Legislative Affairs


Legislative Summaries

Year: 2010              Previous Year    Next Year

Support

SCA 18 (Liu) Local Government: Property - Related Fees This measure would additionally exclude fees and charges for stormwater and urban runoff management from these approval requirements for the imposition or increase of a property-related fee or charge.
SBX3 24 (Alquist) Medi-Cal: Continuous Eligibility: Semiannual Status Reports This is necessary to ensure that California qualifies for federal funds pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to redetermine the continuous eligibility period of any child whose continuous eligibility period was determined or redetermined pursuant to the provisions limiting continuous eligibility to 6 months during the first calendar year quarter of 2009 and would require the department to grant that child the period of continuous eligibility that existing law provides shall be available on and after January 1, 2012, retroactive to the date that the determination or redetermination under the provisions limiting continuous eligibility to 6 months was made. This bill would make other conforming changes.
SB 994 (Price) Elections: Payment of Expenses This legislation provides state financial responsibility for expenses incurred for elections proclaimed by the Governor to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator, Member of the Assembly, or to fill a vacancy in the United State Congress.
SB 733 (Leno) Crime Victims: Trauma Center Grants This legislation establishes a grant program to be administered by the Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB) which will provide for the creation and funding of Trauma Recovery Centers (TRCs) which will offer rapid, integrated health treatment to victims of violent crime.
SB 69 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) In-Home Supportive Services: Program Changes Implementation This legislation is urgently needed to ensure that In-Home Supportive Services recipients can receive services they need to keep them safely at home rather than institutionalized in nursing homes and to ensure that important program integrity efforts are effective. This urgent legislation will ensure that the process approved by the Legislature is properly implemented, while allowing IHSS recipients to receive needed services the County has authorized.
SB 567 (Dutton) Outdoor Advertising Displays The Outdoor Advertising Act regulates placement of advertising signs adjacent to and within specified distances from highways on the national system of interstate. That act prohibits advertising displays from being placed on property adjacent to a section of a freeway that has been landscaped. This bill would authorize an advertising display adjacent to a section of a landscaped freeway. The advertising display is not to advertise products, goods, or services that are directed at an adult population, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or sexually explicit material. The advertising display shall not cause a reduction in federal aid highway funds. The governing body of the city or county shall only authorize placement of the display by an ordinance or resolution adopted after a public hearing regarding the display. For displays by public education facilities located in a city, the governing body of the city shall authorize placement of the display. For displays by public education facilities outside city jurisdiction, the governing body of the county shall authorize placement of the display
SB 430 (Dutton) Redevelopment: County of San Bernardino: Disaster Recovery Project Area. This legislation would authorize the County of San Bernardino Redevelopment Agency to extend the Cedar Glen Disaster Recovery Project Area. Over 1,000 structures were destroyed totaling over $42 million in damages. The community of Cedar Glen was devastated, 336 structures amounting to approximately 75% of the total number of homes within the community and representing one-third of all structures lost in the region. SB 430 would add a new section to the California Health and Safety code, to extend the time limits for incurring debt and project area activities to 15 and 20 years, respectively. SB 430 would provide the County of San Bernardino Redevelopment Agency and the residents of Cedar Glen the necessary resources to recover from the devastation that ravaged their community.
SB 352 (Dutton) Juvenile Offenders: Health Facilities SB 352 would increase the notification process by requiring the County of residence to inform the county of placement 24 hours prior to the time of placement. The legislation also requires the county of residence to disclose any gang affiliation or dangerous behavior that may pose a safety concern to the placement county. The measures in SB 352 will enhance law enforcement agency's ability to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our community and ensure residents remain protected. SB 352 will provide counties the needed authority and oversight of juvenile offenders placed in out-of-county community care facilities.
SB 345 (Negrete McLeod) Government of Counties: Death Benefits Would require the special death benefit payable to the surviving spouse or eligible children of a safety member, employed by San Bernardino County, to increase at any time and to the extent the compensation is increased for then-active members, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions.
