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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD STANDING COMMITTEES - 05072015 - Legislation Cte Agenda Pkt            LEGISLATION COMMITTEE May 7, 2015 10:30 A.M. 651 Pine Street, Room 101, Martinez Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Chair Supervisor Federal D. Glover, Vice Chair Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee              1.Introductions   2.Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited to three minutes).   3. REVIEW and APPROVE Record of Action from the April 2, 2015 meeting.   4. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 662 (Bonilla): Expanding Access for Individuals with Physical Disabilities, as recommended by Employment and Human Services Director.   5. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Oppose" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 1223 (O'Donnell) Emergency Medical Services: Noncritical Cases, as recommended by the Emergency Medical Services Director.   6. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 1321 (Ting): Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program, as recommended by the Agricultural Commissioner.   7. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Oppose" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 239 (Hertzberg) Local Services: Contracts: Fire Protection Services, as recommended by the Contra Costa Fire Chief.   8. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 120 (Anderson) Sales and Use Taxes: First Responder Equipment, as recommended by the Contra Costa Fire Chief.   9. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 1436 (Burke) In-Home Support Services: Authorized Representatives, as recommended by Employment and Human Services Department.   10. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" on AB 1262 (Wood): 1 of 210 10. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" on AB 1262 (Wood): Telecommunications: Universal Service, a bill that would modify existing limits on funds allocated from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account and the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account, to promote ubiquitous broadband deployment and to advance broadband adoption in unserved and underserved areas throughout the state.   11. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 762 (Mullin) Day Care Centers: Integrated Licensing, as recommended by the Director of Community Services.   12. CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 238 (Mitchell) Foster Care: Psychotropic Medication, as recommended by the Employment and Human Services Department Director.   13. ACCEPT the report on Federal Issues and provide direction to staff, as needed.   14. ACCEPT the report "Bills of Interest to Contra Costa County" and provide direction to staff, as needed.   15.The next meeting is currently scheduled for June 4, 2015.   16.Adjourn   The Legislation Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend Legislation Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting. Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority of members of the Legislation Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at 651 Pine Street, 10th floor, during normal business hours. Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time. For Additional Information Contact: Lara DeLaney, Committee Staff Phone (925) 335-1097, Fax (925) 646-1353 lara.delaney@cao.cccounty.us 2 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 3. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:Record of Action Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: N/A   Referral Name: Record of Action  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: County Ordinance requires that each County body keep a record of its meetings. Though the record need not be verbatim, it must accurately reflect the agenda and the decisions made in the meeting. Any handouts or printed copies of testimony distributed at the meeting will be attached to this meeting record. Referral Update: Attached for the Committee's consideration is the Record of Action for its April 2, 2015 meeting. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): APPROVE Record of Action from the April 2, 2015 meeting with any necessary corrections. Attachments Record of Action 04.02.15 Handouts 04.02.15 3 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE RECORD OF ACTION April 2, 2015 10:30 A.M. 651 Pine Street, Room 101, Martinez   Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Chair Supervisor Federal D. Glover, Vice Chair Agenda Items:Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee   Present: Karen Mitchoff, Chair    Absent: Federal D. Glover, Vice Chair  Staff Present:Dr. William Walker, Health Services Director  Dr. Erika Jensen, Health Services  Dr. Wendel Brunner, Health Services  Philip Kader, Probation Chief  Lindy Lavender, District IV Representative  David Fraser, District V Representative  Lia Bristol, District IV Representative  Tomi Riley, District III Representative  Vana Tran, County Administrator's Office  Lara DeLaney, Senior Deputy County Administrator  Attendees: Amy Van Linge  Victoria Van Linge  Brent Tryner  Ryan Tryner  Joshua Tryner  Michelle Tryner  Nancy Michelli  Kristen Branch                   1.Introductions   2.Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited to three minutes).    No public comment.    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  4 of 210 Passed  3.APPROVE Record of Action from the Februrary 5, 2015 meeting with any necessary corrections.       The Record of Action was approved as submitted.    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  4.CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 203 (Obernolte) State Responsibility Areas: Fire Prevention Fees.       The Committee voted unanimously to recommend a position of "support."    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  5.CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 546 (Gonzalez) Peace Officers: Basic Training Requirements.       The Committee voted unanimously to recommend a position of "support."    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  6.CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 637 (Campos) Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment.       The Committee voted unanimously to recommend a position of "support."    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  7.CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 266 (Block) Probation and Mandatory Supervision: Incarceration.       The Committee voted unanimously to recommend a position of "support."    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  8.CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors a position of "Support" on SB 277 (Pan) Public Health: Vaccinations, as recommended by Dr. William Walker.       The Committee voted unanimously to refer the item to the Board of Supervisors for consideration and action.    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  5 of 210 Passed  9.CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors support for a State Budget item related to the restoration and COLA increase of SSI/SSP funding, as recommended by the IHSS Public Authority Advisory Committee.       The Committee voted unanimously to recommend a position of "support."    AYE: Chair Karen Mitchoff  Passed  10.ACCEPT the report on Federal Issues and provide direction to staff, as needed.      The Committee accepted the report as given.   11.The next meeting is currently scheduled for May 7, 2015.     The Committee confirmed the date of the next meeting.   12.Adjourn   The Legislation Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend Legislation Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting. Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a majority of members of the Legislation Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public inspection at 651 Pine Street, 10th floor, during normal business hours. Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day prior to the published meeting time.  For Additional Information Contact:  Lara DeLaney, Committee Staff Phone (925) 335-1097, Fax (925) 646-1353 lara.delaney@cao.cccounty.us 6 of 210 7 of 210 8 of 210 9 of 210 10 of 210 11 of 210 12 of 210 13 of 210 14 of 210 15 of 210 16 of 210 17 of 210 18 of 210 19 of 210 20 of 210 21 of 210 22 of 210 23 of 210 24 of 210 25 of 210 26 of 210 27 of 210 28 of 210 29 of 210 30 of 210 31 of 210 32 of 210 33 of 210 34 of 210 35 of 210 36 of 210 37 of 210 38 of 210 39 of 210 40 of 210 41 of 210 42 of 210 43 of 210 44 of 210 45 of 210 46 of 210 47 of 210 48 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 4. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:AB 662 (Bonilla) Expanding Access for Individuals with Physical Disabilities Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-08   Referral Name: AB 662 (Bonilla) Expanding Access for Individuals with Physical Disabilities Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Employment and Human Services Director Kathy Gallagher. Referral Update: Assembly Bill (AB) 662 would expand public restroom accommodations to meet the health and safety needs of individuals with physical disabilities. This bill requires newly constructed commercial places of public amusement including auditoriums, convention centers, exhibition halls, sports arenas, and theaters that serve over 1, 000 people on a daily basis to install an adult changing station for people with physical disabilities. This requirement applies to all new construction as of January 1, 2019. AB 662 also requires that renovations of restrooms in commercial places of public amusement to install an adult changing station. This requirement would go into effect on January 1, 2029. Status: 04/14/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS. Background: Currently, there is a lack of adequate restroom accommodations for individuals with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis. According to the California Department of Developmental Services, there are approximately 52,850 individuals with physical disabilities that would benefit from the assistance of an accessible changing station that includes a changing table. The additional assistance would result in increased health and safety benefits. The inclusion of people with disabilities in our community and their participation in activities 49 of 210 such as sporting events, concerts, and other forms of entertainment enhances their quality of life. However, participation in these activities may require adequate restroom accommodations. By expanding public restroom accommodations in large occupancy buildings such as auditoriums, convention centers, exhibition halls, sports arenas, and theaters we are ensuring that individuals with physical disabilities and their families are given the dignity and basic human right to maintain their health. Specifically, this bill: Requires all newly constructed commercial places of public amusement including auditoriums, convention centers, exhibition halls, sports arenas, and theaters that serve over 1,000 people on a daily basis to install an adult changing station for individuals with a physical disability. This applies to all new construction as of January 1, 2019. Requires all renovations of restrooms in commercial places of public amusement that serve over 1,000 people to install an adult changing station for individuals with a physical disability as of January 1, 2029. An adult changing station is defined as an adult changing table placed within an enclosed restroom facility. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 662 (Bonilla): Expanding Access for Individuals with Physical Disabilities. Attachments Bill Text Sample Support Letter 50 of 210 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015 california legislature—2015–16 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 662 Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla February 24, 2015 An act to amend Section 19954.5 of, and to add Section 19952.5 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to public accommodation. legislative counsel’s digest AB 662, as amended, Bonilla. Public accommodation: disabled adults: changing facilities. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the California Building Standards Code require that specified buildings, structures, and facilities be accessible to, and usable by, persons with disabilities. Existing law requires, among others, any person who owns or manages a place of public amusement and resort to provide seating or accommodations for physically disabled persons in a variety of locations within the facility, as specified. Existing law authorizes the district attorney, the city attorney, the Attorney General or, in certain instances, the Department of Rehabilitation acting through the Attorney General, to bring an action to enjoin a violation of prescribed requirements relating to access to buildings by disabled persons. This bill would require a commercial place of public amusement that serves over 1,000 people on a daily basis is required by regulation to have more than 13 water closets installed that is constructed on or after January 1, 2019, 2020, or that renovates a bathroom on or after January 1, 2029, to install and maintain at least one adult changing station, as defined, for a person with a physical disability, as specified. The bill would also make conforming changes. 98 51 of 210 Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 19952.5 is added to the Health and Safety line 2 Code, to read: line 3 19952.5. (a)  (1)  A commercial place of public amusement line 4 that serves over 1,000 people on a daily basis is required by line 5 regulation to have more than 13 water closets installed to meet line 6 public health and safety requirements, shall install and maintain line 7 at least one adult changing station for persons with a physical line 8 disability that is accessible to both men and women if when the line 9 facility is open to the public. Each station shall include signage at line 10 or near the entrance to the station indicating the location of the line 11 adult changing station. If there is a central directory identifying, line 12 for the benefit of the public, the location of offices, restrooms, and line 13 other facilities in the building, that central directory shall indicate line 14 the location of the adult changing station. line 15 (2)  Subdivision (a) This section applies to all new construction line 16 on or after January 1, 2019, 2020, and to all renovations of line 17 bathrooms on or after January 1, 2029, if a permit has been line 18 obtained or the estimated cost of the renovation is ten thousand line 19 dollars ($10,000) or more. line 20 (b)  For purposes of this section, the following shall apply: line 21 (1)  “A commercial place of public amusement” includes an line 22 auditorium, convention center, cultural complex, exhibition hall, line 23 permanent amusement park structure, sports arena, or theater or line 24 movie house. line 25 (2)  “Adult changing station” means an adult changing table line 26 placed within an enclosed restroom facility. facility that is for use line 27 by persons with physical disabilities who need help with diapering. line 28 (3)  “Physical disability” means a mental or physical disability, line 29 as described in Section 12926 of the Government Code. line 30 SEC. 2. Section 19954.5 of the Health and Safety Code is line 31 amended to read: line 32 19954.5. If a violation of Section 19952, 19952.5, 19953, or line 33 19954 is alleged or the application or construction of any of these line 34 sections is in issue in any proceeding in the Supreme Court of line 35 California, a state court of appeal, or the appellate division of a 98 — 2 —AB 662 52 of 210 line 1 superior court, each party shall serve a copy of the party’s brief or line 2 petition and brief, on the State Solicitor General at the Office of line 3 the Attorney General. A brief may not be accepted for filing unless line 4 the proof of service shows service on the State Solicitor General. line 5 Any party failing to comply with this requirement shall be given line 6 a reasonable opportunity to cure the failure before the court line 7 imposes any sanction and, in that instance, the court shall allow line 8 the Attorney General reasonable additional time to file a brief in line 9 the matter. O 98 AB 662— 3 — 53 of 210 [Date] The Honorable Assemblymember Susan A. Bonilla State Capitol, Room 4140 Sacramento, CA 95814 SUBJECT: AB 662 (Bonilla) – Expanding Access for Individuals with Physical Disabilities - Support Dear Assemblymember Bonilla: [Your name or organization] strongly supports your bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 662. This bill expands public restroom accommodations to meet the health and safety needs of individuals with physical disabilities. This bill requires newly constructed commercial places of public amusement including auditoriums, convention centers, exhibition halls, sports arenas, and theaters that serve over 1, 000 people on a daily basis to install an adult changing station for people with physical disabilities. This requirement applies to all new construction as of January 1, 2019. AB 662 also requires that renovations of restrooms in commercial places of public amusement to install an adult changing station. This requirement would go into effect on January 1, 2029. Currently, there is a lack of adequate restroom accommodations for individuals with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis. [Please tell your organization’s story or experience here.] The inclusion of people with disabilities in our community and their participation in activities such as sporting events, concerts, and other forms of entertainment enhances their quality of life. However, participation in these activities requires adequate restroom accommodations. By expanding public restroom accommodations to include an adult changing table in large occupancy buildings such as auditoriums, convention centers, exhibition halls, sports arenas, and theaters we are ensuring that individuals with physical disabilities and their families are given the dignity and basic human right to maintain their health. For these reasons, [your organization] supports AB 662. If you have any questions about our position, please contact [name, title], at [phone/email]. Sincerely, [Name] 54 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 5. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:AB 1223 (O'Donnell) Emergency Medical Services: Noncritical Cases Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-09   Referral Name: AB 1223 (O'Donnell) Emergency Medical Services: Noncritical Cases  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Emergency Medical Services Director Pat Frost.  Referral Update: Assembly Bill (AB) 1223 would expand the facilities which are eligible for reimbursement from the Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund to include any licensed clinic or mental health facility and approved paramedic receiving stations for treatment of emergency patients. The bill would require a local emergency medical services agency to include in policies and procedures criteria relating to ambulance patient offload time, and for the transport of a patient to an alternative emergency department or facility, for reporting such patient offload time. Status: 04/14/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on HEALTH. Background: Existing law establishes the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund, and authorizes each county to establish an emergency medical services fund for reimbursement of costs related to emergency medical services. Existing law limits payments made from the fund to claims for care rendered by physicians to patients who are initially medically screened, evaluated, treated, or stabilized in specified facilities, including a site that was approved by a county prior to January 1, 1990, as a paramedic receiving station for the treatment of emergency patients. This bill would expand those specified facilities to include any licensed clinic or mental health facility, and any site approved by a county as a paramedic receiving station for the treatment of emergency patients. This bill would make conforming changes. Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical 55 of 210 Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services program. The act further authorizes a local emergency medical services (EMS) agency to develop and submit a plan to the Emergency Medical Services Authority for an emergency medical services system, and requires the local EMS agency, using state minimum standards, to establish policies and procedures to assure medical control of the emergency medical services system that may require basic life support emergency medical transportation services to meet any medical control requirements, including dispatch, patient destination policies, patient care guidelines, and quality assurance requirements. This bill would require a local EMS agency to include in those policies and procedures specified policies, including the establishment and enforcement of criteria relating to ambulance patient offload time, as defined, and for the transport of a patient to an alternate emergency department or facility under specified circumstances. The bill would require the authority to develop a statewide standard methodology for the calculation and reporting by a local EMS agency of ambulance patient offload time. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Oppose" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 1223 (O'Donnell) Emergency Medical Services: Noncritical Cases. Fiscal Impact (if any): No impact. Attachments Bill Text "Oppose" Letter from EMSAAC 56 of 210 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015 california legislature—2015–16 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1223 Introduced by Assembly Member O'Donnell February 27, 2015 An act to amend Section Sections 1797.98a, 1797.98e, and 1797.220 of of, and to add Section 1797.120 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services. legislative counsel’s digest AB 1223, as amended, O'Donnell. Emergency medical services: noncritical cases. Existing law establishes the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund, and authorizes each county to establish an emergency medical services fund for reimbursement of costs related to emergency medical services. Existing law limits payments made from the fund to claims for care rendered by physicians to patients who are initially medically screened, evaluated, treated, or stabilized in specified facilities, including a site that was approved by a county prior to January 1, 1990, as a paramedic receiving station for the treatment of emergency patients. This bill would expand those specified facilities to include any licensed clinic or mental health facility, and any site approved by a county as a paramedic receiving station for the treatment of emergency patients. This bill would make conforming changes. Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services program. The act further authorizes a local emergency medical services (EMS) agency 98 57 of 210 to develop and submit a plan to the Emergency Medical Services Authority for an emergency medical services system, and requires the local EMS agency, using state minimum standards, to establish policies and procedures to assure medical control of the emergency medical services system that may require basic life support emergency medical transportation services to meet any medical control requirements requirements, including dispatch, patient destination policies, patient care guidelines, and quality assurance requirements. This bill would authorize the policies and procedures to allow for the transportation of a noncritical case that cannot be immediately admitted to a hospital emergency room to another appropriate medical treatment facility, including, but not limited to, a clinic, as defined, or a doctors’ office. require a local EMS agency to include in those policies and procedures specified policies, including the establishment and enforcement of criteria relating to ambulance patient offload time, as defined, and for the transport of a patient to an alternate emergency department or facility under specified circumstances. The bill would require the authority to develop a statewide standard methodology for the calculation and reporting by a local EMS agency of ambulance patient offload time. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 1797.98a of the Health and Safety Code line 2 is amended to read: line 3 1797.98a. (a)  The fund provided for in this chapter shall be line 4 known as the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund. line 5 (b)  (1)  Each county may establish an emergency medical line 6 services fund, upon the adoption of a resolution by the board of line 7 supervisors. The moneys in the fund shall be available for the line 8 reimbursements required by this chapter. The fund shall be line 9 administered by each county, except that a county electing to have line 10 the state administer its medically indigent services program may line 11 also elect to have its emergency medical services fund administered line 12 by the state. line 13 (2)  Costs of administering the fund shall be reimbursed by the line 14 fund in an amount that does not exceed the actual administrative 98 — 2 —AB 1223 58 of 210 line 1 costs or 10 percent of the amount of the fund, whichever amount line 2 is lower. line 3 (3)  All interest earned on moneys in the fund shall be deposited line 4 in the fund for disbursement as specified in this section. line 5 (4)  Each administering agency may maintain a reserve of up to line 6 15 percent of the amount in the portions of the fund reimbursable line 7 to physicians and surgeons, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of, and line 8 to hospitals, pursuant to subparagraph (B) of, paragraph (5). Each line 9 administering agency may maintain a reserve of any amount in line 10 the portion of the fund that is distributed for other emergency line 11 medical services purposes as determined by each county, pursuant line 12 to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (5). line 13 (5)  The amount in the fund, reduced by the amount for line 14 administration and the reserve, shall be utilized to reimburse line 15 physicians and surgeons and hospitals for patients who do not line 16 make payment for emergency medical services and for other line 17 emergency medical services purposes as determined by each county line 18 according to the following schedule: line 19 (A)  Fifty-eight percent of the balance of the fund shall be line 20 distributed to physicians and surgeons for emergency services line 21 provided by all physicians and surgeons, except those physicians line 22 and surgeons employed by county hospitals, in general acute care line 23 hospitals that provide basic, comprehensive, or standby emergency line 24 services pursuant to paragraph (3) (4) or (5) (6) of subdivision (f) line 25 of Section 1797.98e up to the time the patient is stabilized. line 26 (B)  Twenty-five percent of the fund shall be distributed only to line 27 hospitals providing disproportionate trauma and emergency medical line 28 care services. line 29 (C)  Seventeen percent of the fund shall be distributed for other line 30 emergency medical services purposes as determined by each line 31 county, including, but not limited to, the funding of regional poison line 32 control centers. Funding may be used for purchasing equipment line 33 and for capital projects only to the extent that these expenditures line 34 support the provision of emergency services and are consistent line 35 with the intent of this chapter. line 36 (c)  The source of the moneys in the fund shall be the penalty line 37 assessment made for this purpose, as provided in Section 76000 line 38 of the Government Code. line 39 (d)  Any physician and surgeon may be reimbursed for up to 50 line 40 percent of the amount claimed pursuant to subdivision (a) of 98 AB 1223— 3 — 59 of 210 line 1 Section 1797.98c for the initial cycle of reimbursements made by line 2 the administering agency in a given year, pursuant to Section line 3 1797.98e. All funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year in excess line 4 of any reserve held and rolled over to the next year pursuant to line 5 paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) shall be distributed proportionally, line 6 based on the dollar amount of claims submitted and paid to all line 7 physicians and surgeons who submitted qualifying claims during line 8 that year. line 9 (e)  Of the money deposited into the fund pursuant to Section line 10 76000.5 of the Government Code, 15 percent shall be utilized to line 11 provide funding for all pediatric trauma centers throughout the line 12 county, both publicly and privately owned and operated. The line 13 expenditure of money shall be limited to reimbursement to line 14 physicians and surgeons, and to hospitals for patients who do not line 15 make payment for emergency care services in hospitals up to the line 16 point of stabilization, or to hospitals for expanding the services line 17 provided to pediatric trauma patients at trauma centers and other line 18 hospitals providing care to pediatric trauma patients, or at pediatric line 19 trauma centers, including the purchase of equipment. Local line 20 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies may conduct a needs line 21 assessment of pediatric trauma services in the county to allocate line 22 these expenditures. Counties that do not maintain a pediatric trauma line 23 center shall utilize the money deposited into the fund pursuant to line 24 Section 76000.5 of the Government Code to improve access to, line 25 and coordination of, pediatric trauma and emergency services in line 26 the county, with preference for funding given to hospitals that line 27 specialize in services to children, and physicians and surgeons line 28 who provide emergency care for children. Funds spent for the line 29 purposes of this section, shall be known as Richie’s Fund. This line 30 subdivision shall remain in effect until January 1, 2017, and shall line 31 have no force or effect on or after that date, unless a later enacted line 32 statute, that is chaptered before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends line 33 that date. line 34 (f)  Costs of administering money deposited into the fund line 35 pursuant to Section 76000.5 of the Government Code shall be line 36 reimbursed from the money collected in an amount that does not line 37 exceed the actual administrative costs or 10 percent of the money line 38 collected, whichever amount is lower. This subdivision shall remain line 39 in effect until January 1, 2017, and shall have no force or effect 98 — 4 —AB 1223 60 of 210 line 1 on or after that date, unless a later enacted statute, that is chaptered line 2 before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date. line 3 SEC. 2. Section 1797.98e of the Health and Safety Code is line 4 amended to read: line 5 1797.98e. (a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that a simplified, line 6 cost-efficient system of administration of this chapter be developed line 7 so that the maximum amount of funds may be utilized to reimburse line 8 physicians and surgeons and for other emergency medical services line 9 purposes. The administering agency shall select an administering line 10 officer and shall establish procedures and time schedules for the line 11 submission and processing of proposed reimbursement requests line 12 submitted by physicians and surgeons. The schedule shall provide line 13 for disbursements of moneys in the Emergency Medical Services line 14 Fund on at least a quarterly basis to applicants who have submitted line 15 accurate and complete data for payment. When the administering line 16 agency determines that claims for payment for physician and line 17 surgeon services are of sufficient numbers and amounts that, if line 18 paid, the claims would exceed the total amount of funds available line 19 for payment, the administering agency shall fairly prorate, without line 20 preference, payments to each claimant at a level less than the line 21 maximum payment level. Each administering agency may line 22 encumber sufficient funds during one fiscal year to reimburse line 23 claimants for losses incurred during that fiscal year for which line 24 claims will not be received until after the fiscal year. The line 25 administering agency may, as necessary, request records and line 26 documentation to support the amounts of reimbursement requested line 27 by physicians and surgeons and the administering agency may line 28 review and audit the records for accuracy. Reimbursements line 29 requested and reimbursements made that are not supported by line 30 records may be denied to, and recouped from, physicians and line 31 surgeons. Physicians and surgeons found to submit requests for line 32 reimbursement that are inaccurate or unsupported by records may line 33 be excluded from submitting future requests for reimbursement. line 34 The administering officer shall not give preferential treatment to line 35 any facility, physician and surgeon, or category of physician and line 36 surgeon and shall not engage in practices that constitute a conflict line 37 of interest by favoring a facility or physician and surgeon with line 38 which the administering officer has an operational or financial line 39 relationship. A hospital administrator of a hospital owned or line 40 operated by a county of a population of 250,000 or more as of 98 AB 1223— 5 — 61 of 210 line 1 January 1, 1991, or a person under the direct supervision of that line 2 person, shall not be the administering officer. The board of line 3 supervisors of a county or any other county agency may serve as line 4 the administering officer. The administering officer shall solicit line 5 input from physicians and surgeons and hospitals to review line 6 payment distribution methodologies to ensure fair and timely line 7 payments. This requirement may be fulfilled through the line 8 establishment of an advisory committee with representatives line 9 comprised of local physicians and surgeons and hospital line 10 administrators. In order to reduce the county’s administrative line 11 burden, the administering officer may instead request an existing line 12 board, commission, or local medical society, or physicians and line 13 surgeons and hospital administrators, representative of the local line 14 community, to provide input and make recommendations on line 15 payment distribution methodologies. line 16 (b)  Each provider of health services that receives payment under line 17 this chapter shall keep and maintain records of the services line 18 rendered, the person to whom rendered, the date, and any additional line 19 information the administering agency may, by regulation, require, line 20 for a period of three years from the date the service was provided. line 21 The administering agency shall not require any additional line 22 information from a physician and surgeon providing emergency line 23 medical services that is not available in the patient record line 24 maintained by the entity listed in subdivision (f) where the line 25 emergency medical services are provided, nor shall the line 26 administering agency require a physician and surgeon to make line 27 eligibility determinations. line 28 (c)  During normal working hours, the administering agency line 29 may make any inspection and examination of a hospital’s or line 30 physician and surgeon’s books and records needed to carry out line 31 this chapter. A provider who has knowingly submitted a false line 32 request for reimbursement shall be guilty of civil fraud. line 33 (d)  Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a physician and surgeon line 34 from utilizing an agent who furnishes billing and collection services line 35 to the physician and surgeon to submit claims or receive payment line 36 for claims. line 37 (e)  All payments from the fund pursuant to Section 1797.98c line 38 to physicians and surgeons shall be limited to physicians and line 39 surgeons who, in person, provide onsite services in a clinical 98 — 6 —AB 1223 62 of 210 line 1 setting, including, but not limited to, radiology and pathology line 2 settings. line 3 (f)  All payments from the fund shall be limited to claims for line 4 care rendered by physicians and surgeons to patients who are line 5 initially medically screened, evaluated, treated, or stabilized in line 6 any of the following: line 7 (1)  A basic or comprehensive emergency department of a line 8 licensed general acute care hospital. line 9 (2)  A licensed clinic or mental health facility. line 10 (2) line 11 (3)  A site that was is approved by a county prior to January 1, line 12 1990, as a paramedic receiving station for the treatment of line 13 emergency patients. line 14 (3) line 15 (4)  A standby emergency department that was in existence on line 16 January 1, 1989, in a hospital specified in Section 124840. line 17 (4) line 18 (5)  For the 1991–92 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, line 19 a facility which contracted prior to January 1, 1990, with the line 20 National Park Service to provide emergency medical services. line 21 (5) line 22 (6)  A standby emergency room in existence on January 1, 2007, line 23 in a hospital located in Los Angeles County that meets all of the line 24 following requirements: line 25 (A)  The requirements of subdivision (m) of Section 70413 and line 26 Sections 70415 and 70417 of Title 22 of the California Code of line 27 Regulations. line 28 (B)  Reported at least 18,000 emergency department patient line 29 encounters to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and line 30 Development in 2007 and continues to report at least 18,000 line 31 emergency department patient encounters to the Office of Statewide line 32 Health Planning and Development in each year thereafter. line 33 (C)  A hospital with a standby emergency department meeting line 34 the requirements of this paragraph shall do both of the following: line 35 (i)  Annually provide the State Department of Public Health and line 36 the local emergency medical services agency with certification line 37 that it meets the requirements of subparagraph (A). The department line 38 shall confirm the hospital’s compliance with subparagraph (A). line 39 (ii)  Annually provide to the State Department of Public Health line 40 and the local emergency medical services agency the emergency 98 AB 1223— 7 — 63 of 210 line 1 department patient encounters it reports to the Office of Statewide line 2 Health Planning and Development to establish that it meets the line 3 requirement of subparagraph (B). line 4 (g)  Payments shall be made only for emergency medical services line 5 provided on the calendar day on which emergency medical services line 6 are first provided and on the immediately following two calendar line 7 days. line 8 (h)  Notwithstanding subdivision (g), if it is necessary to transfer line 9 the patient to a second facility providing a higher level of care for line 10 the treatment of the emergency condition, reimbursement shall be line 11 available for services provided at the facility to which the patient line 12 was transferred on the calendar day of transfer and on the line 13 immediately following two calendar days. line 14 (i)  Payment shall be made for medical screening examinations line 15 required by law to determine whether an emergency condition line 16 exists, notwithstanding the determination after the examination line 17 that a medical emergency does not exist. Payment shall not be line 18 denied solely because a patient was not admitted to an acute care line 19 facility. Payment shall be made for services to an inpatient only line 20 when the inpatient has been admitted to a hospital from an entity line 21 specified in subdivision (f). line 22 (j)  The administering agency shall compile a quarterly and line 23 yearend summary of reimbursements paid to facilities and line 24 physicians and surgeons. The summary shall include, but shall not line 25 be limited to, the total number of claims submitted by physicians line 26 and surgeons in aggregate from each facility and the amount paid line 27 to each physician and surgeon. The administering agency shall line 28 provide copies of the summary and forms and instructions relating line 29 to making claims for reimbursement to the public, and may charge line 30 a fee not to exceed the reasonable costs of duplication. line 31 (k)  Each county shall establish an equitable and efficient line 32 mechanism for resolving disputes relating to claims for line 33 reimbursements from the fund. The mechanism shall include a line 34 requirement that disputes be submitted either to binding arbitration line 35 conducted pursuant to arbitration procedures set forth in Chapter line 36 3 (commencing with Section 1282) and Chapter 4 (commencing line 37 with Section 1285) of Part 3 of Title 9 of the Code of Civil line 38 Procedure, or to a local medical society for resolution by neutral line 39 parties. 98 — 8 —AB 1223 64 of 210 line 1 (l)  Physicians and surgeons shall be eligible to receive payment line 2 for patient care services provided by, or in conjunction with, a line 3 properly credentialed nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant line 4 for care rendered under the direct supervision of a physician and line 5 surgeon who is present in the facility where the patient is being line 6 treated and who is available for immediate consultation. Payment line 7 shall be limited to those claims that are substantiated by a medical line 8 record and that have been reviewed and countersigned by the line 9 supervising physician and surgeon in accordance with regulations line 10 established for the supervision of nurse practitioners and physician line 11 assistants in California. line 12 SEC. 3. Section 1797.120 is added to the Health and Safety line 13 Code, to read: line 14 1797.120. The authority shall develop a statewide standard line 15 methodology for the calculation and reporting by a local EMS line 16 agency of ambulance patient offload time. line 17 SECTION 1. line 18 SEC. 4. Section 1797.220 of the Health and Safety Code is line 19 amended to read: line 20 1797.220. (a)  The local EMS agency, using state minimum line 21 standards, shall establish policies and procedures approved by the line 22 medical director of the local EMS agency to assure medical control line 23 of the EMS system. The policies and procedures approved by the line 24 medical director may require basic life support emergency medical line 25 transportation services to meet any medical control requirements line 26 requirements, including dispatch, patient destination policies, line 27 patient care guidelines, and quality assurance requirements. line 28 (b)  The policies and procedures adopted pursuant to subdivision line 29 (a) may allow for the transportation of a noncritical case that cannot line 30 be immediately admitted to a hospital emergency room to another line 31 appropriate medical treatment facility, including, but not limited line 32 to, a clinic as defined in Section 1200 or an establishment owned line 33 or leased and operated as a clinic or office by one or more licensed line 34 health care practitioners and used as an office for the practice of line 35 their profession. shall include the following: line 36 (1)  A policy that uses the authority’s standard methodology for line 37 calculating ambulance patient offload time to establish and enforce line 38 compliance with criteria for the offloading of a patient transported line 39 by ambulance. 