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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan and a health insurer, at the request of an enrollee or insured, to provide for the completion of services by a terminated or nonparticipating provider if the enrollee or insured is undergoing a course of treatment for one of specified conditions, including a serious chronic condition, at the time of the contract or policy termination or the time the coverage became effective. This bill would, for purposes of an individual who presents written documentation of being diagnosed with a maternal mental health condition, as defined, from the individual's treating health care provider, require completion of covered services for that condition, not exceeding 12 months, as specified. By expanding the duties of health care service plans, the bill would expand the scope of an existing crime, thereby imposing 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 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 prohibits specified persons, programs, or entities, such as an alcoholism or drug abuse treatment facility or a person employed by, or working for, an alcohol or other drug program, from giving or receiving anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services. Existing law authorizes the department to investigate allegations of violations of those provisions, and authorizes the department to assess various penalties upon a person, program, or entity that is found in violation of those provisions. This bill would require laboratories or certified outpatient treatment programs that lease, manage, or own housing that is offered to individuals using the laboratory or outpatient treatment services to maintain separate housing contracts stating that payment for the housing is the patient's responsibility and does not depend on insurance benefits. The bill would require alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities to only offer discounted postdischarge housing and specified transportation services under certain conditions, including that the patient enters into a repayment plan for any subsidized rent. The bill would provide that violations of those provisions are punishable by the sanctions described above. This bill would require the department to establish an enforcement program focused on the duties to enforce these provisions, and would require staff of the enforcement program to provide the department with analytical support, general oversight and monitoring, and legal guidance regarding those provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 11831.6 and 11831.7 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 920 to be operative only if this bill and AB 920 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to examine and certify persons as to their qualifications to operate water treatment plants and water distribution systems. Existing law requires the certification to indicate the classification of water treatment plant or water distribution system that the person is qualified to operate. Existing law requires the board to issue a water treatment operator certificate and water distribution operator certificate by reciprocity to any person holding a valid, unexpired, comparable certification issued by another state, the United States, prescribed territories or tribal governments, or a unit of any of these. Existing law requires the board to classify types of wastewater treatment plants for the purpose of determining the levels of competence necessary to operate them. Existing law requires a person who operates a nonexempt wastewater treatment plant to possess a valid, unexpired wastewater certificate or water treatment operator certificate of the appropriate grade. This bill would require the board to evaluate opportunities to issue a water treatment operator certificate or water distribution operator certificate by reciprocity, or a wastewater certificate by examination waiver, to persons who performed duties comparable to those duties while serving in the United States military, as specified. The bill would require the board to evaluate opportunities to award experience and education credits to persons who performed duties comparable to the duties of an operator at a water treatment facility, water distribution system, or wastewater treatment plant while serving in the United States military. The bill would require the board, if it identifies opportunities and where appropriate, to issue those certificates by reciprocity or examination waiver to those persons or to award experience or education credits to those persons. Existing law requires the board to appoint an advisory committee of 10 members, as prescribed, to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities to examine and certify people to operate water treatment plants and water distribution systems. Existing law requires the advisory committee to review all proposed regulations and make recommendations to the board. This bill would add an additional member to the advisory committee who is an active or former member of the United States military with water treatment or distribution experience within their military service, as specified. Existing law requires the board to appoint an advisory committee to assist it in carrying out its wastewater treatment plant classification and operator certification responsibilities. This bill would add an additional member to the advisory committee who is an active or former member of the United States military with wastewater treatment or distribution experience within their military service, as specified.
Existing law makes it a crime for a person who is under the influence of a drug to drive a vehicle. Existing law also makes it a crime for a person to drive under the influence and proximately cause bodily harm to another person, as specified. Existing law requires the superior court to provide a disposition report to the Department of Justice when the court disposes of a case for which an arrest for certain crimes was made and requires that the report contain specified information. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2022, require the disposition report made by the superior court for a conviction for driving under the influence of cannabis to state that the conviction was due to cannabis. Existing law makes it an infraction for a person to have in their possession on their person while driving a motor vehicle upon a highway or on specified lands any receptacle containing any cannabis or cannabis products, as defined, which has been opened or has a seal broken, or loose cannabis flower not in a container. This bill would make technical changes to that provision by updating a cross-reference.
