The 2013 bill introduction deadline has passed, and now we have a clearer idea of the large number of major issuing facing out community in the legislature this year. Here's what is – believe it or not – a short summary of what we know now. We have our work cut our for us this year.
There certainly will be more bills that will rise to the level of "major" for us. Some "spot bills" (introduced with little or no content) will be amended to make them major. Some bills will be gutted and amended, maybe to address entirely different subjects. And there are other ways around the deadlines.
We haven't analyzed and taken positions on most of these bill yet, and are open to your comments. Stay tuned.
To follow any of these bills, and many others, go to and click on “Bill File.”
2013-14 State Budget
The Governor’s Budget proposes to sunset (i.e., end) the last 1.25% cut in provider rate and regional center operating costs. We support this sunset.
It also proposes to make the $150/$200 family participation fees permanent, rather than allowing them to sunset as originally intended when adopted two years ago. We oppose removing this sunset and, instead, support ending these fees.
It also, once again, proposes a 20% in In-Home Supportive Services, to take effect in November. We oppose this cut.
The administration proposes budget trailer bill language to prohibit regional centers from paying deductibles for autism insurance or any other private insurance. It would allow but not require regional centers to cover copays for any service in an IPP or IFSP, but only if the consumer (or the consumer’s family if the consumer is under 18) has an income less than 400% of the federal poverty level. It also would allow but not require the regional center to pay the copay in rare cases in which the service is necessary to keep the consumer at home or in the least restrictive environment. We oppose this language and, instead, believe that the Lanterman Act requires and should continue to require that the regional centers pay all copays and deductibles for services in IPPs and IFSPs.
Small I/DD service providers are asking for an end to unnecessary and expensive annual audits, and replacing them with simpler annual reviews. We support ending these unnecessary audits.
Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro is seeking a hearing in Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on the problem of denial by delay of services and supports in IPPs and IFSPs due to disputes over who should pay and the long approval processes of generic providers such as school districts and insurers. The purpose is to reaffirm the central role of the IPP and IFSP. We support Mr. Chesbro’s request and hope it will result in a DDS advisory to the regional centers reminding them that they are the payers of last resort and must pay for anything in an IPP or IPSP unless and until a generic provider starts paying for it.
Most of these budget issues likely will be resolved during the hearings Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 (tentatively on April 11) and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 9 (tentatively April 17).
Affordable and Accessible Housing
AB 1080 (Alejo) would allow local governments to establish a community Revitalization and Investment Authority to continue some of the work of the now-abolished redevelopment agencies.
SB 1 (Steinberg) would allow local governments to establish a Sustainable Communities Investment Authorityto carry on the work of the redevelopment agencies, including funding low- and moderate-income housing. We support the bill and are asking for amendments to assure that some of the affordable housing is fully accessible.
SB 341 (DeSaulnier) would make many changes in law concerning the successor agencies to the local redevelopment agencies in an effort to preserve and strengthen the low- and moderate-income housing requirements.
SB 391 (DeSaulnier) would provide a permanent funding source for affordable housing, i.e. a $75 fee for recording a real estate document except those documents that already require a documentary transfer tax. We support the bill and are seeking amendments to assure that some of the affordable housing is fully accessible.
SB 550 (Jackson) would require new and substantially rehabilitated assisted multifamily housing projects to be designed and constructed to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with mobility, vision, and hearing impairments. A minimum of 10 percent of the total dwellingunits, or at least one unit in each assisted multifamily housingproject, whichever is greater, would be made accessible for personswith mobility impairments. We support this bill.
Autism
AB 1231 (V. Manuel Perez), a spot bill now, is intended to promote regional centers’ use of technology and telehealth for delivery of services to people with autism.
AB 1372 (Bonilla) would continue the current requirement that health insurers provide behavioral health treatment.
SB 126 (Steinberg) also would continue the current requirement that health insurers provide behavioral health treatment.
SB 158 (Correa), a spot bill now, is intended to create a demonstration program to assist regional centers to be linguistically and culturally competent in providing autism services.
SB 163 (Rubio), a spot bill now, is intended to clarify the regional centers’ financial responsibility concerning copays and deductibles for autism insurance. Senator Rubio has resigned and another legislator may take over this bill.
SB 322 (Price), a spot bill now, is intended to require certification for applied behavioral analysis therapists.
SB 577 (Pavley) would require DDS to create a pilot program for young adults with autism to help them find pathways to financial independence through work.
Criminal Justice and Civil Rights
AB 5 (Ammiano) would enact the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, which would provide that no person’s rights, privileges, or access to public services may be denied or abridged because he or she is homeless, has a low income, or suffers from a mental illness or physical disability. The bill would provide that every person in the state, regardless of actual or perceived housing status, income level, mental illness, or physical disability, shall be free from specified forms of discrimination and shall be entitled to certain basic human rights, including the right to be free from discrimination by law enforcement, in the workplace, while seeking or maintaining housing or shelter, and while seeking services.