98 AB 1223— 9 — 65 of 210 line 1 (2)  Criteria for the reporting of and quality assurance followup line 2 for a “never event,” as defined in subdivision (c). line 3 (3)  A policy that allows a patient the right to request transport line 4 to another emergency department if the patient is subject to line 5 extended ambulance patient offload time. line 6 (4)  A policy that allows a patient with a minor medical injury line 7 or illness to be transported, as approved by a licensed physician line 8 under direct medical control of the patient, to a county-approved line 9 or state-approved receiving facility, including a clinic, stand-alone line 10 emergency department, mental health facility, or sobering center. line 11 (c)  For the purposes of this section, a “never event” occurs line 12 when the ambulance patient offload time for a patient exceeds one line 13 hour. line 14 (d)  For the purposes of this section, “ambulance patient offload line 15 time” is defined as the interval between the arrival of an line 16 ambulance patient transported by the local EMS agency at an line 17 emergency department and the time that the emergency department line 18 assumes responsibility for care of the patient following the transfer line 19 of the patient to a stretcher utilized by the emergency department. O 98 — 10 —AB 1223 66 of 210 Alameda Central California Coastal Valleys Contra Costa El Dorado Imperial Inland Counties Kern Los Angeles Marin Merced Monterey Mountain-Valley Napa North Coast Northern California Orange Riverside Sacramento San Benito San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo San Mateo Santa Barbara Santa Clara Santa Cruz Sierra-Sac Valley Solano Tuolumne Ventura Yolo April 15, 2015 The Honorable Patrick O’Donnell California State Assembly State Capitol, Room 4166 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: AB 1223/O’Donnell (as amended 4/14/15) – Oppose Dear Assembly Member O’Donnell: The Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association of California (EMSAAC) and the Emergency Medical Directors Association of California (EMDAC) have taken an oppose position on your AB 1223, which would allow local emergency medical services agencies (LEMSAs) to permit the transportation of noncritical patients to alternate locations. The extraordinary delays being experienced within EMS system in transferring patient care from ambulances to emergency department threatens patient safety and the ability of EMS resources to respond to medical emergencies. While EMSAAC and EMDAC are very interested in working to mitigate ambulance offload delays we can support AB 1223’s approach to addressing this issue. In addition, recent amendments make the bill even more problematic. The Maddy Fund was established to provide critically needed funds to physicians, surgeons and hospitals providing uncompensated emergency services. Maddy Funds serve as an important funding source for emergency services; however, the funds collected are limited, and do not cover the true cost of treating the uninsured in our emergency departments. While seeking treatment for patients in less- costly alternate locations is a laudable goal, tapping Maddy Funds to do so would reduce available funding for ER physicians and hospitals, jeopardizing desperately needed emergency services particularly in for California’s urban and rural emergency departments. EMSAAC represents the 33 local emergency medical services (EMS) agency administrators representing all of California’s 58 counties. The mission of the Emergency Medical Directors Association of California, Inc. (EMDAC) is to provide leadership and expert opinion in the medical oversight, direction and coordination of Emergency Medical Services for the people of the State of California. If you should have any questions, please contact EMSAAC’s Legislative Chair Dan Burch at (209) 468‐6818. Sincerely, Dan Lynch Greg H. Gilbert, MD EMSAAC President EMDAC President 67 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 6. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:AB 1321 (Ting) Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-10   Referral Name: AB 1321 (Ting) Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Agricultural Commissioner Chad Godoy. Referral Update: Assembly Bill (AB) 1321 would establish the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, and would create the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account in the Farm to Fork Account to collect matching funds received from a specified federal grant program and funds from other public and private sources to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program and to administer the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. Status: 03/23/2015 To ASSEMBLY Committee on AGRICULTURE. Background: The California Market Match program was launched in 2009 to encourage low-income families receiving nutrition benefits to purchase fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. The program “matches” or doubles the amount of nutrition benefits these families can spend and has expanded operations to over 140 farmers’ markets across California and increased the spending power of 37,000 families. The program benefits low-income families and local farmers. Studies have demonstrated that Market Match increases redemption of CalFresh and other nutrition benefits at participating markets from 132% to 700%, and generates a six-fold return on investment in farmers’ market sales. As a result of Market Match, 69% of farmers report that they have new shoppers and 67% of farmers report that they earned more income. Strong demand for Market Match often outstrips available funding for the program. However, the 2014 federal Farm Bill included $100 million in grant funding for programs such as Market Match that incentivize healthier eating amongst SNAP recipients. In order to best position local programs to receive these federal grants, AB 1321 creates a state Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program to apply for federal funds and award them to local Market Match programs with a proven record of success. Establishing a state framework to oversee funding of Market Match 68 of 210 programs would leverage state resources to streamline local program administration, and expand Market Match programs across a more equitable cross-section of communities that lack access to fresh produce. California is uniquely positioned to benefit from greater proliferation of programs such as Market Match. California grows over 400 commodities and produces nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. We have approximately 700 certified Farmers’ Markets and 2,200 certified producers. We also have a large persistent poverty problem to solve. 24% of Californians live in poverty and we rank 50th in the rate of participation in SNAP. Scaling up Market Match programs would create an incentive for more families to utilize their SNAP benefits and ensure more Californians can afford to eat what we grow. Specifically, this bill would enact the California Nutrition Incentives Act, creating the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program within the Office of Farm to Fork at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The program would award grants to certified farmers’ markets that double the amount of nutrition benefits available to low-income consumers when purchasing California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables. The program would also allow up to one-third of grant funds to be awarded to small businesses that provide such matching nutrition incentives, in order to reach low-income Californians residing in food deserts with limited access to farmers’ markets. Grants would be prioritized in disadvantaged communities with a high prevalence of diabetes and obesity to ensure a focus on expanding access to fresh, healthy food. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 1321 (Ting): Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. Attachments Bill Text Fact Sheet 69 of 210 california legislature—2015–16 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1321 Introduced by Assembly Member Ting (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta) (Principal coauthor: Senator Wolk) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Levine and Perea) February 27, 2015 An act to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 49010) to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to food and agriculture. legislative counsel’s digest AB 1321, as introduced, Ting. Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. Existing law establishes the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, including, among others, the agricultural industry and other organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. Existing law requires the office to, among other things, identify urban and rural communities that lack access to healthy food, and to coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to promote and increase awareness of programs that promote greater food access. Existing law creates the Farm to Fork Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund that would consist of money made available from federal, state, industry, and other sources, and would continuously appropriate the money deposited in the account without regard to fiscal years to carry out the purposes of the Office of Farm to Fork. 99 70 of 210 This bill would establish the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, and would create the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account in the Farm to Fork Account to collect matching funds received from a specified federal grant program and funds from other public and private sources to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program and to administer the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. The bill would require that moneys in the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account be awarded in the form of grants to qualified entities, as defined, for consumer incentive programs, as defined, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act and in accordance with certain priorities. The bill would require the Office of Farm to Fork to establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants, as specified. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 49010) line 2 is added to Division 17 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to read: line 3 line 4 Chapter 13. Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant line 5 Program line 6 line 7 49010. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the line 8 California Nutrition Incentives Act. line 9 49011. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program is line 10 hereby established in the Office of Farm to Fork for purposes of line 11 encouraging the purchase and consumption of California fresh line 12 fruits, nuts, and vegetables by directly linking California fresh line 13 fruit, nut, and vegetable producers with nutrition benefit clients. line 14 49012. For purposes of this article, the following definitions line 15 shall apply: line 16 (a)  “Nutrition benefit client” means a person who receives line 17 services or payments through any of the following: line 18 (1)  California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, line 19 Infants, and Children, as described in Section 123280 of the Health line 20 and Safety Code. 99 — 2 —AB 1321 71 of 210 line 1 (2)  CalWORKS program, as described in Chapter 2 line 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the line 3 Welfare and Institutions Code. line 4 (3)  CalFresh, as described in Section 18900.2 of the Welfare line 5 and Institutions Code. line 6 (4)  Implementation of the federal WIC Farmers’ Market line 7 Nutrition Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-314). line 8 (5)  The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, as described line 9 in Section 3007 of Title 7 of the United States Code. line 10 (6)  Supplemental Security Income or State Supplementary line 11 Payment, as described in Section 1381 et seq. of Title 42 of the line 12 United States Code. line 13 (b)  “Qualified entity,” for purposes of this article, means either line 14 of the following: line 15 (1)  A certified farmers’ market, as described in Section 47004, line 16 an association of certified producers, or a nonprofit organization line 17 representing a collective or association of certified producers that line 18 is authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture to line 19 accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Chapter line 20 51 (commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States line 21 Code) benefits from recipient purchasers at a farmers’ market. line 22 Certified producers shall be certified by the county agricultural line 23 commissioner pursuant to Section 47020. line 24 (2)  A small business, as defined in Section 14837 of the line 25 Government Code, that sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts, line 26 and vegetables and that is authorized to accept nutrition benefits line 27 from any of the programs listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, line 28 of subdivision (a). line 29 (c)  “Consumer incentive program” means a program line 30 administered by a qualified entity that doubles the purchasing value line 31 of a nutrition benefit client’s benefits when the benefits are used line 32 to purchase California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables. line 33 49013. The Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account is line 34 hereby created in the Farm to Fork Account to collect matching line 35 funds from the federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives Grant line 36 Program (7 U.S.C. Sec. 7517), and other public and private sources, line 37 to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant line 38 Program and to administer the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant line 39 Program in accordance with all of the following: 99 AB 1321— 3 — 72 of 210 line 1 (a)  Subject to the regulations adopted by the National Institute line 2 of Food and Agriculture in the United States Department of line 3 Agriculture in accordance with the federal Agricultural Act of line 4 2014 (Public Law 113-79) and an appropriation in the annual line 5 Budget Act, moneys in the Nutrition Incentive Matching Account line 6 shall be awarded in the form of grants to qualified entities for line 7 consumer incentive programs. line 8 (b)  (1)  The Office of Farm to Fork shall establish minimum line 9 standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants line 10 in consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture line 11 and other interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the line 12 State Department of Public Health, State Department of Social line 13 Services, organizations with expertise in nutrition benefit programs line 14 or consumer incentive programs, small business owners that may line 15 qualify as a qualified entity, and certified farmers’ market line 16 operators. line 17 (2)  The department shall not use more than one-third of the line 18 Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program funds for consumer line 19 incentive programs with entities described in paragraph (2) of line 20 subdivision (b) of Section 49012. line 21 (c)  Priority in the awarding of grants by the department to line 22 qualified entities shall be based on, but not limited to, the line 23 following: line 24 (1)  The degree of the existence of the following demographic line 25 conditions and the character of the communities in which sales of line 26 California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables are made to the line 27 public by authorized vendors operating in conjunction with a line 28 qualified entity: line 29 (A)  The number of people who are eligible for, or receiving, line 30 nutrition benefit program services. line 31 (B)  The prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related line 32 illnesses. line 33 (C)  The availability of access to fresh fruits, nuts, and line 34 vegetables. line 35 (2)  Demonstrated efficiency in the administration of a consumer line 36 incentive program. line 37 (3)  The service of an area of population currently not being line 38 served by a consumer incentive program. O 99 — 4 —AB 1321 73 of 210 AB 1321 California Nutrition Incentives Act Office of Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting | AB 1321 Fact Sheet 1 SUMMARY Diet is the foundation for good health, and despite our unparalleled agricultural bounty, at least 4 million Californians struggle with food insecurity. AB 1321 would increase access to healthy California grown produce by doubling the purchasing power of low- income Californians at farmers markets across the state. The 2014 federal Farm Bill set aside $100 million in grants for programs that increase fruit and vegetable purchases among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by providing incentives at the point of purchase. This bill sets up a state framework to help draw down those federal grants for local nutrition incentive programs that alleviate poverty and food insecurity, maximize access to fresh healthy foods, and stimulate economic growth in both agricultural and urban communities. BACKGROUND The California Market Match program was launched in 2009 to encourage low-income families receiving nutrition benefits to purchase fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. The program “matches” or doubles the amount of nutrition benefits these families can spend and has expanded operations to over 140 farmers’ markets across California and increased the spending power of 37,000 families. The program benefits low-income families and local farmers. Studies have demonstrated that Market Match increases redemption of CalFresh and other nutrition benefits at participating markets from 132% to 700%, and generates a six-fold return on investment in farmers’ market sales. As a result of Market Match, 69% of farmers report that they have new shoppers and 67% of farmers report that they earned more income. Strong demand for Market Match often outstrips available funding for the program. However, the 2014 federal Farm Bill included $100 million in grant funding for programs such as Market Match that incentivize healthier eating amongst SNAP recipients. In order to best position local programs to receive these federal grants, AB 1321 creates a state Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program to apply for federal funds and award them to local Market Match programs with a proven record of success. Establishing a state framework to oversee funding of Market Match programs would leverage state resources to streamline local program administration, and expand Market Match programs across a more equitable cross-section of communities that lack access to fresh produce. California is uniquely positioned to benefit from greater proliferation of programs such as Market Match. California grows over 400 commodities and produces nearly half of US-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. We have approximately 700 certified Farmers’ Markets and 2,200 certified producers. We also have a large persistent poverty problem to solve. 24% of Californians live in poverty and we rank 50th in the rate of participation in SNAP. Scaling up Market Match programs would create an incentive for more families to utilize their SNAP benefits and ensure more Californians can afford to eat what we grow. THIS BILL AB 1321 would enact the California Nutrition Incentives Act, creating the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program within the Office of Farm to Fork at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The program would award grants to certified farmers’ markets that double the amount of nutrition benefits available to low-income consumers when purchasing California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables. The program would also allow up to one-third of grant funds to be awarded to small businesses that provide such matching nutrition incentives, in order to reach low-income Californians residing in food deserts with limited access to farmers’ markets. Grants would be prioritized in disadvantaged communities with a high prevalence of diabetes and obesity to ensure a focus on expanding access to fresh, healthy food. SUPPORT Ecology Center (co-sponsor) Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (co-sponsor) Public Health Institute (co-sponsor) Roots of Change (co-sponsor) American Heart Association American Stroke Association Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach California Alliance of Farmers’ Markets California Association of Food Banks California Certified Organic Farmers California Food Policy Advocates California Hunger Action Coalition California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation 74 of 210 AB 1321 California Nutrition Incentives Act Office of Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting | AB 1321 Fact Sheet 2 Center for Food Safety City of Santa Monica’s Farmers Market Program Coastside Farmers’ Markets Community Food and Justice Coalition CUESA Enrich LA Feeding America San Diego Food Chain Workers Alliance Hunger Action Los Angeles Hunger Advocacy Network Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles Los Angeles Community Action Network Los Angeles Food Policy Council Orange County Food Access Coalition Plumas-Sierra Community Food Council Prevention Institute Project Angel Food San Diego Hunger Coalition San Francisco Food Security Task Force San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance Santa Barbara Food Alliance SF-Marin Food Bank SPUR St. Anthony Foundation Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food & Activity Environments Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles Sustainable Economies Law Center The Farmers Guild UC San Diego, Department of Pediatrics Center for Community Health United Way of Kern County Urban & Environment Policy Institute Volunteers of East Los Angeles Wellington Square Certified Farmers Market Western Center on Law & Poverty Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge & Services Yolo County Ag & Food Alliance STAFF CONTACT Office of Assemblymember Phil Ting Irene Ho (916) 319-2019 75 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 7. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:SB 239 (Hertzberg) Local Services: Contracts: Fire Protection Services Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-11   Referral Name: SB 239 (Hertzberg) Local Services: Contracts: Fire Protection Services  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Fire Chief Jeff Carman. Referral Update: Senate Bill (SB) 239 would establish local agency formation commission proceedings to consider the exercise of new or extended fire protection services outside a public agency's current service area by contract or agreement. The bill seeks to require a related resolution. Relates to State agency proposals. Provides procedures regarding the processing of such proposals. Relates to proposals for a change of organization that involves the exercise of new or extended fire protection services. Status: 04/23/2015 In SENATE. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE. Background: Existing law prescribes generally the powers and duties of the local agency formation commission in each county with respect to the review approval or disapproval of proposals for changes of organization or reorganization of cities and special districts within that county. Existing law permits a city or district to provide extended services, as defined, outside its jurisdictional boundaries only if it first requests and receives written approval from the local agency formation commission in the affected county. Under existing law, the commission may authorize a city or district to provide new or extended services outside both its jurisdictional boundaries and its sphere of influence under specified circumstances. This bill would permit a public agency to exercise new or extended services outside the public 76 of 210 This bill would permit a public agency to exercise new or extended services outside the public agency's current service area pursuant to a fire protection reorganization contract, as defined, only if the public agency receives written approval from the local agency formation commission in the affected county. The bill would require that the legislative body of a public agency that is not a state agency adopt a resolution of application and submit the resolution along with a plan for services, as provided, and that a proposal by a state agency be initiated by the director of the agency with the approval of the Governor. The bill would require, prior to adopting the resolution or submitting the proposal, the public agency to enter into a written agreement for the performance of new or extended services pursuant to a fire protection reorganization contract with each affected public agency and recognized employee organization representing firefighters in the affected area and to conduct a public hearing on the resolution.  The bill would require the commission to approve or disapprove the proposal as specified. The bill would require the commission to consider, among other things, a comprehensive fiscal analysis prepared by the executive officer in accordance with specified requirements. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Oppose" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 239 (Hertzberg) Local Services: Contracts: Fire Protection Services. Attachments Bill Text 77 of 210 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 23, 2015 SENATE BILL No. 239 Introduced by Senator Hertzberg February 17, 2015 An act to amend Sections 56021, 56654, 56824.10, and 56824.12 56017.2 and 56133 of, and to add Section 56800.5 56134 to, and to add Article 1.6 (commencing with Section 56824.20) to Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 3 of Title 5 of, the Government Code, relating to local services. legislative counsel’s digest SB 239, as amended, Hertzberg. Local services: contracts: fire protection services. Existing law prescribes generally the powers and duties of the local agency formation commission in each county with respect to the review approval or disapproval of proposals for changes of organization or reorganization of cities and special districts within that county. Existing law establishes commission proceedings to consider the exercise of new or different functions or services, or the divestiture of the power to provide particular functions or services, by special districts. permits a city or district to provide extended services, as defined, outside its jurisdictional boundaries only if it first requests and receives written approval from the local agency formation commission in the affected county. Under existing law, the commission may authorize a city or district to provide new or extended services outside both its jurisdictional boundaries and its sphere of influence under specified circumstances. 97 78 of 210 This bill would establish commission proceedings to consider the permit a public agency to exercise of new or extended fire protection services outside a the public agency’s current service area by contract or agreement. pursuant to a fire protection reorganization contract, as defined, only if the public agency receives written approval from the local agency formation commission in the affected county. The bill would require that the legislative body of a public agency to that is not a state agency adopt a resolution of application and submit the resolution along with a plan for services, as provided. The bill would require provided, and that a proposal by a state agency be initiated by the director of the agency with the approval of the Governor. The bill would require, prior to adopting the resolution or submitting the proposal, the public agency to enter into a written agreement for the performance of new or extended fire protection services pursuant to a fire protection reorganization contract with each affected public agency and recognized employee organization representing firefighters in the affected area and to conduct a public hearing on the resolution. The bill would provide that a proposal for a change of organization that involves the exercise of new or extended fire protection services outside a public agency’s current service area by contract or agreement may be initiated only by these proceedings. The bill would require the commission to approve or disapprove the proposal as specified. The bill would require the commission to consider, among other things, to review a comprehensive fiscal analysis prepared by the executive officer in accordance with specified requirements. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 56021 of the Government Code is line 2 amended to read: line 3 56021. “Change of organization” means any of the following: 97 — 2 —SB 239 79 of 210 line 1 (a)  A city incorporation. line 2 (b)  A district formation. line 3 (c)  An annexation to a city. line 4 (d)  An annexation to a district. line 5 (e)  A detachment from a city. line 6 (f)  A detachment from a district. line 7 (g)  A disincorporation of a city. line 8 (h)  A district dissolution. line 9 (i)  A consolidation of cities. line 10 (j)  A consolidation of special districts. line 11 (k)  A merger of a city and a district. line 12 (l)  Establishment of a subsidiary district. line 13 (m)  The exercise of new or different functions or classes of line 14 services, or divestiture of the power to provide particular functions line 15 or classes of services, within all or part of the jurisdictional line 16 boundaries of a special district as provided in Article 1.5 line 17 (commencing with Section 56824.10) of Chapter 5 of Part 3 of line 18 this division. line 19 (n)  The exercise of new or extended fire protection services line 20 outside a public agency’s current service area by contract or line 21 agreement, as authorized by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section line 22 55600) of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 5 of this code or Article 4 line 23 (commencing with Section 4141) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division line 24 4 of the Public Resources Code, as provided in Article 1.6 line 25 (commencing with Section 56824.20) of Chapter 5 of Part 3 of line 26 Division 3 of Title 5 of this code. line 27 SEC. 2. Section 56654 of the Government Code is amended line 28 to read: line 29 56654. (a)  A proposal for a change of organization or a line 30 reorganization may be made by the adoption of a resolution of line 31 application by the legislative body of an affected local agency, line 32 except as provided in subdivision (b). line 33 (b)  (1)  Notwithstanding Section 56700, a proposal for a change line 34 of organization that involves the exercise of new or different line 35 functions or classes of services, or the divestiture of the power to line 36 provide particular functions or classes of services, within all or line 37 part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district, shall only line 38 be initiated by the legislative body of that special district in line 39 accordance with Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 56824.10) line 40 of Chapter 5. 97 SB 239— 3 — 80 of 210 line 1 (2)  Notwithstanding Section 56700, a proposal for a change of line 2 organization that involves the exercise of new or extended services line 3 outside a public agency’s current service area by contract or line 4 agreement, as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 56021, shall line 5 only be initiated in accordance with Article 1.6 (commencing with line 6 Section 56824.20) of Chapter 5. line 7 (c)  At least 21 days before the adoption of the resolution, the line 8 legislative body may give mailed notice of its intention to adopt line 9 a resolution of application to the commission and to each interested line 10 agency and each subject agency. The notice shall generally describe line 11 the proposal and the affected territory. line 12 (d)  Except for the provisions regarding signers and signatures, line 13 a resolution of application shall contain all of the matters specified line 14 for a petition in Section 56700 and shall be submitted with a plan line 15 for services prepared pursuant to Section 56653. line 16 SEC. 3. Section 56800.5 is added to the Government Code, to line 17 read: line 18 56800.5. For a proposal for a change of organization that line 19 involves the exercise of new or extended services outside a public line 20 agency’s current service area by contract or agreement, as defined line 21 in subdivision (n) of Section 56021, the executive officer shall line 22 prepare, or cause to be prepared by contract, a comprehensive line 23 fiscal analysis. This analysis shall become part of the report line 24 required pursuant to Section 56665. Data used for the analysis line 25 shall be from the most recent fiscal year for which data are line 26 available, preceding the issuance of the certificate of filing. When line 27 data requested by the executive officer in the notice of affected line 28 agencies are unavailable, the analysis shall document the source line 29 and methodology of the data used. The analysis shall review and line 30 document each of the following: line 31 (a)  The costs to the public agency that has proposed to provide line 32 new or extended services during the three fiscal years following line 33 a public agency entering into a contract to provide new or extended line 34 services outside its current service area by contract or agreement, line 35 in accordance with the following requirements: line 36 (1)  The executive officer shall include all direct and indirect line 37 cost impacts to the existing service provider in the affected line 38 territory. line 39 (2)  The executive officer shall review how the costs of the line 40 existing service provider compare to the costs of services provided 97 — 4 —SB 239 81 of 210 line 1 in service areas with similar populations and of similar geographic line 2 size that provide a similar level and range of services and shall line 3 make a reasonable determination of the costs expected to be borne line 4 by the public agency providing new or extended services. line 5 (b)  The revenues of the public agency that has proposed a new line 6 or extended service outside its current service area during the three line 7 fiscal years following the effective date of a contract or agreement line 8 with another public agency to provide a new or extended service. line 9 (c)  The effects on the costs and revenues of any affected public line 10 agency, including the public agency proposing to provide the new line 11 or extended service, during the three fiscal years that the new or line 12 extended service will be provided. line 13 (d)  Any other information and analysis needed to make the line 14 findings required by Section 56824.24. line 15 SEC. 4. Section 56824.10 of the Government Code is amended line 16 to read: line 17 56824.10. Commission proceedings for the exercise of new or line 18 different functions or classes of services or divestiture of the power line 19 to provide particular functions or classes of services, within all or line 20 part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district, pursuant line 21 to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 56654, may be line 22 initiated by a resolution of application in accordance with this line 23 article. line 24 SEC. 5. Section 56824.12 of the Government Code is amended line 25 to read: line 26 56824.12. (a)  A proposal by a special district to provide a new line 27 or different function or class of services or divestiture of the power line 28 to provide particular functions or classes of services, within all or line 29 part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district, pursuant line 30 to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 56654, shall be made line 31 by the adoption of a resolution of application by the legislative line 32 body of the special district and shall include all of the matters line 33 specified for a petition in Section 56700, except paragraph (6) of line 34 subdivision (a) of Section 56700, and be submitted with a plan for line 35 services prepared pursuant to Section 56653. The plan for services line 36 for purposes of this article shall also include all of the following line 37 information: line 38 (1)  The total estimated cost to provide the new or different line 39 function or class of services within the special district’s line 40 jurisdictional boundaries. 97 SB 239— 5 — 82 of 210 line 1 (2)  The estimated cost of the new or different function or class line 2 of services to customers within the special district’s jurisdictional line 3 boundaries. The estimated costs may be identified by customer line 4 class. line 5 (3)  An identification of existing providers, if any, of the new line 6 or different function or class of services proposed to be provided line 7 and the potential fiscal impact to the customers of those existing line 8 providers. line 9 (4)  A written summary of whether the new or different function line 10 or class of services or divestiture of the power to provide particular line 11 functions or classes of services, within all or part of the line 12 jurisdictional boundaries of a special district, pursuant to paragraph line 13 (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 56654, will involve the activation line 14 or divestiture of the power to provide a particular service or line 15 services, service function or functions, or class of service or line 16 services. line 17 (5)  A plan for financing the establishment of the new or different line 18 function or class of services within the special district’s line 19 jurisdictional boundaries. line 20 (6)  Alternatives for the establishment of the new or different line 21 functions or class of services within the special district’s line 22 jurisdictional boundaries. line 23 (b)  The clerk of the legislative body adopting a resolution of line 24 application shall file a certified copy of that resolution with the line 25 executive officer. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the line 26 commission shall process resolutions of application adopted line 27 pursuant to this article in accordance with Section 56824.14. line 28 (c)  (1)  Prior to submitting a resolution of application pursuant line 29 to this article to the commission, the legislative body of the special line 30 district shall conduct a public hearing on the resolution. Notice of line 31 the hearing shall be published pursuant to Sections 56153 and line 32 56154. line 33 (2)  Any affected local agency, affected county, or any interested line 34 person who wishes to appear at the hearing shall be given an line 35 opportunity to provide oral or written testimony on the resolution. line 36 SEC. 6. Article 1.6 (commencing with Section 56824.20) is line 37 added to Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 3 of Title 5 of the line 38 Government Code, to read: 97 — 6 —SB 239 83 of 210 line 1 Article 1.6. Fire Protection Services line 2 line 3 56824.20. Commission proceedings pursuant to paragraph (2) line 4 of subdivision (b) of Section 56654 may be initiated in accordance line 5 with this article. line 6 56824.22. (a)  A proposal for a change of organization that line 7 involves the exercise of new or extended services outside a public line 8 agency’s current service area by contract or agreement, as defined line 9 in subdivision (n) of Section 56021, shall be made by the adoption line 10 of a resolution of application as follows: line 11 (1)  In the case of a public agency that is not a state agency, the line 12 proposal shall be initiated by the adoption of a resolution of line 13 application by the legislative body of the public agency proposing line 14 to provide new or extended services outside the public agency’s line 15 current service area. line 16 (2)  In the case of a public agency that is a state agency, the line 17 proposal shall be initiated by the director of the state agency line 18 proposing to provide new or extended services outside the agency’s line 19 current service area and be approved by the Governor. line 20 (b)  Prior to submitting a resolution of application pursuant to line 21 this article to the commission, the legislative body of a public line 22 agency or the director of a state agency shall do all of the line 23 following: line 24 (1)  Obtain and submit with the resolution a written agreement line 25 validated and executed by each affected public agency and line 26 recognized employee organization that represents firefighters of line 27 the existing and proposed service providers consenting to the line 28 proposed change of organization. line 29 (2)  Conduct a public hearing on the resolution. Notice of the line 30 hearing shall be published pursuant to Sections 56154 and 56156. line 31 The legislative body of the public agency or the director of the line 32 state agency shall provide an affected public agency or an interested line 33 person who wishes to appear at the hearing the opportunity to line 34 present oral or written testimony on the resolution. line 35 (c)  A proposal for a change of organization submitted pursuant line 36 to this article shall be submitted with a plan for services prepared line 37 pursuant to Section 56653. The plan for services shall include all line 38 of the following information: line 39 (1)  The total estimated cost to provide the new or extended line 40 services in the affected territory. 97 SB 239— 7 — 84 of 210 line 1 (2)  The estimated cost of the new or extended services to line 2 customers in the affected territory. line 3 (3)  An identification of existing service providers, if any, of the line 4 new or extended services proposed to be provided and the potential line 5 fiscal impact to the customers of those existing providers. line 6 (4)  A plan for financing the exercise of the new or extended line 7 services in the affected territory. line 8 (5)  Alternatives for the exercise of the new or extended services line 9 in the affected territory. line 10 (d)  The clerk of the legislative body of a public agency or the line 11 director of a state agency adopting a resolution of application line 12 pursuant to this article shall file a certified copy of the resolution line 13 with the executive officer. The commission shall process line 14 resolutions of application adopted pursuant to this chapter in line 15 accordance with Section 56824.24. line 16 56824.24. (a)  The commission shall review and approve or line 17 disapprove a proposal for a change of organization as defined in line 18 subdivision (n) of Section 56021 after a public hearing called and line 19 held for that purpose. The commission shall not consider or line 20 approve a proposal that does not comply with the requirements of line 21 subdivision (b) of Section 56824.22. line 22 (b)  (1)  The commission shall not approve a proposal for a line 23 change of organization as defined in subdivision (n) of Section line 24 56021 unless the commission determines that the public agency line 25 will have sufficient revenues to carry out the exercise of the new line 26 or extended services outside its current area, except as specified line 27 in paragraph (2). line 28 (2)  The commission may approve a proposal for a change of line 29 organization as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 56021 where line 30 the commission has determined that the public agency will not line 31 have sufficient revenue to provide the proposed new or different line 32 functions or class of services, if the commission conditions its line 33 approval on the concurrent approval of sufficient revenue sources line 34 pursuant to Section 56886. In approving a proposal, the line 35 commission shall provide that if the revenue sources pursuant to line 36 Section 56886 are not approved, the authority of the public agency line 37 to provide new or extended services shall not be exercised. line 38 (c)  Notwithstanding Section 56375, the commission shall not line 39 approve a proposal for a change of organization as defined in 97 — 8 —SB 239 85 of 210 line 1 subdivision (n) of Section 56021 unless the commission finds, line 2 based on the entire record, all of the following: line 3 (1)  The proposed exercise of new or extended services outside line 4 a public agency’s current service area is consistent with the intent line 5 of this division, including, but not limited to, the policies of line 6 Sections 56001 and 56300. line 7 (2)  The commission has reviewed the comprehensive fiscal line 8 analysis prepared pursuant to Section 56800.5. line 9 (3)  The commission has reviewed the executive officer’s report line 10 and recommendation prepared pursuant to Section 56665 and any line 11 testimony presented at the public hearing. line 12 (4)  The proposed affected territory is expected to receive line 13 revenues sufficient to provide public services and facilities and a line 14 reasonable reserve during the three fiscal years following the line 15 effective date of the contract or agreement between the public line 16 agencies to provide a new or extended service. line 17 (d)  At least 21 days prior to the date of the hearing, the executive line 18 officer shall give mailed notice of that hearing to each affected line 19 local agency or affected county, and to any interested party who line 20 has filed a written request for notice with the executive officer. In line 21 addition, at least 21 days prior to the date of that hearing, the line 22 executive officer shall cause notice of the hearing to be published line 23 in accordance with Section 56153 in a newspaper of general line 24 circulation that is circulated within the territory affected by the line 25 proposal proposed to be adopted and shall post the notice of the line 26 hearing on the commission’s Internet Web site. line 27 (e)  The commission may continue from time to time any hearing line 28 called pursuant to this section. The commission shall hear and line 29 consider oral or written testimony presented by any affected local line 30 agency, affected county, or any interested person who appears at line 31 any hearing called and held pursuant to this section. line 32 SECTION 1. Section 56017.2 of the Government Code is line 33 amended to read: line 34 56017.2. “Application” means any of the following: line 35 (a)  A resolution of application or petition initiating a change of line 36 organization or reorganization with supporting documentation as line 37 required by the commission or executive officer. line 38 (b)  A request for a sphere of influence amendment or update line 39 pursuant to Section 56425. 97 SB 239— 9 — 86 of 210 line 1 (c)  A request by a city or district for commission approval of line 2 an extension of services outside the agency’s jurisdictional line 3 boundaries pursuant to Section 56133. 