This measure would request that the President and the Congress of the United States pass the H.R. 2474 that would restore funding for California veterans pursuing higher education.
Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of the Veterans' Home of California at various sites, and for an administrator for each home or homesite. Existing law defines "home" to mean the Veterans' Home of California, Yountville, and the Veterans' Home of California, Barstow. Existing law also defines "administrator" to mean the Administrator of the Veterans' Home of California, Yountville, and the Administrator of the Veterans' Home of California, Barstow. These definitions do not reference the Veterans' Home of California located in Chula Vista, the Veterans' Home of California located in Lancaster, or the Veterans' Home of California located in Ventura. This bill would update these definitions to refer to the Veterans' Home of California located in Chula Vista, the Veterans' Home of California located in Lancaster, and the Veterans' Home of California located in Ventura.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income persons are provided with health care services. Under existing law, for certain hospitals that receive Medi-Cal reimbursement from the department and that are not under contract with the department pursuant to specified existing law, interim payments and cost report settlements for inpatient hospital services provided on and after July 1, 2008, are reduced by 10%, as specified. Existing law revises the amount of these payments, beginning on October 1, 2008, pursuant to a specified formula. Existing law exempts certain small and rural hospitals and certain open health facility planning areas from this revised formula. Existing law, for purposes of interim payments, specifically provides that open health facility planning areas with 3 or more hospitals with licensed general acute care beds are not exempt from this revised formula. Existing law, for purposes of the cost report settlements, specifically provides that open health facility planning areas with more than 3 hospitals with licensed general acute care beds are not exempt from this revised formula. This bill would revise both of the above provisions to prohibit a state-owned or state-operated hospital from being included in determining the number of hospitals in an open health facility planning area. This bill would revise the cost report settlement provision by requiring that an open health facility planning area have 3 or more specified hospitals, instead of more than 3 specified hospitals. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law provides that, unless certain determinations are made by the commission about the impact of federal action, the commission has no jurisdiction or control over classified telephone directories (commonly known as yellow pages) or commercial advertising included as part of a telephone corporation's alphabetical telephone directories (commonly known as white pages) . Existing law requires the commission to require all telephone corporations that are local exchange carriers to include in their telephone directory information concerning emergency situations that may affect the telephone network. This bill would require a telephone corporation or one of its affiliates to allow any telephone service subscriber to opt out of receiving a telephone directory published by a telephone corporation. The bill would prohibit telephone corporations from delivering directories to subscribers who opt out of receiving a directory and require that a directory contain clear and conspicuous language regarding opting out of receiving future directories and recycling of the directory. The bill would require each 3rd-party vendor, as defined, as a contractual condition for receiving telephone subscriber information from the telephone corporation that is to be incorporated into a telephone directory, to allow any telephone service customer to opt out of receiving a telephone directory published by the 3rd-party vendor, to not deliver directories to subscribers who opt out of receiving a directory, and to include clear and conspicuous language on the front cover of the directory regarding opting out of receiving future directories and recycling of the directory.
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.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services pursuant to which medical benefits are provided to public assistance recipients and certain other low-income persons. Existing law provides that federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services, as defined, are covered benefits under the Medi-Cal program, to be reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis. "Visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between a patient of an FQHC or RHC and specified health care professionals. Existing law allows an FQHC or RHC to apply for an adjustment to its per-visit rate based on a change in the scope of services it provides. This bill would provide that a maximum of 2 visits, as defined, taking place on the same day at a single location shall be reimbursed when either after the first visit the patient suffers illness or injury requiring additional diagnosis or treatment or the patient has a medical visit, as defined, and another health visit, as defined, or both. The bill would require an FQHC or RHC that currently includes the cost of encounters with more than one health professional that take place on the same day at a single location as constituting a single visit for purposes of establishing its FQHC or RHC rate to, by January 1, 2011, apply for an adjustment to its per-visit rate, and, after the rate adjustment has been approved by the department, require the FQHC or RHC to bill a medical visit and another health visit that take place on the same day at a single location as separate visits. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill would require the department, by January 15, 2010, to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reflecting the changes described above.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for an increase in qualified employees of a qualified employer. This bill would, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2010, allow a credit in an amount equal to 25% of the wages, not exceeding $6,000, paid to each qualified veteran, as defined, by the taxpayer during the taxable year. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. A decision of the PUC adopted the California Solar Initiative. Existing law requires the PUC to undertake certain steps in implementing the California Solar Initiative. Existing law establishes a surcharge on all natural gas consumed in the state and upon electricity distributed by the state's three largest electrical corporations, to fund certain low-income assistance programs, cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, and public interest research and development. This bill would require the PUC, by July 1, 2010, to develop and implement a strategy to expand the participation of multiunit residential and commercial rental properties in utility energy efficiency and solar energy programs and to prepare and submit a report on the program to the Legislature by that date. The bill would require the PUC to ensure that the strategy implemented does not result in any additional ratepayer surcharges, is funded through existing programs or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and is cost effective for utility customers. The bill would require the PUC to consider, in developing the strategy, whether synergies exist between its energy efficiency programs and the solar energy programs of the California Solar Initiative, that, in the determination of the PUC, can make energy efficiency and solar investments cost effective for utility customers in multiunit commercial and residential rental properties. The bill would require the PUC, in implementing the California Solar Initiative, to ensure that solar energy system installers are informed that if the solar energy system is to be installed on a manufactured home, that the installation is required to comply with certain statutory and regulatory requirements pertaining to the alteration of manufactured housing. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with the PUC, local publicly owned electric utilities, and interested members of the public, to establish and thereafter revise eligibility criteria for solar energy systems and to establish conditions for ratepayer funded incentives that are applicable to the California Solar Initiative. This bill would require the Energy Commission to ensure that solar energy system installers are informed that, if the solar energy system is to be installed on a manufactured home, the installation is required to comply with certain statutory and regulatory requirements pertaining to the alteration of manufactured housing.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act authorizes the issuance of a wine sales permit to any licensee under a winegrower's license, which authorizes the sale of bottled wine produced by the winegrowers at specified events, including those held by tax-exempt organizations. Existing law restricts the amount of wine that a winegrower may sell pursuant to a wine sales event permit, as specified, and requires a licensee to report that amount to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. This bill would remove the restriction on the amount of wine that may be sold by a winegrower pursuant to a wine sales event permit and the attending reporting requirement.
Existing law relative to private energy producers requires every electric distribution utility or cooperative, as defined, to make available to an eligible customer‑generator, as defined, a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer‑generators exceeds 2.5% of the electric distribution utility or cooperative's aggregate customer peak demand. This bill would require that the standard contract or tariff for net energy metering be offered on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer‑generators exceeds 5% of the electricity distribution utility or cooperative's aggregate customer peak demand. The bill would prohibit, on and after July 1, 2010, a contractor holding a class C-46 license issued by the Contractors' State License Board from constructing, altering, or installing, for an eligible customer-generator generating electricity under a tariff or contract pursuant to these provisions, a solar photovoltaic electrical generating facility with the capacity to generate greater than 250 kilowatts of electricity. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 2827 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by AB 920 or SB 7, to be operative only if either AB 920 or SB 7 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last.
