(1) Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging, or discriminating or retaliating against, an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, for taking time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain relief to help ensure the health, safety, or welfare of the victim or victim's child. Existing law requires an employee, as a condition of taking time off for these purposes, to give the employer reasonable advance notice of the employee's intention to take time off, unless doing so is not feasible. Existing law prohibits an employer, when an unscheduled absence occurs, from taking any action against the employee if the employee, within a reasonable time after the absence, provides a certification to the employer meeting certain criteria, including documentation from one of specified persons that the employee was undergoing treatment for specific injuries. Existing law authorizes an employee to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for a violation of that prohibition, and makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to refuse to rehire, promote, or restore an employee who has been determined to be so eligible by a grievance procedure or legal hearing. This bill would expand the above provision to prohibit an employer from discharging, or discriminating or retaliating against, an employee who is a victim of crime or abuse for taking time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain relief, as prescribed. The bill would also prohibit an employer from taking action against an employee, when an unscheduled absence occurs, if the employee victim of crime or abuse provides certification that they were receiving services for certain injuries, or if the documentation is from a victim advocate, as defined. The bill would additionally prohibit such action if the employee provides certification in any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies that the crime or abuse occurred. The bill would also define "victim" and "crime" for purposes of these provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law also prohibits an employer with 25 or more employees from discharging, or discriminating or retaliating against, an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking for taking time off from work for any of specified purposes, including seeking medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This bill would prohibit the discharge of, or discrimination or retaliation against, an employee who is a victim, as defined, for taking off work, as specified. The bill would revise the categories of time off work under these circumstances, to include taking time off work to seek medical attention for injuries caused by crime or abuse, to obtain services from prescribed entities as a result of the crime or abuse, to obtain psychological counseling or mental health services related to an experience of crime or abuse, or to participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future crime or abuse. The bill would define terms for these purposes. (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.
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Existing law authorizes a trial court to adopt local rules permitting electronic filing of documents, subject to specified conditions, including the conditions that if a document that is electronically filed in a civil action requires the signature of a person, not under penalty of perjury, the document is deemed to have been signed by the person who filed the document electronically and that any payment processing fee charged by the court, an electronic filing manager, or electronic filing service provider shall not exceed the costs incurred in processing the payment. Existing law authorizes a court to require electronic filing and service in civil actions, subject to rules adopted by the Judicial Council permitting mandatory electronic filing and service in specified civil actions, the conditions described above, and additional specified conditions, including the conditions that the court charge fees of no more than the actual cost of the electronic filing and service of the documents and that the court shall waive any fees charged if the court deems a waiver appropriate. This bill would instead provide that a document described above shall be deemed filed by the person who signed the document if either the filer is the signer of the document or the document has been signed pursuant to procedures established in the California Rules of Court. The bill would create additional conditions trial courts would be required to satisfy when adopting local rules permitting electronic filing of documents, as defined. The bill would require courts, electronic filing service providers, and electronic filing managers to send notices of receipt or rejection to parties or persons filing electronic documents, as specified. The bill would extend the statute of limitations for a cause of action asserted in a complaint or cross-complaint if a complaint or cross-complaint is rejected for filing, as specified. The bill would extend the condition that the court charge fees of no more than the actual cost of the electronic filing and service of the documents to actions in which electronic filing is permitted by local rule. The bill would require a court, electronic service provider, or electronic filing manager to waive fees for electronic filing if a party has been granted a fee waiver and to waive fees associated with electronic filing of specified types of documents, including a filing exempt from the payment of filing fees under any other law. The bill would prohibit an electronic filing service provider or an electronic filing manager from seeking payment of waived fees from the court. The bill would make technical and conforming changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1010.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by SB 1146 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1146 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Unless a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley makes certain findings after the effective date of specified amendments to its general plan, the Planning and Zoning Law prohibits a city or county from entering into a development agreement for property located in a flood hazard zone; approving a discretionary permit, ministerial permit, or other discretionary entitlement for a project that is located within a flood hazard zone, as specified; or approving a tentative map, or a parcel map for which a tentative map was not required, for a subdivision that is located within a flood hazard zone. Those findings include, among others, that the local flood management agency has made adequate progress on the construction of a flood protection system that will result in flood protection equal to or greater than the urban level of flood protection in urban or urbanizing areas. Existing law further requires urban and urbanizing areas protected by any levee that is part of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control to achieve the urban level of flood protection by 2025. This bill would instead require the Mossdale Tract, as defined, to achieve the urban level of flood protection by 2028. The bill would authorize the Department of Water Resources to require the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency to contribute its fair and reasonable share of any property damage caused by a flood, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Mossdale Tract.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the department, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. FQHC and RHC services are reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis, and a "visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between a patient of an FQHC or RHC and specified health care professionals, including dental providers. Existing law prohibits a requirement of in-person contact between a health care provider and a Medi-Cal patient when the service may be provided by telehealth, and, for purposes of telehealth, prohibits the department from limiting the type of setting where Medi-Cal services are provided. Existing law authorizes, to the extent that federal financial participation is available, the use of health care services by store and forward under the Medi-Cal program, subject to billing and reimbursement policies developed by the department, and prohibits a requirement of in-person contact between a health care provider and a Medi-Cal patient when these services are provided by store and forward. This bill would provide that an FQHC or RHC "visit" includes an encounter between an FQHC or RHC patient and a health care provider using telehealth by synchronous interaction or asynchronous store and forward. The bill would specify that an FQHC or RHC is not precluded from establishing a patient who is located within the FQHC's or RHC's federal designated service area through synchronous interaction or asynchronous store and forward as of the date of service if specified requirements are met. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations, as specified, and to provide a status report to the Legislature on a semiannual basis until those regulations have been adopted. The bill would make these provisions inoperative 180 days after the state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic has been terminated, as specified.