SB 295 (Dutton) California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 This bill would require the state board to complete a study to reevaluate the evaluation of costs discussed above, and provide this study to the Legislature by October 1, 2009. The state board would be required to report to the Legislature by November 1, 2009, on whether the revised analysis has led, or will lead, to any changes to the scoping plan, and whether any changes should be made to the act's timelines. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst to review the state board's implementation of these requirements, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
SB 179 (Runner) Juvenile Law: Referee SB 179 will make three modifications to the appeal process, which will shorten timeframes, reduce stress for families and improve permanency outcomes for children. This bill will reduce the time period for a birth parent to file a notice of appeal from 60 to 30 days while delicately balancing parental rights and minimizing delayed adoptive placements. SB 179 would allow notices of the termination of parental rights (TPR) order to be personally served in court where at present, notices of TPR orders and appeal rights must be mailed to the birth parents. This legislation would also allow any TPR order to automatically finalize after 180 days have elapsed, avoiding indefinite appeal imeframes. SB 179 will reduce appellate delay and minimize stress and anxiety for families during the appeal process. At the same time, this bill will enhance timely permanency and result in better outcomes for children and families.
SB 152 (Cox) Medi-Cal Funding: Mental Health Services Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income persons are provided with health care services, including mental health services. Under existing law, the State Department of Mental Health is required to implement managed mental health care for Medi-Cal recipients through fee-for-service or capitated contracts with counties, counties acting jointly, qualified individuals or organizations, or nongovernmental entities. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2010, require the Controller to reimburse any fee-for-service county contractor that submits a claim for reimbursement for these services within 90 days after the receipt of the claim, and would provide that interest shall accrue on an unpaid claim, as prescribed, commencing on the 91st day after receipt of the claim, except as provided.
SB 1406 (Emmerson) County Board of Retirement: San Bernardino County AB 1406, amending the 2006 legislation that established SBCERA as a special district, would simply allow SBCERA to directly hire front-line supervisors and employees with specialized training and knowledge in order to prevent the constant turnover that is occurring within the current hiring process. Current law allows SBCERA to hire their own administrators, management employees, investment officers and legal counsel rather than having to hire from the list of applicants available under the civil service process. However, existing law does not include this quick and efficient hiring process for the supervisors and employees with specialized training and knowledge who serve the tens of thousands of active and retired members and their beneficiaries. This bill would allow the San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association (SBCERA) to retain highly skilled and qualified employees.
SB 1324 (Negrete McLeod) Public Records Commerical Use Fee This legislation authorizes state and local governments to recover costs associated with complying with public record requests pursuant to the Public Records Act.
SB 1265 (Dutton) Sponsor: Forensic Conditional Release Program This legislation authorizes programs providing services pursuant to Forensic Conditional Release Program to inform local enforcement agencies of the names and addresses of program participants in the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction.
SB 1185 (Maldonado) Pet Adoption Income Tax Deduction This legislation would allow a deduction, in computing adjusted gross income, for the costs, not to exceed $250, paid or incurred during the taxable year for food and supplies purchased for an animal adopted during the taxable year from a qualified animal rescue organization.
SB 11 (Negrete McLeod) County Employees Retirement This bill would authorize the board of retirement of San Bernardino County to establish by resolution a fund for the collective investment of assets held in trust solely for the exclusive benefit of providing health benefits to employees of any local public agency, as specified. The fund would be a legal entity that is separate from the retirement system, and would be governed by a postemployment health benefits fund board that would be composed of the members of the board of retirement. The bill would direct the postemployment health benefits fund board to establish the terms and conditions for a public agency to participate in the fund. The bill would also authorize the board of retirement to terminate the fund in its discretion at any time, in a specified manner.
