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. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment provided for pervasive developmental disorder or autism and requires a plan or policy to maintain an adequate network of qualified autism service providers. Under existing law, a "qualified autism service provider" means, among other things, a person who is certified by a national entity, such as the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, with a certification that is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. This bill would clarify that the Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board is also a national entity that may certify a qualified autism service provider, and would authorize the certification to be accredited by another national accrediting entity approved by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services.
This Senate Resolution celebrates the 90th anniversary of the East Bay Regional Park District, the largest regional park district in the United States. The document honors the district's history of preserving over 126,000 acres of land in Alameda and Contra Costa counties for public recreation and environmental conservation. It formally commends the district's leadership and staff for their nine decades of service and encourages local communities to participate in anniversary events. The resolution concludes by directing the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the document to the park district as a gesture of appreciation.
This Senate Resolution establishes November as Veteran Housing Insecurity Awareness Month to highlight the housing challenges faced by veterans in California. The measure recognizes that many veterans struggle with homelessness, high housing costs, and eligibility barriers for federal housing assistance due to how disability income is calculated. By formally declaring this awareness month, the resolution aims to draw attention to these specific issues without altering any existing laws or funding.
(1) Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, commencing for pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies meeting specified requirements. Under existing law, the requirement to complete an ethnic studies course may be fulfilled by the completion of, among others, a course based on the model curriculum developed by the Instructional Quality Commission, an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A–G requirements of the University of California and the California State University, or a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school. This bill, among other things, would require a school district or charter school to develop an ethnic studies course or any instructional materials for an ethnic studies course with teachers, classified staff, parents, guardians, and community members, as provided. The bill would require a majority of the stakeholders in the development process to be classroom teachers, as provided, and would also authorize the development process to include a piloting process consistent with the guidelines set forth in the "Guidance for Local Instructional Materials Adoptions" adopted by the State Board of Education. The bill would also require a district superintendent and the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school to submit a signed certification to the State Department of Education and the state board that the proposed, adopted, or revised course or instructional materials meets certain requirements, as provided. The bill would require the curriculum, instruction, and instructional materials for an ethnic studies course to additionally foster respect and acceptance and to focus on the experiences of communities of the United States. To the extent these requirements impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would create 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, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health that is led by the State Public Health Officer, who is appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Governor is authorized to appoint, upon the recommendation of the State Public Health Officer, 2 chief deputies, subject to confirmation by the Senate. This bill would establish the Office of Tribal Affairs within the department to be led by a Tribal Health Liaison to assist in addressing the public health disparities impacting tribal communities. The bill would require the office to communicate needs and to propose specific solutions from tribal communities to the department and state entities, as specified. The bill would provide that the Tribal Health Liaison be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the State Public Health Officer and would require the State Public Health Officer to regularly consult with and consider input and information provided by the Tribal Health Liaison. The bill would require the Tribal Health Liaison, among other duties, to regularly consult with California tribal representatives, as specified, and oversee the department's tribal health equity meetings, advisory groups, and workgroups. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
The California Endangered Species Act generally prohibits the take of a species determined to be an endangered, threatened, or candidate species under the act. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife, if certain conditions are fulfilled, to authorize the take of species, including fully protected species, resulting from impacts attributable to implementation of the Quantification Settlement Agreement on specified lands and bodies of water. This bill would additionally authorize the department, if certain conditions are fulfilled, to authorize the take of species resulting from impacts attributable to the implementation of any System Conservation Implementation Agreement between the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Imperial Irrigation District to implement the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program, as provided, on the specified lands and bodies of water. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California and charges it with administrative and enforcement duties related to the provision of medical services under the act. Existing law establishes requirements for the delivery of medical services, including via telehealth by specified health care providers. A violation of the act is a crime. Under existing law, a "health care provider," for purpose of the act, includes a qualified autism service provider or a qualified autism service professional that is certified by a national entity, as specified. This bill would expand that definition of "health care provider" to also include a qualified autism service paraprofessional. By expanding the scope of a crime under the act, 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) The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 65 at the November 4, 1986, statewide general election, prohibits a person, in the course of doing business, from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without giving a specified warning, or from knowingly discharging or releasing such a chemical into water, or into or onto land and passing into any source of drinking water, except as specified. The act imposes