This measure would declare that the Legislature honors the life and legacy of Cindy Montañez and declares January 19 as Cindy Montañez Day.
The Consumer Affairs Act requires the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs to administer and enforce that act to protect and promote the interests of consumers regarding the purchase of goods or services. The director, upon receipt of a consumer complaint relating to specified violations, is required to transmit any valid complaint to the local, state, or federal agency whose authority provides the most effective means to secure the relief. The act requires the director to advise the consumer of the action taken on the complaint, as appropriate, and of any other means that may be available to the consumer to secure relief. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those consumer complaint provisions.
Existing law, the Corporation Tax Law, allows various credits against the tax imposed by that law, including, among others, a credit in an amount equal to the minimum tax credit, as defined. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation modifying existing tax credits.
This measure would declare the month of September 2023 as California Emergency Preparedness Month.
Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to furnish at least a 30-day supply of HIV preexposure prophylaxis, and up to a 60-day supply of those drugs if certain conditions are met. Existing law also authorizes a pharmacist to furnish postexposure prophylaxis to a patient if certain conditions are met. This bill would authorize a pharmacist to furnish up to a 90-day course of preexposure prophylaxis, or preexposure prophylaxis beyond a 90-day course, if specified conditions are met. The bill would require the California State Board of Pharmacy to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions by October 31, 2024. 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 also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law prohibits a health care service plan or health insurer from covering preexposure prophylaxis that has been furnished by a pharmacist in excess of a 60-day supply once every 2 years, except as specified. Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services pursuant to a schedule of benefits. The existing schedule of benefits includes coverage for preexposure prophylaxis as pharmacist services, limited to no more than a 60-day supply furnished by a pharmacist once every 2 years, and includes coverage for postexposure prophylaxis, subject to approval by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. This bill would require a health care service plan and health insurer to cover preexposure prophylaxis and postexposure prophylaxis furnished by a pharmacist, including the pharmacist's services and related testing ordered by the pharmacist, and to pay or reimburse for the service performed by a pharmacist at an in-network pharmacy or a pharmacist at an out-of-network pharmacy if the health care service plan or health insurer has an out-of-network pharmacy benefit, except as specified. The bill would include preexposure prophylaxis furnished by a pharmacist as pharmacist services on the Medi-Cal schedule of benefits. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the Clean Transportation Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , to provide, among other things, competitive grants and revolving loans to specified entities for those entities to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change policies. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to develop and adopt an investment plan to determine priorities and opportunities for the program. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, as part of the development of the investment plan, to assess whether charging station infrastructure is disproportionately deployed, as specified, and, upon finding disproportionate deployment, to use moneys from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, as well as other mechanisms, including incentives, to more proportionately deploy new charging station infrastructure, except as specified. This bill would require the Energy Commission to create a program to award grants to facilitate electric vehicle sharing services, as defined, operated at affordable housing facilities, as defined. The bill would specify the eligible entities that may be awarded grants pursuant to the program, and would require those eligible entities to submit an application to the Energy Commission, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to consider specified criteria in awarding grants and would require a grant recipient to only use grant funds for specified purposes to facilitate an electric vehicle sharing service operated at an affordable housing facility. The bill would require that a grant recipient, at a minimum, purchases, or commits to purchase, 2 electric vehicles and 2 electric vehicle charging stations with Level 2 electric vehicle service equipment. The bill would provide that a grant recipient may be eligible to purchase up to 2 direct current fast chargers if the grant recipient meets specified requirements. The bill would require, as a condition of receiving a grant, a grant recipient to annually submit a report to the Energy Commission that includes specified information. The bill would require implementation of the program to be subject to an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for purposes of developing and implementing the program.