HR 600 (Green) FHA Seller Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009 H.R. 600 would permit down payer assistance through the FHA program with several reforms, which includes ensuring only legitimate charities can provide DPA assistance, permit only qualified homebuyers who are eligible to receive a DPA gift, prohibit inflated appraisals, and require homeowners' counseling to be made available to all DPA gift recipients.
AB 754 (Chesbro) Medi-Cal Mental Health Managed Care Contracts AB 754 is intended to clarify the obligations of state and local government and promote the efficient administration of the Specialty Mental Health Managed Care Program. It is also intended to increase the efficiency and timeliness of Medi-Cal payments to County Mental Health Plans by clarifying the State's payment timeframes and responsibilities. AB 754 will strengthen the partnership between state and local government and increase the efficiency and timeliness of Medi-Cal payments to county Mental Health Plans, which are responsible for delivering mental health care to approximately half a million Californians with a serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.
AB 657 (Hernandez) Health Professions Workforce: Master Plan This bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, in collaboration with the California Workforce Investment Board, to establish the Health Professions Workforce Task Force, comprised of specified members, to assist in the development of a health professions workforce master plan for the state, and would prescribe the functions and duties of the task force in that regard. The bill would require the task force to submit to the office recommendations for a statewide health professions workforce master plan.
AB 561 (Carter) Highway Workers: Assault and Battery This bill would expand the definition of highway worker to include employees of a city, county, or city and county, and to include additional specified activities related to local roads or streets. By expanding the range of an existing offense, 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.
AB 421 (Beall) Seriously Emotionally Disturbed Children: Out-of-Home Placement. This bill, until January 1, 2013, would authorize these payments, for 24-hour out-of-home care, to be made to an out-of-state privately owned residential facility that meets applicable licensing requirements and that is organized and operated on a for-profit basis. The bill would require the State Department of Mental Health and the State Department of Education to provide prescribed information to the Legislature regarding the out-of-home placement of seriously emotionally disturbed children. This bill would also deem reimbursable specified costs of care for a seriously emotionally disturbed child with an individualized education program developed on or before the date the bill is enacted, that would otherwise satisfy the requirements of the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
AB 334 (Fuentes) Medi-Cal Eligibility: Inmates Current state law provides that Medi-Cal benefits generally cannot be paid for imprisoned individuals except when the inmate is a patient in a medical institution. DHCS has interpreted this law to mean that Medi-Cal benefits should be discontinued when an individual is incarcerated. This bill requires the state Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to suspend, rather than discontinue, an inmate’s Medi-Cal benefits. This measure would also expand the above provisions, commencing the later of January 1, 2011, or the date that all necessary federal approvals are obtained, to the extent permitted under federal law, to an individual who is 21 years of age or older who is an inmate of a public institution. By expanding the duties of county welfare departments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
AB 307 (Cook) Business Licenses: Ice Cream Truck Operations This bill would prohibit any city or county from issuing a license to operate an ice cream truck, as defined, to any person who is required to register as a sex offender. In addition, this bill would require the Sex Offender Management Board to conduct an assessment of whether the state needs to preempt local control regarding licensure prohibitions on sex offenders and to report on the assessment to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified.
AB 2645 (Chesbro) Mental Health Skilled Nursing Facility Reimbursement Rate This legislation conforms the reimbursement rates for services in Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs) to the nursing home rates that were frozen in the Budget Act of 2009.
AB 2477 (Jones) Medi-Cal: Continuous Eligibility This legislation would permanently eliminate the requirement that children on Medi-Cal file a Mid-Year Status Reports (MSR), and reinstate 12 months of continuous eligibility for these children.
AB 23 (Jones) Health Care Coverage Existing law does not provide a system of health care coverage for all California residents. Existing law provides for the creation of various programs to provide health care services to persons who have limited incomes and meet various eligibility requirements. These programs include the Healthy Families Program administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board and the Medi-Cal program administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to accomplish the goal of universal health care coverage for all California residents within 5 years, as specified.