civil penalties upon persons who violate those prohibitions, and provides for the enforcement of those prohibitions by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or specified city attorneys or prosecutors. The act also provides for enforcement by an action brought by any person in the public interest, if that private action is commenced more than 60 days after the person has given notice of the violation that is the subject of the action to the Attorney General and the district attorney, the city attorney, or the prosecutor in whose jurisdiction the violation is alleged to have occurred, and to the alleged violator. If the notice made by a person bringing an action in the public interest alleges a violation of the act's warning requirement, the act requires that the notice include a certificate of merit stating that the person executing the certificate has consulted with one or more persons with relevant and appropriate experience or expertise who has reviewed facts, studies, or other data regarding the exposure to the listed chemical that is the subject of the action, and that, based on that information, the person believes there is a reasonable and meritorious case for the private action. The act requires factual information sufficient to establish the basis of the certificate of merit to be attached to the certificate of merit that is served on the Attorney General. Under the act, a trial court may review a certificate of merit's supporting information to determine if an unsuccessful enforcement action is frivolous, and thus sanctionable. This bill would require a report from a laboratory that is submitted with a certificate of merit to indicate the brand name, if any, of the product tested and the laboratory testing to have occurred within one year of the submittal of the certificate of merit. (2) The act requires a person, other than the Attorney General, who brings an action to enforce the act to submit to the Attorney General a report when the action is subject either to a settlement or a judgment, as provided. This bill would require the Attorney General, when providing a comment, suggestion, or any other communication in response to the report to one party in a settlement or judgment, to also provide that comment, suggestion, or other communication to all parties to the settlement or judgment. (3) Proposition 65 provides that it may be amended by a statute, passed by a23 vote of each house of the Legislature, to further its purposes. This bill would find and declare that it furthers the purposes of Proposition 65.
Existing law establishes 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. Under existing law, in-person, face-to-face contact is not required under the Medi-Cal program when covered health care services are provided by video synchronous interaction, audio-only synchronous interaction, remote patient monitoring, or other permissible virtual communication modalities, when those services and settings meet certain criteria. This bill would require the department to, by October 1, 2025, produce a public report on telehealth in the Medi-Cal program that includes analyses of, among other things, (1) telehealth access and utilization, (2) the effect of telehealth on timeliness of, access to, and quality of care, and (3) the effect of telehealth on clinical outcomes, as specified. The bill would authorize the department, in collaboration with the California Health and Human Services Agency, to issue policy recommendations based on the report's findings.
Existing law authorizes the city attorney of any general law city or chartered city to, with the consent of the district attorney of that county, prosecute any misdemeanor committed within the city arising out of violation of state law, as specified. This bill would, notwithstanding the above-described authorization for city attorneys, authorize the city attorney of any general law city to prosecute any misdemeanor committed within the city arising out of violation of state law, provided that specified conditions are met, including that the legislative body of a city passes an ordinance granting that prosecutorial authority to the city attorney.
Existing law, generally, regulates state and local law enforcement agencies regarding subject matter that includes the selection and training of peace officers, the maintenance and release of records, the use of force, and the use of certain equipment. Previous law, until January 1, 2023, prohibited the use of real-time facial recognition technology (FRT) by law enforcement agencies in connection with body-worn cameras. This bill would prohibit a law enforcement agency or peace officer from using an FRT-generated match as the sole basis for probable cause in an arrest or search. The bill would prohibit a judge from granting an application for a warrant based solely on an FRT match. The bill would authorize a court to award damages of up to $25,000 to an individual who is subjected to a violation of these provisions and reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party.
Existing law, referred to as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development within the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions, as specified, if the developer agrees to construct specified percentages of units for lower income households or very low income households, and meets other requirements. Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976 (act) , regulates development, as defined, in the coastal zone, as defined, and requires a new development to comply with specified requirements. The Density Bonus Law provides that its provisions do not supersede or in any way alter or lessen the effect or application of the act, and requires that any density bonus, concessions, incentives, waivers or reductions of development standards, and parking ratios to which an applicant is entitled under the Density Bonus Law be permitted in a manner consistent with the act. This bill would instead provide that, in the coastal zone, the Density Bonus Law does not relieve a project from the requirement to obtain a coastal development permit, as specified. The bill would require any density bonus, concessions, incentives, waivers or reductions of development standards, and parking ratios to which an applicant is entitled to be permitted in a manner that is consistent with the Density Bonus Law and does not result in significant adverse impacts to coastal resources and public coastal access, as specified. Existing law, the California Coastal Act, requires each local government lying, in whole or in part, within the coastal zone to prepare a local coastal program, as specified. Existing law specifies that a local coastal program is not required to include housing policies and programs. This bill would repeal that provision and instead require, on or by July 1, 2026, any local government in the coastal zone to submit an amendment to the local government's local coastal program that harmonizes the Density Bonus Law and the California Coastal Act, as specified. The bill would require this amendment to be processed as de minimis, as specified, if certain conditions are met. By requiring local governments to submit an amendment to its local coastal program, 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