AB 602 (Yamada) would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a mandatory training course for officers in state mental hospitals and developmental centers. It also would require mandated reporters to report suspected major crimes in developmental centers and state mental hospitals to both the internal law enforcement agency and the local police or sheriff's department. And it would require the police and sheriff's departments to coordinate with the internal law enforcement agencies. We support this bill.
AB 758 (Frazier) would require counties to report to the Department of Social Services on any child’s death that they find was caused by abuse or neglect.
AB 1216 (Campos) would provide that a pupil who engages in bullying is, at the option of his or her parent or legal guardian (instead of the school superintendent as under current law), subject either to suspension or expulsion or the alternatives specified in existing law or to attendance at a class designed to prevent and eradicate bullying.
SB 160 (Lara) would require schools districts to notify the state when classified employees separate from employment during a child abuse investigation. It also would require the state to keep a list of these notifications and make it available to all school districts.
SB 231 (Correa), a spot bill now, is intended to create a bullying and abuse prevention hot line.
SB 651 (Pavley) would require that every developmental center or state hospital resident who is a suspected victim of sexual assault is provided a medical evidentiary examination. We support this bill.
SB 663 (Lara), a spot bill now is intended to better assure justice for sexual assault victims with I/DD. The Arc of Los Angeles and Orange Counties initiated this bill, and we are the sponsor.
Developmental Center Closures
We and other I/DD groups are seeking legislation to require closure of four of the five remaining developmental centers within four years, with full consultation with residents, families, and staff and with full respect for residents’ IPP rights. The only remaining DC would be Porterville, which we believe is needed as an alternative to jails and prisons, where inmates with I/DD are frequently victimized and assaulted.
Disability Prevention
SB 460 (Pavley) would require that the Department of Public Health's existing program to educate physicians and the public concerning the uses of prenatal testing and the availability of the prenatal testing program must also include informationconcerning the importance of avoiding consumer products thatcontain chemicals that are known to harm reproductivehealth
Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence
AB 663 (Gomez) would require that residential care facility administrators be trained in cultural competency and sensitivity in aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender minority issues.
AB 1232 (V. Manuel Perez) would require the DDS quality assurance instrument to assess the provision of services in a linguistically and culturally competent manner and include an outcome-based measure on issues of equity and diversity. It also would require the independent quality assurance organization the department contracts with to be experienced in issues relating to linguistic and cultural competency.
SB 208 (Lara), a spot bill now, is intended to require that a regional center's request for proposals include a section to evaluate the applicants' ability to provide services and supports that are culturally and linguistically competent.
SB 319 (Price), a spot bill now, is intended to require DDS to provide quarterly updates regarding the its progress in meeting the requirement that the department andregional centers to collaborate to compile and publicly report data including the number of consumers in different age groups, their race or ethnicity, their primary languages, and their disabilities.
SB 367 (Block), a spot bill now, is intended to require regional centers to develop annual strategic plans on cultural and linguistic diversity.
SB 555 (Correa), a spot bill now, is intended to require an IPP or IFSP to consider the consumer's and family's needs in order to provide services and supports in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
Emergency Preparedness
AB 918 (Cooley) would authorize the California Emergency Management Agency, local governments, and nongovernment entities to prepare a plan to mobilize seniors and people with disabilities during an emergency or natural disaster.
General Systemic
AB 503 (Wieckowski) would sell the former Agnews Developmental Center to the Santa Clara Unified School District for fair market value.
AB 1089 (Ian Calderon) would specify the procedures when children under 3 transfer between regional centers or local education agencies, or from a local education agency to a catchment agency where there are no services. Among other things, the bill would provide that a child shall have the right to receive comparable early intervention services from the new regional center. The bill also would provide that regional center consumers are entitled to a complete copy of their records, at no charge, upon written request and proof that the records are needed to support an appeal regarding eligibility for a public benefit program.
SB 137 (Emmerson) would require regional centers to post information on their Web sites about payments to vendors and nonprofit housing organizations.
SB 164 (Rubio), a spot bill now, is intended to require DDS to report to the Legislature on the state of its budget process for regional center funding. Senator Rubio has resigned, and another legislator may pick up this bill.
SB 468 (Emmerson) would create a statewide self-determination project under which funds from regional center budgets would go to local projects that enhance consumers' and families abilities to control decisions and resources to meet the goals of IPPs.
SB 784 (Fuller), a spot bill now, is intended to encourage regional centers to collaborate with community-based organizations and to promote volunteerism.
Health and Medical
ABx1 1 (John A. Perez) would implement provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) by extending Medi-Cal eligibility to some previously ineligible adults.