AB 223 (Ma) Safe Body Art This legislation establishes minimum statewide health and oversight standards for the regulation of practitioners engaged in the business of tattooing, body piercing, and the application of permanent cosmetics in California.
AB 222 (Adams) Energy Biofuels This bill would update the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989. The County strongly supports renewable energy, resource conservation, and other efforts to safeguard our environment. These technologies offer superior alternatives to land filling, incineration of solid waste, and can reap substantial benefits with regards to pollution reduction. AB 222 would allow California to capitalize on the latest technologies in green power production and solid waste management is consistent with the Green County San Bernardino initiative, which is designed to spur the use of "green" technologies and building practices among residents, business owners and developers.
AB 1908 (Cook) Sponsor: Vehicles: Specialized License Plates This legislation would authorize the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) to modify the design of the existing veteran special license plate to make it more marketable to California citizens.
AB 1906 (Cook) Sponsor: Additional Grand Juries AB 1906 would allow for the impanelment of up to two additional grand juries, augmenting necessary and independent governmental oversight over county operations, allowing for more thorough investigations, exposing opportunities for the betterment of public service and alleviating the burden of grand jury service.
AB 1905 (Cook) Sponsor: Foster Care: Funding Placement Approvals AB 1905 would provide that relative caregivers approved by the county continue to remain eligible for federal funding while the county is processing their annual reassessments. This bill would ensure the state does not expend vital resources to comply with a policy that exceeds federal requirements.
AB 1717 (De Leon) Ballot Materials: Electronic Access This legislation permits voters the ability to opt-out of receiving their sample ballots, voter pamphlets, and notice of polling place by mail and instead obtain them electronically.
AB 17 (Swanson) Prostitution: Solicitation, Piumping, and Pandering This bill would require a court to impose a fine of no less than $2,500 and no more than $250,000 per conviction, upon any person who is convicted of pimping, pandering, or procuring of a child under 16 years of age, in addition to any other punishment prescribed, as determined by the court. This bill would require each county to establish a sexually exploited minors fund into which shall be deposited the proceeds of the fines. Fifty percent of the money in that fund would be available to local law enforcement for the enforcement of specified crimes, and the other half would be available to community-based organizations that assist sexually exploited minors through prevention, education, counseling, job training, and life skills programs.
AB 167 (Adams) High School Graduation: Local Requirements: Foster Children. This bill would require a school district to exempt a pupil in foster care who transfers to the district in grade 11 or 12, who otherwise would not be able to graduate by his or her 19th birthday, from any additional coursework requirements the governing board has adopted. The bill would require a school district to notify a pupil in foster care who is granted an exemption if any of the requirements that are waived will affect the pupil's ability to gain admission to a postsecondary educational institution, as well as inform the pupil about transfer opportunities available through the California Community Colleges. The bill would deem that notification requirement satisfied for each pupil who receives counseling services pursuant to the Middle and High School Supplemental Counseling Program after transferring into the school district. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program. bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
AB 1653 (Jones) Medi-Cal: Hospitals Quality Assurance This legislation builds on the recently enacted AB 1383, which established quality assurance fees on hospitals, except for public hospitals and requires revenue from the fee to be used only to make increased Medi-Cal payments to hospitals, pay for health care coverage for children and fund grants to the state public hospitals.
AB 1600 (Beall) Health Care Coverage: Mental Health Services This legislation would require health plans and insurers to cover the diagnosis and medically necessary treatment of a mental illness and substance abuse addictions of a person of any age under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions.
AB 1445 (Chesbro) Medi-Cal This bill would allow more than one visit to a health care professional at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) on the same day, qualifying the two visits to be billed as separate events. Current state law prohibits FQHCs from seeking Medi-Cal reimbursement for a single patient who receives more than one service on the same day at a single location. This requires the patient to return on another day which can be a difficult proposition for someone with limited or no transportation and who resides in a county the size of San Bernardino. This would save the State money in the long run as more patients would receive early preventive care, rather than suffering and returning much later with advanced conditions requiring more expensive care. The bill would require the department, by March 30, 2010, to seek all necessary federal approvals in order to implement the bill, including any necessary amendments to the state Medi-Cal plan.