(1) Existing law creates the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program to provide compensation for the retirement and replacement of passenger vehicles and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. Existing law requires the Bureau of Automotive Repair to administer the program and the State Air Resources Board to adopt the guidelines for the program. Existing law requires the guidelines to ensure vehicle replacement or a mobility option be an option for all motor vehicle owners and may be in addition to compensation for vehicles retired. Existing law creates the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount in the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account and makes available, upon appropriation, all moneys in the account to establish, implement, and administer the program. This bill would require the guidelines to ensure each replacement vehicle in the program be either a plug-in hybrid or zero-emission vehicle unless the state board makes a specified determination in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, as specified. (2) Existing law establishes the Clean Transportation Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to provide funding to certain entities to develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change policies. Existing law requires the commission to give preference to those projects that maximize the goals of the program based on specified criteria and to fund specified eligible projects, including, among others, alternative and renewable fuel projects to develop and improve alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels. Existing law creates the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, to be administered by the commission, and requires the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the commission to implement the program. This bill would expand the purpose of the program to include developing and deploying innovative technologies that transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help reduce criteria air pollutants and air toxics. The bill would no longer require the commission to provide certain project preferences. The bill would provide that the goals of the program shall be to advance the state's clean transportation, equity, air quality, and climate emission policies and would require the commission to ensure program investments support specified requirements. The bill would require the commission, on and after January 1, 2025, to expend at least 50% of the moneys appropriated to the program on programs and projects that directly benefit or serve residents of disadvantaged and low-income communities and low-income Californians, and would require at least 50% of funding for tangible location-based investments to be expended in disadvantaged and low-income communities. (3) Existing law establishes the Air Quality Improvement Program under the administration of the State Air Resources Board for the purpose funding air quality improvement projects relating to fuel and vehicle technologies. The primary purpose of the program is to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants, improve air quality, and provide funding for research to determine and improve the air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies. Existing law establishes a list of projects eligible for funding under the program. Existing law creates the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and requires the state board to expend the moneys in that fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the Air Quality Improvement Program. This bill would instead provide that the purpose of the program is to fund air quality improvement projects relating to zero-emission fuel and vehicle technologies and that the primary purpose of the program is to fund projects to reduce criteria air pollutants in the logistics, trucking, off-road, warehouse, and port sectors, improve air quality in nonattainment basins, and improve the air quality impacts of zero-emission transportation fuels and vehicles, vessels, and equipment technologies. The bill would also revise the list of projects eligible for funding under the program. (4) Existing law, until January 1, 2024, increases vehicle registration fees, vessel registration fees, and specified service fees for identification plates by a specified amount. Existing law requires the revenue generated by the increase in those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and either the Air Quality Improvement Fund or the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, imposes on certain vehicles a smog abatement fee of $20, and requires a specified amount of this fee to be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund. This bill would extend those charges in the amounts required to make those deposits until January 1, 2035. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires school districts and charter schools to allow pupils, teachers, and staff to bring and carry water bottles, except as provided. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation, under the direction of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who is required to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources. Existing law requires the operator of any well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to file with the supervisor or the district deputy a written notice of intention to commence drilling and prohibits drilling from commencing until approval is given, as provided. Existing law prohibits the division from approving any notice of intention within a health protection zone, except for approvals of notices of intention necessary for specified purposes. Existing law defines a "health protection zone" to mean the area within 3,200 feet of a sensitive receptor, which is defined to include a residence, education resource, as described, health care facility, or live-in housing, among other places, as provided. This bill would, after January 1, 2024, make an operator or owner of an oil or gas production facility or well with a wellhead presumptively, jointly and severally liable for a respiratory ailment in a senior or child, a preterm birth or high-risk pregnancy suffered by a pregnant person, and a person's cancer diagnosis if specified requirements are met, including the senior, child, pregnant person, or person diagnosed with cancer domiciled more than 24 cumulative months in a health protection zone, as defined, and was diagnosed after January 1, 2024. The bill would authorize certain affirmative defenses to be available to the operator or owner of an oil or gas production facility or well with a wellhead. This bill would authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel, or a city attorney to bring a civil action seeking reimbursement and reasonable interest for health care-related expenditures incurred by state or local taxpayer funded health care programs for treatment of respiratory illness suffered by seniors and children, preterm birth and high-risk pregnancies suffered by pregnant persons, and residents diagnosed with cancer. If a settlement or motion to dismiss an action brought pursuant to these provisions is brought by a person or entity that is not a public prosecutor, as described, the bill would prohibit the settlement or motion to dismiss from being effective or heard, until 30 days after a copy of the settlement or notice of motion has been served on the Attorney General and the city attorney, county counsel, and district attorney with jurisdiction over the health protection zone involved in the action. The bill would also require a civil penalty of not less than $250,000 and not more than $1,000,000 per senior, child, pregnant person, or person diagnosed with cancer to be imposed on an operator or owner of an oil or gas production facility or well with a wellhead in an action brought pursuant to these provisions. This bill would state that any waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would also state that its provisions are severable.