56133 or 56134. line 4 SEC. 2. Section 56133 of the Government Code is amended to line 5 read: line 6 56133. (a)  A city or district may provide new or extended line 7 services by contract or agreement outside its jurisdictional line 8 boundaries only if it first requests and receives written approval line 9 from the commission in the affected county. line 10 (b)  The commission may authorize a city or district to provide line 11 new or extended services outside its jurisdictional boundaries but line 12 within its sphere of influence in anticipation of a later change of line 13 organization. line 14 (c)  The commission may authorize a city or district to provide line 15 new or extended services outside its jurisdictional boundaries and line 16 outside its sphere of influence to respond to an existing or line 17 impending threat to the public health or safety of the residents of line 18 the affected territory if both of the following requirements are met: line 19 (1)  The entity applying for the contract approval has provided line 20 the commission with documentation of a threat to the health and line 21 safety of the public or the affected residents. line 22 (2)  The commission has notified any alternate service provider, line 23 including any water corporation as defined in Section 241 of the line 24 Public Utilities Code, or sewer system corporation as defined in line 25 Section 230.6 of the Public Utilities Code, that has filed a map and line 26 a statement of its service capabilities with the commission. line 27 (d)  The executive officer, within 30 days of receipt of a request line 28 for approval by a city or district of a contract to extend services line 29 outside its jurisdictional boundary, shall determine whether the line 30 request is complete and acceptable for filing or whether the request line 31 is incomplete. If a request is determined not to be complete, the line 32 executive officer shall immediately transmit that determination to line 33 the requester, specifying those parts of the request that are line 34 incomplete and the manner in which they can be made complete. line 35 When the request is deemed complete, the executive officer shall line 36 place the request on the agenda of the next commission meeting line 37 for which adequate notice can be given but not more than 90 days line 38 from the date that the request is deemed complete, unless the line 39 commission has delegated approval of those requests to the line 40 executive officer. The commission or executive officer shall 97 — 10 —SB 239 87 of 210 line 1 approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions the contract for line 2 extended services. If the contract is disapproved or approved with line 3 conditions, the applicant may request reconsideration, citing the line 4 reasons for reconsideration. line 5 (e)  This section does not apply to contracts any of the following: line 6 (1)  Contracts or agreements solely involving two or more public line 7 agencies where the public service to be provided is an alternative line 8 to, or substitute for, public services already being provided by an line 9 existing public service provider and where the level of service to line 10 be provided is consistent with the level of service contemplated line 11 by the existing service provider. This section does not apply to line 12 contracts line 13 (2)  Contracts for the transfer of nonpotable or nontreated water. line 14 This section does not apply to contracts line 15 (3)  Contracts or agreements solely involving the provision of line 16 surplus water to agricultural lands and facilities, including, but not line 17 limited to, incidental residential structures, for projects that serve line 18 conservation purposes or that directly support agricultural line 19 industries. However, prior to extending surplus water service to line 20 any project that will support or induce development, the city or line 21 district shall first request and receive written approval from the line 22 commission in the affected county. This section does not apply to line 23 an line 24 (4)  An extended service that a city or district was providing on line 25 or before January 1, 2001. This section does not apply to a line 26 (5)  A local publicly owned electric utility, as defined by Section line 27 9604 of the Public Utilities Code, providing electric services that line 28 do not involve the acquisition, construction, or installation of line 29 electric distribution facilities by the local publicly owned electric line 30 utility, outside of the utility’s jurisdictional boundaries. line 31 (6)  A fire protection reorganization contract, as defined in line 32 subdivision (a) of Section 56134. line 33 SEC. 3. Section 56134 is added to the Government Code, to line 34 read: line 35 56134. (a)  (1)  For the purposes of this section, “fire protection line 36 reorganization contract” means a contract or agreement for the line 37 exercise of new or extended fire protection services outside a public line 38 agency’s current service area, as authorized by Chapter 4 line 39 (commencing with Section 55600) of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title line 40 5 of this code or by Article 4 (commencing with Section 4141) of 97 SB 239— 11 — 88 of 210 line 1 Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, line 2 that does either of the following: line 3 (A)  Transfers responsibility for providing services in more than line 4 25 percent of the service area of any public agency affected by the line 5 contract or agreement. line 6 (B)  Changes the employment status of more than 25 percent of line 7 the employees of any public agency affected by the contract or line 8 agreement. line 9 (2)  A contract or agreement for the exercise of new or extended line 10 fire protection services outside a public agency’s current service line 11 area, as authorized by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 55600) line 12 of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 5 of this code or Article 4 line 13 (commencing with Section 4141) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division line 14 4 of the Public Resources Code, that, in combination with other line 15 contracts or agreements, would produce the results described in line 16 subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), shall be deemed a fire line 17 protection reorganization contract for the purposes of this section. line 18 (b)  Notwithstanding Section 56133, a public agency may provide line 19 new or extended services pursuant to a fire protection line 20 reorganization contract only if it first requests and receives written line 21 approval from the commission in the affected county pursuant to line 22 the requirements of this section. line 23 (c)  A request by a public agency for commission approval of line 24 services provided under a fire protection reorganization contract line 25 shall be made by the adoption of a resolution of application as line 26 follows: line 27 (1)  In the case of a public agency that is not a state agency, the line 28 application shall be initiated by the adoption of a resolution of line 29 application by the legislative body of the public agency proposing line 30 to provide new or extended services outside the public agency’s line 31 current service area. line 32 (2)  In the case of a public agency that is a state agency, the line 33 application shall be initiated by the director of the state agency line 34 proposing to provide new or extended services outside the agency’s line 35 current service area and be approved by the Governor. line 36 (d)  The legislative body of a public agency or the director of a line 37 state agency shall not submit a resolution of application pursuant line 38 to this section unless both of the following occur: line 39 (1)  The public agency obtains and submits with the resolution line 40 a written agreement validated and executed by each affected public 97 — 12 —SB 239 89 of 210 line 1 agency and recognized employee organization that represents line 2 firefighters of the existing and proposed service providers line 3 consenting to the proposed change of organization. line 4 (2)  The public agency conducts an open and public hearing on line 5 the resolution, conducted pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act line 6 (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) Part 1 Division 2 line 7 Title 5) or the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 line 8 (commencing with Section 11120) Chapter 1 Part 1 Division 3 line 9 Title 2), as applicable. line 10 (e)  A resolution of application submitted pursuant to this section line 11 must be submitted with a fire services reorganization contract plan line 12 that conforms to the requirements of Section 56653. The plan shall line 13 include all of the following information: line 14 (1)  The total estimated cost to provide the new or extended fire line 15 protection services in the affected territory. line 16 (2)  The estimated cost of the new or extended fire protection line 17 services to customers in the affected territory. line 18 (3)  An identification of existing service providers, if any, of the line 19 new or extended services proposed to be provided and the potential line 20 fiscal impact to the customers of those existing providers. line 21 (4)  A plan for financing the exercise of the new or extended fire line 22 protection services in the affected territory. line 23 (5)  Alternatives for the exercise of the new or extended fire line 24 protection services in the affected territory. line 25 (f)  The applicant shall cause to be prepared by contract an line 26 independent comprehensive fiscal analysis to be submitted with line 27 the application pursuant to this section. The analysis shall review line 28 and document: line 29 (1)  The costs to the public agency that has proposed to provide line 30 new or extended fire protection services during the three fiscal line 31 years following a public agency entering into a fire protection line 32 reorganization contract, in accordance with the following line 33 requirements: line 34 (A)  The analysis must include all direct and indirect cost impacts line 35 to the existing service provider in the affected territory. line 36 (B)  The analysis must review how the costs of the existing line 37 service provider compare to the costs of services provided in line 38 service areas with similar populations and of similar geographic line 39 size that provide a similar level and range of services and shall line 40 make a reasonable determination of the costs expected to be borne 97 SB 239— 13 — 90 of 210 line 1 by the public agency providing new or extended fire protection line 2 services. line 3 (2)  The revenues of the public agency that has proposed a new line 4 or extended fire protection services outside its current service area line 5 during the three fiscal years following the effective date of a line 6 contract or agreement with another public agency to provide a line 7 new or extended service. line 8 (3)  The effects on the costs and revenues of any affected public line 9 agency, including the public agency proposing to provide the new line 10 or extended fire protection services, during the three fiscal years line 11 that the new or extended fire protection services will be provided. line 12 (4)  Any other information and analysis needed to support the line 13 findings required by subdivision (j). line 14 (g)  The clerk of the legislative body of a public agency or the line 15 director of a state agency adopting a resolution of application line 16 pursuant to this section shall file a certified copy of the resolution line 17 with the executive officer. line 18 (h)  (1)  The executive officer, within 30 days of receipt of a line 19 public agency’s request for approval of a fire protection line 20 reorganization contract, shall determine whether the request is line 21 complete and acceptable for filing or whether the request is line 22 incomplete. If a request does not comply with the requirements of line 23 subdivision (d), the executive officer shall determine that the line 24 request is incomplete. If a request is determined not to be complete, line 25 the executive officer shall immediately transmit that determination line 26 to the requester, specifying those parts of the request that are line 27 incomplete and the manner in which they can be made complete. line 28 When the request is deemed complete, the executive officer shall line 29 place the request on the agenda of the next commission meeting line 30 for which adequate notice can be given but not more than 90 days line 31 from the date that the request is deemed complete. line 32 (2)  The commission shall approve, disapprove, or approve with line 33 conditions the contract for extended services following the hearing line 34 at the commission meeting, as provided in paragraph (1). If the line 35 contract is disapproved or approved with conditions, the applicant line 36 may request reconsideration, citing the reasons for line 37 reconsideration. line 38 (i)  (1)  The commission shall not approve an application for line 39 approval of a fire protection reorganization contract unless the line 40 commission determines that the public agency will have sufficient 97 — 14 —SB 239 91 of 210 line 1 revenues to carry out the exercise of the new or extended fire line 2 protection services outside its current area, except as specified in line 3 paragraph (2). line 4 (2)  The commission may approve an application for approval line 5 of a fire protection reorganization contract where the commission line 6 has determined that the public agency will not have sufficient line 7 revenue to provide the proposed new or different functions or class line 8 of services, if the commission conditions its approval on the line 9 concurrent approval of sufficient revenue sources pursuant to line 10 Section 56886. In approving a proposal, the commission shall line 11 provide that, if the revenue sources pursuant to Section 56886 are line 12 not approved, the authority of the public agency to provide new line 13 or extended fire protection services shall not be exercised. line 14 (j)  The commission shall not approve an application for line 15 approval of a fire protection reorganization contract unless the line 16 commission finds, based on the entire record, all of the following: line 17 (1)  The proposed exercise of new or extended fire protection line 18 services outside a public agency’s current service area is consistent line 19 with the intent of this division, including, but not limited to, the line 20 policies of Sections 56001 and 56300. line 21 (2)  The commission has reviewed the comprehensive fiscal line 22 analysis prepared pursuant to subdivision (f). line 23 (3)  The commission has reviewed any testimony presented at line 24 the public hearing. line 25 (4)  The proposed affected territory is expected to receive line 26 revenues sufficient to provide public services and facilities and a line 27 reasonable reserve during the three fiscal years following the line 28 effective date of the contract or agreement between the public line 29 agencies to provide a new or extended fire protection services. line 30 (k)  At least 21 days prior to the date of the hearing, the executive line 31 officer shall give mailed notice of that hearing to each affected line 32 local agency or affected county, and to any interested party who line 33 has filed a written request for notice with the executive officer. In line 34 addition, at least 21 days prior to the date of that hearing, the line 35 executive officer shall cause notice of the hearing to be published line 36 in accordance with Section 56153 in a newspaper of general line 37 circulation that is circulated within the territory affected by the line 38 proposal proposed to be adopted and shall post the notice of the line 39 hearing on the commission’s Internet Web site. 97 SB 239— 15 — 92 of 210 line 1 (l)  The commission may continue from time to time any hearing line 2 called pursuant to this section. The commission shall hear and line 3 consider oral or written testimony presented by any affected local line 4 agency, affected county, or any interested person who appears at line 5 any hearing called and held pursuant to this section. line 6 SEC. 7. line 7 SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 6 3 of line 8 this act, which adds Section 56824.22 56134 to the Government line 9 Code, furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision line 10 (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the line 11 purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of line 12 public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings line 13 of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph line 14 (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California line 15 Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings: line 16 This act provides for notice to the public in accordance with line 17 existing provisions of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local line 18 Government Reorganization Act of 2000 and will ensure that the line 19 right of public access to local agency meetings is protected. O 97 — 16 —SB 239 93 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 8. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:SB 120 (Anderson) Sales and Use Taxes: First Responder Equipment Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-12   Referral Name: SB 120 (Anderson) Sales and Use Taxes: First Responder Equipment  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Fire Chief Jeff Carman. Referral Update: Senate Bill (SB) 120 would, in the sale of any public safety first responder vehicle that is purchased by a local public agency and in the sale of any equipment required on a public safety first responder vehicle that is purchased by a local public agency, exclude from the terms "gross receipts" and "sales price," amounts of the gross receipts or sales price in excess of $300,000. Status: 04/07/2015 Re-referred to SENATE Committee on GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE. Background: 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, measured by sales price. The Sales and Use Tax Law defines the terms "gross receipts" and "sales price." 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 generally 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. 94 of 210 Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 120 (Anderson) Sales and Use Taxes: First Responder Equipment. Attachments Bill Text 95 of 210 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2015 SENATE BILL No. 120 Introduced by Senator Anderson (Coauthor: Assembly Member Jones) January 15, 2015 An act to amend Section 6051 of add Section 6012.4 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy. legislative counsel’s digest SB 120, as amended, Anderson. Sales and use taxes. taxes: exclusion: public safety first responder vehicle and equipment. 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, measured by sales price. The Sales and Use Tax Law defines the terms “gross receipts” and “sales price.” This bill would, in the sale of any public safety first responder vehicle that is purchased by a local public agency and in the sale of any equipment required on a public safety first responder vehicle that is purchased by a local public agency, exclude from the terms “gross receipts” and “sales price,” amounts of the gross receipts or sales price in excess of $300,000. 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 98 96 of 210 the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally 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, but its operative date would depend on its effective date. A provision of the Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a state sales tax at a rate of 4 3⁄4 % of the gross receipts of the retail sale of tangible personal property in the state. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no yes. State-mandated local program: no yes. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 6012.4 is added to the Revenue and line 2 Taxation Code, to read: line 3 6012.4. (a)  (1)  For purposes of this part, “gross receipts” line 4 and “sales price” shall not include amounts of the gross receipts line 5 or sales price in excess of three hundred thousand dollars line 6 ($300,000) from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or line 7 other consumption in this state of, any public safety first responder line 8 vehicle purchased by a local public agency. line 9 (2)  For purposes of this part, “gross receipts” and “sales price” line 10 shall not include the gross receipts or sales price above three line 11 hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) from the sale in this state line 12 of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, any line 13 equipment required on a public safety first responder vehicle, that line 14 is purchased by a local public agency. line 15 (b)  “Local public agency” means any city, county, municipal line 16 corporation, district, or public authority located within this state line 17 that provides or may provide first responder emergency services. 98 — 2 —SB 120 97 of 210 line 1 SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and line 2 Taxation Code, no appropriation is made by this act and the state line 3 shall not reimburse any local agency for any sales and use tax line 4 revenues lost by it under this act. line 5 SEC. 3. This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of line 6 Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. line 7 However, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the line 8 first day of the first calendar quarter commencing more than 90 line 9 days after the effective date of this act. line 10 SECTION 1. Section 6051 of the Revenue and Taxation Code line 11 is amended to read: line 12 6051. For the privilege of selling tangible personal property at line 13 retail, a tax is imposed upon all retailers at the rate of 4 3⁄4 percent line 14 of the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all tangible line 15 personal property sold at retail in this state. O 98 SB 120— 3 — 98 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 9. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:AB 1436 (Burke) In-Home Support Services: Authorized Representatives Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-13   Referral Name: AB 1436 (Burke) In-Home Support Services: Authorized Representatives  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Assistant Director of Policy and Planning for Employment and Human Services Department, Paul Buddenhagen. Referral Update: Assembly Bill (AB) 1436 would authorize an applicant for, or recipient of, in-home supportive services to designate an individual to act as his or her authorized representative for purposes of the In-Home Supportive Services program. STATUS: Introduced: 02/27/2015 Disposition: Pending Committee: Assembly Human Services Committee Hearing: 04/28/2015 1:30 pm, State Capitol, Room 437 BACKGROUND: Specifically, this bill: 1) Defines “authorized representative” to mean an individual who is appointed by an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) applicant or recipient in order to represent that applicant or recipient for purposes related to the IHSS program, as specified. 2) Allows an IHSS applicant or recipient to designate an authorized representative. 3) Specifies that an IHSS applicant or recipient shall determine the duties to be provided by the authorized representative and that these duties may be changed or revoked at any time by the applicant or recipient. 4) Requires the authorized representative to have a legal responsibility to act in the client’s best interest. 5) States that legal documentation of authority to act on behalf of the applicant or recipient under state law, including but not limited to a court order establishing legal guardianship or a valid 99 of 210 power of attorney to make health care decisions, shall serve in place of an IHSS applicant’s or recipient’s written appointment of an authorized representative. 6) Permits the authorized representative, if so instructed by the IHSS recipient, to sign timesheets for services rendered on behalf of the recipient, but disallows the authorized representative who is a care provider from signing his or her own timesheet unless the provider has legal custody over a minor recipient, as specified, or the provider is legally authorized to act on the applicant’s or recipient’s behalf per state law. 7) Specifies that an individual with legal authority to act on behalf of an IHSS applicant or recipient may designate someone other than him or herself to act on behalf of the applicant or recipient. 8) Prohibits anyone prevented from being an IHSS provider due to past criminal convictions, as well as individuals granted certain exemptions to serve as a provider despite past criminal convictions, as specified, from serving as an authorized representative. 9) Prohibits anyone found to have perpetuated a substantiated report of abuse or neglect against a child, elder, or dependent adult from serving as an authorized representative. 10) Directs the Department of Social Services, in consultation with stakeholders, as specified, to develop a standardized statewide form, as specified, and procedures related to the designation of an authorized representative. EXISTING LAW: 1) Establishes the IHSS program to provide supportive services, including domestic, protective supervision, personal care, and paramedical services as specified, to individuals who are aged, blind, or living with disabilities, and who are unable to perform the services themselves or remain safely in their homes without receiving these services. (WIC 12300 et seq.) 2) Specifies requirements regarding IHSS provider timesheets, including that both provider and recipient must sign the timesheet to verify the accuracy of information. (WIC 12301.25) 3) States that counties may choose to contract with a nonprofit consortium or establish a public authority for the provision of IHSS services. Requires nonprofit consortia and public authorities to, among other things, establish a registry to assist recipients in locating IHSS providers, and to investigate the background and qualifications of potential providers, as specified. (WIC 12301.6) 4) Maintains an IHSS recipient’s right to hire, fire, and supervise the work of any IHSS provider, regardless of the employer responsibilities of a public authority or nonprofit consortium, as specified. (WIC 12301.6 and 12302.25) 5) Requires counties to perform a background check on individuals applying to become IHSS providers, and stipulates circumstances under which individuals shall be excluded from becoming an IHSS provider, as well as circumstances under which such an exclusion might be waived, as specified. (WIC 12305.86 and 12305.87) FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown COMMENTS: In-Home Supportive Services: The IHSS program enables low-income individuals who are at least 65 years old, living with disabilities, or blind to remain in their own homes by paying for care providers to assist with personal care services (such as toileting, bathing, and grooming), domestic and related services (meal preparation, housecleaning, and the like), paramedical services, and protective supervision. Approximately 470,000 Californians receive IHSS, with approximately 99% receiving it as a Medicaid benefit. 100 of 210 When an individual is determined eligible for IHSS services by a county social worker, he or she is authorized for a certain number of hours of care. IHSS recipients are responsible for hiring, firing, directing, and supervising their IHSS workers. These responsibilities include some administrative duties, such as scheduling and signing timesheets; however, the state handles payroll. There are currently about 409,000 IHSS providers in the state; approximately 73% are relatives and an estimated 52% are live-in. Providers must complete an enrollment process, including submitting fingerprint images for a criminal background check and participating in a provider orientation prior to receiving payment for services. Authorized representatives: A number of programs administered by the state allow for, and set forth definitions and designation procedures regarding, authorized representatives in order to facilitate recipients’ full participation in programs. These authorized representatives are permitted, within specified limits, to act on behalf of program applicants and participants typically for purposes of applying for services and other required program activities. For example, Welfare and Institutions Code 14014.5 defines “authorized representative” for purposes of the Medi-Cal program and directs the Department of Health Care Services and the California Health Benefit Exchange to implement policies and prescribe materials to ensure the protection and privacy of applicants and recipients who appoint such a representative. Additionally, DSS Manual of Policies and Procedures Section 63.402-6 outlines rules and processes regarding the appointment of authorized representatives by applicants for and recipients of CalFresh food stamp benefits. Need for this bill: According to the author, the authorized representative function is critical in that it provides applicants and recipients with a self-directed pathway to receive needed assistance with complex rules and requirements of these programs. IHSS program applicants and recipients may struggle with increasingly complex and changing program rules; yet, while they may have family members and friends who are able to provide support, there is no formal process to designate these individuals as authorized representatives. Additionally, the author points out, DSS has at times issued IHSS forms and All-County letters that reference “authorized representatives,” despite the lack of definition, explanation of duties and limitations, or formal designation process. As a result, counties have often developed ad hoc internal processes for designating authorized representatives for purposes of the IHSS program. The author states that, “IHSS program recipients are the employer of their care provider for purposes of hiring/firing, training, supervising, scheduling and signing their timesheet. Similarly, whether to designate an authorized representative and who to designate would be their decision. For consumers who struggle with the maze of programmatic rules and complex paperwork, allowing them to designate an authorized representative to work on their behalf will give them the support they need to continue to direct services in their own homes and remain independent.” This bill, according to the author, provides flexibility for an IHSS applicant or recipient to determine the duties of the authorized representative, and makes it clear that the authorized representative has a legal responsibility to act in the client’s best interest. According to the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), the sponsor of this bill, it creates “an authorized representative function for IHSS in statute. Whether to designate 101 of 210 an authorized representative would be the decision of an individual recipient. Who to designate would also be his or her choice, with a few exceptions that mirror other protections in current law. For example, the bill would provide that an individual who could not meet a criminal background check to become a provider of services in IHSS could not be named as an authorized representative unless they were otherwise legally authorized to act on behalf of the recipient (such as the parent of a child recipient or a conservator.) Also, an individual found to have perpetrated abuse or neglect against a child or adult would be barred from serving as an authorized representative. As the IHSS program continues to grow, it is vital to create a standardized structure for designating an authorized representative to assist an applicant for or recipient of these services.” Recommended amendments: For purposes of clarity, committee staff recommends the following technical amendment to paragraph (b)(2) beginning on page 3 of the bill: 12 (2) For purposes of this section, an individual having legal 13 authority to act on behalf of an applicant or recipient may also 14 designate the authorized representative to  specify an individual 15 other than himself or herself to act on behalf of the applicant or 16 recipient if that individual elects to do so. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support County Welfare Directors Association of CA (CWDA) –sponsor California Association of Public Authorities (CAPA) – co-sponsor American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Ventura County Board of Supervisors UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 Opposition None on file Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 1436 (Burke) In-Home Support Services: Authorized Representatives. Fiscal Impact (if any): No impact. Attachments Bill Text Fact Sheet 102 of 210 california legislature—2015–16 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1436 Introduced by Assembly Member Burke February 27, 2015 An act to add Section 12300.3 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. legislative counsel’s digest AB 1436, as introduced, Burke. In-home supportive services: authorized representative. Existing law provides for the In-Home Supportive Services program, under which qualified aged, blind, or disabled persons are provided with supportive services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Existing law specifies that supportive services include, among other things, domestic services, personal care services, and paramedical services that make it possible for the recipient to establish and maintain an independent living arrangement. This bill would authorize an applicant for, or recipient of, in-home supportive services to designate an individual to act as his or her authorized representative for purposes of the In-Home Supportive Services program. The bill would define an authorized representative to mean an individual who is appointed in writing, on a form designated by the State Department of Social Services, by a competent person who is an applicant for or recipient of in-home supportive services, to act in place or on behalf of the applicant or recipient for purposes related to the program, including, but not limited to, accompanying, assisting, or representing the applicant in the application process, or the recipient in directing the services received, as specified. The bill would require the 99 103 of 210 duties to be provided by the authorized representative to be specified by the applicant or recipient and would provide that those duties may be changed or revoked at any time by the applicant or recipient. The bill would also provide that the authorized representative has a legal responsibility to act in the client’s best interest. The bill would exclude certain persons from serving as an authorized representative, including a person who is found to have perpetrated a substantiated report of abuse or neglect against a child or an elder or dependent adult. The bill would require the department, in consultation with specified parties, including representatives of applicants for, and recipients of, services, to develop a form for this purpose, as specified. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 12300.3 is added to the Welfare and line 2 Institutions Code, to read: line 3 12300.3. (a)  For purposes of this section, an “authorized line 4 representative” means an individual who is appointed in writing, line 5 on a form designated by the department, by a competent person line 6 who is an applicant for or recipient of in-home supportive services line 7 pursuant to this article, to act in place or on behalf of the applicant line 8 or recipient for purposes related to the program, including, but not line 9 limited to, accompanying, assisting, or representing the applicant line 10 in the application process, or the recipient in directing the services line 11 received, and in the redetermination of eligibility process. line 12 (b)  An applicant for, or recipient of, services pursuant to this line 13 article may designate an individual to act as his or her authorized line 14 representative for purposes of the in-home supportive services line 15 program. line 16 (1)  (A)  The duties to be provided by the authorized line 17 representative shall be specified by the applicant or recipient and line 18 may be changed or revoked at any time by the applicant or line 19 recipient. The authorized representative shall have a legal line 20 responsibility to act in the client’s best interest. line 21 (B)  Legal documentation of authority to act on behalf of the line 22 applicant or recipient under state law, including, but not limited line 23 to, a court order establishing legal guardianship or a valid power 99 — 2 —AB 1436 104 of 210 line 1 of attorney to make health care decisions, shall serve in place of line 2 a written appointment by the applicant or recipient. line 3 (C)  The authorized representative may sign timesheets for line 4 services rendered on the recipient’s behalf, if specified to do so line 5 by the recipient. However, an authorized representative who is the line 6 provider of services for the recipient may not sign his or her own line 7 timesheet unless one of the following applies: line 8 (i)  The provider is a parent, guardian, or other person having line 9 legal custody of a minor recipient. line 10 (ii)  The provider is legally authorized to act on behalf of the line 11 applicant or recipient under state law. line 12 (2)  For purposes of this section, an individual having legal line 13 authority to act on behalf of an applicant or recipient may also line 14 designate the authorized representative to specify an individual line 15 other than himself or herself to act on behalf of the applicant or line 16 recipient if that individual elects to do so. line 17 (3)  An individual who is prevented from being a provider of line 18 services in the program pursuant to Section 12305.86 shall not line 19 serve as an authorized representative for an applicant or recipient. line 20 (4)  An individual who has been granted an exemption to serve line 21 as a provider of services pursuant to Section 12305.87 and who is line 22 not described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph line 23 (1), shall not serve as an authorized representative for an applicant line 24 or recipient. line 25 (5)  An individual shall not serve as an authorized representative line 26 if he or she is found to have perpetrated a substantiated report of line 27 abuse or neglect against a child or an elder or dependent adult. line 28 (c)  (1)  The department, in consultation with the State line 29 Department of Health Care Services, the County Welfare Directors line 30 Association of California, representatives of applicants for and line 31 recipients of services under this article, and representatives of line 32 providers of services under this article, shall develop a standardized line 33 statewide form and procedures for effectuating the designation of line 34 an authorized representative pursuant to this section. line 35 (2)  The standard agreement form shall include a notification line 36 regarding the requirements of this subdivision and a statement that line 37 by signing the agreement, the individual named as an authorized line 38 representative agrees to abide by those requirements. O 99 AB 1436— 3 — 105 of 210 AB 1436 (Burke) In-Home Supportive Services – Authorized Representative SUMMARY AB 1436 allows an applicant for, or recipient of, In- Home Supportive Services (IHSS) to designate an authorized representative to act on their behalf for various program requirements. BACKGROUND A number of programs overseen by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have processes in place allowing their applicants and recipients to identify an “authorized representative” who can act on their behalf for purposes of applying for services and other required program activities with which the applicant/recipient may require assistance. These programs include Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWORKS, as well as the administrative appeal process. The authorized representative function is critical as it provides applicants and recipients with a self-directed pathway to receive needed assistance with the complex rules and requirements of these programs. In contrast, IHSS has not had the benefit of this function as a formal part of the statute or regulations governing the program, except for conservators or parents of a minor child. As a result, some IHSS program applicants/recipients, who are elderly, blind or disabled, have struggled without this assistance. IHSS applicant/recipient family members and friends often provide support, but there is no formal process to designate them as the authorized representative. Without the statutory authority, they cannot legally be included directly in any program communications. This creates an irregular and sometimes dangerous situation for IHSS applicants/recipients. As IHSS program rules and requirements have become more complex, the lack of this function has presented greater challenges. Additionally, the state has at times issued IHSS forms and All-County Letters referencing “authorized representatives,” but CDSS has never defined who an authorized representative is, or established a process for an IHSS applicant or recipient to designate one. Forms that have space for an authorized representative to sign have required counties to develop internal processes for designating a representative, which may vary by county. This legislation would provide the statutory authority for a standardized framework, reducing inconsistencies from the current process and providing guidance and protection for applicants and recipients of IHSS services. AB 1436 AB 1436 specifically allows an applicant for, or recipient of, IHSS services to appoint an authorized representative to act on their behalf. The bill provides flexibility for the applicant/recipient to specify the duties of the authorized representative, and makes it clear that the individual has a legal responsibility to act in the client’s best interest. IHSS program recipients are the employer of their care provider for purposes of hiring/firing, training, supervising, scheduling and signing their timesheet. Similarly, whether to designate an authorized representative and who to designate would be their decision. For those aged, blind or disabled clients who struggle with programmatic rules and complex paperwork, and could benefit from the formal designation of an authorized representative, it is critical that this function be established in law. SUPPORT County Welfare Directors Association of California (Sponsor) STAFF CONTACT Allison Ruff, Capitol Director Assemblywoman Autumn R. Burke (916) 319-2062 allison.ruff@asm.ca.gov 106 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 10. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:AB 1262 (Wood) Telecommunications: Universal Service Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-14   Referral Name: AB 1262 (Wood) Telecommunications: Universal Service  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: A request to support this bill was received from the Executive Director of Contra Costa Economic Partnership, Kristin B. Connelly. Referral Update: In 2007, the CPUC created the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to help promote the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved areas of the state. Assembly Bill (AB) 1262 would require that of the moneys collected for the CASF on and after a specified date, a specified amount is to be deposited into the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account and used for specified purposes and a specified amount is to be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account and used for specified purposes. STATUS: 04/20/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on UTILITIES AND COMMERCE: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Hearing:04/29/2015 9:00 am, State Capitol, Room 4202 SUMMARY: This bill modifies existing limits on funds allocated into from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account and the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account, as specified. Specifically, this bill: a) Increases an existing $10 million limit to $15 million for monies collected for the CASF for and allocated to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account. b) Decreases and existing $15 million limit to $10 million for monies collected for the CASF and allocated to the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account. EXISTING LAW: 107 of 210 1) Establishes the CASF in the State Treasury, and requires that monies in those funds are the proceeds of rates and held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers, and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service, and expended only to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. (Public Utilities Code Section 270) 2) Requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to develop, implement, and administer the CASF to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as provided in specific decisions of the CPUC and in the CASF statute. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 3) Requires that $190 million, collected by a surcharge authorized by the CPUC, after January 1, 2011, is to be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Account. