Sen. Susan Eggman

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law continuously appropriates 20% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, administered by the Strategic Growth Council, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices to support infill and compact development and that support other related and coordinated public policy objectives. Existing law requires the council to develop guidelines and selection criteria for the program. This bill would require the Strategic Growth Council to consider revisions to the guidelines and selection criteria with respect to affordable housing projects that qualify under the program's rural innovation project area, as specified, and to provide a written explanation to the Legislature by March 1, 2017, if the council determines that it will not make the revisions.

The Nursing Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of nurse practitioners by the Board of Registered Nursing. The act authorizes the implementation of standardized procedures that authorize a nurse practitioner to perform certain acts, including ordering durable medical equipment in accordance with standardized procedures, certifying disability for purposes of unemployment insurance after physical examination and collaboration with a physician and surgeon, and, for an individual receiving home health services or personal care services, approving, signing, modifying, or adding to a plan of treatment or plan of care after consultation with a physician and surgeon. A violation of those provisions is a crime. This bill would authorize a nurse practitioner who holds a national certification from a national certifying body recognized by the board to practice without the supervision of a physician and surgeon, if the nurse practitioner meets existing requirements for nurse practitioners and practices in one of certain specified settings. The bill would prohibit entities described in those specified settings from interfering with, controlling, or otherwise directing the professional judgment of such a nurse practitioner, as specified, and would authorize such a nurse practitioner, in addition to any other practice authorized in statute or regulation, to perform specified acts, including the acts described above, without reference to standardized procedures or the specific need for the supervision of a physician and surgeon. The bill, instead, would require a nurse practitioner to refer a patient to a physician and surgeon or other licensed health care provider if a situation or condition of the patient is beyond the scope of the nurse practitioner's education and training. The bill would require a nurse practitioner practicing under these provisions to maintain professional liability insurance appropriate for the practice setting. By imposing new requirements on nurse practitioners, the violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law prohibits a licensee, as defined, from referring a person for laboratory, diagnostic, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, physical therapy, physical rehabilitation, psychometric testing, home infusion therapy, or diagnostic imaging goods or services if the licensee or his or her immediate family has a financial interest with the person or entity that receives the referral, and makes a violation of that prohibition punishable as a misdemeanor. Under existing law, the Medical Board of California is required to review the facts and circumstances of any conviction for violating the prohibition, and to take appropriate disciplinary action if the licensee has committed unprofessional conduct. This bill would include a nurse practitioner, as specified, under the definition of a licensee, which would expand the scope of an existing crime and therefore impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the Board of Registered Nursing to review the facts and circumstances of any conviction of a nurse practitioner, as specified, for violating that prohibition, and would require the board to take appropriate disciplinary action if the nurse practitioner has committed unprofessional conduct. Existing law provides for the professional review of specified healing arts licentiates through a peer review process. Existing law defines the term "licentiate" for those purposes to include, among others, a physician and surgeon. This bill would include a nurse practitioner, as specified, under the definition of licentiate, and would require the Board of Registered Nursing to disclose reports, as specified. 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.

Under existing law, the segments of postsecondary education in this state include the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions. 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 specified institutions from its provisions, does not apply to private postsecondary educational institutions that do not maintain a physical presence in the state, and is repealed on January 1, 2017. This bill would, to the extent authorized by federal law, require a private entity with no physical presence in California, that would be subject to the requirements of this act if the entity was located in this state, to register with the bureau and participate in the act's Student Tuition Recovery Fund for its California students. The requirements of the bill would be repealed on July 1, 2020.

This act would declare June 10, 2016, as Portugal Day to celebrate Portuguese national heritage.

This measure would recognize May 24, 2016, as Slavic Heritage Day.