Oppose

SBX2 11 (Steinberg) Judges: Employment Benefits. This bill would provide that judges who received supplemental judicial benefits provided by a county or court, or both, as of July 1, 2008, shall continue to receive supplemental benefits from the county or court then paying the benefits on the same terms and conditions as were in effect on that date. The bill would authorize a county to terminate its obligation to provide benefits upon providing 180 days' written notice to the Administrative Director of the Courts and the impacted judges, but that termination would not be effective as to any judge during his or her current term while that judge continues to serve as a judge in that court or, at the election of the county, when that judge leaves office. The bill would authorize the county to elect to provide benefits for all judges in that county. The bill also would require the Judicial Council to report to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, and both the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary on or before December 31, 2009, analyzing the statewide benefits inconsistencies. This bill would provide that no governmental entity, or officer or employee of a governmental entity, shall incur any liability or be subject to prosecution or disciplinary action because of benefits provided to a judge under the official action of a governmental entity prior to the effective date of the bill on the ground that those benefits were not authorized under law. This bill would provide that nothing in its provisions shall require the Judicial Council to increase funding to a court for the purpose of paying judicial benefits or obligate the state or the Judicial Council to pay for benefits previously provided by the county, city and county, or the court.
SB 737 (Negrete McLeod) Airports: Airport Land Use Commissions This bill would eliminate the authority of the Board of Supervisors of a county in which an airport is located that is operated for the benefit of the general public that is not served by a scheduled airline, to adopt a resolution declaring that the County is exempt from establishing an airport land use commission. The bill would limit the authority of a board of supervisors and a city to designate a body to assume the planning responsibilities of an airport land use commission. The bill would make other conforming changes and would delete certain obsolete provisions. This bill would repeal the prohibition upon a commission charging fees if the commission has not adopted an airport land use compatibility plan by June 30, 1991, and would repeal the exceptions to that prohibition. 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.
SB 711 (Leno) Public Meetings: Closed Session: Labor Negotiations SB 711 would require what currently transpires during the course of labor negotiations in closed session between a public agency and the agencies designated representative(s) to be open and public. The legislation requires all written correspondence associated with a proposed action and all maters to be publicly disclosed including the scope of the proposal prior to going into closed session. Additionally, SB 711 requires a local agency to publicly disclose and vote on a new collective bargaining agreement prior to entering into a closed session.
SB 538 (Arambula) Emergency Telephone System: Abuse SB 538 would require the public safety entity (the entity that receives 911 calls), to verify that a violation has occurred and to issue the applicable warnings and citations, as specified. This new state mandate directly imposed onto the men and women of our 911 dispatch center the duties of investigating, warning, and citing the offending individual should be the responsibility of law enforcement personnel.
SB 1141 (Negrete Mc Leod) Airports: Land Use Commissions This legislation repeals current law allowing counties to employ alternative processes in lieu of establishing an Airport Land Use Commission.
SB 1124 (Negrete Mc Leod) Land Conservation This bill would require that all grantees of funds from Section 5907(b)(3) of Proposition 70 to record an easement by July 1, 2011 on all property acquired, developed, rehabilitated, or restored, if the grantee committed to place that easement. The conservation easement must be approved by DPR and must provide that the property will be maintained and operated in perpetuity.
SB 1109 (Cox) Children and Families Programs This legislation would eliminate existing allocations of tobacco tax revenue under Proposition 10 to state and local county children and families commission accounts and instead requires those funds to be allocated and appropriated to the California Children and Families Commission (CCFC) to provide health care services to children. SB 1109 will hurt our local children's programs already in place and will undermine the accomplishments of our county commission, San Bernardino County First 5.
