Existing law classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. The drug fentanyl, an opiate, is classified in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also imposes an additional term and a specified fine upon a person who is convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, specified provisions of law with respect to a substance containing heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, depending on the weight of the substance. This bill would classify carfentanil, an opiate, in Schedule II. The bill would also make the provisions imposing an additional term and fine, as described above, applicable with respect to a substance containing carfentanil or fentanyl. By imposing additional incarceration costs on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also make conforming changes. 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.
Sponsored bills
Existing law provides for the licensure, certification, and regulation of alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities, as defined, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law requires an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility that serves 6 or fewer persons to be considered a residential use of property, as specified, and requires the residents and operators of the facility to be considered a family for the purposes of any law or zoning ordinance that relates to the residential use of property. This bill would provide that the above provision does not apply to integral facilities, which is a combination of 2 or more facilities that provide treatment and recovery services for 7 or more persons.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides for a schedule of benefits provided under the Medi-Cal program, which includes certain dental services that are referred to as Denti-Cal. Existing law, the California Healthcare, Research, and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016, or Proposition 56, which was approved by voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, increases taxes imposed on distributors of cigarettes and tobacco products and allocates a specified percentage of those revenues to the department to increase funding for existing health care programs under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law establishes the Healthcare Treatment Fund for this purpose. This bill would require the department, for the 2017–18 fiscal year, to double Denti-Cal provider reimbursement rates for the 15 most common prevention, treatment, and oral evaluation services based on the average rates per service established in the 2015–16 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate for the 2017–18 fiscal year such an amount as may be necessary to double the reimbursement rates from the Healthcare Treatment Fund to the department, as specified.
In a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account, existing law prohibits a school district's adopted or revised budget from containing a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of either 2 or 3 times the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the State Board of Education, depending on the school district's units of average daily attendance. Existing law authorizes the county superintendent of schools to waive the prohibition, pursuant to specified conditions, for up to 2 consecutive fiscal years within a 3-year period if the school district provides documentation indicating that extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for the balance. This bill would repeal those provisions.
Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California, no later than July 1, 2018, to design and implement a 5-year pilot project under which monetary grants are provided to organizations operating programs that assist individuals receiving CalWORKs benefits achieve economic independence. The bill would require the department, in developing the pilot project, among other things, to develop a competitive review process for all grant proposals submitted, to develop eligibility requirements for organizations seeking a grant, and to develop an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of an organization receiving grant funding in teaching its program participants the skills necessary to achieve economic independence. The bill would authorize the department to enter into an agreement with an academic institution or other entity with sufficient expertise for the purpose of creating, performing, or both creating and performing the evaluation. This bill would authorize an organization receiving a grant to utilize the funds in any reasonable manner, as long as the funds are expended in furtherance of the organization's program or other requirements established by the department. The bill would require organizations receiving grant funding to collaborate and coordinate with the county human services agency or agencies that will be asked to refer CalWORKs recipients to the program in implementing procedures for referrals, regular progress reports, and other communication, as needed. The bill would require the department, or the academic institution or other entity the department contracted with, to send a report evaluating the effectiveness of the programs funded by the grants to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by December 31, 2022. This bill would appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund for the purpose of funding these provisions. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2023, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2024.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes any licensee or registrant whose license expired while he or she was on active duty as a member of the California National Guard or the United States Armed Forces to reinstate his or her license or registration without examination or penalty if certain requirements are met. Existing law also requires the boards to waive the renewal fees, continuing education requirements, and other renewal requirements, if applicable, of any licensee or registrant called to active duty as a member of the United States Armed Forces or the California National Guard, if certain requirements are met. Existing law requires each board to inquire in every application if the individual applying for licensure is serving in, or has previously served in, the military. Existing law requires a board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to expedite, and authorizes a board to assist with, the initial licensure process for an applicant who has served as an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces and was honorably discharged. This bill would require every board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to grant a fee waiver for the application for and the issuance of an initial license to an applicant who supplies satisfactory evidence, as defined, to the board that the applicant has served as an active duty member of the California National Guard or the United States Armed Forces and was honorably discharged. The bill would require that a veteran be granted only one fee waiver, except as specified.
Under existing law, a person, firm, or corporation that interferes with various specified rights of a disabled individual is liable for the actual damages of each offense and any amount determined by a judge or jury of up to 3 times the amount of the actual damages, but in no case less than $1,000. This bill would establish notice requirements for a plaintiff to follow before bringing an action against a small business, as defined, for an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) . The bill would require the plaintiff to provide notice to a business at least 6 months before filing the complaint. The bill would also preclude commencement of an action against a small business for an alleged ADA violation if the small business has made a good faith effort to correct the alleged violation.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of home health agencies by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires all private or public organizations that provide or arrange for skilled nursing services to patients in the home to obtain a home health agency license. Existing law also provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. Existing law provides that home health care services are covered Medi-Cal benefits, subject to utilization controls. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2018, to establish an incentive-based, supplemental payment program, as defined, which would apply to licensed home health agencies that treat children who are receiving continuous nursing care or private duty nursing services through the Medi-Cal program. The purpose of the program would be to increase access to quality in-home nursing services and encouraging additional home health agencies to participate in nursing care for children receiving Medi-Cal services. The bill would require the department to collaborate with designated stakeholders in establishing the payments, and would authorize the department to establish reasonable provider eligibility standards, as specified. The supplemental payment program would be implemented only to the extent that federal financial participation is available and would require the department to submit any necessary applications to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement the supplemental payment program. The bill would require the department to submit a report evaluating the effectiveness of the supplemental payment program to specified committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2021. The bill would remain in effect until January 1, 2022, and as of that date would be repealed.
The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make public records available for inspection, subject to certain exceptions. Under existing law, a person may seek injunctive or declaratory relief or a writ of mandate to enforce his or her right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record, as specified. Under existing case law, an agency's decision to release a public record pursuant to the California Public Records Act is reviewable by a petition for a writ of mandate on the basis that the public record was confidential, which is known as a reverse public records action. This bill would require a court in a reverse public records action to apply the provisions of the California Public Records Act as if the action had been initiated by a person requesting disclosure of a public record. This bill would require the requestor, as defined, to be named as a real party of interest in a reverse public records action, and would require a court to allow the requestor, at his or her request, to be heard on the merits of the reverse public records action. This bill would require the person who initiated the reverse public records action to serve a requestor with a copy of the pleadings, and would prohibit a court from awarding any relief in that action until that person provides proof of service to the court. This bill would require the person who initiated the action to label the action as a reverse public records action on the first page of the pleadings. This bill would provide that, if a court orders the public agency to disclose the records in a reverse public records action, the court shall order the person who initiated the action to pay the court costs and reasonable attorney's fees of the requestor. Alternatively, this bill would authorize a court, if the court makes a finding that the public agency delayed disclosure to facilitate the filing of the action, to require the public agency to pay court costs and reasonable attorney's fees of the requestor. This bill would also prohibit a court from requiring the requestor to pay court costs and attorney's fees to the person who initiated the reverse public records action or to the public agency if the court orders the public agency to not disclose the record, and would require a court to, within 10 days of the hearing in which the court decided that the records shall not be disclosed, issue a statement of opinion explaining the factual and legal basis for its decision.