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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy covering prescription drug benefits to provide specified coverage to subscribers, enrollees, and insureds. This bill would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies that cover outpatient prescription drug benefits to provide coverage for a drug that has been prescribed for the treatment of pain and would prohibit those contracts and policies from requiring the subscriber, enrollee, or insured to first use another drug or product as specified. The bill would specify that these provisions do not apply to a health care service plan or health insurance policy purchased by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements with respect to health care service plans would be a crime, 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.
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Existing provisions of the California Constitution provide that the University of California constitutes a public trust and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. These provisions require that corporation to have all powers necessary or convenient for the effective administration of its trust. This measure would, on January 1, 2011, repeal the constitutional provisions relating to the university and the regents and would require the university and the regents to be continued in existence subject to legislative control as may be provided by statute. The measure would require the Legislature to enact legislation to implement these provisions.
The California Constitution establishes the University of California as a public trust and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. These provisions grant the regents all powers necessary or convenient for the effective administration of its trust. This measure would prohibit an increase in the mandatory systemwide fees charged to students attending the university that is adopted by the regents from becoming effective before 180 calendar days have elapsed after the date on which the increase is adopted. The measure would prohibit the regents from increasing mandatory systemwide fees in any fiscal year by a cumulative amount exceeding 10% of the mandatory systemwide fees charged for the immediately preceding fiscal year.
Existing law establishes procedures regarding the registration of voters. Under existing law, a person may not be registered to vote except by affidavit of registration, and a voter may not vote in an election unless his or her affidavit of registration is executed and received by the county elections official on or before the 15th day prior to the election. Existing law permits any registered voter to vote by a vote by mail ballot, and further permits any voter using a vote by mail ballot to vote the ballot at the office of the elections official beginning 29 days before the election. This bill would establish one-stop voting whereby a person would be permitted to register to vote and immediately vote on election day or at any time prior to election day when ballots may be cast. The bill would require a voter, in order to register and vote by means of one-stop voting, to visit a location at which one-stop voting is available, to present proof of identity and current residence, as specified, and to complete an affidavit of registration. Upon completing that registration, the voter would be immediately eligible to vote by regular ballot. If the voter is unable to complete that registration because the voter is unable to present proof of identity or proof of current residence, the voter would be permitted to register and vote by provisional ballot. The bill would require each county elections official to compile an index of voters who register to vote by one-stop voting. After the official canvass of the votes for that election is completed, the elections official would be required to review the names on the index and cancel duplicate registrations. The elections official would be required to send a voter registration form to every person who properly registered to vote by one-stop voting, and those persons would be registered for future elections at the address that the voter declared for purposes of voter registration. The elections official would be required to notify the district attorney and the Secretary of State if it appears that a person has engaged in fraudulent voting. The bill would require that one-stop voting be available at every permanent office of a county elections official beginning January 1 of the year following the implementation of VoteCal. In addition, the bill would require that each location at which one-stop voting is available have a separate area for the process and have at least one precinct board member who is trained in one-stop voting. The bill would authorize the Secretary of State to adopt appropriate regulations to implement one-stop registration and voting. The provisions of the bill establishing one-stop voting would become operative as of January 1 following the date that VoteCal is implemented. By creating new duties for local elections officials, 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, 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.
The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection and to make copies available upon request and payment of a fee unless those records are exempt from disclosure. This bill would require specified entities to comply with the act, but would not require these entities to disclose information obtained in the process of soliciting potential donors that has actual or potential independent economic value because it is not generally known to the public or because the individuals can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. This bill would specify that it is not the intent of the Legislature to designate specified organizations as state agencies by subjecting these organizations to the requirements of the act. The bill would exempt from disclosure under the act the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who volunteer services or donate to specified entities if those persons request anonymity. However, the bill would provide that this exemption does not apply if a volunteer or donor meets specified conditions. This bill would also provide that it is the intent of the Legislature to reject the court's interpretation of state law regarding the application of the act to auxiliary organizations, such as the CSU Fresno Association, at issue in California State University, Fresno Assn., Inc. v. Superior Court (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 810.
