Sen. Ted Lieu

Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to establish and maintain a program that systematically identifies unlawfully uninsured employers. Existing law requires all state departments and agencies and any rating organization, as specified, to cooperate with the Labor Commissioner and on reasonable request provide information and data in their possession reasonably necessary to carry out the program. This bill would require the Director of Industrial Relations, in consultation with the state department or agency, or rating organization, in possession of the information or data, to determine the reasonableness of any request to provide the information and data.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists, educational psychologists, clinical social workers, and professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences and imposes continuing education requirements for license renewal. Existing law specifies that certain accredited schools shall be deemed to be approved continuing education providers for these licensees. Existing law requires the board to approve other continuing education providers and authorizes the board to revoke or deny the right of those providers to offer coursework if they fail to comply with specified requirements. This bill would require continuing education providers other than accredited educational institutions and certain other institutions to be approved by an accrediting organization, and would delete the requirement for the board to approve or revoke those providers. The bill would make other conforming changes.

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.

This measure would request that the Congress and the President of the United States enact the Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2011 (H.R. 210) .

This measure would declare February 19, 2012, as a Day of Remembrance in order to increase public awareness of the events surrounding the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.

Under existing law, there are programs providing assistance for, among other things, emergency housing, multifamily housing, farmworker housing, home ownership for very low and low-income households, and downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers. Existing law also authorizes the issuance of bonds in specified amounts pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law. Existing law requires that proceeds from the sale of these bonds be used to finance various existing housing programs, capital outlay related to infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes infill development, and housing-related parks. This bill would enact the Housing Opportunity and Market Stabilization (HOMeS) Trust Fund Act of 2012. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations relating to the need for establishing permanent, ongoing sources of funding dedicated to affordable housing development. The bill would impose a fee, except as provided, of $75 to be paid at the time of the recording of every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded. By imposing new duties on counties with respect to the imposition of the recording fee, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that revenues from this fee be sent quarterly to the Department of Housing and Community Development for deposit in the Housing Opportunity and Market Stabilization (HOMeS) Trust Fund, which the bill would create within the State Treasury. The bill would provide that moneys in the fund may be expended for supporting affordable housing, administering housing programs, and the cost of periodic audits, as specified. The bill would impose certain auditing and reporting requirements. This bill would result in a change in state taxes for the purpose of increasing state revenues within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. 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 measure would recognize May 2012 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health and makes a violation of those provisions a misdemeanor. Existing law, the Payers' Bill of Rights, requires a hospital that uses a charge description master to make a written or electronic copy available in accordance with specified provisions and requires the hospital to post a notice that informs patients that the charge description master is available pursuant to specified provisions. 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 that act a crime. Existing law requires plans to reimburse noncontracting providers for emergency services and care rendered to enrollees of the plan, as specified. Existing law requires plans to, upon request, provide a list of specified contracting providers within the enrollee's or prospective enrollee's general geographic area. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance and authorizes health insurers to contract for alternative rates of payment with providers. Existing law requires insurers to provide group policyholders with a current roster of institutional and professional providers under contract to provide services at alternative rates under their group policy and to make that list available for inspection during regular business hours at the insurer's principal office. Under this bill, when a patient seeks services at a hospital for an elective or scheduled procedure and the patient is covered by a specified type of health care service plan contract or health insurance policy that provides out-of-network coverage, the hospital would be required to provide the patient with a notice stating, among other things, that certain hospital-based providers may not be within the network of the patient's plan or insurer. The bill would require that the hospital receive the signature of the patient, or his or her legal representative, on this notice prior to rendering services to the patient. The bill would also require that a health care service plan or health insurer that receives a request from a subscriber, enrollee, policyholder, or insured for a referral to a noncontracting provider based on this hospital notice either authorize the enrollee or subscriber or policyholder or insured to obtain covered services from the noncontracting provider or refer the enrollee to a contracting provider with similar clinical expertise providing similar services in the same geographic region. The bill would also prohibit a hospital or a provider group from holding itself out as being within a plan or provider network unless all of the individual providers providing services at the hospital or with the provider group are within the plan or provider network or the hospital or provider group acknowledges that individual providers within the hospital or provider group may be outside the plan or provider network. Because a violation of certain of the bill's requirements would be a crime, this 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.