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 4) Requires that $10 million, collected by a surcharge authorized by the CPUC, after January 1, 2011, is to be deposited into the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 5) Require that $15 million, collected by a surcharge authorized by the CPUC, after January 1, 2011, to be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 6) Requires the CPUC to transfer to the Broadband Public Housing Account $20 million from the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account and $5 million from the Broadband Revolving Loan Account. Any moneys in the Broadband Public Housing Account that have not been awarded by December 31, 2016, shall be transferred back to the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account and Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account in proportion to the amount transferred from the respective accounts. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 7) Authorizes the CPUC to collect an additional sum not to exceed $215 million after January 1, 2011, for a sum of total moneys collected through the surcharge not to exceed $315 million. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 8) Authorizes the CPUC to collect the additional sum through the 2020 calendar year. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 9) Requires the CPUC to give priority to projects that provide last-mile broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing facilities based broadband provider. (Public Utilities Code Section 281) COMMENTS: 1) Author's Statement: "The [CASF] was created to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. . . As work continues to progress in achieving greater broadband expansion, it is imperative to continue the state's commitment to help ensure universal access to basic 108 of 210 telecommunications services, such as broadband. Unfortunately, [the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account] is about to be exhausted. Therefore, if further monies are not available, many rural consortia will no longer be able to provide the appropriate broadband educational service nor assist in preparing applications for CASF grants." 2) Background: In 2007, the CPUC created the CASF to help promote the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved areas of the state. SB 1193 (Padilla) Chapter 393, Statutes of 2008, statutorily established the CASF and gave the CPUC authority to assess a surcharge on communication service ratepayers (wireline, wireless, and voice over internet protocol customers) receiving intrastate telecommunication services to fund the program. Beginning in April 1, 2014, the CPUC increased the surcharge from 0.164% to 0.464%. In 2009, the CPUC revised the CASF program to allow more California companies to use CASF grants as a match to receive federal funds through broadband grants offered through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. In 2010, SB 1040 (Padilla) Chapter 317, Statutes of 2010, expanded the program by authorizing telecommunications carriers to collect an additional $125 million. Furthermore, SB 740 (Padilla) Chapter 522, Statutes of 2013, further expanded CASF eligibility to any commercial provider of broadband access, or any nonprofit entity, including government entities or community anchor institutions that elect to provide facilities based broadband service, prioritized projects that provide last-mile broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing facilities based broadband provider, and specified a goal for the CASF to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households by December 31, 2015. 3) Unserved vs. underserved: The CPUC authorizes CASF grants for projects in both unserved and underserved areas, with priority going to unserved areas. An unserved area is an area where no broadband service is available, (except through dial-up or satellite service). The CPUC defines an underserved area as an area where broadband service is slower than 6Mbps/1.5Mbps. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) defines underserved as slower than 4Mbps/1Mbps. The CPUC prioritized CASF expenditures to unserved areas where no facilities based provider offered broadband service, followed by underserved areas where no facilities based providers offered broadband service at specific speeds. 4) CASF accounts: The CASF has a total authorized funding of $315 million to be collected in surcharges through 2020. CASF grantees can receive a grant and loan simultaneously for a proposed project. The maximum grant is limited to 60% of the total project cost in unserved and 70% in underserved areas. Financing is limited to 20% of the project cost. The remaining funds are to be provided by the local broadband service provider, provided the CPUC has determined eligibility. As of December 31, 2014, the CASF has collected approximately $199 million of which approximately $85 million is still remaining in the fund. Funding is allocated to four CASF accounts. * Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account (Infrastructure Account) funds the capital costs of broadband infrastructure projects in unserved and underserved areas in California. Local government projects are limited to unserved households or businesses. Carriers eligible to apply for a grant award must hold a certificate of public convenience and necessity or Wireless Identification Registration from the CPUC. CASF funding is also available to non-telephone corporations which are facilities based broadband service providers. * Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account (Consortia Grant Account) 109 of 210 provides funding for the cost of broadband deployment activities, other than the capital cost of facilities. Eligible recipients include, but is not limited to local and regional governments, public safety, K-12 education, health care, and community-based organizations. * Broadband Infrastructure Loan Account (Revolving Loan Account) supplements financing for projects also receiving CASF grant funding. Up to 20% of total project cost is eligible for financing. Applicant and project eligibility is the same as the Infrastructure Grant Account. * Broadband Public Housing Account (Housing Account) supports projects to deploy local area networks and to increase adoption rates in publicly supported housing communities. 5) Senate Bill 1040 (Padilla) Chapter 317, Statue of 2010: SB 1040 (Padilla), authorized additional funds for the CASF and designated separate accounts within the CASF. The bill established the Consortia Grant Account and the Revolving Loan Account. These two accounts are intended to address the needs unmet under the originally established CASF program. The Consortia Grant Account is designed to authorize the CASF to award a small amount of total CASF moneys to eligible consortia for costs other than broadband infrastructure, such as the collection and analysis of market data, regional demand aggregation, and engaging civic leaders and stakeholders to submit cost-effective applications for CASF and other grants. Furthermore, the Revolving Loan Account was created to provide supplemental financing for projects also applying for CASF grant funding so that projects are more likely to be financially feasible and move forwards. CASF applicants may obtain loans of up to 20% of a project's cost, with a maximum of $500,000. 6) Creation of the Broadband Public Housing Account: In 2013, the legislature passed AB 1299 (Bradford) Chapter 507, Statutes of 2013, which created the Housing Account, within the CASF, and required the CPUC to fund grants for the deployment and adoption of broadband services in publicly supported housing communities. The bill provided $25 million in CASF funding for the Housing Account by transferring $5 million from the Revolving Loan Account and $20 million from the Infrastructure Account. The CPUC has until December 31, 2016 to award the moneys available for Public Housing grants. Any remaining funds after December 31, 2016, is to be transferred back in proportion to the two accounts. Hence, the current funding for each CASF account is as follows: *Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account: $270 million, *Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account $10 million, *Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account $10 million, and *Broadband Public Housing Account $25 million. 7) Revolving Loan Account vs. Consortia Grant Account: Since its inception in 2012, the Revolving Loan Account has been undersubscribed to. To date, the CPUC has awarded $126,624 in loans for three infrastructure projects submitted on the February 1, 2013 application deadline. With new applications being accepted starting in December 1, 2014, as of April 9, 2015, the CPUC has received 12 applications all applying for infrastructure grants only. In contrast, the CPUC has awarded a total of $9.26 million in grant funding for 16 consortia groups with only around $250,000 remaining in the Consortia Account for new consortia projects or grants around 110 of 210 the state. In 2015, 13 of the 16 consortia will have exhausted their funding and will cease to continue broadband deployment activities under the original CASF grant. Only three consortia groups have approved CASF grant funding through June 2016. This bill would allot an additional $5 million to be used for the Consortia Account, increasing its total allotment to $15 million, and decrease the allotment for the Revolving Loan Account by $5 million, therefore reducing the Revolving Loan Account total allotment to $5 million. Instead of viewing each account as a pot of money that sits in the account until it is spent, the maximum funding for each account should be viewed as the maximum amount of funds that the CPUC can use for the specific purpose designated by each account. Hence, this is not a transfer from one account to another. Instead, this bill authorizes the CPUC to spend an additional $5 million for Consortia Grant projects and $5 million less for revolving loans. By also decreasing the total allotment that can be used for the Revolving Loan Account, the total amount the CPUC is allowed to collect for the CASF remains unchanged at $315 million to be collected by 2020, but not to exceed $25 million per year. 8) Arguments in support: According to the Kern, West Kern, and Yuba community college districts, "community colleges districts often form part of the consortia, are valuable resources in reaching out to local communities, and are best situated to comment on the needs of the area. [...] Without the $5 million transfer that this bill provides the Grant Account would no longer be able to provide any funds to important infrastructure projects and consortia. This would mean that there would be limited improvements in broadband access that would leave these rural areas, as well as community colleges, a step behind as this type of access becomes a more critical part of our digital era." 9) Related Legislation: AB 238 (Stone) 2015: This bill would define "broadband" for purposes of the California Advanced Services Fund and expand funding eligibility to specific projects. 10) Prior Legislation: SB 740 (Padilla) 2013: Expands eligibility in the CASF, establishes a program goal, and increases the program funding. Chaptered by the Secretary of State - Chapter 522, Statutes of 2013. AB 1299 (Bradford) 2013: Requires the CPUC to find grants for the deployment and adoption of broadband services in publicly supported housing communities using the CASF. Chaptered by the Secretary of State - Chapter 507, Statutes of 2013. SB 1040 (Padilla) 2010: Authorizes telecommunication carriers to collect an additional $125 million for the CASF to encourage deployment of advanced communication services in California. Chaptered by the Secretary of State - Chapter 317, Statutes of 2010. SB 1193 (Padilla) 2008: Creates the CASF to fund the cost of deploying broadband Internet facilities to unserved and underserved areas of the state. Chaptered by the Secretary of State - Chapter 393, Statutes of 2008. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support 111 of 210 Anza Electric Cooperative, Inc. California Center for Rural Policy at Humboldt State University California State Association of Counties (CSAC) California State University, San Bernardino Central Coast Broadband Consortium Central Sierra Connect Broadband Consortia City of Bishop City of California City City of Ridgecrest City of Riverside City of Tehachapi Connect Capital Area Broadband Consortium Contra Costa Economic Partnership Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) County of Alpine County of Del Norte County of El Dorado County of Humboldt County of Mariposa County of Modoc County of Mono County of Nevada County of Sacramento County of Sierra County of Tehama County of Trinity County of Tuolumne County of Ventura County of Yolo Eastern Sierra Connect Regional Broadband Consortium Gold Country Broadband Consortium Inyo Networks, Inc. Kern Community College Districts Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce North Bay/North Coast Broadband Consortium North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association Northeastern CA Connect Consortium Praxis Associates, Inc. Riverside County Innovation Center Rural County Representatives of California San Bernardino Community College District San Bernardino County 211 San Diego Imperial Regional Broadband Consortium San Joaquin Valley Regional Broadband Consortium Sierra Economic Development Corporation Sierra Ecosystems Associates SmartRiverside Tahoe Prosperity Center Town of Mammoth Lakes 112 of 210 Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority Upstate CA Connect Consortium Volcano Communications Group West Kern Community College Districts Yuba Community College Districts Opposition None on file.  Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors a position of "Support" for AB 1262. Fiscal Impact (if any): No impact. Attachments Bill Text Letter of Support_Contra Costa Economic Partnership Letter of Support_California Regional Broadband Consortia Leaders 113 of 210 california legislature—2015–16 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1262 Introduced by Assembly Member Wood February 27, 2015 An act to amend Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. legislative counsel’s digest AB 1262, as introduced, Wood. Telecommunications: universal service: California Advanced Services Fund. Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with certain universal service principles. The universal service principles include the principle that consumers in all regions of the nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and information services, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas. The act authorizes each state to adopt regulations to provide for additional definitions and standards to preserve and advance universal service within the state, only to the extent that they adopt additional specific, predictable, and sufficient mechanisms 99 114 of 210 that do not rely on or burden federal universal service support mechanisms. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations, as defined. Existing law establishes the California Advanced Services Fund, referred to as the CASF, in the State Treasury. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the CASF to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as provided in specified decisions of the commission and in the CASF statute. Existing law establishes 4 accounts, the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account, the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account, and the Broadband Public Housing Account within the CASF. Existing law requires that of the moneys collected for CASF on and after January 1, 2011, $10,000,000 is to be deposited into the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account and used for specified purposes, and $15,000,000 is to be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account and used for specified purposes. This bill would require that of the moneys collected for CASF on and after January 1, 2011, $15,000,000 is to be deposited into the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account and used for specified purposes, and $10,000,000 is to be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account and used for specified purposes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code is line 2 amended to read: line 3 281. (a)  The commission shall develop, implement, and line 4 administer the California Advanced Services Fund program to line 5 encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications line 6 services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, 99 — 2 —AB 1262 115 of 210 line 1 job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced line 2 information and communications technologies, consistent with line 3 this section. line 4 (b)  (1)  The goal of the program is, no later than December 31, line 5 2015, to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will line 6 provide broadband access to no less than 98 percent of California line 7 households. line 8 (2)  In approving infrastructure projects, the commission shall line 9 give priority to projects that provide last-mile broadband access line 10 to households that are unserved by an existing facilities-based line 11 broadband provider. The commission shall provide each applicant, line 12 and any party challenging an application, the opportunity to line 13 demonstrate actual levels of broadband service in the project area, line 14 which the commission shall consider in reviewing the application. line 15 (c)  The commission shall establish the following accounts within line 16 the fund: line 17 (1)  The Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. line 18 (2)  The Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant line 19 Account. line 20 (3)  The Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account. line 21 (4)  The Broadband Public Housing Account. line 22 (d)  (1)  All moneys collected by the surcharge authorized by line 23 the commission pursuant to Decision 07-12-054 shall be line 24 transmitted to the commission pursuant to a schedule established line 25 by the commission. The commission shall transfer the moneys line 26 received to the Controller for deposit in the California Advanced line 27 Services Fund. Moneys collected on and after January 1, 2011, line 28 shall be deposited in the following amounts in the following line 29 accounts: line 30 (A)  One hundred ninety million dollars ($190,000,000) into the line 31 Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. line 32 (B)  Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) Fifteen million dollars line 33 ($15,000,000) into the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband line 34 Consortia Grant Account. line 35 (C)  Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) Ten million dollars line 36 ($10,000,000) into the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan line 37 Account. line 38 (2)  All interest earned on moneys in the fund shall be deposited line 39 in the fund. 99 AB 1262— 3 — 116 of 210 line 1 (3)  The commission shall not collect moneys, by imposing the line 2 surcharge described in paragraph (1) for deposit in the fund, in an line 3 amount that exceeds one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) line 4 before January 1, 2011. On and after January 1, 2011, the line 5 commission may collect an additional sum not to exceed two line 6 hundred fifteen million dollars ($215,000,000), for a sum total of line 7 moneys collected by imposing the surcharge described in paragraph line 8 (1) not to exceed three hundred fifteen million dollars line 9 ($315,000,000). The commission may collect the additional sum line 10 beginning with the calendar year starting on January 1, 2011, and line 11 continuing through the 2020 calendar year, in an amount not to line 12 exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) per year, unless line 13 the commission determines that collecting a higher amount in any line 14 year will not result in an increase in the total amount of all line 15 surcharges collected from telephone customers that year. line 16 (e)  (1)  All moneys in the California Advanced Services Fund line 17 shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the line 18 commission for the program administered by the commission line 19 pursuant to this section, including the costs incurred by the line 20 commission in developing, implementing, and administering the line 21 program and the fund. line 22 (2)  Notwithstanding any other law and for the sole purpose of line 23 providing matching funds pursuant to the federal American line 24 Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), any line 25 entity eligible for funding pursuant to that act shall be eligible to line 26 apply to participate in the program administered by the commission line 27 pursuant to this section, if that entity otherwise satisfies the line 28 eligibility requirements under that program. Nothing in this section line 29 shall impede the ability of an incumbent local exchange carrier, line 30 as defined by subsection (h) of Section 251 of Title 47 of the line 31 United States Code, that is regulated under a rate of return line 32 regulatory structure, to recover, in rate base, California line 33 infrastructure investment not provided through federal or state line 34 grant funds for facilities that provide broadband service and line 35 California intrastate voice service. line 36 (3)  Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 270, an entity line 37 that is not a telephone corporation shall be eligible to apply to line 38 participate in the program administered by the commission pursuant line 39 to this section to provide access to broadband to an unserved or line 40 underserved household, as defined in commission Decision 99 — 4 —AB 1262 117 of 210 line 1 12-02-015, if the entity otherwise meets the eligibility requirements line 2 and complies with program requirements established by the line 3 commission. These requirements shall include all of the following: line 4 (A)  That projects under this paragraph provide last-mile line 5 broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing line 6 facilities-based broadband provider and only receive funding to line 7 provide broadband access to households that are unserved or line 8 underserved, as defined in commission Decision 12-02-015. line 9 (B)  That funding for a project providing broadband access to line 10 an underserved household shall not be approved until after any line 11 existing facilities-based provider has an opportunity to demonstrate line 12 to the commission that it will, within a reasonable timeframe, line 13 upgrade existing service. An existing facilities-based provider line 14 may, but is not required to, apply for funding under this section to line 15 make that upgrade. line 16 (C)  That the commission shall provide each applicant, and any line 17 party challenging an application, the opportunity to demonstrate line 18 actual levels of broadband service in the project area, which the line 19 commission shall consider in reviewing the application. line 20 (D)  That a local governmental agency may be eligible for an line 21 infrastructure grant only if the infrastructure project is for an line 22 unserved household or business, the commission has conducted line 23 an open application process, and no other eligible entity applied. line 24 (E)  That the commission shall establish a service list of line 25 interested parties to be notified of California Advanced Services line 26 Fund applications. line 27 (f)  Moneys in the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband line 28 Consortia Grant Account shall be available for grants to eligible line 29 consortia to fund the cost of broadband deployment activities other line 30 than the capital cost of facilities, as specified by the commission. line 31 An eligible consortium may include, as specified by the line 32 commission, representatives of organizations, including, but not line 33 limited to, local and regional government, public safety, elementary line 34 and secondary education, health care, libraries, postsecondary line 35 education, community-based organizations, tourism, parks and line 36 recreation, agricultural, and business, and is not required to have line 37 as its lead fiscal agent an entity with a certificate of public line 38 convenience and necessity. line 39 (g)  Moneys in the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan line 40 Account shall be available to finance capital costs of broadband 99 AB 1262— 5 — 118 of 210 line 1 facilities not funded by a grant from the Broadband Infrastructure line 2 Grant Account. The commission shall periodically set interest rates line 3 on the loans based on surveys of existing financial markets. line 4 (h)  (1)  For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms line 5 have the following meanings: line 6 (A)  “Publicly subsidized” means either that the housing line 7 development receives financial assistance from the United States line 8 Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to an line 9 annual contribution contract or is financed with low-income line 10 housing tax credits, tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, general line 11 obligation bonds, or local, state, or federal loans or grants and the line 12 rents of the occupants, who are lower income households, do not line 13 exceed those prescribed by deed restrictions or regulatory line 14 agreements pursuant to the terms of the financing or financial line 15 assistance. line 16 (B)  “Publicly supported community” means a publicly line 17 subsidized multifamily housing development that is wholly owned line 18 by either of the following: line 19 (i)  A public housing agency that has been chartered by the state, line 20 or by any city or county in the state, and has been determined to line 21 be an eligible public housing agency by the United States line 22 Department of Housing and Urban Development. line 23 (ii)  An incorporated nonprofit organization as described in line 24 Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. Sec. line 25 501(c)(3)) that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(a) of line 26 that code (16 U.S.C. Sec. 501(a)), and that has received public line 27 funding to subsidize the construction or maintenance of housing line 28 occupied by residents whose annual income qualifies as “low” or line 29 “very low” income according to federal poverty guidelines. line 30 (2)  Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 270, moneys in line 31 the Broadband Public Housing Account shall be available for the line 32 commission to award grants and loans pursuant to this subdivision line 33 to an eligible publicly supported community if that entity otherwise line 34 meets eligibility requirements and complies with program line 35 requirements established by the commission. line 36 (3)  Not more than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) shall line 37 be available for grants and loans to a publicly supported community line 38 to finance a project to connect a broadband network to that publicly line 39 supported community. A publicly supported community may be line 40 an eligible applicant only if the publicly supported community can 99 — 6 —AB 1262 119 of 210 line 1 verify to the commission that the publicly supported community line 2 has not denied a right of access to any broadband provider that is line 3 willing to connect a broadband network to the facility for which line 4 the grant or loan is sought. line 5 (4)  (A)  Not more than five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall line 6 be available for grants and loans to a publicly supported community line 7 to support programs designed to increase adoption rates for line 8 broadband services for residents of that publicly supported line 9 community. A publicly supported community may be eligible for line 10 funding for a broadband adoption program only if the residential line 11 units in the facility to be served have access to broadband services line 12 or will have access to broadband services at the time the funding line 13 for adoption is implemented. line 14 (B)  A publicly supported community may contract with other line 15 nonprofit or public agencies to assist in implementation of a line 16 broadband adoption program. line 17 (5)  To the extent feasible, the commission shall approve projects line 18 for funding from the Broadband Public Housing Account in a line 19 manner that reflects the statewide distribution of publicly supported line 20 communities. line 21 (6)  In reviewing a project application under this subdivision, line 22 the commission shall consider the availability of other funding line 23 sources for that project, any financial contribution from the line 24 broadband service provider to the project, the availability of any line 25 other public or private broadband adoption or deployment program, line 26 including tax credits and other incentives, and whether the applicant line 27 has sought funding from, or participated in, any reasonably line 28 available program. The commission may require an applicant to line 29 provide match funding, and shall not deny funding for a project line 30 solely because the applicant is receiving funding from another line 31 source. line 32 (7)  (A)  To provide funding for the purposes of this subdivision, line 33 the commission shall transfer to the Broadband Public Housing line 34 Account twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) from the Broadband line 35 Infrastructure Grant Account and five million dollars ($5,000,000) line 36 from the Broadband Revolving Loan Account. Any moneys in the line 37 Broadband Public Housing Account that have not been awarded line 38 pursuant to this subdivision by December 31, 2016, shall be line 39 transferred back to the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account 99 AB 1262— 7 — 120 of 210 line 1 and Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account in line 2 proportion to the amount transferred from the respective accounts. line 3 (B)  The commission shall transfer funds pursuant to line 4 subparagraph (A) only if the commission is otherwise authorized line 5 to collect funds for purposes of this section in excess of the total line 6 amount authorized pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d). line 7 (i)  (1)  The commission shall conduct two interim financial line 8 audits and a final financial audit and two interim performance line 9 audits and a final performance audit of the implementation and line 10 effectiveness of the California Advanced Services Fund to ensure line 11 that funds have been expended in accordance with the approved line 12 terms of the grant awards and loan agreements and this section. line 13 The commission shall report its interim findings to the Legislature line 14 by April 1, 2011, and April 1, 2017. The commission shall report line 15 its final findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2021. The reports line 16 shall also include an update to the maps in the final report of the line 17 California Broadband Task Force and data on the types and line 18 numbers of jobs created as a result of the program administered line 19 by the commission pursuant to this section. line 20 (2)  (A)  The requirement for submitting a report imposed under line 21 paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2022, pursuant to Section line 22 10231.5 of the Government Code. line 23 (B)  A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be line 24 submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government line 25 Code. line 26 (j)  (1)  Beginning on January 1, 2012, and annually thereafter, line 27 the commission shall provide a report to the Legislature that line 28 includes all of the following information: line 29 (A)  The amount of funds expended from the California line 30 Advanced Services Fund in the prior year. line 31 (B)  The recipients of funds expended from the California line 32 Advanced Services Fund in the prior year. line 33 (C)  The geographic regions of the state affected by funds line 34 expended from the California Advanced Services Fund in the prior line 35 year. line 36 (D)  The expected benefits to be derived from the funds expended line 37 from the California Advanced Services Fund in the prior year. line 38 (E)  Actual broadband adoption levels from the funds expended line 39 from the California Advanced Services Fund in the prior year. 99 — 8 —AB 1262 121 of 210 line 1 (F)  The amount of funds expended from the California line 2 Advanced Services Fund used to match federal funds. line 3 (G)  An update on the expenditures from California Advanced line 4 Services Fund and broadband adoption levels, and an accounting line 5 of remaining unserved and underserved households and areas of line 6 the state. line 7 (H)  The status of the California Advanced Services Fund balance line 8 and the projected amount to be collected in each year through 2020 line 9 to fund approved projects. line 10 (2)  (A)  The requirement for submitting a report imposed under line 11 paragraph (1) is inoperative on January 1, 2021, pursuant to Section line 12 10231.5 of the Government Code. line 13 (B)  A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be line 14 submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government line 15 Code. line 16 SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the line 17 immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within line 18 the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into line 19 immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: line 20 The immediate continuation of assistance with broadband line 21 deployment is a primary purpose of the Rural and Urban Regional line 22 Broadband Consortia Grant Account. In order to ensure funding line 23 for regular broadband consortia activities, adequate funding must line 24 be made available. The Rural and Urban Regional Broadband line 25 Consortia Grant Account has been exhausted and unless moneys line 26 are made available immediately, deployment activities could cease. O 99 AB 1262— 9 — 122 of 210     April 14, 2015      The Honorable Jim Wood  Assembly Member, Assembly District 2  State Capitol  Sacramento, CA 95814    Dear Assemblymember Wood:    I am writing on behalf of the Contra Costa Economic Partnership to express our strong support for AB  1262 (Wood), Telecommunications: Universal Service: California Advance Services Fund (CASF), to  transfer $5 million to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account.    The Contra Costa Economic Partnership (Partnership) is a coalition of business, education and public  sector leaders dedicated to promoting economic vitality and an excellent quality of life in the East Bay  region. The Partnership works collaboratively to support and expand existing businesses, and to attract  high‐wage, high‐skill jobs and emerging technology companies to the region.  The Partnership proudly  serves as the fiscal agent of the East Bay Broadband Consortium (EBBC), a regional initiative covering  Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties focused on improving Broadband (high‐speed Internet)  deployment, access and adoption in the East Bay.  EBBC has 41 formal organizational and institutional  members and has been endorsed by 25 leadership organization.      For the past three years, rural and urban regional consortia have been working to promote ubiquitous  broadband deployment and to advance broadband adoption in unserved and underserved areas  throughout the state.  AB 1262 would allow consortia to continue working with telecommunications  providers and key community stakeholders to promote CASF for years to come.     The Partnership strongly believes AB 1262 is essential to achieving the state’s broadband goal of  reaching 98% broadband deployment and 80% adoption for California by 2015, goals acknowledged by  the California Broadband Council (CBC); California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC); and California  Emerging Technology Fund (CETF).    The Partnership sincerely thanks you, Assembly Member Wood, for your leadership and for introducing  this important legislation.  We applaud your commitment to help close the digital divide in California.    Warmest regards,    Kristin Connelly  Executive Director      1355 Willow Way, Suite 253, Concord, CA  94520 – (925)246‐1880 V * (925)674‐1654 F * www.cceconptnr.org  123 of 210 San Joaquin Valley Broadband Consortium “Connected Capital Area” Broadband Consortium San Diego Imperial Regional Broadband Consortium Gold Country Broadband Consortium April 22, 2015 Via E mail Assembly Member Jimmy Gomez, Chair Assembly Member James Gallagher Assembly Member Frank Begelow, Vice Chair Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia Assembly Member Richard Bloom Assembly Member Chris R. Holden Assembly Member Rob Bonta Assembly Member Brian W. Jones Assembly Member Ian C. Calderon Assembly Member Bill Quirk Assembly Member Ling Ling Chang Assembly Member Anthony Rendon Assembly Member Tom Daly Assembly Member Donald P. Wagner Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber Assembly Member Jim Wood RE: AB1262 (Wood) Dear Assembly Appropriations Committee Members: We are writing to express our strong support for AB 1262 (Wood), Telecommunications: Universal Service: California Advance Services Fund (CASF), to transfer $5 million to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account. The bill passed unanimously on Consent in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee on April 20th. For the past three years, rural and urban regional consortia have been working to promote ubiquitous broadband deployment and to advance broadband adoption in unserved and underserved areas throughout the state. AB 1262 would allow consortia to continue working with telecommunication providers and key community stakeholders to promote CASF for years to come. We think AB 1262 is essential to achieving the state’s broadband goal of reaching 98% broadband deployment and 80% adoption for California by 2015, goals acknowledged by the California Broadband Council (CBC); California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC); and California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF). We sincerely thank Assembly Member Wood for introducing this legislation and we commend the Assembly Appropriations Committee on your commitment to help close the Digital Divide in California. Attached is a list and letters endorsing AB 1262 showing widespread support throughout the state and providing evidence that funding for the regional consortia is fiscally prudent. Sincerely, The California Regional Broadband Consortia Leaders Revlyn Williams Executive Director, Manchester Community Technologies, Inc. LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (LACRBC), Los Angeles County Diana Rodriguez Director, Digital Learning and Technology, Youth Policy Institute LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (LACRBC), Los Angeles County 124 of 210 San Joaquin Valley Broadband Consortium “Connected Capital Area” Broadband Consortium San Diego Imperial Regional Broadband Consortium Gold Country Broadband Consortium Sara Shapiro Assistant Principal, El Monte Union High School LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (LACRBC), Los Angeles County Cesar Zaldivar-Motts Executive Director, Southeast Community Development Corporation (SCDC) LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (LACRBC), Los Angeles County Saundra Davis Executive Director, Community Centers Incorporated (CCI) LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (LACRBC), Los Angeles County Connie Stewart Executive Director, California Center for Rural Policy, CSU Humboldt REDWOOD COAST CONNECT (RCC), Del Norte, Humboldt, and Trinity Counties Randy Wagner President and CEO, Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp) GOLD COUNTRY BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (GOLD COUNTRY) Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado and Alpine Counties Shelly Hance Executive Director, Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency (A-TCAA) CENTRAL SIERRA CONNECT BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (CSC), Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa and Alpine Nate Greenberg GISP, IT Director and GIS Coordinator, County of Mono and Town of Mammoth Lakes EASTERN SIERRA CONNECT REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (ESCRBC), Inyo, Mono and Eastern Kern Counties Martha van Rooijen IERB Consortium Manager INLAND EMPIRE REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (IERB), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties Jodi Mulligan Project Manager, Valley Vision CONNECTED CAPITAL AREA BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (CCABC) Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba Counties Joel Staker Network Administrator, City of Watsonville CENTRAL COAST BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (CCBC), Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties 125 of 210 San Joaquin Valley Broadband Consortium “Connected Capital Area” Broadband Consortium San Diego Imperial Regional Broadband Consortium Gold Country Broadband Consortium Linda Best Retired President and CEO, Contra Costa Economic Partnership EAST BAY BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (EBBC), Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano Counties Jennifer Henry Storm Executive Director, Economic Development Foundation, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation SAN DIEGO IMPERIAL REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (SDIRBC), San Diego and Imperial Counties Cathy Emerson Program Manager, Broadband Organization Development and Facilitation, CSU Chico NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA CONNECT CONSORTIUM (NECCC), Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta, Lassen, Tehama, Butte and Plumas Counties and UPSTATE CALIFORNIA CONNECT CONSORTIUM (UCCC), Lake, Glenn, and Colusa Counties Mike Dozier Lead Executive, California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, CSU Fresno SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY REGIONAL BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (SJVRBC), Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare Counties Thomas W. West Non-Voting Chair of the Oversight Committee NORTH BAY/NORTH COAST BROADBAND CONSORTIUM (NBNCBC), Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma Counties Bruce Stenslie President and CEO, Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County BROADBAND CONSORTIUM OF THE PACIFIC COAST, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties Cc: Mr. Tony Bui Ms. Jennifer Galehouse Mr. John Scribner Ms. Annabel Snider 126 of 210 AB 1262 (Wood) Support List Updated: April 21, 2015 • 211 San Bernardino County • Access Humboldt • Anza Electric Cooperative • Cal State San Bernardino • California Center for Rural Policy • CA Emerging Technology Fund • California State Association of Counties (CSAC) • Central Coast Broadband Consortium • Central Sierra Connect Broadband Consortia • City of Bishop • City of California City • City of Ridgecrest • City of Riverside • City of Tehachapi • Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium • Contra Costa Economic Partnership • Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in CA (CENIC) • County of Alpine • County of Del Norte • County of El Dorado • County of Humboldt • County of Mariposa • County of Modoc • County of Mono • County of Nevada • County of Riverside • County of Tehama • County of Trinity • County of Tuolumne • County of Sacramento • County of San Bernardino • County of Shasta • County of Sierra • County of Ventura • County of Yolo • Eastern Sierra Connect Regional Broadband Consortium • Economic Development Collaborative – Ventura County • Economic Vitality Corporation • Edgewood Companies • High Desert Community Foundation • Inland Empire Regional Broadband Consortium • Kern Community College Districts 127 of 210 • Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce • Los Angeles County Regional Broadband Consortia • North Bay/North Coast Broadband Consortium • Northeastern CA Connect Consortium • North Lake Tahoe Chamber • Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications • Praxis Associates • Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) • San Bernardino Community College District • San Diego Imperial Regional Consortium • San Joaquin Valley Regional Broadband Consortium • Sierra Ecosystem Associates • Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SedCrop) • SMARTRiverside • Tahoe Prosperity Center • Town of Mammoth Lakes • Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority • Upstate CA Connect Consortium • Volcano Communications Group • West Kern Community College Districts • Yuba Community College Districts 128 of 210 April 16, 2015 Assembly Member Anthony Rendon Chair, Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce P.O. Box 942849, Room 5136 Sacramento, California 94249-0063 Assembly Member Jim Patterson Vice Chair, Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce P.O. Box 942849, Room 3132 Sacramento, California 94249-0023 RE: AB1262 (Wood) Dear Chairman Rendon and Vice Chairman Patterson: The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) respectfully submits this letter to express our strong support for AB 1262 (Wood): Telecommunications: Universal Service: California Advance Services Fund (CASF), to transfer $5 million to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account (from the CASF Revolving Loan Account which has unused funds). AB 1262 only provides for a internal transfer of funds within CASF—it does not involve any new fees nor any additional appropriation. CETF is a statewide non-profit organization directed to be established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) with the mission to close the Digital Divide in California as a result of corporate mergers in 2005. Thus, CETF is focused on both broadband deployment and adoption, coupled with ensuring accessible technology for people with disabilities. For the past three years, rural and urban regional consortia have been working to promote ubiquitous broadband deployment and to advance broadband adoption in unserved and underserved areas throughout the state. AB 1262 would allow consortia to continue working with broadband providers and community stakeholders to cost-effectively use CASF funds. Historical data shows that regional consortia have been able to generate information and aggregate demand for the private sector (particularly smaller companies) that foster successful applications to CASF for workable deployment projects to reach unserved households. AB 1262 is piovtal to achieving the goal of 98% broadband deployment adopted by the Legislature and signed into law in 2013 because high-speed Internet access projects that reach unserved rural communities require cooperation with multiple stakeholders and government agencies that often is either cost-prohibitive or beyond the ability of any single provider. Further, broadband infrastructure projects must to be tailored to the particular circumstances of each community and the assets within a region. 