Existing law requires the collection of fees for issuing marriage licenses and for confidential marriage licenses. Existing law requires the collection of a fee in addition to the basic fee for the issuance of a marriage license and for the issuance of an authorization for the performance of marriages without a license, in the amount of $23. Existing law requires the additional $23 fee to be collected by the county clerk for deposit into county domestic violence shelter-based programs special funds. Existing law requires fees collected in the special funds to be disbursed to approved domestic violence shelter-based programs that meet certain requirements on a yearly or more frequent basis. This bill would authorize a county board of supervisors to authorize an increase of the above-described fee from $23 to $33. Existing law provides that proposed or existing domestic violence shelter-based programs that meet the aforementioned requirements shall receive funding from the county domestic violence shelter-based programs special funds. This bill would, instead, provide that only existing domestic violence shelter-based programs that meet the requirements shall receive funding. Existing law allows specified local jurisdictions to retain fees received at the time of issuance of a marriage license in excess of the $23 fee. This bill would add Sonoma County as a jurisdiction to whom this provision applies. Existing law requires the money in the special funds to be disbursed using a request for qualification (RFQ) process. This bill would require the RFQ process to involve a determination of whether a domestic violence shelter-based program meets the aforementioned requirements. If a domestic violence shelter-based program meets those requirements, the bill would provide that the program has successfully completed the RFQ process. The bill would provide that an RFQ process shall not be construed to mean a competitive bidding process. Existing law authorizes a county to establish a program for reducing the incidence of domestic violence in the county by establishing or funding domestic violence shelter-based programs that meet the aforementioned requirements. Existing law authorizes geographically adjacent counties to combine their respective domestic violence shelter-based programs funds in order to establish one or more domestic violence shelter-based programs, in order to provide services to the clients of each county that combines its funds with another county. This bill would provide that a county may only fund a domestic violence shelter-based program that is located outside of the county if the funding county is funding all domestic violence shelter-based programs located within its borders that meet the aforementioned requirements and the program located outside of the funding county provides services to residents of the funding county.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified low-income recipients. Existing law also creates the Healthy Families Program, administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB) , to arrange for the provision of health care services to children less than 19 years of age who meet certain eligibility requirements. Existing law, the County Health Initiative Matching Fund, establishes a fund that is administered by MRMIB in collaboration with the department to accept intergovernmental transfers to be used to increase the state's ability to use federal funds for programs to improve and expand access to health care. Under existing law, a county, a county agency, a local initiative, or a county organized health system that will provide an intergovernmental transfer may apply to MRMIB for funding to provide health care coverage to eligible children whose family income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level or eligible adults whose family income does not exceed 200% of the federal poverty level. Existing law requires that persons receiving this coverage be ineligible for the Healthy Families Program and no share of cost Medi-Cal coverage. This bill would allow persons who are eligible for but unable to enroll in the Healthy Families Program as a result of enrollment policies initiated by MRMIB due to insufficient funding to receive this coverage and would also allow a county, a county agency, a local initiative, or a county organized health system that will provide an intergovernmental transfer to apply to MRMIB for funding to provide health care coverage to eligible children whose family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The bill would specify that implementation of these provisions is conditioned on MRMIB obtaining necessary federal approval thereof.
Existing law prohibits an insurer from requiring the use of nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts in the repair of an insured's motor vehicle unless the consumer is advised in a written estimate before repairs are made that nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts will be used. This bill would in addition prohibit the use of nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts unless specified requirements are met, including that those parts are at least equal to the original equipment manufacturer parts in terms of kind, quality, safety, fit, and performance; the insurer so warrants; the insurer pays the cost of any modifications to those parts necessary to effect the repair; and all original and nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts, manufactured on or after January 1, 2011, when supplied by auto body repair shops contain specified identification.
Existing law establishes the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes the regents, the trustees, and the board to employ officers and other employees. This bill would prohibit the trustees from increasing the monetary compensation, as defined, of, or approving a monetary bonus for, any executive officer, as defined, of the California State University in any fiscal year in which the General Fund appropriation to the California State University in the annual Budget Act is less than, or equal to, the General Fund appropriation to the university in the annual Budget Act for the immediately preceding fiscal year. The bill would request the regents to not increase the monetary compensation of, or approve a monetary bonus for, any executive officer, as defined, of the University of California, in any fiscal year in which the General Fund appropriation to the University of California in the annual Budget Act is less than, or equal to, the General Fund appropriation to the university in the annual Budget Act for the immediately preceding fiscal year.
The California Constitution, with the exception of fees or charges for sewer, water, and refuse collection services, conditions the imposition or increase of a property-related fee or charge upon approval by either a majority vote of the owners of the properties subject to the fee or charge or, at the option of the agency imposing the fee or charge, by a 23 vote of the voters residing in the area affected by the fee or charge. This measure would additionally exclude fees and charges for stormwater and urban runoff management from these approval requirements for the imposition or increase of a property-related fee or charge.