Sen. Brian Jones

Existing law authorizes the Director of Employment Development to apply for an advance to the Unemployment Fund and accept the responsibility for the repayment of the advance in accordance with the conditions specified in Title XII of the Social Security Act, as amended, to secure the advantages available under the provisions of that title. Existing law authorizes the federal government to make advances to the states from the federal unemployment account in the federal Unemployment Trust Fund and requires repayment of those advances, with interest, as specified. Existing law authorizes the governor of any state to request that funds be transferred from a state account to the federal unemployment account in repayment of part or all of the balance of advances, as specified. This bill would appropriate $19,300,000,000 from the General Fund to the Employment Development Department for the purpose of repaying all advances from the federal unemployment account, as specified.

The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, made various changes relating to theft and the possession of controlled substances, including by, among other things, generally reducing the penalty for those crimes, including reducing the penalty for possession of concentrated cannabis, establishing a procedure by which individuals convicted of those crimes prior to the passage of the act may petition for resentencing under the act, and creating the crime of shoplifting. The act also requires the Director of Finance to calculate the savings accruing to the state as a result of the implementation of the act and requires the Controller to transfer that sum from the General Fund to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund, which was created by the act. The act specifies the manner of distribution of those funds and the purposes for which they may be used. This bill would repeal the changes and additions made by Proposition 47, except those related to reducing the penalty for possession of concentrated cannabis. Existing law makes it a crime for a caretaker of an elder or a dependent adult, or a person who is not a caretaker and who knows or reasonably should know that the victim is an elder or a dependent adult, to violate specified laws proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, or identity theft with respect to the property or personal identifying information of that elder or dependent adult. Existing law makes a violation of those provisions punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value exceeding $950. This bill would reduce the value threshold for a violation of those provisions to be punishable as a felony from $950 to $400. Existing law defines grand theft as the wrongful taking of money, labor, or property of a value exceeding $950, except as specified. Existing law also makes it grand theft where the money, labor, or real or personal property is taken by a servant, agent, or employee from their principal or employer and aggregates $950 or more in any consecutive 12-month period. This bill would reduce the value threshold for committing grand theft under those provisions from $950 to $400. This bill would provide that it would become effective only upon approval of the voters, and would provide for the submission of this measure to the voters for approval at the next statewide general election.

Existing law, until January 1, 2025, authorizes local agencies, as defined, to use the design-build procurement process for specified public works with prescribed cost thresholds. Existing law requires specified information submitted by a design-build entity in the design-build procurement process to be certified under penalty of perjury. This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to use the design-build contracting process to award contracts for constructing projects that are necessary in order to comply with construction-related accessibility standards, as specified. By expanding design-build authority to include additional projects, the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, 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.

Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law provides for the missions and functions of these segments, and states that the University of California has the sole authority in public higher education to award doctoral degrees in all fields of learning, except that it may agree with the California State University to award joint doctoral degrees in selected fields. However, existing law authorizes the California State University to offer doctoral programs in education, audiology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy without that agreement. This bill would authorize the California State University to award the Doctor of Public Health degree. The bill would require the Doctor of Public Health degree programs to be focused on health and scientific knowledge translation and transformative community leadership, and to be designed to address the community public health workforce needs of California and prepare qualified professionals to be leaders and experienced practitioners who apply their advanced knowledge in service to California's diverse communities. The bill would require each student in these degree programs to be charged fees comparable to, but no higher than, those fees charged for the Doctor of Public Health degree at the University of California.

Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge a child to be a dependent or ward of the court under certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes only a juvenile court judicial offer, when a child is adjudged a dependent child of the court and has been removed from the physical custody of the parent or placed in foster care, to make orders regarding the administration of psychotropic medications for that child or minor. Upon approval or denial by the juvenile court judicial officer of a request for authorization for the administration of psychotropic medication, existing law requires the person or entity that submitted the request to provide a copy of the court order approving or denying the request to the caregiver. This bill would specify that the court order approving a request shall include the last 2 pages of form JV-220(A) or JV-220(B) , and all medication information sheets attached thereto, and require these documents also be provided to the caregiver.

Existing law, the Vocational Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of vocational nurses by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California. The act defines the practice of vocational nursing as the performance of services requiring those technical, manual skills acquired by means of a course in an approved school of vocational nursing, or its equivalent, practiced under the direction of a licensed physician or registered professional nurse, as defined. This bill would revise that definition to additionally include practice under the direction of a naturopathic doctor, as specified. The bill would require a naturopathic doctor who is supervising a licensed vocational nurse to establish a written supervision protocol, listing the practice agreement, that includes specified information, including a description of the duties and responsibilities of the licensed vocational nurse and, if applicable, disclosure of the procedure or protocol for the furnishing or ordering of drugs. The bill would specify that its provisions do not authorize a licensed vocational nurse to perform various acts, including performing platelet-rich plasma therapy and administering laser, light, steam, or ultraviolet treatment therapies, except as provided. Existing law, among other things, authorizes a licensed vocational nurse to withdraw blood, administer medications, and start and superimpose intravenous fluids, as described, when directed by a physician and surgeon. Existing law also authorizes a licensed vocational nurse to perform certain tests and immunization techniques, as described, when acting under the direction of a physician and surgeon. This bill would authorize a licensed vocational nurse to perform the above-described actions when acting under the direction of a naturopathic doctor, as specified.

Existing law requires the Governor to establish the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, and requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Existing law requires the council to seek guidance from an advisory committee that includes, among others, a survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness. This bill would add a current or formerly homeless person with a developmental disability to the advisory committee.

Existing law requires a blood bank to be licensed by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law authorizes specified individuals to collect human blood at a blood bank that meets specified requirements if the collection is under the direct and responsible supervision of a licensed physician or surgeon. Existing regulations authorize blood collection when a physician is not present on the blood bank premises when specified requirements are met, including that a qualified physician or emergency medical facility is no more than 15 minutes away. Existing law requires a health care provider to obtain verbal or written consent from a patient before the use of telehealth to deliver health care services. An existing executive order has suspended that requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill would authorize blood collection at a blood bank when a physician or surgeon is not physically present if the medical director and their medical advisory committee approve and if the employee placed in charge is a registered nurse. The bill would authorize the registered nurse placed in charge to be physically present or available via telehealth, so long as the method of telehealth used is synchronous. The bill would require a blood bank, under these circumstances, to report annually to the department on any adverse donor events requiring emergency medical intervention, including whether a registered nurse was physically present on the premises, and to provide, at the request of the department, written procedures for managing adverse donor reactions. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on January 1, 2028.