AB 50 (Pan) would establish a process in accordance with federal law to allow a hospital that is a participating Medi-Cal provider to elect to be a qualified entity for purposes of determining whether any individual is eligible for Medi-Cal and providing the individual with medical assistance during the presumptive eligibility period.
AB 518 (Yamada) would create a nonprofit Community-Based Adult Services program as a Medi-Cal benefit.
AB 620 (Buchanan) would require specified health facilities, including various kinds of intermediate care facilities, congregate living health facilities, and nursing facilities, community care facilities offering adult day programs, and adult day health care centers, to develop safety plans to address issues that arise when a patient or participant is missing from the facility. The bill would require the plan to include a requirement that an administrator of the facility inform relatives or caretakers, or both, who are authorized to receive information regarding that patient or participant, and local law enforcement.
AB 961 (Levine) would require the Department of Health Care Services to complete its investigations of long-term care facilities within certain time limits.
AB 582 (Chesbro) would require the Department of Health Care Services, for purposes of establishing reimbursement rates for durable medical equipment, to recognize custom rehabilitation technology services as a separate benefit.
SBx1 1 (Hernandez) also would implement provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act by extending Medi-Cal eligibility to some previously ineligible adults.
SB 28 (Hernandez) also would implement provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act by extending Medi-Cal eligibility to some previously ineligible adults.
SB 780 (Jackson) would require disability health insurance policies to disclose information including conditions and procedures for cancellation, rescission, or nonrenewal, a description of the limitations on the insured’s choice of provider, and, with respect to insurers that contract for alternate rates of payment, a statement describing the basic method of reimbursement made to its participating providers. It also would require a health insurer, medical group, or participating provider that uses or receives financial bonuses or other incentives to provide a written summary of specified information to any requesting person.
Mental Health
AB 753 (Lowenthal) would require the Department of Health care Services to contract with 11 caregiver resource centers to provide direct services to caregivers of cognitively impaired adults. These services would include, but not be limited to, specialized information, family consultation, respite care, short-term counseling, and support groups. The bill would authorize the director to enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts on a bid or negotiated basis and amend existing contracts to provide or arrange for services.
AB 1340 (Achadjian) would require state mental hospitals to establish enhanced treatment units. It also would require any case of assault by a patient to be immediately referred to the local district attorney, and if after the referral, the local district attorney declines to prosecute, or the patient is found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity, the patient is required to be placed in the enhanced treatment unit until the patient is deemed safe to return to the regular population of the hospital.
AB 1367 (Mansoor) would allow Mental Health Services Act funds to be used for prevention and early intervention programs under Laura’s Law.
SB 22 (Beall) would require annual reports to assure insurance parity for treatment severe mental illness and of serious emotional disturbance of a child.
SB 127 (Gaines) would prohibit people who a court finds to be a danger to themselves or others as a result of mental disorder or mental illness, or who a court finds to be mentally disordered sex offenders, from possessing a firearm of other deadly weapon. It would remove the court’s authority to allow the person to possess a weapon.
SB 226 (Emmerson) would require state prison time followed by parole, and not local jail time, for a person convicted of a violent felony and who if found to have a serious mental disorder.
SB 364 (Steinberg) would require counties that detain people with severe mental illness to ensure that they receive prompt assessment, evaluation, and treatment regardless of insurance status, economic status, or ability to pay.
SB 664 (Yee) would make it simpler for a county to implement Laura’s Law and to limit the number of persons to whole it provides outpatient mental health treatment under that law.
Residential and Home Care
AB 241 (Ammiano), a spot bill now, is intended to create protections for domestic work employees. We were neutral on Mr. Ammiano’s AB 889 on this issue last year after he amended it to meet our concerns about harming people with disabilities who hire domestic caregivers.
AB 261 (Chesbro) would prohibit a residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE), which can also serve people with disabilities, from requiring advance notice for terminating an admission agreement upon the death of a resident, and would prohibit the facility from assessing any fees once all personal property of the deceased is removed.
AB 322 (Yamada) would provide for the licensure and regulation of home care organizations by the Department of Social Services.
AB 452 (Brown) would exempt overnight shelters for homeless youth from regulation as community care facilities.
AB 462 (Stone) would require each RCFE and each adult residential facility to install an automatic fire sprinkler system.
AB 581 (Ammiano) would prohibit an adult residential facility licensee, an RCFE licensee, and any officer or employee of the licensee from discriminating or retaliating in any manner, including, but not limited to, eviction or threat of eviction, against any person receiving the services of the facility or against any employee of the licensee's facility because the person or employee or any other person has initiated or participated in the filing of a complaint, grievance, or request for inspection with the department or the local or state ombudsman.