129 of 210 The primary role of the regional consortia is to engage all providers and stakeholders to work together to achieve the 98% deployment goal. We sincerely thank Assembly Member Wood for introducing this important legislation and we commend the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee on your commitment to help close the Digital Divide in California. Attached is a list of letters to date endorsing AB 1262 showing widespread support throughout the state and providing evidence that your leadership to continue funding for the regional consortia is fiscally prudent. Sincerely, Sunne Wright McPeak President and CEO Gladys N. Palpallatoc Associate Vice President Cc: Assembly Member Jim Wood Assembly Member Cristina Garcia Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian Assembly Member David Hadley Assembly Member Susan Bonilla Assembly Member Roger Hernández Assembly Member Autumn R. Burke Assembly Member Jay Obernolte Assembly Member Brian Dahle Assembly Member Bill Quirk Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman Assembly Member Miguel Santiago Mr. Tony Bui Assembly Member Philip Y. Ting Ms. Sue Kateley Assembly Member Das Williams 130 of 210 April 14, 2015 The Honorable Anthony Rendon Chair, Assembly Utilities and Commerce State Capitol, Room 5136 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: AB 1262 (Wood) – Telecommunications: Universal Service: California Advance Services Fund As introduced Feb 27, 2015 - SUPPORT Hearing date: April 20, 2015, Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Dear Assembly Member Rendon: The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) supports Assembly Bill 1262 (Wood), which will provide vital dollars to the urban and rural consortia across the state to promote broadband access and adoption to unserved and underserved communities. Specifically, AB 1262 would transfer $5 million dollars to the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account from the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account. This additional funding will help ensure the consortia may continue their work in collaboration with service providers and community stakeholders. These efforts have included improving maps of existing broadband deployment, developing model broadband policy for local agencies, convening regional summits that bring together local leadership with the residents they serve, and assisting smaller telecommunication service providers apply for infrastructure grants. CSAC strongy supports policy that seeks to enhance digital inclusion and overcome the digital divide that still persists in our state. Counties understand the importance of broadband for both county service delivery and also creating jobs, attracting new businesses, improving health care and education outcomes, and maximizing the efficient use of resources, all while connecting residents to these efforts and other opportunities. For the aforementioned reasons, CSAC supports AB 1262. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding our position at (916) 327-7500, extension 515. Sincerely, As signed Dorothy Holzem Legislative Representative cc: The Honorable Jim Wood, California State Assembly Members, Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Consultant, Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee Daryl Thomas, Consultant, Assembly Republican Caucus 131 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 11. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:AB 762 (Mullin) Day Care Centers: Integrated Licensing Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-15   Referral Name: AB 762 (Mullin) Day Care Centers: Integrated Licensing  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Director of Community Service Bureau, Employment and Human Services, Camilla Rand. Referral Update: Assembly Bill (AB) 762 would eliminate the bifurcation of early care licensing in California into two separate licenses and a Toddler Component option and create a single license for child care centers serving children birth through entering Kindergarten. STATUS: Introduced: 02/25/2015 Last Amend: 04/08/2015 Disposition: Pending Location: Assembly Appropriations Committee BACKGROUND: Specifically, this bill: 1) Makes certain Legislative findings and declarations pertaining to the early care licensing system in California and its separate treatment of infants and toddlers and preschool-age children. a) Declares the intent of the Legislature to require the following under a new, integrated day care licensing structure: b) Grouping children together by age-appropriate developmental levels and following appropriate staff-child ratios and group-sized regulations; c) Transitioning children from age-appropriate settings when their developmental level warrants this move; 132 of 210 d) Considering a child's chronological age and the entire group's need when making decisions regarding moving a child; e) Ensuring supervision of all children by teachers and aides with appropriate qualifications; f) Grouping toddlers with either infants or preschoolers as long as the requirements applicable to the youngest age group are followed; g) Placing emphasis on improving quality of care and education for children from birth to kindergarten placed in center-based programs; h) Promoting long-term efficiency within the Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) of DSS through eliminating duplicate paperwork and compliance visits to day care centers; and i) Conducting day care center inspections based on a single integrated license. 2) Directs DSS, in consultation with stakeholders including the California Department of Education and others, as specified, to adopt regulations to develop and implement a single integrated license for a day care center serving children from birth to kindergarten by January 1, 2018. Further requires that these regulations include age-appropriate transition times, as specified, and that an integrated license issued to a new or current day care center licensee list the age groups of children being served for specified purposes. 3) Requires, during the period of January 1, 2018, to December 1, 2018, an existing day care license to be converted to a single integrated license upon annual renewal and that, prior to this conversion, a day care center licensee shall continue to meet regulatory requirements and inspection standards for the age groups of children receiving care in that center. 4) States that licensees shall not be required to pay an additional fee for this conversion to a single integrated license other than the annual fee, and stipulates that a new applicant for a single integrated license may be charged a fee commensurate with the previous cost for dual licenses. 5) Directs day care centers with an optional toddler program to, beginning January 1, 2016, extend the toddler component to children up to three years old. 6) Repeals references in statute to the optional toddler program beginning January 1, 2018. EXISTING LAW: 1) Establishes the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, creating a separate licensing category for child day care centers and family day care homes within DSS's existing licensing structure. (HSC 1596.70 et seq.) 2) Defines "day care center" to include infant centers, preschools, extended day care facilities, and school-age child care centers. (HSC 1596.76) 3) Requires any person or entity operating, as specified, as child day care facility in California to have a current valid license. (HSC 1596.80) 4) Requires DSS to charge an original application fee for the issuance of a license to operate a child day care facility and, thereafter, an annual fee and that these fees be adjusted by facility and 133 of 210 capacity. (HSC 1596.803) 5) Directs DSS to develop guidelines and procedures for authorizing licensed child day care centers serving preschool-age children and licensed child day care centers serving infants to create a special optional toddler program for children between the ages of 18 and 30 months and further requires this optional toddler program to meet certain requirements, as specified. (HSC 1596.955 and 1596.956) 6) Requires DSS to conduct unannounced visits of each licensed day care center and requires that no center be visited less frequently than once every five years. Further requires DSS to conduct annual unannounced visits of licensed centers under specified circumstances, such as when a license is on probation. Additionally requires annual visits of a random sample of at least 20% of facilities not subject to annual inspections for specified circumstances and states that, should the total citations for this 20% of facilities exceed the previous year's by 10%, the random sample subject to annual inspection shall increase in the next year by 10%. Because of this trigger, 30% of eligible facilities are now randomly sampled each year for inspection. (HSC 1597.09) 7) Directs DSS, and any local agency with which it contracts for purposes of licensing activities, to conduct an initial site visit and grant or deny an application for license within 30 days of receiving a complete licensing application for a day care center. (HSC 1597.13) FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown COMMENTS: Licensed child care: The California Child Day Care Facilities Act governs the licensure and operation of child day care centers and family day care homes. This law and the attendant regulations found in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations establish general health and safety requirements, staff-to-child ratios, and provider training requirements. The Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) of DSS is responsible for licensing and monitoring the state's 10,453 day care centers, which, as of June 30, 2014, provided 588,058 child care slots. CCLD is required to conduct unannounced site visits of all licensed child day care facilities and homes. At the very least, these facilities and homes must be visited no less frequently than once every five years. CCLD also conducts annual visits of facilities with poor histories of compliance and those that are required to have yearly visits by federal law. Additionally, 30% of those facilities not required to be inspected yearly are randomly selected for annual inspection. Infant centers serve children under two years old, preschool child care centers serve children between the age of 2 and when they start school, and school-age child care centers serve children who have entered the first grade or are in a child care program exclusively for children in kindergarten and above. A "combination center" is any combination of an infant center, preschool child care center, school-age child care center and child care center for mildly ill children that is owned and operated by one licensee at a common address. In California, separate licenses are currently required for serving infants and for serving preschool-age children. Thus, owner/operators of combination centers serving both populations must get two licenses and undergo separate inspection and compliance processes for each license. Toddler program: In 1988, the Senate Select Committee on Children and Youth and the Senate 134 of 210 Toddler program: In 1988, the Senate Select Committee on Children and Youth and the Senate Select Committee on Infant and Child Care and Development convened a task force to examine what at the time were the two basic licensing categories for child care centers: an infant category for children up to 2 years of age, and a second category for children between the ages of 2 and 12. This task force recommended the establishment of a third optional category for toddlers between the ages of 18 and 30 months. SB 629 (Morgan), Chapter 1079, Statutes of 1989, established this optional license category for day care programs and SB 434 (Morgan), Chapter 246, Statutes of 1993, refined and made the optional program permanent. As it currently exists, the optional toddler program is available to both centers that serve preschool-age children and centers that serve infants. These centers can create a special program component for children between the ages of 18 and 30 months; the program has its own staffing ratio and maximum group size requirements, but is considered an extension of the infant or preschool license and does not require a separate license. The toddler program is to be located in areas separate from those used by younger and older children. Children can only be placed in this program with parental consent. A toddler who is more than 30 months of age may participate in an optional toddler program with parental permission. Continuity of care and child development: Child care providers and caregivers, when they form continuous attachments with young children through providing regular care, can have positive impacts on the development of those children. Research indicates that infants who form strong attachments with their child care providers exhibit higher likelihood of playing, exploring, and interacting with adults in their child care settings. Conversely, it has been found that when very young children are made to transition from one room to another in a care setting due to pre-determined developmental stages (often based on birthdate), they can experience high levels of distress. Fewer demonstrations of behavior problems while at child care have also been found in young children who experience lower turnover in care providers and longer periods spent with their primary caregiver. Continuity of care for young children can also provide benefits for caregivers and parents, allowing for the continued development of trust between parents and care providers. Need for this bill: According to the author, this bill "streamlines the bifurcated child care licensing system by creating a single license that reduces the administrative burden, removes the 'toddler component' option process, and aids centers in keeping child care slots filled by preventing the immediate movement of children based on their birthdate. This policy goes a long way to simplify the childcare licensing process while maintaining quality developmentally appropriate practices and eases the ability to provide continuity of care for children and families which is necessary for their success." Supporters state that California is one of only two states that issue separate licenses for infant/toddlers and for preschool centers, and that the transition from an infant area to preschool at 24 months of age (or 30 months if the center has an optional toddler program) is particularly rigid, doesn't allow flexibility for the varying developmental needs of different infants and toddlers, and creates barriers to continuity of relationships. This siloed licensing structure, they claim, ignores the developmental needs of the child and forces providers to move children out of one classroom and into another based on birthdates without appropriately considering other needs. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support: 135 of 210 Advancement Project American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA) California Association for the Education of Young Children California Child Care Resource & Referral Network California Head Start Association Child Care Partnership Council of San Mateo Child Care Resource Center Children NOW Cleanology Housekeeping Personal Services Elder Caring First 5 Association of CA First 5 Santa Clara County Foodsteps Child Care, Inc. Institute for Human and Social Development Inc. Little Mud Puddles Learning Center Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) MAAC Pacific Clinics Peninsula Family Services San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council Opposition: None on file.  Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for AB 762 (Mullin) Day Care Centers: Integrated Licensing. Attachments Bill Text 136 of 210 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2015 california legislature—2015–16 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 762 Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin (Coauthor: Assembly Member Chávez) (Coauthor: Senator Hertzberg) February 25, 2015 An act to add Section 1596.951 to, and to amend and repeal Sections 1596.955 and 1596.956 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to care facilities. legislative counsel’s digest AB 762, as amended, Mullin. Day care centers: integrated licensing. Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of day care centers by the State Department of Social Services. Existing regulations require a separate license to be issued for each component of a combination center, and establishes teacher-child ratio requirements. Existing law requires the department to develop guidelines and procedures to permit authorize licensed child day care centers serving infants or preschool age children to create a special optional toddler program component for children between 18 and 30 months of age, and requires the program to be considered an extension of the infant center or preschool license. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to willfully or repeatedly violate any of these provisions or a rule or regulation promulgated under these provisions. This bill would require the department to adopt regulations, on or before January 1, 2018, to develop and implement an a single integrated license for a day care center serving children from birth to kindergarten. 98 137 of 210 The bill would require an applicant for the integrated license to meet specified basic requirements in addition to the current safety and care standards, including, specified staff-child ratios and requirements pertaining to indoor and outdoor activity space. the regulations to include age-appropriate transition times, as specified, and a requirement that an integrated license list the age groups of children being served at the day care center. The bill would require, between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018, an existing day care center license to be converted to a single integrated child care license upon annual renewal of the license, and would require that until a day care center has the new integrated license, standards for inspection of a day care center to be based on the current license. The bill would also require a day care center with a toddler component to extend the toddler component to serve children 18 months to 3 years, inclusive, years of age and would repeal the provisions relating to a toddler program component on January 1, 2018. By changing the definition of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated 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. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the line 2 following: line 3 (a)  In the 1970’s, 1970s, California led the nation in the creation line 4 of its licensing system for community care facilities, and pioneered line 5 recognition of the special needs of infants and toddlers with a line 6 license distinct from preschool-age care. line 7 (b)  While the standard of care in California statute remains line 8 appropriate, the bifurcation of early care licensing in California line 9 into two separate licenses is unnecessary and problematic. line 10 (c)  Many states now mandate the standard required in California, line 11 but without dual-licensing. California is one of only two states in line 12 the country that employ a separate infant-toddler license. Other line 13 states employ a single license for early childhood centers, 98 — 2 —AB 762 138 of 210 line 1 mandating developmentally appropriate standards based on the line 2 age of the children served. line 3 (d)  Even in California, family day care homes are not subject line 4 to the dual license requirement. Only private fee, state and federally line 5 funded child day care facilities are subject to the dual license line 6 requirement. line 7 (e)  It is the intent of the Legislature that all of the following are line 8 required under a new integrated licensing structure: line 9 (1)  Children shall be grouped together by their appropriate line 10 developmental levels and appropriate staff-child ratio and group line 11 size regulations shall be followed. line 12 (2)  Children shall transition from age appropriate line 13 age-appropriate classrooms or program spaces when their line 14 developmental level is appropriate for such a move. line 15 (3)  A child’s chronological age and the entire group’s need shall line 16 also be considering factors for such moves. line 17 (4)  All children shall be supervised appropriately by teachers line 18 and aids aides with appropriate staff qualifications. Toddlers may line 19 be grouped with either infants or preschoolers as long as the line 20 requirements applicable to the youngest age group in the group line 21 are followed. line 22 (5)  Emphasis shall be placed on improving the quality of early line 23 care and education for children from birth to kindergarten in line 24 center-based programs. line 25 (6)  Promotion of long-term efficiency within the Community line 26 Care Licensing Division of the State Department of Social Services line 27 through the elimination of duplicate paperwork and compliance line 28 visits to day care centers. line 29 (7)  Inspection of a day care center based on a single integrated line 30 license rather than on separate visits based on each license to line 31 increase efficiency and to allow a department analyst to more line 32 holistically evaluate a day care center which will lead to stronger line 33 health and safety practices. Those efficiencies will reduce cost line 34 pressure on the department and allow more providers to operate line 35 in California, and thus open more spaces for children and parents line 36 waiting for care. line 37 SEC. 2. Section 1596.951 is added to the Health and Safety line 38 Code, to read: line 39 1596.951. (a)  The following definitions shall apply to this line 40 section: 98 AB 762— 3 — 139 of 210 line 1 (1)  “Young infant” means a child 0 to 9 months of age line 2 (2)  “Mobile infant” means a child 8 to 18 months of age. line 3 (3)  “Toddler” means a child 16 to 36 months of age. line 4 (4)  “Preschooler” means a child 3 years of age to kindergarten line 5 age. line 6 (5)  “Mixed-age groups” means a group including toddlers and line 7 infants or toddlers and preschoolers in which the requirements for line 8 the youngest age group apply. line 9 (6)  “Transition from classroom or program space” means group line 10 placement that is determined by a child's developmental readiness line 11 within three months before or after the child's birth date, except line 12 for a child with developmental delays, and the need of the entire line 13 group of children. line 14 (7)  “Combination center” means a combination of child care line 15 center and schoolage child care center or child care center for line 16 mildly ill children that is owned and operated by one licensee at line 17 a common address. line 18 (b)  The department shall adopt regulations, on or before January line 19 1, 2018, to develop and implement an integrated license for a day line 20 care center serving children from birth to kindergarten. In addition line 21 to the current safety and care standards, an applicant for the line 22 integrated license shall meet all of the following basic line 23 requirements: line 24 (1) line 25   Group placement shall be determined by a child's developmental line 26 readiness within three months before or after the child's birth date, line 27 except for a child with developmental delays, and the needs of the line 28 entire group of children. line 29 (2)  The day care center shall observe the following staffing line 30 ratios at the center: line 31 (A)  The following ratio requirements shall apply to young line 32 infants and mobile infants: line 33 (i)  There shall be a ratio of one teacher for every four infants line 34 in attendance. line 35 (ii)  An aide may be substituted for a teacher if both of the line 36 following conditions are met: line 37 (I)  There is a fully qualified teacher directly supervising no line 38 more than 12 infants. line 39 (II)  The aide is responsible for the direct care and supervision line 40 of a group of no more than four infants. 98 — 4 —AB 762 140 of 210 line 1 (iii)  If children are engaged in activities away from the center, line 2 there shall be a minimum of one teacher for every two infants in line 3 attendance. This ratio may include authorized representatives of line 4 infants in care and adult volunteers to supplement the staff-infant line 5 ratio. line 6 (iv)  The director and the assistant director may be counted in line 7 the staff-infant ratio if he or she is actually working with infants. line 8 (v)  There shall be one teacher to visually observe every 12 line 9 sleeping infants if the remaining staff necessary to meet the ratios line 10 specified in this section are immediately available at the center. line 11 (vi)  An aide who is 18 years of age or older, and who meets the line 12 requirements in clause (ii), may visually observe 12 sleeping infants line 13 in place of a teacher. line 14 (vii)  A center shall provide for the overlap of staff for different line 15 shifts so that continuity of care is assured. line 16 (B)  The following requirements shall apply to toddlers: line 17 (i)  There shall be a ratio of one teacher for every six children line 18 in attendance. line 19 (ii)  An aide who is participating in on-the-job training may be line 20 substituted for a teacher if the aide is directly supervised by a line 21 teacher. line 22 (iii)  The maximum group size with two teachers, or one teacher line 23 and one aide, shall not exceed 12 toddlers. line 24 (iv)  There shall be one teacher to visually observe every 12 line 25 sleeping toddlers if the remaining staff necessary to meet the ratios line 26 and group size requirements in this section are immediately line 27 available at the center. line 28 (v)  An aide who is 18 years of age or older, and who meets the line 29 requirements in clause (ii), may visually observe 12 sleeping line 30 toddlers in place of a teacher. line 31 (vi)  A center shall provide for overlap of staff for different shifts line 32 so that continuity of care is assured. line 33 (C)  The following requirements shall apply to preschoolers: line 34 (i)  There shall be a ratio of one teacher for every 12 children in line 35 attendance. line 36 (ii)  The number of children in attendance shall not exceed line 37 licensed capacity. line 38 (iii)  If children are engaged in activities outside of the center, line 39 there shall be one teacher for every 12 children. However, because line 40 activities outside of the center pose additional hazards to children, 98 AB 762— 5 — 141 of 210 line 1 the center shall make an effort to have a ratio of one adult for every line 2 6 children through the use of adult volunteers. line 3 (iv)  The center may use aides in a teacher-child ratio of one line 4 teacher and one aide for 15 preschoolers in attendance. line 5 (v)  A teacher-child ratio of one teacher supervising 24 napping line 6 children is permitted if the remaining teachers necessary to meet line 7 the overall ratio and group size requirements are immediately line 8 available at the center. line 9 (vi)  A teacher aide who is 18 years of age or older, and who line 10 meets the requirements listed above may supervise 24 napping line 11 children in place of a teacher. There shall be provision for overlap line 12 of staff for different shifts so that continuity of care is assured. line 13 (D)  The following requirements shall apply to mixed age groups: line 14 (i)  If groups of children of two age categories are commingled line 15 and the younger age group exceeds 50 percent of the total number line 16 of children present, the ratios for the entire group must meet the line 17 ratios required for the younger age group. line 18 (ii)  If the younger age group does not exceed 50 percent of the line 19 total number of the children present, the teacher-child and line 20 adult-child ratios shall be computed separately for each group. line 21 (3)   The day care center shall observe the following staffing line 22 ratios at the center during water activities: line 23 (A)  The requirements for young infants and mobile infants are line 24 as follows: line 25 (i)  A ratio of one adult to two infants shall be maintained during line 26 activities in or near any body of water. line 27 (ii)  A ratio of one staff member to every four infants shall be line 28 maintained during activities in or near any container of water that line 29 a child can get into and get out of unassisted. This shall include, line 30 but not be limited to, wading pools, basins, or water trays. line 31 (iii)  The ratio may include authorized representatives of infants line 32 in care and adult volunteers to supplement the staff-infant ratio. line 33 (B)  The requirements for toddlers are as follows: line 34 (i)  A ratio of one adult to two toddlers shall be maintained during line 35 activities in or near any body of water. line 36 (ii)  A ratio of one staff member to every four toddlers shall be line 37 maintained during activities in or near any container of water that line 38 a child can get into and get out of unassisted. This shall include, line 39 but not be limited to, wading pools, basins, or water trays. 98 — 6 —AB 762 142 of 210 line 1 (iii)  This ratio may include authorized representatives of toddlers line 2 in care and adult volunteers to supplement the staff-toddler ratio. line 3 (C)  The requirements for preschoolers are as follows: line 4 (i)  There shall be at least one adult, who has a valid water-safety line 5 certificate on file at the center, present. line 6 (ii)  During water activities in or near any of the following bodies line 7 of water, a ratio of not less than one adult, including teachers, to line 8 every six children, or fraction thereof, shall be maintained during line 9 water activities in or near any of the following bodies of water: line 10 (I)  Swimming pool. line 11 (II)  Any portable pool with sides so high that children using the line 12 pool cannot step out unassisted by a person or device, including, line 13 but not limited to, a ladder. line 14 (III)  Potentially dangerous natural bodies of water including, line 15 but not limited to, oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams. line 16 (iii)  Lifeguards or personnel supervising anyone other than line 17 center children at the water activity site shall not be included in line 18 this ratio. line 19 (D)  The requirements for mixed, age groups are as follows: line 20 (i)  If groups of children of two age categories are commingled line 21 and the younger age group exceeds 50 percent of the total number line 22 of children present, the ratios for the entire group shall meet the line 23 ratios and requirements for the younger age group. line 24 (ii)  If the younger age group does not exceed 50 percent 50 of line 25 the total number of the children present, the teacher-child and line 26 adult-child ratios shall be computed separately for each group. line 27 (4)  The day care center shall maintain the staff-child ratio for line 28 all age groups specified in paragraph (2) while transporting children line 29 in motor vehicles. The ratio shall be maintained whether the vehicle line 30 is moving or parked. Children in motor vehicles shall have constant line 31 adult supervision and shall not be left unattended under any line 32 circumstances. line 33 (5)  The outdoor activity space at the day care center shall meet line 34 all of the following requirements: line 35 (A)  Except as provided in subparagraph (D), the outdoor activity line 36 space for one age group shall be physically separate from space line 37 used by the other age groups. line 38 (B)  The outdoor activity space shall be equipped with a variety line 39 of age-appropriate toys and equipment. 98 AB 762— 7 — 143 of 210 line 1 (C)  For infants, placement of playpens shall not create hazards line 2 to other infants or adults in the play area. line 3 (D)  (i)  If groups of children of two age categories are line 4 commingled and the younger age group exceeds 50 percent of the line 5 total number of children present, the age-appropriate toys and line 6 equipment shall meet the requirements for the younger age group. line 7 (6)  The indoor activity space at the day care center shall meet line 8 all of the following requirements: line 9 (A)  The requirements for young infants and mobile infants are line 10 as follows: line 11 (i)  Indoor activity space for infants shall be physically separate line 12 from space used by toddlers and preschoolers. line 13 (ii)  The center may use moveable walls or partitions to separate line 14 the age groups in the same room if each group has the total amount line 15 of square footage for indoor activity space required by this chapter. line 16 (iii)  Moveable walls or partitions, if used, shall be at least four line 17 feet high, constructed of sound-absorbing material, and designed line 18 to minimize the risk of injury to infants. line 19 (iv)  The calculation of indoor activity space for infants shall line 20 not include space designated and used for cribs. line 21 (v)  The sleeping area for infants shall be physically separate line 22 from the indoor activity space. This separation shall be line 23 accomplished as specified in clause (iii). line 24 (vi)  The various child care center components in a combination line 25 center may share office space, food preparation space, storage line 26 space and any other general-purpose space. line 27 (vii)  The indoor activity space shall be equipped with a variety line 28 of age-appropriate washable toys and equipment. line 29 (B)  The toddler and preschool programs shall be conducted in line 30 areas physically separate from those used by older or younger line 31 children, except when a planned activity is being conducted line 32 between two or more age groups. A plan to alternate use of outdoor line 33 play space is allowed. line 34 (C)  If groups of children of two age categories are commingled line 35 and the younger age group exceeds 50 percent of the total number line 36 of children present, the indoor activity space requirements for the line 37 entire group shall meet the indoor activity space requirements line 38 required for the younger age group. line 39 SEC. 2. Section 1596.951 is added to the Health and Safety line 40 Code, to read: 98 — 8 —AB 762 144 of 210 line 1 1596.951. (a)  The department shall, in consultation with line 2 stakeholders, adopt regulations on or before January 1, 2018, to line 3 develop and implement a single integrated license for a day care line 4 center serving children from birth to kindergarten. Regulations line 5 adopted pursuant to this section shall include both of the following: line 6 (1)  Age-appropriate transition periods that do all of the line 7 following: line 8 (A)  Allow children to transition from one age group to another line 9 age group up to three months before or three months after their line 10 birthday. line 11 (B)  Take the needs of the whole age group into consideration line 12 in order to move children together. line 13 (C)  Consider continuity of care of the children and parents line 14 being served. line 15 (D)  Consider the needs of the day care center licensees to line 16 maximize spaces being used. line 17 (2)  A requirement that an integrated license being issued to a line 18 new or current day care center licensee list the age groups of line 19 children being served at the day care center for the purposes of line 20 license inspections, data collection management, and county needs line 21 assessments. line 22 (b)  (1)  Between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018, a line 23 day care center license shall be converted to a single integrated line 24 child care license upon annual renewal of the license. The licensee line 25 shall not be required to pay an additional fee to replace an existing line 26 license with the new single integrated license other than the annual line 27 licensing fee. A new applicant for a single integrated license may line 28 be charged a fee commensurate with the previous cost for dual line 29 licenses. line 30 (2)  Until an existing day care center license has been replaced line 31 with an integrated license, a day care center licensee shall line 32 maintain a day care center that meets regulatory standards for line 33 the age groups of children that are being cared for at the day care line 34 center, and standards for inspection of a day care center shall be line 35 based on the current license. line 36 (c)  Stakeholders consulted in adopting regulations pursuant to line 37 this section shall include, but are not limited to, the State line 38 Department of Education, California Association for the Education line 39 of Young Children, Early Edge California, First 5 California, line 40 Children Now, Alliance for Early Success, California Head Start 98 AB 762— 9 — 145 of 210 line 1 Association, California Child Development Administrators line 2 Association, California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, line 3 California Child Care Coordinators Association, Infant line 4 Development Association, the Western Office of Zero to Three, line 5 L.A. Alliance, Title 5 funded providers, and private providers. line 6 SEC. 3. Section 1596.955 of the Health and Safety Code is line 7 amended to read: line 8 1596.955. (a)  The department shall develop guidelines and line 9 procedures to permit licensed child day care centers serving line 10 preschool age children to create a special program component for line 11 children between the ages of 18 months 18 and 30 months of age. line 12 This optional toddler program shall be subject to the following line 13 basic conditions: line 14 (1)  An amended application is submitted to and approved by line 15 the department. line 16 (2)  No child shall be placed in the preschool program before line 17 the age of 30 months without parental permission. A child who is line 18 more than 30 months of age may participate in the toddler program line 19 with parental permission. line 20 (3)  Parents give permission for the placement of their children line 21 in the toddler program. line 22 (4)  A ratio of six children to each teacher is maintained for all line 23 children in attendance at the toddler program. An aide who is line 24 participating in on-the-job training may be substituted for a teacher line 25 when directly supervised by a fully qualified teacher. line 26 (5)  The maximum group size, with two teachers, or one fully line 27 qualified teacher and one aide, does not exceed 12 toddlers. line 28 (6)  The toddler program is conducted in areas separate from line 29 those used by older or younger children. Plans to alternate use of line 30 outdoor play space may be approved to achieve separation. line 31 (7)  All other preschool regulations are complied with. line 32 (b)  The toddler program shall be considered an extension of the line 33 preschool license, without the need for a separate license. line 34 (c)  The department shall immediately prepare proposed line 35 regulations for public hearing which would consider the foregoing line 36 basic conditions as well as any additional health and safety line 37 safeguards deemed necessary for this age group. line 38 (d)  The guidelines in subdivision (a) shall remain in force and line 39 effect only until regulations implementing this section are adopted line 40 by the department. 98 — 10 —AB 762 146 of 210 line 1 (e)  Commencing January 1, 2016, a day care center with a line 2 toddler component pursuant to this section shall extend the toddler line 3 component to serve children between 18 months to three years of line 4 age of age. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide continuity line 5 of care to California’s children and parents in the implementation line 6 of this subdivision. line 7 (e)   line 8 (f)   This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018, line 9 and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that line 10 is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date. line 11 SEC. 4. Section 1596.956 of the Health and Safety Code is line 12 amended to read: line 13 1596.956. (a)   The department shall develop guidelines and line 14 procedures to authorize licensed child day care centers serving line 15 infants to create a special program component for children between line 16 the ages of 18 months 18 and 30 months of age. The optional line 17 toddler program shall be subject to the following basic conditions. line 18 conditions: line 19 (1)  An amended application shall be submitted to and approved line 20 by the department. line 21 (2)  No A child under the age of younger than 18 months not line 22 shall be moved into the toddler program. A child who is more line 23 older than 18 months of age shall not be required to be in the line 24 toddler program. line 25 (3)  Parents shall give permission for the placement of their line 26 children in the toddler program. line 27 (4)  A ratio of six children to each teacher shall be maintained line 28 for all children in attendance at the toddler program. An aide who line 29 is participating in on-the-job-training on-the-job training may be line 30 substituted for a teacher when directly supervised by a fully line 31 qualified teacher. line 32 (5)  The maximum group size, with two teachers, or one fully line 33 qualified teacher and one aide, shall not exceed 12 toddlers. line 34 (6)  The toddler program shall be conducted in areas separate line 35 from those used by older or younger children. Plans to alternate line 36 use of outdoor play space may be approved to achieve separation. line 37 (7)  All other infant center regulations shall be complied with. line 38 (b)  The toddler program shall be considered an extension of the line 39 infant center license, without the need for a separate license. 98 AB 762— 11 — 147 of 210 line 1 (c)  The department shall immediately prepare proposed line 2 regulations for public hearing that would consider the foregoing line 3 basic conditions as well as any additional health and safety line 4 safeguards deemed necessary for this age group. line 5 (d)  The guidelines in subdivision (a) shall remain in force and line 6 effect only until regulations implementing this section are adopted line 7 by the department. line 8 (e)  Commencing January 1, 2016, a day care center with a line 9 toddler component pursuant to this section shall extend the toddler line 10 component to serve children between 18 months to three years of line 11 age. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide continuity of care line 12 to California’s children and parents in the implementation of this line 13 subdivision. line 14 (e)   line 15 (f)   This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018, line 16 and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that line 17 is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date. line 18 SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to line 19 Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because line 20 the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school line 21 district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or line 22 infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty line 23 for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of line 24 the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within line 25 the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California line 26 Constitution. O 98 — 12 —AB 762 148 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 12. