in any disciplinary investigation pending against him or her, except as specified. Existing law requires the district attorney, city attorney, and other prosecuting agencies to notify the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and other allied health boards and the court clerk if felony charges have been filed against one of the board's licensees. Existing law also requires, within 10 days after a court judgment, the clerk of the court to report to the appropriate board when a licentiate has committed a crime or is liable for any death or personal injury resulting in a specified judgment. Existing law also requires the clerk of the court to transmit to certain boards specified felony preliminary transcript hearings concerning a defendant licensee. The bill would instead make those provisions applicable to all healing arts boards. By imposing additional duties on these local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a healing arts board, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to query the federal National Practitioner Data Bank prior to, among other things, granting a license to an applicant who is currently residing in another state or granting a petition for reinstatement of a revoked or surrendered license. This bill would make it a crime to engage in the practice of certain healing arts without a current and valid license, or to fraudulently buy, sell, or obtain such a license to practice certain healing arts. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Under existing law, healing arts licensees are regulated by various healing arts boards within the department. These boards are authorized to issue, deny, suspend, and revoke licenses based on various grounds and to take disciplinary action against a licensee for the failure to comply with their laws and regulations. Existing law requires or authorizes a board to appoint an executive officer to, among other things, perform duties delegated by the board. This bill would authorize a healing arts board to delegate to its executive officer, where an administrative action has been filed by the board to revoke the license of a licensee and the licensee has failed to file a notice of defense or appear at the hearing, the authority to adopt a proposed default decision. The bill would also authorize a healing arts board to enter into a settlement with a licensee or applicant in lieu of the issuance of an accusation or statement of issues against the licensee or applicant. The bill would also provide that the license of a licensee of a healing arts board shall be suspended if the licensee is incarcerated after the conviction of a felony and would require the board to notify the licensee of the suspension and of his or her right to a specified hearing. The bill would specify that no hearing is required, however, if the conviction was for a violation of federal law or state law for the use of dangerous drugs or controlled substances or specified sex offenses; a violation for the use of dangerous drugs or controlled substances would also constitute unprofessional conduct and a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide for the revocation of a license upon the conviction of certain sex offenses, as defined. The bill would provide that the commission of, and conviction for, any act of sexual abuse, misconduct, or attempted sexual misconduct, whether or not with a patient, or conviction of a felony requiring registration as a sex offender, be considered a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a healing arts licensee. The bill would require the employer of certain health care licensees to report to the appropriate board within a specified timeframe information relating to a health care licensee who is suspended or terminated for cause or who resigns. The bill would require a board to investigate these reports, including the inspection and copying of certain documents relating to that suspension, termination, or resignation. The bill would require specified healing arts boards, on or after July 1, 2014, to post on their Internet Web sites specified information in their possession, custody, or control regarding their licensees and their license status, prior discipline, and convictions. The bill would authorize certain healing arts boards to automatically suspend the license of any licensee who also has an out-of-state license or a license issued by an agency of the federal government that is suspended or revoked, except as specified. (4) The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the Bureau of State Audits conduct a specified review of the diversion programs administered by the Dental Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Physical Therapy Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Physician Assistant Committee, and the Veterinary Medical Board of California by January 1, 2014. (5) Existing law establishes in the Department of Justice the Health Quality Enforcement Section, whose primary responsibility is to investigate and prosecute proceedings against licensees and applicants within the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California and any committee of the board, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, and the Board of Psychology. This bill would authorize a healing arts board to utilize the services of the Health Quality Enforcement Section or licensing section. If utilized, the bill would require the Attorney General to assign attorneys employed by the office of the Attorney General to work on location at the licensing unit of the Division of Investigation of the Department of Consumer Affairs, as specified. (6) The bill would delete, revise and recast various provisions of the Physical Therapy Practice Act and would make other conforming changes. (7) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes various programs and procedures for the purposes of identifying and assisting low-performing schools and school districts. This bill would establish the Educational Innovation Pilot Program for the purposes of promoting and implementing innovative research-based practices within selected schools in the state. School districts with specified low-performing schools would be eligible to apply for grants to establish an innovation program, commencing with the 2013–14 school year, within the school. The Superintendent of Public Instruction would be required to administer the pilot program, and to award grants to applicants based on certain criteria relating to the proposed innovation program. The program would be funded by existing state and federal resources, and the Superintendent would be authorized to accept financial assistance from public and private sources for purposes of administering the program. Each school district that is awarded a grant would be required to annually evaluate its innovation program pursuant to an evaluation developed by the Superintendent. The bill would require the State Department of Education to maintain, on its Internet Web site, a database consisting of descriptions of effective innovation programs developed pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit to the Legislature an interim report, and a final report, based on the evaluations of the innovation programs, by March 1, 2015, and March 1, 2017, respectively.
Existing law establishes, as one segment the 3 segments of public postsecondary education the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district, prior to acquiring any site on which it proposes to construct any school building, as defined, to have the site, or sites, under consideration investigated by competent personnel to ensure that the final site selection is determined by an evaluation of specified factors, in a specified manner. Copies of the results of these investigations must be submitted to the Chancellor's office of the California Community Colleges. Existing law contains prohibitions, restrictions and procedures applicable to the proposed siting of buildings within 2 miles of an airport runway. This bill would repeal the provisions relating to the relocation of a site within 2 miles of an airport runway.
Existing law, the California High-Speed Rail Act, creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed rail system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law, pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes. Under federal law, funding is made available for allocation nationally to high-speed rail and other related projects. Existing law requires the authority to prepare, publish, adopt, and submit to the Legislature a business plan containing specified elements beginning January 1, 2012, and every 2 years thereafter. This bill would require the authority, in awarding contracts for the construction of the high-speed rail system with state or federal funds, to develop a strategy in conjunction with the Employment Development Department to ensure that at least 25% of the project workforce used at each authority worksite is from the local workforce, and to report on that strategy in the business plan to be submitted on January 1, 2012, or as an addendum to that plan to be submitted on March 1, 2012. This bill would also require the authority to include in that business plan or addendum a strategy for ensuring the participation of California-certified small businesses in contracts awarded by the authority with state or federal funds during all phases of the project.
Existing law authorizes a school district or school to provide a comprehensive program in first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, or both, to pupils and employees, and requires the program to be developed using specified guidelines. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that all public high schools acquire and maintain at least one automatic external defibrillator (AED) . The bill would authorize a public high school to solicit and receive nonstate funds to acquire and maintain an AED. If a public high school decides to acquire and maintain an AED, or continue to use and maintain an existing AED, the bill would require the school to comply with specified requirements. The bill would provide that an employee and the school district are not liable for civil damages resulting from specified uses or nonuses of an AED, except as provided. The bill would also make specified findings and declarations.