Sen. Kelly Seyarto

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities by the State Department of Health Care Services and authorizes the department to enforce those provisions. Existing law also requires the department to require that an individual providing counseling services within a program be certified by a certifying organization approved by the department. Existing law authorizes the department to charge a fee to all programs for licensure or certification by the department, and establishes the Residential and Outpatient Program Licensing Fund to hold these fees. This bill would create the Allied Behavioral Health Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs, and would transfer the responsibility to oversee those certifying organizations from the State Department of Health Care Services to the board. The bill would require the board to establish regulations and standards for the licensure of substance use disorder counselors, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for a substance use disorder counselor license to have documented to a certifying organization that they have obtained a master's degree in alcohol and drug counseling or a related counseling master's degree, as specified, and to pass specified examinations, and would require the board to review the criminal history of the applicant, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person from using the title of "Licensed Alcohol Drug Counselor" unless the person has applied for and obtained a license from the board, and would make a violation of that provision punishable by an administrative penalty not to exceed $1,000. The bill would require the board to establish fees for licensure, as specified, and would revert all unencumbered funds appropriated from fees in the Residential and Outpatient Program Licensing Fund to the State Department of Health Care Services for the purpose of certification oversight of substance use disorder counselors to that fund. The bill would make its provisions operative upon the appropriation by the Legislature of funds allocated to the state from a specified settlement agreement, consistent with the requirements of the settlement agreement, and sufficient to implement this chapter.

Existing law classifies certain felonies as violent felonies for purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code. Existing law imposes an additional one-year term for a sexually violent felony and a 3-year term for a violent felony for each prior separate prison term served for a violent felony. This bill would additionally define human sex trafficking as a violent felony. By increasing the sentence 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, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law requires that the housing element include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. If the inventory of sites does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels, as provided, existing law requires that the local government rezone sites within specified time periods. If the local government fails to adopt a housing element that the Department of Housing and Community Development has found to be in substantial compliance with specified law within 120 days of the statutory deadline for adoption of the housing element, existing law requires the local government to complete this rezoning no later than one year from the statutory deadline for adoption of the housing element. This bill would extend the above-described one-year deadline to complete this rezoning of sites, for a local government that has failed to adopt a housing element found to be in substantial compliance, to one year and 6 months for the first instance that the requirement applies.

This measure would proclaim the month of March 2022 as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month in California.

This measure would recognize February 2022 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents of African Americans and the achievements and contributions they make to their communities to create equity and equality for education, economics, and social justice. The measure would also recognize the significance in protecting citizens' right to vote and remedying racial discrimination in voting.

This measure would declare February 17, 2022, as PTA Day, commend the National Parent Teacher Association on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, and encourage all California residents to attend and participate in the celebration of this commemorative event.

This measure would proclaim March 20, 2022, to March 26, 2022, as California Down Syndrome Awareness Week and March 21, 2022, as California Down Syndrome Day, and would encourage all Californians to support and participate in related activities.

This measure would celebrate Monday, March 21, 2022, as the beginning of the Persian New Year and extend best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous Nowrūz to all Californians.