AB 935 (Feuer) Long-Term Health Care Facilities. Existing law authorizes the California Department of Aging to allocate all federal and state funds for local ombudsman programs according to a specified distribution schedule. This bill would require at least half of the funds in the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account and the Federal Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account be used to fund local ombudsman programs pursuant to the aforementioned distribution schedule.
AB 273 (Anderson) Collections: Amounts Imposed by a Court AB 273 would require the referral of delinquent fines, state or local penalties, forfeitures, restitution fines and orders, and other amounts imposed by a Superior Court upon a person or entity for criminal offenses to the Franchise Tax Board - Court Ordered Debt Program (FTBCOD) for collection.
AB 2456 (Torrico) Emergency Medical Services Regulation This legislation would modify the EMS Act to specify that guidelines issued by the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA)-- including those dealing with medical control -- will require mandatory compliance by local EMS agencies when establishing local policies and procedures. AB 2456 would negate local control over the Inland Counties Emergency Medical Authority (ICEMA), which provides emergency medical services to both urban areas and the many remote areas of San Bernardino, Inyo and Mono counties.
AB 2153 (Lieu) Emergency Room Crowding This legislation would require every licensed general acute care hospital with an emergency department to determine the range of crowding scores that constitute each category of the crowding scale for its emergency department. The bill would require every licensed general acute care hospital with an emergency department to calculate and record a crowding score every four hours to assess the crowding condition of its emergency department. The bill would require, by January 1, 2012, every licensed general acute care hospital with an emergency department to develop and implement a full-capacity protocol for each of the categories of the crowding scale.
AB 1994 (Skinner) Hospital Employees: Presumption This legislation would provide, with respect to hospital employees who provide direct patient care in an acute care hospital, that the term "injury" includes a blood-borne infectious disease, neck or back impairment, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), or H1N1 influenza virus that develops or manifests itself during the period of the person's employment with the hospital. Under AB 1994, the employer, in this case the County of San Bernardino, would be placed with the burden to prove that an injury did or did not occur in the workplace.
AB 155 (Mendoza) Local Government Bankruptcy Proceedings This legislation requires local agencies to seek approval from the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) prior to seeking bankruptcy protection in federal court.
AB 1409 (Perez) Public Contracts: Contracts: County Highways Existing law sets forth procedures pursuant to which work being done by contract on county highways may be done. Existing law specifies that in any county that has appointed a road commissioner, or in any county that has abolished the office of road commissioner, as prescribed, the board of supervisors of the county may authorize the road commissioner, or a registered civil engineer under the direction of the county director of transportation, to have any work upon county highways done under his or her supervision and direction. In this connection, existing law provides that the work on those contracts may be done by: letting a contract covering both work and material, as provided; purchasing the material and letting a contract for the performance of the work, as provided; or purchasing the material and having the work done by day labor, in which case advertising for bids is not required. This bill would delete revise that provision authorizing the work on those county highway contracts to be done by purchasing the material and having the work done by day labor, in which case advertising for bids is not required. labor, to additionally allow work to be done by force account, and to only authorize the work be done by day labor or force account under specified conditions.
AB 1139 (Perez) Income Taxes: Credits: Enterprise Zones AB 1139 would revise the definition of "qualified wages" for purposes of the credit to provide that qualified wages include that portion of wages paid or incurred by the taxpayer, and to further revise the definition to provide that qualified wages include that portion of wages paid or incurred by the taxpayer for qualified employees that the qualified employer employs for at least 35 hours per week and for whom the taxpayer pays for at least 80% of specified forms of health care coverage. This bill would also revise the definition of "qualified employee" by removing residency in a targeted employment or targeted tax area. Additionally, this bill would require taxpayers to apply for, and obtain, the certification of a qualified employee within 21 days of the date of hire of the qualified employee and annually report specified information regarding qualified employees to certifying agencies which then must compile and report that information to the Department of Housing and Community Development,for an annual report presented by the department to the Legislature.

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