Existing law governs the procedure by which crime victims may obtain compensation from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law establishes eligibility for compensation when prescribed requirements are met and authorizes the California Victim Compensation Board to grant compensation from the fund for pecuniary loss when the board determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation. Existing law authorizes the board to provide compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs as a direct result of the victim's or derivative victim's injury or the victim's death. Under existing law, as amended by Proposition 35, the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, a person who deprives or violates another person's personal liberty with the intent to obtain forced labor or services or who deprives or violates another person's personal liberty for the purpose of prostitution or sexual exploitation is guilty of human trafficking, a felony. This bill would authorize the board to provide compensation equal to loss of income or support that a victim incurs as a direct result of the victim's deprivation of liberty during the crime, if the qualifying crime is human trafficking, in an amount not exceeding the value of the victim's labor as guaranteed under California law for up to 40 hours per week, as specified. The bill would require the board to adopt guidelines on or before July 1, 2020, that allow the board to rely on evidence other than official employment documentation in considering and approving an application for loss of income or support, including any reliable corroborating information approved by the board. The bill would prohibit compensation for loss of income paid by the board if the qualifying crime is human trafficking from exceeding $10,000 per year that the services were performed, for a maximum of 2 years. By expanding the authorizations for use of moneys in the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 13957 of the Government Code proposed by AB 415 to be operative only if this bill and AB 415 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law, the County Water District Law, provides for the formation and operation of county water districts, and specifies the powers and purposes of those districts. Existing law authorizes a district to make and perform any agreement with the state or any agency thereof, any public or private corporation of any kind, and any person for the joint construction, acquisition, disposition, or operation of any property or works of a kind that may be constructed, acquired, disposed of, or operated by the district. Existing law authorizes a governmental agency to solicit proposals and enter into agreements with private entities for the design, construction, or reconstruction of, and to lease to private entities, specified types of fee-producing infrastructure projects. Existing law prohibits a state agency or specified governmental agencies from using this authorization to design, construct, finance, or operate a state project, as specified. This bill would specifically authorize the South Coast Water District to contract for the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project until January 1, 2025. The bill would authorize the district to use the method described above relating to agreements with private entities for this project. The bill would also require the district to utilize a skilled and trained workforce for this project in accordance with existing procedures. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the South Coast Water District.
Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which is permitted to adjudge certain children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, and prescribes various hearings and other procedures for these purposes. Existing law prohibits the court from terminating dependency jurisdiction over a nonminor who has reached 18 years of age until a hearing is conducted and the county welfare department has submitted a report verifying that specified information, documents, and services have been provided to the nonminor. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to, among other things, require the county welfare department to submit reports at the first regularly scheduled review hearing after a dependent child has attained 16 years of age and at the last regularly scheduled review hearing before a dependent child attains 18 years of age, and at every regularly scheduled review hearing thereafter, verifying that the county has provided certain of the above-described information, documents, and services, and additional financial literacy information, to the child. By increasing the reporting duties of county welfare departments, 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 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.
The Personal Income Tax Law provides for various exclusions from gross income, including an exclusion for the amount of student loan indebtedness repaid or canceled pursuant to a specified federal law. This bill would exclude from gross income the amount of student loan indebtedness discharged on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2024, for an eligible individual who is granted a discharge under specified conditions, as provided, including that the individual attended a Brightwood College school or a location of The Art Institute of California. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2022, a credit for qualified taxpayers, defined as the person responsible for planting a crop, managing the crop, and harvesting the crop from the land, in an amount equal to 15% of the qualified value of fresh fruits or vegetables donated to a food bank. This bill, under both laws, would expand the credit to apply to the donation of qualified donation items, defined as raw agricultural products or processed foods. The bill would expand the definition of qualified taxpayer to include the person responsible for growing or raising a qualified donation item, or harvesting, packing, or processing a qualified donation item but would exclude a retailer, as defined, from that expanded definition. The bill would apply these provisions to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, of clinical social workers under the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and of professional clinical counselors under the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law prescribes requirements for an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who holds a valid license in good standing by a corresponding authority in any state or country, including that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent, as specified, and that the applicant's supervised experience is substantially equivalent as determined by the board. Existing law requires the board to determine substantially equivalency for these purposes based on specified standards for an applicant who has held a license for less than 4 years. This bill would revise and recast requirements for an applicant who holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor at the highest level of independent clinical practice that has been current, active, and unrestricted for at least 2 years. The bill would delete the requirement that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent and instead would require the applicant's degree that qualified the person for licensure is a master's degree or, if applicable, a doctoral degree, obtained from an accredited or approved institution. The bill would delete a requirement for the applicant to pass a clinical licensing examination set forth in regulations adopted by the board, and would impose specified coursework requirements on those applicants, including coursework in California cultures and social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position. The bill would also require, on or after January 1, 2021, all applicants holding out-of-state licenses, regardless of how long they have held the out-of-state license, to complete specified coursework or training in suicide risk assessment and intervention. The bill would make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes. (2) Existing law requires that, with respect to an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who does not qualify for licensure as described above, education and experience that the applicant gained outside of the state to be accepted for specified licensure or registration requirements if that education or experience is substantially equivalent, subject to certain standards. This bill would revise those requirements by requiring the amount of time that the applicant held an active license in good standing in another state or country to be accepted as qualifying supervised experience at a specified rate and up to a maximum of a specified amount of hours. The bill would also exempt an applicant who obtained a license or registration in another state or country from the clinical examination if certain conditions are met. The bill would also revise the requirements to determine whether education is substantially equivalent for these purposes by, among other changes, requiring coursework to be from an accredited or approved institution or continuing education provider, on or after January 1, 2021, and for the applicant to complete specified coursework or applied experience in suicide risk assessment and intervention. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.03 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 1651 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1651 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.81 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 786 to be operative only if this bill and SB 786 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.