Existing law provides that long-term care insurance includes any insurance policy, certificate, or rider advertised, marketed, offered, solicited, or designed to provide coverage for diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or personal care services that are provided in a setting other than an acute care unit of a hospital. Long-term care insurance includes all products containing any of the following benefit types: coverage for institutional care including care in a nursing home, convalescent facility, extended care facility, custodial care facility, skilled nursing facility, or personal care home; home care coverage including home health care, personal care, homemaker services, hospice, or respite care; or community-based coverage including adult day care, hospice, or respite care. Long-term care insurance includes disability-based long-term care policies but does not include insurance designed primarily to provide Medicare supplement or major medical expense coverage. This bill would prohibit a long-term care insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2015, from charging a different premium, price, or charge based on the sex of the contracting party, potential contracting party, or a person reasonably expected to benefit from the policy. The bill would prohibit insurers issuing, amending, or renewing long-term care insurance policies on or after January 1, 2015, from reducing or eliminating benefits or coverage based on the sex of the contracting party, potential contracting party, or a person reasonably expected to benefit from the policy as a result of implementing these provisions. The term "sex" would be defined for these purposes to mean a person's gender, gender identity, and gender expression, as defined.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city with specified elements, including, among others, a land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture, natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses of land. Existing law authorizes a local agency to charge fees for the funding of purposes that include the preparation and revision of land use plans and policies. This bill would require each county to also develop, on or before January 2, 2018, a sustainable farmland strategy. The bill would require the sustainable farmland strategy to include, among other things, a map and inventory of all agriculturally zoned land within the county, a description of the goals, strategies, and related policies and ordinances, to retain agriculturally zoned land where practical and mitigate the loss of agriculturally zoned land to nonagricultural uses or zones, and a page on the county's Internet Web site with the relevant documentation for the goals, strategies, and related policies and ordinances, as specified. The bill would exempt any county with less than 4% of its land use base in agriculture, as specified. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law establishes in the Office of the Governor the Office of Planning and Research with duties that include developing and adopting guidelines for the preparation of and content of mandatory elements required in city and county general plans. This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, when it adopts its next edition of general plan guidelines, to include best practices that support agricultural land retention and mitigation, as specified. (3) 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.
(1) Existing law establishes the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program, which requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award a grant, for the purpose of purchasing or leasing agricultural career technical education equipment, to an applicant school district that operates an agricultural career technical education program and that meets specified requirements. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to annually adopt or update a local control and accountability plan that contains specified information. This bill would continuously appropriate the sum of $4,134,000 in each fiscal year beginning with the 2015–16 fiscal year from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for purposes of funding the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program. The bill would require the Superintendent to award a grant to a school district that, in addition to meeting the existing requirements, demonstrates how the expenditure of the grant funds will be consistent with its adopted local control and accountability plan. The bill would also express various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to agricultural career technical education. (2) Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
Existing law prohibits a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley from approving a discretionary permit or other discretionary entitlement, or a ministerial permit that would result in the construction of a new residence, for a project that is located within a flood hazard zone, unless the city or county finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, that certain criteria is met. This bill would prohibit a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley from approving a discretionary permit or entitlement that would result in the construction of a new building or construction that would result in an increase in allowed occupancy for an existing building for a project that is located within a flood hazard zone unless the city or county finds that the construction meets the criteria referenced above. Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to administer funding, from various sources, for flood risk reduction projects. This bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources to provide reimbursement to funding recipients that execute a funding agreement under the Urban Flood Risk Reduction Projects program for expenditures associated with continued funding of a project initiated under the Early Implementation Project program and incurred after July 1, 2014, and before the execution of the funding agreement, but no later than July 1, 2015. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the "Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights," which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to assure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain sexual assault offenses, if the identity of the perpetrator is in issue, if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits. This bill instead would, with respect to specific sex offenses, encourage a law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the sexual assault offense occurred to submit sexual assault forensic evidence received by the agency on or after January 1, 2016, to the crime lab within 20 days after it is booked into evidence, and ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program, as defined, is in place to submit forensic evidence collected from the victim of a sexual assault to the crime lab within 5 days after the evidence is obtained from the victim. The bill would also encourage the crime lab, with respect to sexual assault forensic evidence received by the lab on or after January 1, 2016, to process that evidence, create DNA profiles when able, and upload qualifying DNA profiles into the Combined DNA Index System as soon as practically possible, but no later than 120 days after initially receiving the evidence, or to transmit the sexual assault forensic evidence to another crime lab as soon as practically possible, but no later than 30 days after initially receiving the evidence, as specified. The bill would also revise the provisions requiring a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain sexual assault offenses, to make the requirement applicable without regard to whether the identity of the perpetrator is in issue, if the law enforcement agency does not analyze DNA evidence, and to require those entities to notify the victims within 6 months of the time limits established under existing law. By imposing a higher level of service on local law enforcement agencies, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Existing law provides that a person who solicits or agrees to engage in or engages in any act of prostitution is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for no more than 6 months, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Disorderly conduct includes, but is not limited to, soliciting or agreeing to engage in or engaging in any act of prostitution, and agreeing to engage in an act of prostitution when, with specific intent to so engage, the person manifests an acceptance of an offer or solicitation to so engage, regardless of whether the offer or solicitation was made by a person who also possessed the specific intent to engage in prostitution. This bill would provide that if that crime is committed and the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, and if the defendant knew or should have known that the person who was solicited was a minor at the time of the offense, the violation is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 2 days, except as specified, and not more than one year, or by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Existing law authorizes the court to order a person convicted of violating certain prohibitions against the prostitution of a minor to pay an additional fine not to exceed $20,000. This bill would require that the additional fine not exceed $25,000.
