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 covered by the Medi-Cal program, including the purchase of prescribed drugs subject to the Medi-Cal list of contract drugs and utilization controls. Existing law requires a pharmacy provider under the Medi-Cal program to submit his or her usual and customary charge, as defined, when billing the Medi-Cal program for prescribed drugs. The Pharmacy Law specifies the functions a pharmacist is authorized to perform, including furnishing nicotine replacement products and administering immunizations, as specified. This bill would add to the schedule of benefits pharmacist services, as specified, subject to department protocols and utilization controls. The bill would require the rate of reimbursement for pharmacist services to be at 85% of the fee schedule for physician services under the Medi-Cal program and would require the department to establish a fee schedule. The bill would authorize the department to implement these provisions by means of all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or similar instructions, without taking regulatory action, until regulations are adopted, and would require the department to adopt those regulations by July 1, 2021. Commencing July 1, 2017, the bill would require the department to provide a status report to the Legislature on a semiannual basis until regulations have been adopted. The bill would require these provisions to be implemented only to the extent that federal financial participation is available and the necessary federal approvals are obtained. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act, sets out a system of community mental health care services provided by counties and administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. This bill would establish the Early Diagnosis and Preventive Treatment (EDAPT) Program Fund in the State Treasury to provide funding to the Regents of the University of California for the purpose of providing reimbursement to an EDAPT program that would utilize integrated systems of care to provide early intervention, assessment, diagnosis, a treatment plan, and necessary services for individuals with severe mental illness and children with severe emotional disturbance, as specified. The bill would authorize moneys from private or other sources to be deposited into the fund and used for purposes of the bill. The bill would require, when the Department of Finance has determined that the total amount of the moneys in the fund has reached or exceeded $1,200,000, the Controller to distribute all of the moneys in the fund to the Regents of the University of California for the purpose of providing reimbursement to an EDAPT program for services provided to persons who are referred to that program, but whose private health benefit plan, as defined, does not cover the full range of required services, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the Regents of the University of California, if the regents accept the money, or if the regents accept federal funding distributed by the State Department of Health Care Services for the purpose of supporting an EDAPT program, as specified, to report, on or after January 1, 2022, but prior to January 1, 2023, specified information to the health committees of both houses of the Legislature. The bill would repeal the program as of January 1, 2023.
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 also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. 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 through, among other things, managed care plans licensed under the act that contract with the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, to provide coverage for women for all prescribed and FDA-approved female contraceptive drugs, devices, and products, as well as voluntary sterilization procedures, contraceptive education and counseling, and related followup services. This bill would require a health care service plan or a health insurance policy issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2017, to cover up to a 12-month supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives when dispensed at one time for an enrollee or insured at one time by a provider, pharmacist, or at a location licensed or authorized to dispense drugs or supplies. The bill would specifically provide that a health care service plan contract or an insurance policy is not required to cover contraceptives provided by an out-of-network provider, pharmacy, or other location, except as authorized by state or federal law or by the plan or insurer's policies governing out-of-network coverage. The bill would also prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer, in the absence of clinical contraindications, from imposing utilization controls limiting the supply of FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives that may be furnished by a provider or pharmacist, or at a location licensed or otherwise authorized to dispense drugs or supplies to an amount that is less than a 12-month supply. The bill would include Medi-Cal managed care plans, as specified, in the definition of a health care service plan for purposes of these provisions, and would require the State Department of Health Care Services to seek federal approval, if necessary, and to issue all-plan letters or similar instructions to implement these provisions. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to dispense not more than a 90-day supply of a dangerous drug other than a controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity of less than a 90-day supply followed by periodic refills of that amount if the patient has met specified requirements, including having completed an initial 30-day supply of the drug. Existing law prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a greater supply of a dangerous drug if the prescriber indicates "no change to quantity" on the prescription. Existing law authorizes a pharmacist to furnish self-administered hormonal contraceptives in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols developed and approved by both the board and the Medical Board of California, as specified. This bill would require a pharmacist to dispense, at a patient's request, up to a 12-month supply of an FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptive pursuant to a valid prescription that specifies an initial quantity followed by periodic refills. The bill would authorize a pharmacist furnishing an FDA-approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptive, pursuant to the authorization described above, to furnish up to a 12-month supply at one time at the patient's request. This bill would incorporate changes to Section 4064.5 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by both this bill and SB 253, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last. 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 prohibits the management of hazardous waste, except in accordance with the hazardous waste laws. Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the management and disposal of hazardous waste. Under existing regulations, the department classifies a waste as hazardous waste if the waste exceeds certain total threshold limitation concentrations, which are established by the department for various substances, including barium. A violation of the hazardous waste laws is a crime. This bill, except as specified, would provide that used, broken cathode ray tube (CRT) panel glass and processed CRT panel glass that exceeds the total threshold limit concentration only for barium is not a waste and is not subject to regulation by the department if that panel glass meets certain requirements. The bill would provide that used, broken CRT panel glass and processed CRT panel glass that is recycled is not subject to the department's regulations on the export of materials. The bill would prohibit the use of that CRT panel glass except in specified end uses. Because a violation of this requirement would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law prescribes the circumstances under which property held or owing by a business association escheats to the state. Existing law specifies that any demand, savings, or matured time deposit, or account subject to a negotiable order of withdrawal, made with a banking organization escheats to the state if the owner, for more than three years, has not increased or decreased the amount of the deposit. Existing law specifies that any demand, savings, or matured time deposit, or matured investment certificate, or account subject to a negotiable order of withdrawal, or other interest in a financial organization, escheats to the state when the owner, for more than three years, has not increased or decreased the amount of the funds or deposit. This bill would require, commencing on or before January 1, 2018, for purposes of determining whether the above-described property escheats to the state, that a holder, as defined in existing law, regard specified transactions that are initiated electronically and are reflected in the books and records of a banking or financial organization as evidence of an increase or decrease in the amount of the funds or deposit in an account held by the banking or financial organization.