(1) Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a list of reportable communicable and noncommunicable diseases and conditions and to specify the requirements for a health officer, as defined, to report each listed disease and condition. Existing law requires a health officer to report the listed diseases and conditions and to take other specified measures to prevent the spread of disease. A violation of these requirements imposed on a health officer is a crime. This bill would require any electronic tool used by a health officer, as defined, for the purpose of reporting cases of communicable diseases to the department, as specified, to include the capacity to collect and report data relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require a health care provider, as defined, that knows of or is in attendance on a case or suspected case of specified communicable diseases to report to the health officer for the jurisdiction in which the patient resides the patient's sexual orientation and gender identity, if known. Because a violation of these requirements by a health care provider or a health officer would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated-local program. (2) 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. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law regulates provision of programs and services relating to mental health and requires the creation of community programs to increase access to, and quality of, community-based mental health services. This bill would require any program permitting mental health professionals to respond to emergency mental health crisis calls in collaboration with law enforcement to ensure the program is supervised by a licensed mental health professional, including, among others, a licensed clinical social worker, except as specified.
Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary institutions in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act exempts an institution from its application if any of a list of specific criteria are met. Existing law requires an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution to comply with specified requirements, including providing the bureau evidence of the institution's accreditation. Existing law repeals the act on January 1, 2021. If the operation of the act is extended by another measure, existing law, effective July 1, 2022, requires additional duties by an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution. This bill would define nonprofit corporation and public institution of higher education specially for purposes of the act. The bill would specify that only an institution of higher education meeting the act's definition of nonprofit corporation or public institution of higher education is exempt from the requirements imposed on an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution. The bill, commencing January 1, 2022, would prohibit the bureau from verifying the exemption of, or contracting to handle complaints for, a nonprofit institution that operated as a for-profit institution during any period on or after January 1, 2010, unless the Attorney General verifies specified information, and would require the Attorney General to provide written notification to the institution and the bureau of its verification within 90 days of receipt of all information the Attorney General determines is necessary for the verification. The bill, commencing January 1, 2022, would authorize appeal of actions taken by the bureau and the Attorney General to the superior court. The provisions of this bill would be implemented only if the operation of the act is extended by another measure. Under existing law, the act specifies conduct by regulated institutions that, if undertaken, is a crime. Because this bill would extend the application of those criminal provisions, it 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.
The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration Project Act of 2002, known as Laura's Law, until January 1, 2022, authorizes each county to elect to offer specified mental health programs either through a resolution adopted by the county board of supervisors or through the county budget process, if the county board of supervisors makes a finding that specified mental health programs will not be reduced as a result of participating. Existing law authorizes participating counties to pay for the services provided from moneys distributed to the counties from various continuously appropriated funds, including the Mental Health Services Fund, when included in a county plan, as specified. This bill, commencing July 1, 2021, would instead require a county or group of counties to offer those mental health programs, unless a county or group of counties opts out by a resolution passed by the governing body stating the reasons for opting out and any facts or circumstances relied on in making that decision. The bill would also authorize a county to instead offer those mental health programs in combination with one or more counties, subject to specified implementation provisions. The bill would prohibit a county or group of counties implementing these provisions from reducing existing voluntary mental health programs serving adults, or children's mental health programs, as a result of the implementation. The bill would also repeal the expiration of Laura's Law, thereby extending it indefinitely. Existing law authorizes various persons to request the county mental health director to file a petition in the superior court for an order for assisted outpatient treatment for a person who meets specified criteria. This bill, commencing July 1, 2021, would additionally authorize a judge in a superior court to request a petition for that order to be filed for a person who appears before the judge. The bill would make additional conforming changes.
This measure would urge each bank with which the State of California has a business relationship to evaluate its commercial relationship with gun manufacturers and to consider the repercussions of that relationship, and urge all banks to discuss their lending practices with their shareholders and to adopt lending practices that mirror the people of California's values of protecting citizens before profit.