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene Act) , 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 prohibits a health care service plan from publishing or distributing an advertisement unless a copy thereof has first been filed with the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care at least 30 days prior to that use and the director has not found the advertisement to be untrue, misleading, deceptive, or in violation of the Knox-Keene Act within those 30 days, except as specified. Under existing law, if an advertisement fails to comply with the Knox-Keene Act, the director has the authority to require a plan to publish a correction or retraction of an untrue, misleading, or deceptive statement contained in the advertisement and to prohibit the plan from publishing the advertisement or a material revision thereof without filing a copy with the director, as specified. Existing law authorizes the director to exempt a plan or advertisement from these requirements. This bill would, until January 1, 2020, authorize the director to extend this period of review by an additional 90 days. The bill would also require health insurers to comply with similar advertising requirements. Existing law prohibits a plan, solicitor, solicitor firm, or representative from using any advertising or solicitation, or making or permitting the use of any verbal statement, that is untrue or misleading or any form of evidence of coverage that is deceptive, as specified. Existing law prohibits an insurer, agent, or broker from causing to be issued a misrepresentation of the terms of the policy issued by the insurer, among other things, and makes a violation of that requirement a crime. Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , enacts various health care coverage market reforms. Among other things, commencing January 1, 2014, PPACA requires every individual to be covered under minimum essential coverage, as specified, and requires every health insurance issuer offering coverage in the individual or small group markets to ensure that the coverage includes a specified essential health benefits package. This bill would prohibit an insurer or agent from using any advertising or solicitation, or making or permitting the use of any verbal statement, that is untrue or misleading or any form of evidence of coverage that is deceptive, as specified. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan, insurer, and specified persons from making any statement to a person that is known, or should have been known, to be deceptive or a misrepresentation regarding the requirements of PPACA. The bill would prohibit a specialized health care service plan, with certain exceptions, from offering, issuing, selling, or renewing an individual or group plan contract that does not, at a minimum, cover basic health care services unless the individual or group has proof of enrollment in minimum essential coverage, as defined. The bill would also prohibit a discount health plan that arranges for the provision of health care services from offering or selling a product to an individual or group unless the individual enrollee has proof of enrollment in minimum essential coverage. The bill would prohibit a health insurer, a specialized health insurer, or an insurer offering policies or certificates of specified disease or hospital confinement indemnity insurance from offering, issuing, selling, or renewing an individual or small group health insurance policy that does not, at a minimum, cover essential health benefits, as defined, unless the individual or group has proof of enrollment in minimum essential coverage, as defined, with certain exceptions. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer that offers, issues, or sells a plan contract or health insurance policy that provides coverage that does not constitute minimum essential coverage to include in all solicitations, marketing materials, and the evidence of coverage a clear and easily identified disclosure to that effect, as specified. The bill would enact other related provisions. Existing law requires the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance to adopt regulations establishing standards and requirements to provide enrollees and insureds with appropriate access to language assistance in obtaining health care services, as specified. Existing law requires plans and insurers to translate specified vital documents into a language when a certain proportion of its enrollees or insureds indicate a preference for written materials in that language. Under this bill, if a solicitor or an insurance agent advertises or markets health care service plan contracts or health insurance policies in a language other than English, the plan or insurer would be required to comply with those language assistance requirements. The bill would require a solicitor, solicitor firm, or insurance agent to disclose to the plan or insurer the non-English languages in which the solicitor, solicitor firm, or insurance agent markets, advertises, negotiates, or solicits contracts or policies offered by the plan or insurer, as specified. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer that advertises or markets in a language in which vital documents do not have to be translated to translate certain documents into that language. These provisions would not apply to the Medi-Cal program or the Healthy Families Program. Because a violation of certain of the bill's requirements 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.