Existing law, until January 1, 2015, requires an application for an order authorizing the interception of a wire, oral, or other specified electronic communication to be made in writing upon the personal oath or affirmation of the Attorney General, Chief Deputy Attorney General, or Chief Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Law Division, or of a district attorney. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, authorizes the court to issue an order authorizing interception of those communications if the judge finds, among other things, that there is probable cause to believe that an individual is committing, has committed, or is about to commit, one of several offenses, including, among others, possession for sale of certain controlled substances, murder, and certain felonies involving destructive devices. This bill would add human trafficking to the list of offenses for which interception of electronic communications may be ordered pursuant to those provisions.
Existing law provides that every person who possesses for sale or purchases for purposes of sale cocaine base is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for a period of 3, 4, or 5 years. This bill instead would provide that every person who possesses for sale or purchases for purposes of sale cocaine base is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years. Existing law generally provides that the interest of any registered owner of a boat, airplane, or any vehicle, except as specified, that has been used to facilitate the manufacture of, or possession for sale or sale of, 14.25 grams or more of cocaine base or 28.5 grams or more of cocaine is subject to forfeiture, as specified. This bill would revise that provision to instead make property that has been used to facilitate the manufacture of, or possession for sale or sale of, 28.5 grams or more of cocaine base or cocaine subject to forfeiture. Existing law, except in unusual cases, prohibits granting probation or suspending a sentence for persons convicted of specified crimes relating to controlled substances, including possessing for sale a substance containing 57 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine, 14.25 grams or more of cocaine base, or 57 grams or more of a substance containing at least 5 grams of cocaine base, and transporting or importing for sale, selling, or offering to sell cocaine base. This bill would delete those provisions and would instead prohibit, except in unusual cases, granting probation or suspending a sentence for persons convicted of possessing for sale or selling a substance containing 28.5 grams or more of cocaine base or 57 grams or more of a substance containing at least 5 grams of cocaine or cocaine base. By making additional persons eligible for probation, the 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.
(1) Under existing law, when the Department of Motor Vehicles determines that an applicant is lawfully entitled to a driver's license, the department is required to issue that license to the applicant. Existing law specifies the contents of a driver's license and requires the application for a driver's license or identification card to contain a space for an applicant to indicate whether he or she has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and to give his or her consent to be contacted regarding eligibility to receive state or federal veterans' benefits. This bill would, commencing November 11, 2015, allow an in-person applicant for a driver's license or identification card to request the driver's license or identification card be printed with the word "VETERAN." The applicant would be required to present verification of veteran status to the Department of Motor Vehicles, on a form developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs in consultation with the California Association of County Veterans Service Officers and the Department of Motor Vehicles. The bill would require county veterans service offices to verify an applicant's veteran status for these purposes, as specified. The department would be required to print the word "VETERAN" on the face of a driver's license or identification card issued to a person who makes that request and presents that verification to the department. (2) Existing law establishes certain fee amounts for the applications for, and renewal of, driver's licenses and identification cards. This bill would require the department to charge an additional one-time fee of $5 to a person who requests that the person's driver's license or identification card be designated as provided above.
Existing law authorizes the Adjutant General of the California Military Department to establish a military academy to be operated as a charter school or existing alternative education option available under the Education Code, to provide a structured, disciplined environment that is conducive to learning and developing academic skills, leadership, self-esteem, and a strong sense of community. Existing law provides that a new California National Guard Youth Program, except for the California Cadet Corps, may be established as provided by this section only if funds are appropriated for purposes of the new program in the annual Budget Act or any other act. This bill would, subject to this condition, authorize the Adjutant General, subject to an appropriation for this purpose, to establish a National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program which would provide at least a 22-week residential program and a 12-month post-residential mentoring period to improve life skills and employment potential of participants. The program would accept federal funding, and the Military Department would be required to enter into a memorandum of agreement with an appropriate school district or county office of education for the purpose of providing educational services. The school district or county office of education would be responsible for ensuring compliance with any applicable requirements imposed pursuant to the Education Code.