Existing law establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the Director of Parks and Recreation to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract within state parks if specified conditions exist and generally requires that a concession contract within state parks for a period of more than 2 years be awarded to the best responsible bidder. This bill would enact the California Heritage Protection Act, which would make various changes to the process for negotiating or renegotiating state parks concession contracts. The bill would modify the definition of a best responsible bidder to include that the bidder, among other things, will operate the concession in a manner that protects the state's trademark and service mark interest in the names associated with a state park venue and its historical, cultural, and recreational resources. This bill would prohibit a concession contract from providing a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and would prohibit a concession contract from serving as the basis for any legal claim that the contracting party has that interest. The bill would declare that these provisions do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. The bill would prohibit a bidder who makes that legal claim or assertion, and a bidder who a court has determined has made that legal claim or assertion with respect to a state or federal park venue without reasonable cause and in bad faith, from being awarded a concession contract within state parks. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to provide a bidder who is denied a contract award based on these reasons with written notice and an opportunity to rebut the basis of the contract denial at a formal hearing. The bill would render a provision of a concession contract that, on and after January 1, 2017, provides a contracting party with a trademark or service mark interest in the name or names associated with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, void and unenforceable. This bill would require a concession contract to contain provisions requiring the concessionaire to forfeit the right to bid on future state park concession contracts if the concessionaire makes the above-described legal claim or assertion and requiring a concessionaire to be responsible for the state's attorney fees, costs, and expenses if the concessionaire in bad faith files a federal or state trademark or service mark application for a trademark or service mark that incorporates or implies association with a state park venue, or its historical, cultural, or recreational resources, and the state files a successful opposition or cancellation of the trademark or service mark application. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5080.18 of the Public Resources Code proposed by SB 1473 to be operative only if SB 1473 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish and administer the State Emergency Food Assistance Program (SEFAP) , to provide food and funding for the provision of emergency food to food banks, as provided. Existing law creates the State Emergency Food Assistance Program Account and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, allocates the moneys in the account to SEFAP and requires that those moneys be used for the purchase, storage, and transportation of food grown or produced in California and for the department's administrative costs. This bill would rename the State Emergency Food Assistance Program as the CalFood Program and would rename the State Emergency Food Assistance Program Account as the CalFood Account. The bill would make other conforming changes in this regard. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 18995 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 1747 that would become operative if this bill and AB 1747 are both enacted and this bill is enacted last.
The Uniform Parentage Act defines the parent and child relationship as the legal relationship existing between a child and the child's parents, governs proceedings to establish that relationship, and establishes the jurisdiction of the courts under the act. Existing law provides that a party to an assisted reproduction agreement may bring an action under the act at any time to establish a parent and child relationship consistent with the intent expressed in that assisted reproduction agreement. Existing law allows an action to establish the parent-child relationship between the intended parent or parents and the child as to a child conceived pursuant to an assisted reproduction agreement for gestational carriers to be filed before the child's birth and specifies the counties where that action may be filed. This bill would extend the jurisdiction of the courts under the act to a proceeding to determine parentage of the child as to a child who is conceived pursuant to an assisted reproduction agreement for gestational carriers if certain conditions are satisfied, including if the child is born in this state, or one or more of the parties to the assisted reproduction agreement for gestational carriers resides in this state or resided in this state at the time the assisted reproduction agreement for gestational carriers was executed. Existing law requires an assisted reproduction agreement for gestational carriers to contain specified information, including the persons from which the gametes originated, unless anonymously donated. This bill would instead require an assisted reproduction agreement for gestational carriers to contain information regarding the persons from whom the gametes originated, unless donated gametes were used, in which case the agreement shall specify whether the donated gamete or gametes were eggs, sperm, or embryos, or all. Existing law provides that the donor of ova for use in assisted reproduction by a woman other than the donor's spouse or partner is treated in law as if she were not the natural parent of a child thereby conceived, unless the court finds satisfactory evidence that the donor and the woman intended for the donor to be a parent. This bill would replace the term "woman" with "person" in those provisions.
Existing law provides for the regulation of certified farmers' markets and authorizes the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to adopt regulations to encourage the direct sale by farmers to the public of all types of California agricultural products. This bill would specify the Legislature's intent that the secretary, in adopting those regulations, endeavor to keep costs incurred by farmers and certified farmers' market operators at a minimum, would authorize the secretary to adopt regulations clarifying the certified farmers' market provisions, and would revise the term "agricultural product" for purposes of the certified farmers' market provisions to include raw sheared wool. The bill would also add a provision specifying that nothing in the certified farmers' market provisions shall be interpreted to preclude a certified farmers' market operator from creating and keeping additional information or requiring a vendor to provide additional information, as specified.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Those laws provide various exemptions from those taxes. This bill, on and after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2022, would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual sponges, and menstrual cups. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.