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:SB 238 (Mitchell) Foster Care: Psychotropic Medication Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-16   Referral Name: SB 238 (Mitchell) Foster Care: Psychotropic Medication  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: This bill was referred to the Legislation Committee by Assistant Director of Policy and Planning for Employment and Human Services Department, Paul Buddenhagen. Referral Update: Senate Bill (SB) 238 would enable county social workers and other key parties to provide more comprehensive oversight for children receiving child welfare services (CWS) who are prescribed psychotropic medications. This bill would require certification and training programs for group home administrators, foster parents, child welfare social workers, dependency court judges, and court appointed counsel to include training on psychotropic medication, trauma, and behavioral health, as specified, for children receiving child welfare services. This bill would require the Judicial Council to update court forms pertaining to the authorization of psychotropic medication for foster youth and ensure specified changes are made to those forms, on or before July 1, 2016. This bill would also require the California Department of Social Services to develop an individualized monthly report, a form to share information and an alert system, to be used by county child welfare agencies, regarding the administration of psychotropic medication for a foster youth.  STATUS: Introduced: 02/17/2015 Last Amend: 04/07/2015 Disposition: Pending Location: Senate Appropriations Committee BACKGROUND: In 1999, the Legislature passed SB 543 (Bowen, Ch. 552, Stats. 1999), which provided that only 149 of 210 a juvenile court judicial officer has the authority to make orders regarding the administration of psychotropic medications for foster youth. SB 543 also provided that the juvenile court may issue a specific order delegating this authority to a parent if the parent poses no danger to the child and has the capacity to authorize psychotropic medications. This legislation was passed in response to concerns that foster children were being subjected to excessive use of psychotropic medication, and that judicial oversight was needed to reduce the risk of unnecessary medication. The Judicial Council was required to adopt rules of court to implement the new requirement. Accordingly, Rule 5.640 specifies the process for juvenile courts to follow in authorizing the administration of psychotropic medications and permits courts to adopt local rules for the courts to use to further refine the approval process. In 2004, the provisions of SB 543 were amended by AB 2502 (Keene, Ch. 329, Stats. of 2004), which required a judicial officer to approve or deny, in writing, a request for authorization to administer psychotropic medication, or set the matter for hearing, within seven days. This amendment was intended to ensure timely consideration of requests for authorization to administer psychotropic medication to dependent children. Despite these measures, concerns remain that psychotropic medication is overused and underreported in the child welfare system. A recent Los Angeles Times article reported that “Los Angeles County’s 2013 accounting failed to report almost one in three cases of children on the drugs while in foster care or the custody of the delinquency system. The data show that along with the 2,300 previously acknowledged cases, an additional 540 foster children and 516 children in the delinquency system were given the drugs. There are 18,000 foster children and 1,000 youth in the juvenile delinquency system altogether. … State data analysts discovered the additional cases of medicated children by comparing case notes of social workers and probation officers with billing records for the state’s Medi-Cal system. The billing records for those additional children did not appear to have corresponding case notes, leaving child advocates concerned that the drugs may have been prescribed without appropriate approval.” The high rate of psychotropic usage is not limited to Los Angeles County – it is a national issue. Governing magazine recently noted that children in the United States are on drugs for longer and more often than kids in any other country. (Chris Kardish, Bad Medicine: How states are overmedicating low-income kids, Governing, March 2015.) Much of the concern stems from the fact that the long-term effects of psychotropic drugs on children are unknown, and the short term effects, including obesity, diabetes, and tremors, can be debilitating. Yet, many medical and child welfare professionals agree that some foster youth may benefit from these medications at some point in their lives. These children, who have suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of family, often have clinically significant emotional or behavioral problems. However, when psychotropic medications are prescribed to a foster child whose parent has been found, at least temporarily, unfit to approve the administration of the drugs, the question arises as to whether the court is capable of making the important inquiries that a parent should make before administering any medication to his or her child. This comprehensive bill seeks to address the issues related to the administration psychotropic drugs in the foster system by requiring additional training, oversight, and data collection by caregivers, courts, counties, and social workers. This bill would require the Judicial Council, in consultation with other specified groups, to implement the provisions of this bill, as specified.  CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW: 150 of 210 Existing law provides for the development of a group home administrator certification program by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) in collaboration with specified stakeholders to ensure certified persons have appropriate training to provide care and services. Existing law also requires the certification program to include a minimum of 40 hours of classroom instruction and provide coverage of a specified uniform core of knowledge. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 1522.41.) Existing law requires every licensed foster parent to complete a minimum of 12 hours of foster parent training covering specified topics prior to the placement of a foster child in the home, and eight hours each year thereafter. (Health & Saf. Code Sec. 1529.2.) Existing law requires the Judicial Council to develop and implement standards for the education and training of all judges who conduct hearings pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300, pertaining to dependent children. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 304.7.) Existing law requires court appointed counsel of a child or nonminor dependent to have specified training, promulgated by the Judicial Council as rules of the court that ensures adequate representation of the child or nonminor dependent. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 317.) Existing law provides that only a juvenile court judicial officer shall have authority to make orders regarding the administration of psychotropic medications for a minor who has been adjudged a dependent of the court and removed from the physical custody of his or her parent. Existing law also requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court and develop appropriate forms. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 369.5.) Existing law provides for the development of a statewide coordinated training program designed specifically to meet the needs of county child protective services social workers, agencies under contract with county welfare departments to provide child welfare services, and persons defined as a mandated reporter pursuant to the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act. (Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 16206.) This bill requires trainings for the following groups to additionally include the authorization, uses, risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic medication, and trauma, behavioral health, and other available behavioral health treatments, for children receiving child welfare services, including how to access those treatments:  group home administrator certification; initial pre-placement training of licensed foster parents; post training of licensed foster parents;  training required to be made available to relative and nonrelative extended family members; Judicial Council-developed training for dependency judges; training of court appointed counsel of a child or nonminor dependent; and training provided to specified county child protective services social workers, agencies under contract with county welfare departments to provide child welfare services, and persons defined as a mandated reporter pursuant to the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act. This bill would require the above implementation and updates to ensure the following:  the child and his or her caregiver and court-appointed special advocate, if any, have a meaningful opportunity to provide input on the medications being prescribed; information regarding the child’s overall behavioral health assessment and treatment plan is 151 of 210 information regarding the child’s overall behavioral health assessment and treatment plan is provided to the court; information regarding the rationale for the proposed medication, including information on other pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments that have been utilized and the child’s response, and an explanation how the psychotropic medication being prescribed is expected to improve the symptoms; and guidance is provided to the court on how to evaluate the request for authorization, including how to proceed if information, otherwise required to be included in a request for authorization, is not included in a request. This bill would require CDSS, in consultation with DHCS, the County Welfare Directors Association (CDWA) and other stakeholders to develop and provide an individualized monthly report to each county child welfare services agency that includes the following for each child receiving child welfare services:  psychotropic medications that have been authorized for the child by the court; data for medications that have been dispensed to the child, including both psychotropic and non-psychotropic medication; durational information relating to the child’s authorized psychotropic medication, including, but not limited to, the length of time a medication has been authorized and the length of time for which a medication has been dispensed by a pharmacy; claims paid for behavioral health services provided to the child, other than claims paid for psychotropic medication; and the dosages of psychotropic medications that have been authorized for the child and that have been dispensed. This bill would require CDSS, in consultation with DHCS, CDWA and other stakeholders, to develop a form, to be used by a county child welfare services agency on a monthly basis, to share with the juvenile court, the child’s attorney, and the court-appointed special advocate, if one has been appointed, the above information regarding a child receiving child welfare services authorized to receive one or more psychotropic medication. This bill would require CDSS in consultation with DHCS, CDWA and other stakeholders to develop, or ensure access to, a system that automatically alerts a social worker of a child receiving child welfare services when psychotropic medication has been prescribed that fits the following descriptions:  is prescribed in combination with another psychotropic medication and the combination is unusual or has the potential for a dangerous interaction; is prescribed in a dosage that is unusual for a child of that age; and is not typically indicated for a child of that age. This bill would require a child’s social worker, upon receipt of an alert, to indicate to the court that the alert has been received by the child’s attorney, the child’s caregiver, and the child’s court appointed special advocate, if one has been appointed, and to include a discussion of the resolution of the alert in the next court report filed. COMMENT: 1. Stated need for the bill According to the author: Recent newspaper articles have highlighted the use and overuse of psychotropic medications in 152 of 210 Recent newspaper articles have highlighted the use and overuse of psychotropic medications in foster care facilities. Reports provided by the Department of Health Care Services and the Department of Social Services are limited in providing needed information to determine how psychotropic medicine is being provided and distributed. The goal of this legislation is to develop and review data, to develop a system of flags, to improve county reporting and to establish further consultation/second opinion options for cases in which psychotropic medications and/or antidepressants are being prescribed for a foster youth. 2. Better monitoring of psychotropic medication in foster care Under existing law, only the court may authorize the use of psychotropic medication for any child in the dependency system. Rules of Court require the prescribing physician to complete and submit an application to the court, known as the “JV-220” form. The JV-220 requires the inclusion of specific information, including: (1) the child’s diagnosis; (2) the specific medication with the recommended maximum daily dosage and length of time this course of treatment will continue; (3) the anticipated benefits to the child from the use of the medication; (4) a list of any other medications, prescription or otherwise, that the child is currently taking, and a description of any effect these medications may produce in combination with the psychotropic medication; and (5) a statement that the child has been informed in an age-appropriate manner of the recommended course of treatment, the basis for it, and its possible results. The court is required, upon review of the JV-220, to deny, grant, or modify the application for authorization of psychotropic medication within seven days, or to set the matter for hearing. The court may also set a date for review of the child’s progress and condition. (See Cal. Rule Ct. Sec. 5.640 and Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 369.5.) Supporters of this bill argue that courts are often not being provided with the full story. Upon reviewing a JV-220, a judge may have no indication that the child is already on psychotropic medication, what a proper dosage for a child is, or what less invasive alternatives are available. Supporters further assert that the existing rule, which sets arguably loose parameters and includes no considerations that the court must take into account when evaluating a JV-220, is too broad for judges and courts that may lack the tools to properly evaluate medical recommendations and are overburdened with unmanageable caseloads. In addition, the current process does not offer any meaningful way for other adults, caretakers, or those who interact with a foster child on a regular basis, to contribute information to a physician’s recommendation. Accordingly, this bill would ensure that a child, his or her caregiver, and his or her court appointed special advocate have an opportunity to provide input to the court on the medications being prescribed. This bill would further require that the court is provided with the tools to properly analyze the authorization request, and that the court monitor the child’s progress by way of periodic oversight facilitated by the social worker, public health nurse, or other appropriate county staff. The County Welfare Directors Association, a sponsor of the bill, states that “recent reports indicating that psychotropic medications are over-prescribed in the child welfare system have prompted a needed look at the procedures by which those medications are authorized and overseen. The children we serve have experienced severe trauma that often warrants behavioral health services such as trauma-informed therapy and other targeted treatments. We believe it is appropriate for some children to receive medication, when thoughtfully prescribed as part of an overall treatment plan that includes non-pharmacological interventions, as well. With those medications, however, must come oversight to ensure that the treatment plan is in place and that children are responding well 153 of 210 come oversight to ensure that the treatment plan is in place and that children are responding well to the authorized medications.” 3. Training and education on psychotropic medication for those adults who are entrusted with the safety and care of foster youth This bill would require the adults who provide care, protection, and services to foster children to receive training on the “authorization, uses, risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic medication, and trauma, behavioral health, and other available behavioral health treatments, for children receiving child welfare services, including how to access those treatments.” The Youth Law Center agrees that this training is essential, and writes that they would support this bill if it were extended to include probation youth as well. These adults, including, foster parents, relative and nonrelative extended family members, juvenile court judges, minor’s counsel, and specified social workers, are in a unique position to recognize and advocate for a child’s best interest. With the proper training, these adults may be able to recognize when a child is not responding properly to medication, and provide valuable information to assist the court in the oversight of a child’s treatment plan. Thus, the court will not be forced to rely on the opinion of the prescribing physician alone. This required education and training on the risks and uses of psychotropic drugs would arguably help the adults in a foster child’s life better assist the youth in achieving behavioral and emotional health.  Support: Advokids; Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance; California Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); California State Association of Counties; Children’s Advocacy Institute; Children’s Law Center; Dependency Legal Group of San Diego; First Focus Campaign for Children; Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration; John Burton Foundation; Legal Advocates for Children and Youth; National Center for Youth Law; Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services; Public Counsel’s Children’s Rights Project; Urban Counties Caucus; 6 individuals Opposition: None Known HISTORY: Source: County Welfare Directors Association of California Related Pending Legislation: SB 253 (Monning) provides that an order of the juvenile court authorizing psychotropic medication shall require clear and convincing evidence of specified conditions. Furthermore this bill prohibits the authorization of psychotropic medications without a second independent medical opinion under specified circumstances. It also prohibits the authorization of psychotropic medications unless the court is provided documentation that appropriate lab screenings, measurements, or tests have been completed, as specified. Furthermore it requires the court, no later than 45 days following an authorization for psychotropic medication, to conduct a review to determine specified information regarding the efficacy of the child’s treatment plan. SB 484 (Beall) requires the CDSS to publish and make available to interested persons specified information regarding the administration of psychotropic medication in residential facilities 154 of 210 serving dependent children. Additionally, it requires CDSS to inspect facilities at least once per year, as specified, if the facility is determined to have a higher than average rate of psychotropic medication authorization for children residing in the facility and to monitor corrective action plans, as specified. SB 319 (Beall) expands the duties of the foster care public health nurse to include monitoring and oversight of the administration of psychotropic medication to foster children, as specified. It also requires counties to provide child welfare public health nursing services by contracting with the community child health and disability prevention program established by the county. Prior Legislation: AB 3015 (Brownley, Chapter 557, Statutes of 2008) required training programs for group home administrators, licensed foster parents and relative caretakers to include basic instruction on the safety of foster youth at school and school environment antiharassment protections. AB 2675 (Strickland, Chapter 421, Statutes of 2006) permitted no more than half of the required 40-hour continuing education requirement to be satisfied through online courses. AB 458 (Chu, Chapter 331, Statutes of 2003) established and required provider training regarding the right of foster children to fair and equal access to all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, mental or physical disability, or HIV status. AB 1694 (Committee on Human Services, Chapter 918, Statutes of 2002) required California Community Colleges that provide foster parent training programs to make those programs available to non-relative extended family members. AB 2307 (Davis, Chapter 745, Statutes of 2000) required California Community Colleges that provide foster parent training programs to make those programs available to relative and kinship care providers. SB 543 (Bowen, Chapter 552, Statutes of 1999) mandated that once a child has been adjudged a dependent of the state only the court may authorize psychotropic medications for the child, based on a request from a physician including specified information. AB 3062 (Friedman, Chapter 1016, Statutes of 1996) mandated all foster parents to obtain pre-placement and post-placement training. Prior Vote : Senate Human Services Committee (Ayes 5, Noes 0) Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): CONSIDER recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of Supervisors for SB 238 (Mitchell) Foster Care: Psychotropic Medication. Attachments Bill Text 155 of 210 Co-Sponsor Letter from CWDA 156 of 210 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2015 SENATE BILL No. 238 Introduced by Senators Mitchell and Beall (Coauthor: Assembly Member Chiu) February 17, 2015 An act to amend Sections 1522.41 and 1529.2 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Sections 304.7, 317, 369.5, 16003, and 16206 of, and to add Section 16501.4 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care. legislative counsel’s digest SB 238, as amended, Mitchell. Foster care: psychotropic medication. Existing law authorizes only a juvenile court judicial officer to make orders regarding the administration of psychotropic medications for a dependent child or a ward who has been removed from the physical custody of his or her parent. Existing law requires the court authorization for the administration of psychotropic medication to be based on a request from a physician, indicating the reasons for the request, a description of the child’s or ward’s diagnosis and behavior, the expected results of the medication, and a description of any side effects of the medication. Existing law requires the officer to approve or deny the request for authorization to administer psychotropic medication, or set the matter for hearing, as specified, within 7 court days. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court and develop appropriate forms for the implementation of these provisions. This bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2016, to, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Care Services, and stakeholders, develop 97 157 of 210 updates to the implementation of these provisions with regard to dependent children and related forms. The bill would require the updates to ensure, among other things, that the child and his or her caregiver and court-appointed special advocate, if any, have an a meaningful opportunity to provide input on the medications being prescribed, and would require the updates to include a process for periodic oversight by the court of orders regarding the administration of psychotropic medications. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2016, to adopt or amend rules of court and forms to implement the updates. This bill would also require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with specified parties, to develop and provide a monthly report to each county child welfare services agency, and would require this report to include specified information regarding each child receiving services from the county child welfare services agency and for whom one or more psychotropic medications have been authorized, including, among others things, the psychotropic medications that have been authorized for the child. The bill would also require a county child welfare agency to provide, share, on a monthly basis, to with the juvenile court, the child’s attorney, and the child’s court-appointed special advocate, if one has been appointed, specified information regarding a an individual child receiving child welfare services, including, among other things, the psychotropic medications that have been authorized for the child. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with specified parties, to develop, or ensure access to, a system that automatically alerts a child’s social worker when psychotropic medication has been prescribed that fits certain descriptions, and would require the social worker to take specified actions upon receipt of an alert from that system. By imposing additional duties on social workers and county child welfare agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires certain individuals involved in the care and oversight of dependent children, including group home administrators, foster parents, relative caregivers, nonrelative extended family member caregivers, social workers, judges, and attorneys, to receive training on various topics. This bill would require the training to include training on the authorization for administration, authorization, uses, risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, and other available mental 97 — 2 —SB 238 158 of 210 behavioral health treatments, for those children. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with specified parties, to develop training that may be used for these purposes. By imposing additional training requirements on social workers, 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. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. Section 1522.41 of the Health and Safety Code line 2 is amended to read: line 3 1522.41. (a)  The director, in consultation and collaboration line 4 with county placement officials, group home provider line 5 organizations, the Director of Health Care Services, and the line 6 Director of Developmental Services, shall develop and establish line 7 a certification program to ensure that administrators of group home line 8 facilities have appropriate training to provide the care and services line 9 for which a license or certificate is issued. line 10 (b)  (1)  In addition to any other requirements or qualifications line 11 required by the department, an administrator of a group home line 12 facility shall successfully complete a department-approved line 13 certification program, pursuant to subdivision (c), prior to line 14 employment. An administrator employed in a group home on the line 15 effective date of this section shall meet the requirements of line 16 paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). line 17 (2)  In those cases when the individual is both the licensee and line 18 the administrator of a facility, the individual shall comply with all line 19 of the licensee and administrator requirements of this section. line 20 (3)  Failure to comply with this section shall constitute cause for line 21 revocation of the license of the facility. line 22 (4)  The licensee shall notify the department within 10 days of line 23 any change in administrators. line 24 (c)  (1)  The administrator certification programs shall require line 25 a minimum of 40 hours of classroom instruction that provides 97 SB 238— 3 — 159 of 210 line 1 training on a uniform core of knowledge in each of the following line 2 areas: line 3 (A)  Laws, regulations, and policies and procedural standards line 4 that impact the operations of the type of facility for which the line 5 applicant will be an administrator. line 6 (B)  Business operations. line 7 (C)  Management and supervision of staff. line 8 (D)  Psychosocial and educational needs of the facility residents, line 9 including, but not limited to, the authorization for administration, line 10 authorization, uses, risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and line 11 monitoring of psychotropic medications, and trauma, mental line 12 behavioral health, and other available mental behavioral health line 13 treatments, for children receiving child welfare services. services, line 14 including how to access those treatments. line 15 (E)  Community and support services. line 16 (F)  Physical needs for facility residents. line 17 (G)  Administration, storage, misuse, and interaction of line 18 medication used by facility residents. line 19 (H)  Resident admission, retention, and assessment procedures, line 20 including the right of a foster child to have fair and equal access line 21 to all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, line 22 and to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the line 23 basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, line 24 ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, line 25 gender identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status. line 26 (I)  Instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating line 27 to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, line 28 bisexual, and transgender youth in out-of-home care. line 29 (J)  Nonviolent emergency intervention and reporting line 30 requirements. line 31 (K)  Basic instruction on the existing laws and procedures line 32 regarding the safety of foster youth at school and the ensuring of line 33 a harassment- and violence-free school environment contained in line 34 the School Safety and Violence Prevention Act (Article 3.6 line 35 (commencing with Section 32228) of Chapter 2 of Part 19 of line 36 Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code). line 37 (2)  The department shall adopt separate program requirements line 38 for initial certification for persons who are employed as group line 39 home administrators on the effective date of this section. A person line 40 employed as an administrator of a group home facility on the 97 — 4 —SB 238 160 of 210 line 1 effective date of this section shall obtain a certificate by completing line 2 the training and testing requirements imposed by the department line 3 within 12 months of the effective date of the regulations line 4 implementing this section. After the effective date of this section, line 5 these administrators shall meet the requirements imposed by the line 6 department on all other group home administrators for certificate line 7 renewal. line 8 (3)  Individuals applying for certification under this section shall line 9 successfully complete an approved certification program, pass a line 10 written test administered by the department within 60 days of line 11 completing the program, and submit to the department the line 12 documentation required by subdivision (d) within 30 days after line 13 being notified of having passed the test. The department may line 14 extend these time deadlines for good cause. The department shall line 15 notify the applicant of his or her test results within 30 days of line 16 administering the test. line 17 (d)  The department shall not begin the process of issuing a line 18 certificate until receipt of all of the following: line 19 (1)  A certificate of completion of the administrator training line 20 required pursuant to this chapter. line 21 (2)  The fee required for issuance of the certificate. A fee of one line 22 hundred dollars ($100) shall be charged by the department to cover line 23 the costs of processing the application for certification. line 24 (3)  Documentation from the applicant that he or she has passed line 25 the written test. line 26 (4)  Submission of fingerprints pursuant to Section 1522. The line 27 department may waive the submission for those persons who have line 28 a current clearance on file. line 29 (5)  That person is at least 21 years of age. line 30 (e)  It shall be unlawful for any person not certified under this line 31 section to hold himself or herself out as a certified administrator line 32 of a group home facility. Any person willfully making any false line 33 representation as being a certified administrator or facility manager line 34 is guilty of a misdemeanor. line 35 (f)  (1)  Certificates issued under this section shall be renewed line 36 every two years and renewal shall be conditional upon the line 37 certificate holder submitting documentation of completion of 40 line 38 hours of continuing education related to the core of knowledge line 39 specified in subdivision (c). No more than one-half of the required line 40 40 hours of continuing education necessary to renew the certificate 97 SB 238— 5 — 161 of 210 line 1 may be satisfied through online courses. All other continuing line 2 education hours shall be completed in a classroom setting. For line 3 purposes of this section, an individual who is a group home facility line 4 administrator and who is required to complete the continuing line 5 education hours required by the regulations of the State Department line 6 of Developmental Services, and approved by the regional center, line 7 may have up to 24 of the required continuing education course line 8 hours credited toward the 40-hour continuing education line 9 requirement of this section. Community college course hours line 10 approved by the regional centers shall be accepted by the line 11 department for certification. line 12 (2)  Every administrator of a group home facility shall complete line 13 the continuing education requirements of this subdivision. line 14 (3)  Certificates issued under this section shall expire every two line 15 years on the anniversary date of the initial issuance of the line 16 certificate, except that any administrator receiving his or her initial line 17 certification on or after July 1, 1999, shall make an irrevocable line 18 election to have his or her recertification date for any subsequent line 19 recertification either on the date two years from the date of issuance line 20 of the certificate or on the individual’s birthday during the second line 21 calendar year following certification. The department shall send line 22 a renewal notice to the certificate holder 90 days prior to the line 23 expiration date of the certificate. If the certificate is not renewed line 24 prior to its expiration date, reinstatement shall only be permitted line 25 after the certificate holder has paid a delinquency fee equal to three line 26 times the renewal fee and has provided evidence of completion of line 27 the continuing education required. line 28 (4)  To renew a certificate, the certificate holder shall, on or line 29 before the certificate expiration date, request renewal by submitting line 30 to the department documentation of completion of the required line 31 continuing education courses and pay the renewal fee of one line 32 hundred dollars ($100), irrespective of receipt of the department’s line 33 notification of the renewal. A renewal request postmarked on or line 34 before the expiration of the certificate shall be proof of compliance line 35 with this paragraph. line 36 (5)  A suspended or revoked certificate shall be subject to line 37 expiration as provided for in this section. If reinstatement of the line 38 certificate is approved by the department, the certificate holder, line 39 as a condition precedent to reinstatement, shall submit proof of line 40 compliance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (f), and 97 — 6 —SB 238 162 of 210 line 1 shall pay a fee in an amount equal to the renewal fee, plus the line 2 delinquency fee, if any, accrued at the time of its revocation or line 3 suspension. Delinquency fees, if any, accrued subsequent to the line 4 time of its revocation or suspension and prior to an order for line 5 reinstatement, shall be waived for a period of 12 months to allow line 6 the individual sufficient time to complete the required continuing line 7 education units and to submit the required documentation. line 8 Individuals whose certificates will expire within 90 days after the line 9 order for reinstatement may be granted a three-month extension line 10 to renew their certificates during which time the delinquency fees line 11 shall not accrue. line 12 (6)  A certificate that is not renewed within four years after its line 13 expiration shall not be renewed, restored, reissued, or reinstated line 14 except upon completion of a certification training program, passing line 15 any test that may be required of an applicant for a new certificate line 16 at that time, and paying the appropriate fees provided for in this line 17 section. line 18 (7)  A fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) shall be charged for the line 19 reissuance of a lost certificate. line 20 (8)  A certificate holder shall inform the department of his or line 21 her employment status and change of mailing address within 30 line 22 days of any change. line 23 (g)  Unless otherwise ordered by the department, the certificate line 24 shall be considered forfeited under either of the following line 25 conditions: line 26 (1)  The department has revoked any license held by the line 27 administrator after the department issued the certificate. line 28 (2)  The department has issued an exclusion order against the line 29 administrator pursuant to Section 1558, 1568.092, 1569.58, or line 30 1596.8897, after the department issued the certificate, and the line 31 administrator did not appeal the exclusion order or, after the appeal, line 32 the department issued a decision and order that upheld the line 33 exclusion order. line 34 (h)  (1)  The department, in consultation and collaboration with line 35 county placement officials, provider organizations, the State line 36 Department of Health Care Services, and the State Department of line 37 Developmental Services, shall establish, by regulation, the program line 38 content, the testing instrument, the process for approving line 39 certification training programs, and criteria to be used in line 40 authorizing individuals, organizations, or educational institutions 97 SB 238— 7 — 163 of 210 line 1 to conduct certification training programs and continuing education line 2 courses. The department may also grant continuing education hours line 3 for continuing courses offered by accredited educational institutions line 4 that are consistent with the requirements in this section. The line 5 department may deny vendor approval to any agency or person in line 6 any of the following circumstances: line 7 (A)  The applicant has not provided the department with evidence line 8 satisfactory to the department of the ability of the applicant to line 9 satisfy the requirements of vendorization set out in the regulations line 10 adopted by the department pursuant to subdivision (j). line 11 (B)  The applicant person or agency has a conflict of interest in line 12 that the person or agency places its clients in group home facilities. line 13 (C)  The applicant public or private agency has a conflict of line 14 interest in that the agency is mandated to place clients in group line 15 homes and to pay directly for the services. The department may line 16 deny vendorization to this type of agency only as long as there are line 17 other vendor programs available to conduct the certification line 18 training programs and conduct education courses. line 19 (2)  The department may authorize vendors to conduct the line 20 administrator’s certification training program pursuant to this line 21 section. The department shall conduct the written test pursuant to line 22 regulations adopted by the department. line 23 (3)  The department shall prepare and maintain an updated list line 24 of approved training vendors. line 25 (4)  The department may inspect certification training programs line 26 and continuing education courses, including online courses, at no line 27 charge to the department, to determine if content and teaching line 28 methods comply with regulations. If the department determines line 29 that any vendor is not complying with the requirements of this line 30 section, the department shall take appropriate action to bring the line 31 program into compliance, which may include removing the vendor line 32 from the approved list. line 33 (5)  The department shall establish reasonable procedures and line 34 timeframes not to exceed 30 days for the approval of vendor line 35 training programs. line 36 (6)  The department may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed line 37 one hundred fifty dollars ($150) every two years, to certification line 38 program vendors for review and approval of the initial 40-hour line 39 training program pursuant to subdivision (c). The department may line 40 also charge the vendor a fee, not to exceed one hundred dollars 97 — 8 —SB 238 164 of 210 line 1 ($100) every two years, for the review and approval of the line 2 continuing education courses needed for recertification pursuant line 3 to this subdivision. line 4 (7)  (A)  A vendor of online programs for continuing education line 5 shall ensure that each online course contains all of the following: line 6 (i)  An interactive portion in which the participant receives line 7 feedback, through online communication, based on input from the line 8 participant. line 9 (ii)  Required use of a personal identification number or personal line 10 identification information to confirm the identity of the participant. line 11 (iii)  A final screen displaying a printable statement, to be signed line 12 by the participant, certifying that the identified participant line 13 completed the course. The vendor shall obtain a copy of the final line 14 screen statement with the original signature of the participant prior line 15 to the issuance of a certificate of completion. The signed statement line 16 of completion shall be maintained by the vendor for a period of line 17 three years and be available to the department upon demand. Any line 18 person who certifies as true any material matter pursuant to this line 19 clause that he or she knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor. line 20 (B)  Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit the department line 21 from approving online programs for continuing education that do line 22 not meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) if the vendor line 23 demonstrates to the department’s satisfaction that, through line 24 advanced technology, the course and the course delivery meet the line 25 requirements of this section. line 26 (i)  The department shall establish a registry for holders of line 27 certificates that shall include, at a minimum, information on line 28 employment status and criminal record clearance. line 29 (j)  Subdivisions (b) to (i), inclusive, shall be implemented upon line 30 regulations being adopted by the department, by January 1, 2000. line 31 (k)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, vendors approved line 32 by the department who exclusively provide either initial or line 33 continuing education courses for certification of administrators of line 34 a group home facility as defined by regulations of the department, line 35 an adult residential facility as defined by regulations of the line 36 department, or a residential care facility for the elderly as defined line 37 in subdivision (k) of Section 1569.2, shall be regulated solely by line 38 the department pursuant to this chapter. No other state or local line 39 governmental entity shall be responsible for regulating the activity line 40 of those vendors. 97 SB 238— 9 — 165 of 210 line 1 SEC. 2. Section 1529.2 of the Health and Safety Code is line 2 amended to read: line 3 1529.2. (a)  In addition to the foster parent training provided line 4 by community colleges, foster family agencies shall provide a line 5 program of training for their certified foster families. line 6 (b)  (1)  Every licensed foster parent shall complete a minimum line 7 of 12 hours of foster parent training, as prescribed in paragraph line 8 (3), before the placement of any foster children with the foster line 9 parent. In addition, a foster parent shall complete a minimum of line 10 eight hours of foster parent training annually, as prescribed in line 11 paragraph (4). No child shall be placed in a foster family home line 12 unless these requirements are met by the persons in the home who line 13 are serving as the foster parents. line 14 (2)  (A)  Upon the request of the foster parent for a hardship line 15 waiver from the postplacement training requirement or a request line 16 for an extension of the deadline, the county may, at its option, on line 17 a case-by-case basis, waive the postplacement training requirement line 18 or extend any established deadline for a period not to exceed one line 19 year, if the postplacement training requirement presents a severe line 20 and unavoidable obstacle to continuing as a foster parent. Obstacles line 21 for which a county may grant a hardship waiver or extension are: line 22 (i)  Lack of access to training due to the cost or travel required. line 23 (ii)  Family emergency. line 24 (B)  Before a waiver or extension may be granted, the foster line 25 parent should explore the opportunity of receiving training by line 26 video or written materials. line 27 (3)  The initial preplacement training shall include, but not be line 28 limited to, training courses that cover all of the following: line 29 (A)  An overview of the child protective system. line 30 (B)  The effects of child abuse and neglect on child development. line 31 (C)  Positive discipline and the importance of self-esteem. line 32 (D)  Health issues in foster care, including, but not limited to, line 33 the authorization for administration, authorization, uses, risks, line 34 benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic line 35 medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, and other line 36 available mental behavioral health treatments, for children line 37 receiving child welfare services. services, including how to access line 38 those treatments. line 39 (E)  Accessing education and health services available to foster line 40 children. 97 — 10 —SB 238 166 of 210 line 1 (F)  The right of a foster child to have fair and equal access to line 2 all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and line 3 to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis line 4 of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, line 5 national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender line 6 identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status. line 7 (G)  Instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating line 8 to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, line 9 bisexual, and transgender youth in out-of-home care. line 10 (H)  Basic instruction on the existing laws and procedures line 11 regarding the safety of foster youth at school and the ensuring of line 12 a harassment and violence free school environment contained in line 13 the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 line 14 (Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 32228) of Chapter 2 of line 15 Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code). line 16 (4)  The postplacement annual training shall include, but not be line 17 limited to, training courses that cover all of the following: line 18 (A)  Age-appropriate child development. line 19 (B)  Health issues in foster care, including, but not limited to, line 20 the authorization for administration, authorization, uses, risks, line 21 benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic line 22 medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, and other line 23 available mental behavioral health treatments, for children line 24 receiving child welfare services. services, including how to access line 25 those treatments. line 26 (C)  Positive discipline and the importance of self-esteem. line 27 (D)  Emancipation and independent living skills if a foster parent line 28 is caring for youth. line 29 (E)  The right of a foster child to have fair and equal access to line 30 all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and line 31 to not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis line 32 of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, line 33 national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender line 34 identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status. line 35 (F)  Instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating line 36 to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, line 37 bisexual, and transgender youth in out-of-home care. line 38 (5)  Foster parent training may be attained through a variety of line 39 sources, including community colleges, counties, hospitals, foster 97 SB 238— 11 — 167 of 210 line 1 parent associations, the California State Foster Parent Association’s line 2 Conference, adult schools, and certified foster parent instructors. line 3 (6)  A candidate for placement of foster children shall submit a line 4 certificate of training to document completion of the training line 5 requirements. The certificate shall be submitted with the initial line 6 consideration for placements and provided at the time of the annual line 7 visit by the licensing agency thereafter. line 8 (c)  Nothing in this section shall preclude a county from requiring line 9 county-provided preplacement or postplacement foster parent line 10 training in excess of the requirements in this section. line 11 SEC. 3. Section 304.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is line 12 amended to read: line 13 304.7. (a)  The Judicial Council shall develop and implement line 14 standards for the education and training of all judges who conduct line 15 hearings pursuant to Section 300. The training shall include, but line 16 not be limited to, all of the following: line 17 (1)  A component relating to Section 300 proceedings for newly line 18 appointed or elected judges and an annual training session in line 19 Section 300 proceedings. line 20 (2)  Cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best line 21 practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, line 22 and transgender youth. line 23 (3)  The authorization for administration, authorization, uses, line 24 risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of line 25 psychotropic medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, line 26 and other available mental behavioral health treatments, for line 27 children receiving child welfare services. services, including how line 28 to access those treatments. line 29 (b)  A commissioner or referee who is assigned to conduct line 30 hearings held pursuant to Section 300 shall meet the minimum line 31 standards for education and training established pursuant to line 32 subdivision (a), by July 31, 1998. line 33 (c)  The Judicial Council shall submit an annual report to the line 34 Legislature on compliance by judges, commissioners, and referees line 35 with the education and training standards described in subdivisions line 36 (a) and (b). line 37 SEC. 4. Section 317 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is line 38 amended to read: line 39 317. (a)  (1)  When it appears to the court that a parent or line 40 guardian of the child desires counsel but is presently financially 97 — 12 —SB 238 168 of 210 line 1 unable to afford and cannot for that reason employ counsel, the line 2 court may appoint counsel as provided in this section. line 3 (2)  When it appears to the court that a parent or Indian custodian line 4 in an Indian child custody proceeding desires counsel but is line 5 presently unable to afford and cannot for that reason employ line 6 counsel, the provisions of Section 1912(b) of Title 25 of the United line 7 States Code and Section 23.13 of Title 25 of the Code of Federal line 8 Regulations shall apply. line 9 (b)  When it appears to the court that a parent or guardian of the line 10 child is presently financially unable to afford and cannot for that line 11 reason employ counsel, and the child has been placed in line 12 out-of-home care, or the petitioning agency is recommending that line 13 the child be placed in out-of-home care, the court shall appoint line 14 counsel for the parent or guardian, unless the court finds that the line 15 parent or guardian has made a knowing and intelligent waiver of line 16 counsel as provided in this section. line 17 (c)  (1)  If a child or nonminor dependent is not represented by line 18 counsel, the court shall appoint counsel for the child or nonminor line 19 dependent, unless the court finds that the child or nonminor line 20 dependent would not benefit from the appointment of counsel. The line 21 court shall state on the record its reasons for that finding. line 22 (2)  A primary responsibility of counsel appointed to represent line 23 a child or nonminor dependent pursuant to this section shall be to line 24 advocate for the protection, safety, and physical and emotional line 25 well-being of the child or nonminor dependent. line 26 (3)  Counsel may be a district attorney, public defender, or other line 27 member of the bar, provided that he or she does not represent line 28 another party or county agency whose interests conflict with the line 29 child’s or nonminor dependent’s interests. The fact that the district line 30 attorney represents the child or nonminor dependent in a line 31 proceeding pursuant to Section 300 as well as conducts a criminal line 32 investigation or files a criminal complaint or information arising line 33 from the same or reasonably related set of facts as the proceeding line 34 pursuant to Section 300 is not in and of itself a conflict of interest. line 35 (4)  The court may fix the compensation for the services of line 36 appointed counsel. line 37 (5)  (A)  The appointed counsel shall have a caseload and training line 38 that ensures adequate representation of the child or nonminor line 39 dependent. The Judicial Council shall promulgate rules of court line 40 that establish caseload standards, training requirements, and 97 SB 238— 13 — 169 of 210 line 1 guidelines for appointed counsel for children and shall adopt rules line 2 as required by Section 326.5 no later than July 1, 2001. line 3 (B)  The training requirements imposed pursuant to subparagraph line 4 (A) shall include instruction on both of the following: line 5 (i)  Cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best line 6 practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, bisexual, line 7 and transgender youth in out-of-home care. line 8 (ii)  The authorization for administration, authorization, uses, line 9 risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of line 10 psychotropic medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, line 11 and other available mental behavioral health treatments, for line 12 children receiving child welfare services. services, including how line 13 to access those treatments. line 14 (d)  Counsel shall represent the parent, guardian, child, or line 15 nonminor dependent at the detention hearing and at all subsequent line 16 proceedings before the juvenile court. Counsel shall continue to line 17 represent the parent, guardian, child, or nonminor dependent unless line 18 relieved by the court upon the substitution of other counsel or for line 19 cause. The representation shall include representing the parent, line 20 guardian, or the child in termination proceedings and in those line 21 proceedings relating to the institution or setting aside of a legal line 22 guardianship. On and after January 1, 2012, in the case of a line 23 nonminor dependent, as described in subdivision (v) of Section line 24 11400, no representation by counsel shall be provided for a parent, line 25 unless the parent is receiving court-ordered family reunification line 26 services. line 27 (e)  (1)  Counsel shall be charged in general with the line 28 representation of the child’s interests. To that end, counsel shall line 29 make or cause to have made any further investigations that he or line 30 she deems in good faith to be reasonably necessary to ascertain line 31 the facts, including the interviewing of witnesses, and shall line 32 examine and cross-examine witnesses in both the adjudicatory and line 33 dispositional hearings. Counsel may also introduce and examine line 34 his or her own witnesses, make recommendations to the court line 35 concerning the child’s welfare, and participate further in the line 36 proceedings to the degree necessary to adequately represent the line 37 child. When counsel is appointed to represent a nonminor line 38 dependent, counsel is charged with representing the wishes of the line 39 nonminor dependent except when advocating for those wishes line 40 conflicts with the protection or safety of the nonminor dependent. 97 — 14 —SB 238 170 of 210 line 1 If the court finds that a nonminor dependent is not competent to line 2 direct counsel, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the line 3 nonminor dependent. line 4 (2)  If the child is four years of age or older, counsel shall line 5 interview the child to determine the child’s wishes and assess the line 6 child’s well-being, and shall advise the court of the child’s wishes. line 7 Counsel shall not advocate for the return of the child if, to the best line 8 of his or her knowledge, return of the child conflicts with the line 9 protection and safety of the child. line 10 (3)  Counsel shall investigate the interests of the child beyond line 11 the scope of the juvenile proceeding, and report to the court other line 12 interests of the child that may need to be protected by the institution line 13 of other administrative or judicial proceedings. Counsel line 14 representing a child in a dependency proceeding is not required to line 15 assume the responsibilities of a social worker, and is not expected line 16 to provide nonlegal services to the child. line 17 (4)  (A)  At least once every year, if the list of educational line 18 liaisons is available on the Internet Web site for the State line 19 Department of Education, both of the following shall apply: line 20 (i)  Counsel shall provide his or her contact information to the line 21 educational liaison, as described in subdivision (b) of Section line 22 48853.5 of the Education Code, of each local educational agency line 23 serving counsel’s foster child clients in the county of jurisdiction. line 24 (ii)  If counsel is part of a firm or organization representing foster line 25 children, the firm or organization may provide its contact line 26 information in lieu of contact information for the individual line 27 counsel. The firm or organization may designate a person or line 28 persons within the firm or organization to receive communications line 29 from educational liaisons. line 30 (B)  The child’s caregiver or other person holding the right to line 31 make educational decisions for the child may provide the contact line 32 information of the child’s attorney to the child’s local educational line 33 agency. line 34 (C)  Counsel for the child and counsel’s agent may, but are not line 35 required to, disclose to an individual who is being assessed for the line 36 possibility of placement pursuant to Section 361.3 the fact that the line 37 child is in custody, the alleged reasons that the child is in custody, line 38 and the projected likely date for the child’s return home, placement line 39 for adoption, or legal guardianship. Nothing in this paragraph shall 97 SB 238— 15 — 171 of 210 line 1 be construed to prohibit counsel from making other disclosures line 2 pursuant to this subdivision, as appropriate. line 3 (5)  Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to permit line 4 counsel to violate a child’s attorney-client privilege. line 5 (6)  The changes made to this subdivision during the 2011–12 line 6 Regular Session of the Legislature by the act adding subparagraph line 7 (C) of paragraph (4) and paragraph (5) are declaratory of existing line 8 law. line 9 (7)  The court shall take whatever appropriate action is necessary line 10 to fully protect the interests of the child. line 11 (f)  Either the child or counsel for the child, with the informed line 12 consent of the child if the child is found by the court to be of line 13 sufficient age and maturity to consent, which shall be presumed, line 14 subject to rebuttal by clear and convincing evidence, if the child line 15 is over 12 years of age, may invoke the psychotherapist-client line 16 privilege, physician-patient privilege, and clergyman-penitent line 17 privilege. If the child invokes the privilege, counsel may not waive line 18 it, but if counsel invokes the privilege, the child may waive it. line 19 Counsel shall be the holder of these privileges if the child is found line 20 by the court not to be of sufficient age and maturity to consent. line 21 For the sole purpose of fulfilling his or her obligation to provide line 22 legal representation of the child, counsel shall have access to all line 23 records with regard to the child maintained by a health care facility, line 24 as defined in Section 1545 of the Penal Code, health care providers, line 25 as defined in Section 6146 of the Business and Professions Code, line 26 a physician and surgeon or other health practitioner, as defined in line 27 former Section 11165.8 of the Penal Code, as that section read on line 28 January 1, 2000, or a child care custodian, as defined in former line 29 Section 11165.7 of the Penal Code, as that section read on January line 30 1, 2000. Notwithstanding any other law, counsel shall be given line 31 access to all records relevant to the case that are maintained by line 32 state or local public agencies. All information requested from a line 33 child protective agency regarding a child who is in protective line 34 custody, or from a child’s guardian ad litem, shall be provided to line 35 the child’s counsel within 30 days of the request. line 36 (g)  In a county of the third class, if counsel is to be provided to line 37 a child at the county’s expense other than by counsel for the line 38 agency, the court shall first use the services of the public defender line 39 before appointing private counsel. Nothing in this subdivision shall line 40 be construed to require the appointment of the public defender in 97 — 16 —SB 238 172 of 210 line 1 any case in which the public defender has a conflict of interest. In line 2 the interest of justice, a court may depart from that portion of the line 3 procedure requiring appointment of the public defender after line 4 making a finding of good cause and stating the reasons therefor line 5 on the record. line 6 (h)  In a county of the third class, if counsel is to be appointed line 7 to provide legal counsel for a parent or guardian at the county’s line 8 expense, the court shall first use the services of the alternate public line 9 defender before appointing private counsel. Nothing in this line 10 subdivision shall be construed to require the appointment of the line 11 alternate public defender in any case in which the public defender line 12 has a conflict of interest. In the interest of justice, a court may line 13 depart from that portion of the procedure requiring appointment line 14 of the alternate public defender after making a finding of good line 15 cause and stating the reasons therefor on the record. line 16 SEC. 5. Section 369.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is line 17 amended to read: line 18 369.5. (a)  (1)  If a child is adjudged a dependent child of the line 19 court under Section 300 and the child has been removed from the line 20 physical custody of the parent under Section 361, only a juvenile line 21 court judicial officer shall have authority to make orders regarding line 22 the administration of psychotropic medications for that child. The line 23 juvenile court may issue a specific order delegating this authority line 24 to a parent upon making findings on the record that the parent line 25 poses no danger to the child and has the capacity to authorize line 26 psychotropic medications. Court authorization for the line 27 administration of psychotropic medication shall be based on a line 28 request from a physician, indicating the reasons for the request, a line 29 description of the child’s diagnosis and behavior, the expected line 30 results of the medication, and a description of any side effects of line 31 the medication. line 32 (2)  (A)  On or before July 1, 2016, the Judicial Council shall, line 33 in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, the line 34 State Department of Health Care Services, and stakeholders, line 35 including, but not limited to, the County Welfare Directors line 36 Association, associations representing current and former foster line 37 children, county behavioral health departments, caregivers, and line 38 children’s attorneys, develop updates to the implementation of this line 39 section and related forms. 97 SB 238— 17 — 173 of 210 line 1 (B)  The implementation updates developed pursuant to line 2 subparagraph (A) shall ensure all of the following: line 3 (i)  The child and his or her caregiver and court-appointed special line 4 advocate, if any, have an a meaningful opportunity to provide input line 5 on the medications being prescribed. line 6 (ii)  Information regarding the child’s overall mental behavioral line 7 health assessment and treatment plan is provided to the court. line 8 (iii)  Information regarding the rationale for the proposed line 9 medication, provided in the context of past and current treatment line 10 efforts, is provided to the court. This information shall include, line 11 but not be limited to, information on other pharmacological and line 12 non-pharmacological treatments that have been utilized and the line 13 child’s response to those treatments, a discussion of symptoms not line 14 alleviated or ameliorated by other current or past treatment efforts, line 15 and an explanation of how the psychotropic medication being line 16 prescribed is expected to improve the child’s symptoms. line 17 (iv)  Guidance is provided to the court on how to evaluate the line 18 request for authorization, including how to proceed if information, line 19 otherwise required to be included in a request for authorization line 20 under this section, is not included in a request for authorization line 21 submitted to the court. line 22 (C)  The implementation updates developed pursuant to line 23 subparagraph (A) shall include a process for periodic oversight by line 24 the court of orders regarding the administration of psychotropic line 25 medications that includes the caregiver’s and child’s observations line 26 relating to the effectiveness of the medication and side effects, line 27 information on medication management appointments and other line 28 follow-up appointments with medical practitioners, and information line 29 on the delivery of other mental behavioral health treatments that line 30 are a part of the child’s overall treatment plan. The periodic line 31 oversight shall be facilitated by the county social worker, public line 32 health nurse, or other appropriate county staff. This oversight line 33 process may be conducted in conjunction with other court hearings line 34 and reports provided to the court by the county child welfare line 35 agency. line 36 (D)  On or before July 1, 2016, the Judicial Council shall adopt line 37 or amend rules of court and forms to implement the updates line 38 developed pursuant to this paragraph. line 39 (b)  (1)  In counties in which the county child welfare agency line 40 completes the request for authorization for the administration of 97 — 18 —SB 238 174 of 210 line 1 psychotropic medication, the agency is encouraged to complete line 2 the request within three business days of receipt from the physician line 3 of the information necessary to fully complete the request. line 4 (2)  Nothing in this subdivision is intended to change current line 5 local practice or local court rules with respect to the preparation line 6 and submission of requests for authorization for the administration line 7 of psychotropic medication. line 8 (c)  Within seven court days from receipt by the court of a line 9 completed request, the juvenile court judicial officer shall either line 10 approve or deny in writing a request for authorization for the line 11 administration of psychotropic medication to the child, or shall, line 12 upon a request by the parent, the legal guardian, or the child’s line 13 attorney, or upon its own motion, set the matter for hearing. line 14 (d)  Psychotropic medication or psychotropic drugs are those line 15 medications administered for the purpose of affecting the central line 16 nervous system to treat psychiatric disorders or illnesses. These line 17 medications include, but are not limited to, anxiolytic agents, line 18 antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotic medications, line 19 anti-Parkinson agents, hypnotics, medications for dementia, and line 20 psychostimulants. line 21 (e)  Nothing in this section is intended to supersede local court line 22 rules regarding a minor’s right to participate in mental health line 23 decisions. line 24 (f)  This section does not apply to nonminor dependents, as line 25 defined in subdivision (v) of Section 11400. line 26 SEC. 6. Section 16003 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is line 27 amended to read: line 28 16003. (a)  In order to promote the successful implementation line 29 of the statutory preference for foster care placement with a relative line 30 caretaker as set forth in Section 7950 of the Family Code, each line 31 community college district with a foster care education program line 32 shall make available orientation and training to the relative or line 33 nonrelative extended family member caregiver into whose care line 34 the county has placed a foster child pursuant to Section 1529.2 of line 35 the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, courses line 36 that cover the following: line 37 (1)  The role, rights, and responsibilities of a relative or line 38 nonrelative extended family member caregiver caring for a child line 39 in foster care, including the right of a foster child to have fair and line 40 equal access to all available services, placement, care, treatment, 97 SB 238— 19 — 175 of 210 line 1 and benefits, and to not be subjected to discrimination or line 2 harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group line 3 identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual line 4 orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV line 5 status. line 6 (2)  An overview of the child protective system. line 7 (3)  The effects of child abuse and neglect on child development. line 8 (4)  Positive discipline and the importance of self-esteem. line 9 (5)  Health issues in foster care, including, but not limited to, line 10 the authorization for administration, authorization, uses, risks, line 11 benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic line 12 medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, and other line 13 available mental behavioral health treatments, for children line 14 receiving child welfare services. services, including how to access line 15 those treatments. line 16 (6)  Accessing education and health services that are available line 17 to foster children. line 18 (7)  Relationship and safety issues regarding contact with one line 19 or both of the birth parents. line 20 (8)  Permanency options for relative or nonrelative extended line 21 family member caregivers, including legal guardianship, the line 22 Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program, and kin line 23 adoption. line 24 (9)  Information on resources available for those who meet line 25 eligibility criteria, including out-of-home care payments, the line 26 Medi-Cal program, in-home supportive services, and other similar line 27 resources. line 28 (10)  Instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating line 29 to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, gay, line 30 bisexual, and transgender youth in out-of-home care. line 31 (11)  Basic instruction on the existing laws and procedures line 32 regarding the safety of foster youth at school and the ensuring of line 33 a harassment and violence free school environment contained in line 34 the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 line 35 (Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 32228) of Chapter 2 of line 36 Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code). line 37 (b)  In addition to training made available pursuant to subdivision line 38 (a), each community college district with a foster care education line 39 program shall make training available to a relative or nonrelative 97 — 20 —SB 238 176 of 210 line 1 extended family member caregiver that includes, but need not be line 2 limited to, courses that cover all of the following: line 3 (1)  Age-appropriate child development. line 4 (2)  Health issues in foster care, including, but not limited to, line 5 the authorization for administration, authorization, uses, risks, line 6 benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of psychotropic line 7 medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, and other line 8 available mental behavioral health treatments, for children line 9 receiving child welfare services. services, including how to access line 10 to those treatments. line 11 (3)  Positive discipline and the importance of self-esteem. line 12 (4)  Emancipation and independent living. line 13 (5)  Accessing education and health services available to foster line 14 children. line 15 (6)  Relationship and safety issues regarding contact with one line 16 or both of the birth parents. line 17 (7)  Permanency options for relative or nonrelative extended line 18 family member caregivers, including legal guardianship, the line 19 Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program, and kin line 20 adoption. line 21 (8)  Basic instruction on the existing laws and procedures line 22 regarding the safety of foster youth at school and the ensuring of line 23 a harassment and violence free school environment contained in line 24 the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 line 25 (Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 32228) of Chapter 2 of line 26 Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code). line 27 (c)  In addition to the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b), line 28 each community college district with a foster care education line 29 program, in providing the orientation program, shall develop line 30 appropriate program parameters in collaboration with the counties. line 31 (d)  Each community college district with a foster care education line 32 program shall make every attempt to make the training and line 33 orientation programs for relative or nonrelative extended family line 34 member caregivers highly accessible in the communities in which line 35 they reside. line 36 (e)  When a child is placed with a relative or nonrelative extended line 37 family member caregiver, the county shall inform the caregiver line 38 of the availability of training and orientation programs and it is line 39 the intent of the Legislature that the county shall forward the names line 40 and addresses of relative or nonrelative extended family member 97 SB 238— 21 — 177 of 210 line 1 caregivers to the appropriate community colleges providing the line 2 training and orientation programs. line 3 (f)  This section shall not be construed to preclude counties from line 4 developing or expanding existing training and orientation programs line 5 for foster care providers to include relative or nonrelative extended line 6 family member caregivers. line 7 SEC. 7. Section 16206 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is line 8 amended to read: line 9 16206. (a)  The purpose of the program is to develop and line 10 implement statewide coordinated training programs designed line 11 specifically to meet the needs of county child protective services line 12 social workers assigned emergency response, family maintenance, line 13 family reunification, permanent placement, and adoption line 14 responsibilities. It is the intent of the Legislature that the program line 15 include training for other agencies under contract with county line 16 welfare departments to provide child welfare services. In addition, line 17 the program shall provide training programs for persons defined line 18 as a mandated reporter pursuant to the Child Abuse and Neglect line 19 Reporting Act, Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11164) of line 20 Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code. The program shall line 21 provide the services required in this section to the extent possible line 22 within the total allocation. If allocations are insufficient, the line 23 department, in consultation with the grantee or grantees and the line 24 Child Welfare Training Advisory Board, shall prioritize the efforts line 25 of the program, giving primary attention to the most urgently line 26 needed services. County child protective services social workers line 27 assigned emergency response responsibilities shall receive first line 28 priority for training pursuant to this section. line 29 (b)  The training program shall provide practice-relevant training line 30 for mandated child abuse reporters and all members of the child line 31 welfare delivery system that will address critical issues affecting line 32 the well-being of children, and shall develop curriculum materials line 33 and training resources for use in meeting staff development needs line 34 of mandated child abuse reporters and child welfare personnel in line 35 public and private agency settings. line 36 (c)  The training provided pursuant to this section shall include line 37 all of the following: line 38 (1)  Crisis intervention. line 39 (2)  Investigative techniques. line 40 (3)  Rules of evidence. 97 — 22 —SB 238 178 of 210 line 1 (4)  Indicators of abuse and neglect. line 2 (5)  Assessment criteria, including the application of guidelines line 3 for assessment of relatives for placement according to the criteria line 4 described in Section 361.3. line 5 (6)  Intervention strategies. line 6 (7)  Legal requirements of child protection, including line 7 requirements of child abuse reporting laws. line 8 (8)  Case management. line 9 (9)  Use of community resources. line 10 (10)  Information regarding the dynamics and effects of domestic line 11 violence upon families and children, including indicators and line 12 dynamics of teen dating violence. line 13 (11)  Posttraumatic stress disorder and the causes, symptoms, line 14 and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in children. line 15 (12)  The importance of maintaining relationships with line 16 individuals who are important to a child in out-of-home placement, line 17 including methods to identify those individuals, consistent with line 18 the child’s best interests, including, but not limited to, asking the line 19 child about individuals who are important, and ways to maintain line 20 and support those relationships. line 21 (13)  The legal duties of a child protective services social worker, line 22 in order to protect the legal rights and safety of children and line 23 families from the initial time of contact during investigation line 24 through treatment. line 25 (14)  The authorization for administration, authorization, uses, line 26 risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of line 27 psychotropic medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, line 28 and other available mental behavioral health treatments, for line 29 children receiving child welfare services. services, including how line 30 to access those treatments. line 31 (d)  The training provided pursuant to this section may also line 32 include any or all of the following: line 33 (1)  Child development and parenting. line 34 (2)  Intake, interviewing, and initial assessment. line 35 (3)  Casework and treatment. line 36 (4)  Medical aspects of child abuse and neglect. line 37 (e)  The training program in each county shall assess the line 38 program’s performance at least annually and forward it to the State line 39 Department of Social Services for an evaluation. The assessment line 40 shall include, at a minimum, all of the following: 97 SB 238— 23 — 179 of 210 line 1 (1)  Workforce data, including education, qualifications, and line 2 demographics. line 3 (2)  The number of persons trained. line 4 (3)  The type of training provided. line 5 (4)  The degree to which the training is perceived by participants line 6 as useful in practice. line 7 (5)  Any additional information or data deemed necessary by line 8 the department for reporting, oversight, and monitoring purposes. line 9 (f)  The training program shall provide practice-relevant training line 10 to county child protective services social workers who screen line 11 referrals for child abuse or neglect and for all workers assigned to line 12 provide emergency response, family maintenance, family line 13 reunification, and permanent placement services. The training shall line 14 be developed in consultation with the Child Welfare Training line 15 Advisory Board and domestic violence victims’ advocates and line 16 other public and private agencies that provide programs for victims line 17 of domestic violence or programs of intervention for perpetrators. line 18 SEC. 8. Section 16501.4 is added to the Welfare and line 19 Institutions Code, to read: line 20 16501.4. In order to ensure the oversight of psychotropic line 21 medications that are prescribed for children receiving child welfare line 22 services, all of the following shall occur: line 23 (a)  (1)  A county child welfare agency shall use the form line 24 developed pursuant to paragraph (2) to provide a monthly report line 25 to the juvenile court, the child’s attorney, and the child’s line 26 court-appointed special advocate, if one has been appointed. In line 27 consultation with the State Department of Health Care Services, line 28 the County Welfare Directors Association, and other stakeholders, line 29 the State Department of Social Services shall develop and provide line 30 an individualized monthly report to each county child welfare line 31 services agency. At a minimum, that report shall include all of the line 32 following information regarding a each child receiving child line 33 welfare services: services from the county child welfare services line 34 agency and for whom one or more psychotropic medications have line 35 been authorized: line 36 (A) line 37 (1)  Psychotropic medications that have been authorized for the line 38 child. child pursuant to Section 369.5. line 39 (B) 97 — 24 —SB 238 180 of 210 line 1 (2)  Paid claims data Data for medications that have been line 2 prescribed dispensed to the child, including both psychotropic and line 3 non-psychotropic medication. line 4 (C) line 5 (3)  Durational information relating to the child’s prescribed line 6 authorized psychotropicmedication, including, but not limited to, line 7 the length of time a medication has been authorized and the length line 8 of time for which claims have been paid for a filled prescription. line 9 a medication has been dispensed by a pharmacy. line 10 (D) line 11 (4)  Claims paid for mental behavioral health services provided line 12 to the child, other than claims paid for psychotropic medication. line 13 (E) line 14 (5)  The dosage of psychotropic medications that have been line 15 authorized for the child and for which a claim has been paid. that line 16 have been dispensed. line 17 (b)  (1)  On a monthly basis, a county child welfare services line 18 agency shall use the form developed pursuant to paragraph (2) to line 19 share with the juvenile court, the child’s attorney, and the line 20 court-appointed special advocate, if one has been appointed, the line 21 information described in subdivision (a) regarding an individual line 22 child receiving child welfare services and for whom one or more line 23 psychotropic medications have been authorized. line 24 (2)  In consultation with the State Department of Health Care line 25 Services, the County Welfare Directors Association, and other line 26 stakeholders, the State Department of Social Services shall develop line 27 a form to be utilized in making the reports sharing the information line 28 required by paragraph (1). line 29 (b) line 30 (c)  (1)  In consultation with the State Department of Health Care line 31 Services, the County Welfare Directors Association, and other line 32 stakeholders, the State Department of Social Services shall either line 33 develop, or ensure access to, a system that automatically alerts the line 34 social worker of a child receiving child welfare services when line 35 psychotropic medication has been prescribed that fits any of the line 36 following descriptions: line 37 (A)  The psychotropic medication has been prescribed in line 38 combination with another psychotropic medication and the line 39 combination is unusual or has the potential for a dangerous line 40 interaction. 97 SB 238— 25 — 181 of 210 line 1 (B)  The psychotropic medication is prescribed in a dosage that line 2 is unusual for a child of that age. line 3 (C)  The psychotropic medication has the potential for a line 4 dangerous interaction with other prescribed psychotropic or line 5 non-psychotropic medications. line 6 (D)  The psychotropic medication is not typically indicated for line 7 a child of that age. line 8 (2)  If a child’s social worker receives an alert from the system line 9 described in paragraph (1), upon receipt of the alert, the social line 10 worker shall indicate to the court, the child’s attorney, the child’s line 11 caregiver, and the child’s court-appointed special advocate, if one line 12 has been appointed, that the alert has been received. The social line 13 worker shall also include a discussion of the alert and the line 14 resolution, if any, of the issue raised by the alert in the next court line 15 report filed in the child’s case. line 16 (c) line 17 (d)  In consultation with the State Department of Health Care line 18 Services, the Judicial Council, the County Welfare Directors line 19 Association, and other stakeholders, the State Department of Social line 20 Services shall develop training that may be provided to county line 21 child welfare social workers, courts, children’s attorneys, children’s line 22 caregivers, court-appointed special advocates, and other relevant line 23 staff who work with children receiving child welfare services that line 24 addresses the authorization for administration, authorization, uses, line 25 risks, benefits, administration, oversight, and monitoring of line 26 psychotropic medications, and trauma, mental behavioral health, line 27 and other available mental behavioral health treatments, for line 28 children receiving child welfare services. services, including how line 29 to access those treatments. line 30 SEC. 9. To the extent that this act has an overall effect of line 31 increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs line 32 or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation line 33 within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California line 34 Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that line 35 the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new line 36 program or higher level of service provided by a local agency line 37 pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been line 38 provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state nor 97 — 26 —SB 238 182 of 210 line 1 otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California line 2 Constitution. O 97 SB 238— 27 — 183 of 210 184 of 210 185 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 13. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:Federal Issues Update Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE,  Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-08   Referral Name: Federal Issues Update  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) regularly provides an update on Federal issues affecting counties from its lobbyist in Washington, D.C. These updates are routinely provided to the Legislation Committee for their review and direction to staff, as needed. Referral Update: Appropriations Process Continues, Conferees Produce a Concurrent FY16 Budget Resolution The annual budget and appropriations process was in full swing this week as House appropriators continued to press ahead with consideration of several of the fiscal year 2016 spending bills. On April 29, the lower chamber began debate on an Energy and Water funding package, as well as a Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bill. It should be noted that President Obama has threatened to veto both measures and has warned lawmakers of his intent to issue similar threats to any fiscal year 2016 spending bill that adheres to the sequestration-level funding caps dictated by the Budget Control Act (PL 112-25). Despite its reputation as one of the least controversial spending measures, the $76.6 billion Military Construction legislation (HR 2029) faced substantial resistance on the House floor this week. Bolstered by the Obama administration’s veto threats, Democrats mobilized against the typically bipartisan bill. Further uncertainty ensued as the chamber considered a series of amendments that would have prevented the use of off-budget war funding to evade spending limitations on the Pentagon's regular budget. After rejecting three such amendments, House GOP leaders were able to advance the bill by a vote of 255-163. In the end, nearly 160 Democrats voted against the final measure, which is a notable departure from previous years when there has been near unanimous support for the measure. With regard to the Energy & Water spending bill, the legislation (HR 2028) would provide a total of $35.4 billion in discretionary funding - $1.2 billion above current levels and $633 million below the administration's budget request - for the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the 186 of 210 Interior, and other agencies. Among other things, HR 2028 includes language that would block the Obama administration’s proposed rule defining "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS). The measure also would restrict the application of the Clean Water Act in certain agricultural areas, including farm ponds and irrigation ditches (see section below for additional discussion on WOTUS). At the committee level, the House Appropriations Committee recently approved spending levels (known as 302(b) allocations) for all twelve annual appropriations bills. The full committee also advanced its Legislative Branch spending measure. Additionally, the House Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) Appropriations Subcommittee cleared on April 29 its fiscal year 2016 spending legislation. In total, the bill would provide $55.3 billion in discretionary spending, which is $1.5 billion above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level. However, most of the additional funding will be used to offset a significant decline in receipts from the Federal Housing Administration. Accordingly, the bill would only provide about $25 million more than current spending. Of interest to California's counties, the T-HUD legislation proposes level funding for highway programs (contingent on Congress reauthorizing MAP-21) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The bill also provides a slight boost in funding for Homeless Assistance Grants. However, the legislation would only designate $100 million for the popular TIGER grant program, which is $400 million less than current spending. In related budgetary developments, a bicameral conference committee reached an agreement this week that will pave the way for Congress to clear a final budget resolution for the first time in five years. Not only does the budget resolution (S Con Res 11) prescribe a top-line spending figure for fiscal year 2016, it outlines a framework for balancing the budget by fiscal year 2024, primarily by reducing spending levels. Democrats, for the most part, are united in their opposition to the budget blueprint largely because of its proposed cuts to domestic spending, as well as its planned repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The House adopted the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution on April 30 on a 226-197 vote, sending it to the Senate where a final vote is expected next week. Finally, the Senate adopted last week an anti-trafficking bill - the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (S 178) - after weeks of partisan debate over an abortion-related policy rider. Senate leaders reached an agreement to water down the controversial language, allowing for passage on a 99-0 vote. If approved by the House and ultimately enacted into law, the legislation would provide competitive grant funding to state and local entities to enhance collaboration and provide services to youth trafficking victims. MAP-21 Reauthorization Led by Representative Jeff Denham (R-CA), 34 members of the California congressional delegation sent a letter last week to leaders of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee regarding the need for Congress to create a dedicated funding stream for locally-owned bridges that are on the Federal-Aid Highway System. CSAC worked closely with Congressman Denham's office on the development of the correspondence and helped secure the support of a number of lawmakers for this important effort. 187 of 210 In California, unlike most other states, over 50 percent of locally-owned bridges are on the Federal-Aid Highway System. While local off-system bridges receive a special funding set-aside under MAP-21, on-system bridges do not have a dedicated funding source. As a result, on-system bridge projects must compete for limited dollars, meaning many are left shortchanged. Across Capitol Hill, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent last week a similar letter regarding the need for on-system bridge funding to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). It should be noted that Senator Feinstein directed her staff to develop the correspondence following a meeting with CSAC earlier this year. Waters of the United States As reported above, the fiscal year 2016 Energy & Water Development spending legislation includes language that would prohibit the Obama administration from moving forward with its proposed WOTUS rule. In addition to attempting to use the fiscal year 2016 appropriations process to thwart the administration's proposal, congressional Republicans have undertaken other steps to impede the effort. On Wednesday, April 29, the House Rules Committee approved a resolution (H Res 231) that provides the parameters for the upcoming floor debate over legislation (HR 1732) that would prohibit EPA and the Corps from finalizing or implementing the WOTUS rule. The committee approved the resolution, which will allow for one-hour of debate on HR 1732, on an 8-3 vote. The underlying WOTUS legislation, which the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee cleared on April 15 by a 36-22 margin, would require EPA and the Corps to withdraw the proposed rule within 30 days of the legislation's enactment. In addition, the measure would require the agencies to develop a new proposal with advice and recommendations from state and local governments, as well as provide a detailed explanation of how the new proposed rule recognizes, preserves, and protects the primary rights and responsibilities of states to protect water quality and plan/control the development and use of land and water resources in the states. Debate on HR 1732 is expected to occur the week of May 11 In other developments, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced on Thursday, April 30 a similar WOTUS proposal. The legislation (S 1140) is cosponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), as well as the chairman of the Environment & Public Works Committee, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK). In addition to Senators Barrasso, McConnell, and Inhofe, nine other senators - five Republicans and four Democrats - have cosponsored the measure. Specifically, S 1140 would require EPA and the Corps to issue a revised WOTUS rule. Furthermore, the bill prescribes which bodies of waters should and should not be considered waters of the United States and therefore subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. Under the legislation, the following bodies and types of waters would be excluded from agency regulation: isolated ponds, ditches, agriculture water, storm water, groundwater, floodwater, municipal water supply systems, wastewater management systems, and streams without enough flow to carry pollutants to navigable waters. The legislation also would require the Agencies to undertake certain analyses and consultations pursuant to several existing laws, regulations, and executive orders. 188 of 210 Finally, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), along with Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Deb Fischer (R-NE), introduced on April 30 a bill that would prohibit implementation of the WOTUS rule until certain scientific reviews have taken place. Specifically, the legislation would require a "Supplemental Scientific Review Panel" and an "Ephemeral and Intermittent Streams Advisory Committee" - which would consist of subject-area experts appointed largely by members of Congress - to undertake scientific analyses and produce certain reports regarding criteria that defines whether a water body or wetland has a significant nexus to a traditional navigable water. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): ACCEPT the report on Federal Issues and provide direction to staff, as needed. Attachments No file(s) attached. 189 of 210 LEGISLATION COMMITTEE 14. Meeting Date:05/07/2015   Subject:Contra Costa County Bills of Interest Department:County Administrator Referral No.: 2015-09   Referral Name: Countra Costa County Bills of Interest  Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 Referral History: The Legislation Committee regularly receives a report of the bills of interest that the County is tracking and/or taking a position on. Referral Update: The most recent report of the "Bill of Interest" to Contra Costa County is attached. Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): ACCEPT the "Bills of Interest" report and provide direction to staff, as needed. Attachments Bills of Interest 190 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 1 CA AB 11 AUTHOR: Gonzalez [D] TITLE: Employment: Paid Sick Days: In-Home Supportive Services INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Revises the definition of an employee under the Healthy workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to include providers of in-home support services. STATUS: 04/29/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. Commentary: Entitles IHSS workers to accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked CA AB 43 AUTHOR: Stone [D] TITLE: Personal Income Taxes: Credit: Earned Income INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee HEARING: 05/11/2015 1:30 pm SUMMARY: Allows an earned income credit under the Personal Income Tax Law to an eligible individual that is equal to specified percentages of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law. Provides that in those years in which an appropriation is made by the Legislature, the credit would be refundable. STATUS: 02/12/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on REVENUE AND TAXATION with author's amendments. 02/12/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on REVENUE AND TAXATION. Commentary: Consistent with Platform. Sent LOS for 5/11 hearing. Position: Support CA AB 45 AUTHOR: Mullin [D] TITLE: Household Hazardous Waste INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Requires each jurisdiction providing for the residential collection and disposal of solid waste to increase the collection and diversion of household hazardous waste in its service area over the baseline. Provides the increase is to be determined in accordance with Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery regulations. 191 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 2 Authorizes the adoption of a model ordinance for a comprehensive program for the collection of waste. Requires an annual report to the Department on progress in achieving compliance. STATUS: 04/30/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Commentary: Watch. CSAC has an "oppose" position on the bill. CA AB 59 AUTHOR: Waldron [R] TITLE: Mental Health Services: Assisted Outpatient Treatment INTRODUCED: 12/09/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Judiciary Committee SUMMARY: Deletes the repeal date of the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration Project Act of 2002. Authorizes professional staff of an agency or facility that provided treatment of a person who is released from intensive treatment or postcertification treatment, to evaluate whether the person meets the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment, and to petition the Superior Court therefor. STATUS: 04/28/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on JUDICIARY: Failed passage. 04/28/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on JUDICIARY: Reconsideration granted. Commentary: No impact. Position: Watch CA AB 65 AUTHOR: Alejo [D] TITLE: Local Law Enforcement: Body-Worn Cameras INTRODUCED: 12/17/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to develop a grant program to make funds available to local law enforcement entities to purchase body-worn cameras and related data storage and equipment, and to hire personnel to operate the program. Creates the Body-Worn Camera Fund. Diverts moneys from court fines, forfeitures, and penalties on criminal offenses to the Fund. STATUS: 04/15/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. Commentary: Assembly Bill 65, by Assembly Member Luis Alejo, would require the Board of State and Community Corrections to develop a grant program to make funds 192 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 3 available to local law enforcement entities to purchase body-worn cameras and related data storage and equipment, and to hire personnel necessary to operate a local body-worn camera program. President Obama in December announced a three-year, $263 million funding package called the "Body Worn Camera Partnership Program" (Program). The money will be used to match 50 percent spending by local law enforcement agencies and states on body cameras and equipment storage, as well as expanded training for law enforcement and an increase in the number of cities where the United States Department of Justice facilitates local law enforcement engagement with the community. CA AB 86 AUTHOR: McCarty [D] TITLE: Peace Officers: Department of Justice: Investigation INTRODUCED: 01/06/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Requires the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to direct an independent investigation if a peace officer uses deadly physical force upon another person and that person dies as result of that use of deadly force. Grants such prosecutor sole authority to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. Makes the special prosecutor responsible for prosecuting any charges filed. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (5-2) Commentary: watch bill Position: Watch CA AB 150 AUTHOR: Melendez [R] TITLE: Theft: Firearms INTRODUCED: 01/15/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Makes the theft of a firearm grand theft in all cases, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison. Makes buying or receiving a stolen firearm a misdemeanor or a felony. STATUS: 04/15/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. Commentary: Watch 193 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 4 CA AB 171 AUTHOR: Irwin [D] TITLE: Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Services INTRODUCED: 01/22/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Appropriates money from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation to counties to fund activities of county veterans service officers. Requires the Department to develop an allocation formula based upon performance standards that encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by county veterans service officers. Requires those funds to be allocated in accordance with that formula. Deletes obsolete provisions. Makes conforming changes. STATUS: 03/25/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. Commentary: Consistent with Board policy--Veterans Issues #154. Sent letter of support 3/10/15. Position: Support CA AB 190 AUTHOR: Harper [R] TITLE: Solid Waste: Single-Use Carryout Bags INTRODUCED: 01/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Natural Resources Committee SUMMARY: Imposes prohibitions and requirements regarding single-use carry-out bags on convenience food stores, foodmarts, and entities that are engaged in the sale of limited line of goods, or goods intended to be consumed off premises, and that hold a specified license with regard to alcoholic beverages. Provides that a law that would be created through the election process requires a reusable grocery bag sold by certain stores to a customer at the point of sale to meet specified requirements. STATUS: 04/13/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on NATURAL RESOURCES: Failed passage. 04/13/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on NATURAL RESOURCES: Reconsideration granted. Commentary: Watch CA AB 191 AUTHOR: Harper [R] TITLE: Solid Waste: Single-Use Carryout Bags INTRODUCED: 01/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Natural Resources Committee SUMMARY: 194 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 5 Repeals the requirement that a store that distributes recycled paper bags make those bags available for purchase for not less than a specified amount. STATUS: 04/13/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on NATURAL RESOURCES: Failed passage. 04/13/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on NATURAL RESOURCES: Reconsideration granted. Commentary: Watch CA AB 203 AUTHOR: Obernolte [R] TITLE: State Responsibility Areas: Fire Prevention Fees INTRODUCED: 01/29/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Extends the time when the fire prevention fee is due and payable from the date of assessment by the State Board of Equalization. Authorizes the petition for redetermination of the fee to be filed within a specified number of days after service of the notice of determination. STATUS: 04/15/2015 In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. Commentary: Referred by CAO to Leg Com. Leg Com referred to BOS for support, 5/5/15. CA AB 279 AUTHOR: Dodd [D] TITLE: Disclosure of Information: Franchise Tax Board INTRODUCED: 02/11/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Assembly Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/06/2015 9:00 am SUMMARY: Amends existing law that requires, upon the request of the Franchise Tax Board, each city that assesses a city business tax or requires a city business license to annually submit to the board specified information relating to the administration of the city's business tax program. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on REVENUE AND TAXATION: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (6-3) Commentary: Support requested by TT Rusty Watts. May go to BOS on 3/31. CA AB 396 AUTHOR: Jones-Sawyer [D] 195 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 6 TITLE: Rental Housing Discrimination: Criminal Records INTRODUCED: 02/19/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Makes it unlawful for the owner of any rental housing accommodation to deny the rental or lease of a housing accommodation without first satisfying specified requirements relating to the application process. Prohibits inquiring or requiring an applicant to disclose a criminal record during the initial application assessment phase. Authorizes the request for a criminal background check and to consider that record in deciding whether to rent or lease. Requires related denial notification to applicant. STATUS: 04/30/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Commentary: Watch. Phil Kader sent over. CA AB 428 AUTHOR: Nazarian [D] TITLE: Income Taxes: Credit: Seismic Retrofits INTRODUCED: 02/19/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee HEARING: 05/18/2015 1:30 pm SUMMARY: Relates to the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law. Allows a tax credit under both laws in an amount equal to a specified percent of costs incurred by a qualified taxpayer for any seismic retrofit construction on a qualified building. Requires certification from the appropriate jurisdiction with authority for building code enforcement that the building is an at-risk property. STATUS: 03/02/2015 To ASSEMBLY Committee on REVENUE AND TAXATION. CA AB 546 AUTHOR: Gonzalez [D] TITLE: Peace Officers: Basic Training Requirements INTRODUCED: 02/23/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: SENATE SUMMARY: Authorizes a probation department to apply to either the commission or the Board of State and Community Corrections to become a certified provider of that training course for the purpose of training probation officers. STATUS: 04/23/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read third time. Passed ASSEMBLY. *****To SENATE. (78-0) 196 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 7 Commentary: Chief Kader has asked for support. Referred to Leg Com. Leg Com referred to BOS for support, 5/5/15. CA AB 637 AUTHOR: Campos [D] TITLE: Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment INTRODUCED: 02/24/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: SENATE SUMMARY: Authorizes the signature of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant acting under the supervision of the physician and within the scope of practice authorized by law to create a valid Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment form (POLST form). STATUS: 04/16/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read third time. Passed ASSEMBLY. *****To SENATE. (75-0) Commentary: The California Medical Association (CMA), of which the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association (ACCMA) is a component, is sponsoring AB 637 (Campos) in this session of the legislature, AB 637 allows nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) under physician supervision to sign Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. While patients discuss POLST with other members of the health care team in addition to their physician, typically NPs and PAs, currently the POLST is not actionable until it is signed by both the patient or their health care decision maker and their physician. To help increase POLST utilization and availability, this bill will authorize NPs and PAs under a physician's supervision to also sign POLST forms and make them immediately actionable orders. Commentary001: To Leg Com for support on 4/2. Leg Com referred to BOS for support, 5/5/15. CA AB 647 AUTHOR: Eggman [D] TITLE: Beneficial Use: Storing of Water Underground INTRODUCED: 02/24/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Second Reading File SUMMARY: Declares that the storing of water underground constitutes a beneficial use of water if the diverted water is used while it is in underground storage for specified purposes. Provides that the period for the reversion of a water right does not include any period when the water is being used in the aquifer or storage area or is being held in storage for later application to beneficial use. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: Do 197 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 8 pass as amended. (12-1) Commentary: SJC supports. Consistent with Water Platform. Sending letter of support. CA AB 662 AUTHOR: Bonilla [D] TITLE: Public Accommodation: Disabled Adults INTRODUCED: 02/24/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Assembly Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/06/2015 9:00 am SUMMARY: Requires the Division of the State Architect, the State Building Standards Commission, or other appropriate State regulatory authority to adopt regulations requiring a commercial place of public amusement to install and maintain at least one adult changing station for a person with a physical disability. Makes conforming changes. STATUS: 04/28/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Commentary: Support requested by AM Bonilla staff. Kathy Gallagher concurs. Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA AB 762 AUTHOR: Mullin [D] TITLE: Day Care Centers: Integrated Licensing INTRODUCED: 02/25/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Assembly Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/06/2015 9:00 am SUMMARY: Amends the California Child Day Care Facilities Act. Requires the Department of Social Services to adopt regulations to develop and implement a single integrated license for a day care center serving children from birth to kindergarten. Requires the particulars to be covered or included in the regulations governing the license. Provides certain requirements for a day care center with a toddler component. Extends the repeal date for provisions relating to a toddler program component. STATUS: 04/14/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on HUMAN SERVICES: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (7-0) CA AB 1051 AUTHOR: Maienschein [R] TITLE: Human Trafficking INTRODUCED: 02/26/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending FILE: 32 198 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 9 LOCATION: Assembly Second Reading File SUMMARY: Adds human trafficking as an offense that may be used to establish a pattern of criminal gang activity. Requires that a person convicted of a human trafficking offense or of specified sex trafficking offenses where any part of the violation takes place upon the grounds of, or within a specified distance of, a public or private elementary school, vocational, junior high, or high school during the hours that the school is open for classes to receive an additional penalty. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY: Do pass as amended to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (6-1) Commentary: Sent LOS for 4/28 hearing. Consistent with policy: 131. SUPPORT legislation that will combat the negative impact that human trafficking has on victims in our communities, including the impact that this activity has on a range of County services and supports, and support efforts to provide additional tools, resources and funding to help counties address this growing problem. Position: Support CA AB 1159 AUTHOR: Gordon [D] TITLE: Product Stewardship: Pilot: Batteries and Sharps Waste INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Establishes the Product Stewardship Pilot Program. Requires producers and product stewardship organizations of consumer products that are home-generated sharps waste or household batteries to develop and implement a product stewardship plan to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Provides for administrative fees. Establishes the Product Stewardship Penalty Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Fund for deposit of fees. Requires audits and reporting requirements. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (6-0) Commentary: Platform would support. CA AB 1223 AUTHOR: O'Donnell [D] TITLE: Emergency Medical Services: Noncritical Cases INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Assembly Health Committee HEARING: 05/12/2015 1:30 pm 199 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 10 SUMMARY: Expands the facilities which are eligible for reimbursement from the Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund to include any licensed clinic or mental health facility and approved paramedic receiving stations for treatment of emergency patients. Requires a local emergency medical services agency to include in policies and procedures criteria relating to ambulance patient offload time, and for the transport of a patient to an alternative emergency department or facility, for reporting such patient offload time. STATUS: 04/14/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on HEALTH with author's amendments. 04/14/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on HEALTH. Commentary: Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA AB 1236 AUTHOR: Chiu [D] TITLE: Local Ordinances: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Relates to the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act. Requires a city, county or city and county to approve the installation of electric vehicle charging stations through the issuance of specified permits unless the proposed installation would have an adverse impact upon the public health or safety. Provides appeal of that decision. Creates an expedited and streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations. STATUS: 04/27/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on TRANSPORTATION: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (16-0) Commentary: Jason Crapo in DCD is reviewing. CA AB 1262 AUTHOR: Wood [D] TITLE: Telecommunications: Universal Service INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending FILE: 139 LOCATION: Assembly Consent Calendar - First Legislative Day SUMMARY: Requires that of the moneys collected for California Advanced Services Fund on and after a specified date, a specified amount is to be deposited into the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account and used for specified purposes and a specified amount is to be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure 200 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 11 Revolving Loan Account and used for specified purposes. STATUS: 04/30/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time. To Consent Calendar. Commentary: Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA AB 1321 AUTHOR: Ting [D] TITLE: Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, and would create the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account in the Farm to Fork Account to collect matching funds received from a specified federal grant program and funds from other public and private sources to provide grants under the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program and to administer the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on AGRICULTURE: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (7-1) Commentary: Received a request to support. Chad to send materials. Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA AB 1335 AUTHOR: Atkins [D] TITLE: Building Homes and Jobs Act INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Enacts the Building Homes and Jobs Act. Imposes a fee to be paid at the time of the recording of every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded. Requires fee revenues be sent to the Department of Housing and Community Development for deposit in the Building Homes and Jobs Fund to be expended for affordable owner-occupied workforce housing and for supporting affordable housing, home ownership opportunities, and other housing-related programs, and admin costs. STATUS: 04/30/2015 In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Commentary: This bill would impose a fee of $75 to be paid at the time of recording every real estate instrument, paper or notice and would require that revenues from that fee be sent to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the Building 201 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 12 Homes and Jobs Fund. This bill is similar to SB 391 (DeSaulnier) from last year. CA AB 1347 AUTHOR: Chiu [D] TITLE: Public Contracts Claims INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Establishes for state and local public contracts a claim resolution process applicable to all public entity contracts. Defines a claim. Provides the procedures that are required of a public entity, upon receipt of a claim sent by registered mail. Provides an alternative claim procedure if the public entity fails to issue a statement. Requires the claim deemed approved in its entirety. Authorizes nonbinding mediation. Provide a public works contractor claim procedure. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (9-0) Commentary: This bill would establish a claim resolution process applicable to all public entity contracts. This bill is similar to AB 2471 (Frazier) from last year. Commentary001: CSAC recommends Oppose; PW concurs. Sending to BOS for 4/14 action. CA AB 1362 AUTHOR: Gordon [D] TITLE: Local Government Assessments Fees and Charges INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Local Government Committee SUMMARY: Defines stormwater for purposes of the Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act to mean any system of public improvements or service intended to provide for the quality, conservation, control, or conveyance of waters that land on or drain across the natural or man-made landscape. STATUS: 03/23/2015 To ASSEMBLY Committee on LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Commentary: Consistent with Platform. PW putting LOS on BOS agenda for 4/21 for info. Position: Support CA AB 1401 AUTHOR: Baker [R] TITLE: Veterans: Student Financial Aid INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Appropriations Committee 202 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 13 SUMMARY: Relates to copies of the enrollment fee waiver application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available to each member of the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, and the Naval Militia not having a baccalaureate degree. Requests that the Adjutant General include information regarding the federal Post-9/11 GI Bill and the California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on VETERANS AFFAIRS: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (9-0) Commentary: Sent letter of support for 4/28 hearing. Position: Support CA AB 1436 AUTHOR: Burke [D] TITLE: In-Home Support Services: Authorized Representatives INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Assembly Second Reading File SUMMARY: Authorizes an applicant for, or recipient of, in-home supportive services to designate an individual to act as his or her authorized representative for purposes of the In-Home Supportive Services program. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From ASSEMBLY Committee on HUMAN SERVICES: Do pass as amended to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (7-0) Commentary: Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA SB 4 AUTHOR: Lara [D] TITLE: Health Care Coverage: Immigration Status INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/04/2015 11:00 am SUMMARY: Relates to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Provides a waiver to allow individuals who are not eligible to obtain health coverage because of immigration status to obtain coverage from the State Health Benefit Exchange. Provides for the facilitation of enrollment for certain individuals not eligible for Medi-Cal coverage. Requires health care service plans and health insurers to sell a specified product. Creates the State Health Exchange Program for All Californians relative to the exchange. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From SENATE Committee on APPROPRIATIONS with 203 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 14 author's amendments. 04/28/2015 In SENATE. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. BOS: Watch CA SB 11 AUTHOR: Beall [D] TITLE: Peace officer Training: Mental Health INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/11/2015 10:00 am SUMMARY: Requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to include in its basic training course and instructor-leg active learning, a promising or evidence-based behavioral health classroom training course training officers to recognize, deescalate, and refer persons with mental illness or intellectual disability who are in crisis. Requires the Commission to establish and keep the course updated. Provides who must attend the course and how ofter it must be completed. STATUS: 04/15/2015 In SENATE. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Commentary: Doug Sibley requested Leg Com review CA SB 32 AUTHOR: Pavley [D] TITLE: Global Warning Solutions Act of 2006: Emissions Limit INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Second Reading File SUMMARY: Requires the State Air Resources Board to approve a specified statewide greenhouse gas emission limit that is equivalent to a specified percentage below the 1990 level to be achieved by 2050. Authorizes the Board to adopt interim emissions level targets to be achieve by specified years. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From SENATE Committee on ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: Do pass as amended to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (5-2) Commentary: SB 32 (Pavley) - This bill would require the State Air Resources Board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emission limit equivalent to 80% below the 1990 level to be achieved by 2050. The bill would also authorize the board to adopt interim greenhouse gas emissions level targets to be achieved by 2030 and 2040 through policy changes made by the legislature and other agencies. 204 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 15 CA SB 36 AUTHOR: Hernandez [D] TITLE: Medi-Cal: Demonstration Project INTRODUCED: 12/01/2014 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: ASSEMBLY SUMMARY: Requires the State Department of Health Care Services to submit an application to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a waiver to implement a demonstration project that continues the state's momentum and successes in innovation achieved under the demonstration project described in existing law. STATUS: 04/27/2015 In SENATE. Read third time, urgency clause adopted. Passed SENATE. *****To ASSEMBLY. (35-0) Commentary: Waiver to implement a successor 1115 Medicaid Waiver demonstration program CA SB 120 AUTHOR: Anderson [R] TITLE: Sales and Use Taxes: First Responder Equipment INTRODUCED: 01/15/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Second Reading File SUMMARY: Relates to a sales and use tax exclusion for public safety first responder vehicle and equipment. Includes local sales and use taxes. Relates to gross receipts taxes. Provides that the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From SENATE Committee on GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE: Do pass as amended to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (6-0) Commentary: Support requested by Chief Carman. Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA SB 163 AUTHOR: Hertzberg [D] TITLE: Elections: Vote by Mail Ballot INTRODUCED: 02/04/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/04/2015 11:00 am SUMMARY: Requires county elections officials to issue a vote by mail ballot to every registered voter in the county for statewide primary, special and general elections. STATUS: 04/21/2015 From SENATE Committee on ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS: Do pass to 205 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 16 Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (4-1) Commentary: Watch CA SB 238 AUTHOR: Mitchell [D] TITLE: Foster Care: Psychotropic Medication INTRODUCED: 02/17/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee HEARING: 05/11/2015 10:00 am SUMMARY: Requires the Judicial Council to develop updates to the implementation of provisions regarding the administration of psychotropic medications for a dependent child or a ward who has been removed from the physical custody of his or her parent. Provides what the updates shall ensure. Requires a report on the number of such medications authorized. Requires individuals providing care for these children to receive training on the authorization for the administration of such medications. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From SENATE Committee on JUDICIARY: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (6-0) CA SB 239 AUTHOR: Hertzberg [D] TITLE: Local Services: Contracts: Fire Protection Services INTRODUCED: 02/17/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Permits a public agency to exercise new or extended services outside the agency's current service area pursuant to a fire protection reorganization contract only if the agency receives a specified approval. Requires, prior to entering into a related proposal, the agency enter into an agreement for the performance of new or extended services per such a contract with each affected public agency and employee organization representing firefighters in the affected area and conduct a public hearing. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From SENATE Committee on GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE: Do pass to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (5-0) Commentary: Chief Carman recommends an "Oppose." Send to Leg Com for 5/7 meeting. CA SB 266 AUTHOR: Block [D] TITLE: Probation and Mandatory Supervision: Incarceration INTRODUCED: 02/19/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending 206 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 17 LOCATION: ASSEMBLY SUMMARY: Allows a court to authorizes the use of flash incarceration to detain the offender in county jail for not more than a specified number of days for a violation of conditions of probation or mandatory supervision. Provides these provisions would not apply to persons convicted of certain drug offenses. STATUS: 04/09/2015 In SENATE. Read third time. Passed SENATE. *****To ASSEMBLY. (36-1) Commentary: Bill sponsored by CPOC. Chief Kader supports. To BOS on 5/5/15 CA SB 277 AUTHOR: Pan [D] TITLE: Public Health: Vaccinations INTRODUCED: 02/19/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Second Reading File SUMMARY: Amends existing law that authorizes an exemption from existing provisions regarding vaccinations for medical reasons or because of personal beliefs, if specified forms are submitted to the governing authority. Eliminates the exemption from immunization based upon personal beliefs. Relates to home-based private school, and students in independent study. Requires a school district to provide parents or guardians immunization rates at the beginning of the regular school term. STATUS: 04/28/2015 From SENATE Committee on JUDICIARY: Do pass as amended to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (5-1) Commentary: Referred by Supv. Piepho 03.05.15. Referred to Leg Com 04.02.15. Referred to Board 05.05.15. CA SB 313 AUTHOR: Galgiani [D] TITLE: Local Government: Zoning Ordinances: School Districts INTRODUCED: 02/23/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending COMMITTEE: Senate Governance and Finance Committee HEARING: 05/06/2015 9:30 am SUMMARY: Conditions the authorization to render a city or county zoning ordinance inapplicable to a proposed use of school district property upon compliance with a notice requirement regarding a schoolsite on agricultural land. Requires the governing board of a district to notify a city or county of the reason the board intends to take a specified vote. Requires the vote to be based upon findings that such an ordinance fails to accommodate the need for renovation or expanding an existing school. 207 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 18 STATUS: 04/29/2015 In SENATE. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE. Commentary: Consistent with Platform. John C. sending letter of support. POSITION: Support CA SB 608 AUTHOR: Liu [D] TITLE: Homelessness INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Transportation and Housing Committee SUMMARY: Enacts the Right to Rest Act, which would afford persons experiencing homelessness the right to use public space without discrimination based on their housing status. Describes basic human and civil rights that may be exercised without being subject to criminal or civil sanctions or harassment, including the right to use and to move freely in public spaces, the right to rest in public spaces and to protect oneself from the elements. STATUS: 04/07/2015 In SENATE Committee on TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING: Heard, remains in Committee. Commentary: This bill would enact the Right to Rest Act which would allow persons experiencing homelessness the right to use public spaces without discrimination based on their housing status. This bill would describe basic human and civil rights that may be exercised without being subject to criminal or civil sanctions or harassment, the right to rest in public spaces, the right to eat in any public space and the right to occupy a motor vehicle. This bill is very similar to the Ammiano bill which created a homeless bill of rights (AB 5, 2013). CA SB 621 AUTHOR: Hertzberg [D] TITLE: Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Grants INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Authorizes the funds from a mentally ill offender crime reduction grant administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections to be used to fund specialized diversion programs that offer appropriate mental health and treatment services. STATUS: 04/20/2015 In SENATE Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. Commentary: 208 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 19 Consistent with Board policy #97: SUPPORT continued and improved funding for substance abuse treatment and mental health services including those that provide alternatives to incarceration and Laura's Law. Sent letter of support for 4/7/15 and 4/20/15 hearings. Position: Support CA SB 643 AUTHOR: McGuire [D] TITLE: Medical Marijuana INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Second Reading File SUMMARY: Establishes within the Department of Consumer Affairs a Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, under the supervision and control of the Chief of the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation. Requires the bureau to license and regulate dispensing facilities, cultivation sites, transporters, and manufacturers of medical marijuana and medical marijuana products. Provides for local transaction taxes. Provides for local zoning laws. Prohibits advertising for physician recommendations under certain circumstances. STATUS: 04/29/2015 From SENATE Committee on GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE: Do pass as amended to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. (5-1) Commentary: This bill would express the Legislature's intent to enact legislation that would, among other things, reaffirm and clarify aspects of the Medical Marijuana Program Act, regulate the cultivation of medical marijuana, and authorize and appropriate adequate funding for the Board of Equalization to undertake a study, as specified, in order to make recommendations on the best way to levy and collect fees to regulate the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana. CA SB 762 AUTHOR: Wolk [D] TITLE: Counties: Competitive Bidding: Pilot Program INTRODUCED: 02/27/2015 DISPOSITION: Pending LOCATION: Senate Appropriations Committee SUMMARY: Relates to best value. Establishes a pilot program to allow counties to select the lowest responsible bidder on the basis of best value for construction projects that are in excess of a specified amount. Establishes procedures and criteria for the selection of the best value contractor. Requires that bidders verify specified information. Requires the board of supervisors of a participating county to submit a report to specified legislative committees. STATUS: 04/28/2015 In SENATE. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to 209 of 210 Bill Status Report Master File 2015 20 Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. Commentary: This bill would establish a pilot program to allow counties to select the lowest responsible bidder on the basis of best value. This bill would allow that if the board of supervisors deems it to be in the best interest of the county they may, on the refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute a contract, award it to the second lowest responsible bidder. Best value is defined as a procurement process whereby the lowest responsible bidder may be selected on the basis of objective criteria with the resulting selection representing the best combination of price and qualifications. 210 of 210