2019-2020
2019-2020
Public Policy Archive
Archived bill and budget advocacy material for the prior year.
AB 46 (Carrillo) - Destigmatizing Mental Health Terms
Removes dehumanizing language from California law that perpetuates stigma and discrimination against people with mental health disabilities. Specifically, this bill updates sections of California law to reflect people-first terminology used to promote the dignity of all Californians experiencing mental health challenges. By updating sections of California law with language that speaks to the person first and their mental health challenges second, AB 46 will promote greater understanding and acceptance of the possibility of successful treatment and recovery. This is a follow-up to AB 1847 (Chesbro), a 2014 bill sponsored by DRC that updated numerous code references to delete stigmatizing terms.
AB 216 (Weber) – Pupil and Staff Safety Pilot Program
Establishes the Pupil and Staff Safety Pilot Program under the Scale Up MTSS Statewide (SUMS) project, in collaboration with the California Department of Education. The Program authorizes county offices of education to apply to the SUMS project for grants in order to train school staff on de-escalation techniques and alternatives to physical restraint and seclusion of pupils. AB 216 also requires Local Education Agency to maintain records of the training and requires the SUMS project to report the outcomes of the program.
AB 365 (Garcia) - Limited Examination and Appointment Program for Civil Service Hiring of Persons with Disabilities
Currently extends the effective date of existing law which specifies that the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) for persons with disabilities. It is intended that the bill will be amended to implement a series of recommendations from a 2015 report by the Department of Rehabilitation, CalHR, and the State Personnel Board to increase the number of persons with disabilities employed in state civil service.
AB 506 (Kalra) - Nursing Home Oversight
Updates citation penalties and standards for negligent care to safeguard nursing home and long-term care residents. Building on a 2018 state audit report and DRC-sponsored legislation from last session, AB 1335 (Kalra), the bill increases citation amounts, requires an annual inflation adjustment, and requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to issue a separate citation for each resident harmed. The bill also improves DPH enforcement ability by replacing the confusing causation standard for “AA” citations from “direct proximate cause” to the “substantial factor” test.
AB 715 (Arambula) - Medi-Cal Aged and Disabled Program
Increases the Medi-Cal Aged and Disabled (A&D) Program Income Level to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The eligibility standard has not been adjusted since the program’s 2001 creation while the eligibility standard for other Medi-Cal programs has to the current 138%. The current income level forces people in the A&D program to pay into Medi-Cal if they want coverage. There will also be a companion budget proposal submitted to the budget committees. It is cosponsored by Western Center on Law and Poverty and Justice in Aging.
AB 823 (Arambula) – Developmental Services
Expands the availability of crisis services by requiring a regional center: 1) to contract for mobile crisis services to assist consumers in remaining in, or returning to, the community; and 2) post the memorandum of understanding between the regional center and the county mental health agency on the regional center's internet website.
AB 1042 (Wood) - Home Upkeep Allowance
Increases the Medi-Cal home upkeep allowance (HUA) to help a person living in a nursing home maintain and return to their own home and establishes a transitional needs fund for individuals who do not have a home. Many individuals who qualify for the HUA are not aware of it, and the amount ($209 per month) has not increased in decades. This results in people staying in a nursing facility indefinitely because they are unable to transition back into their home and community. Money in the fund may be used, by individuals leaving a long term care facility, to cover the costs of securing a home, including rent, security deposit, accessibility modifications and essential furnishings. There will also be a companion budget proposal submitted to the budget committees.
AB 1088 (Wood) - Stabilizing Medi-Cal Share-of-Cost for Individuals Enrolled in Both Medi-Cal and Medicare
Helps prevent loss of Medi-Cal coverage for seniors and persons with disabilities who are also enrolled in Medicare when the state begins paying their Medicare Part B premiums. Currently, some people experience months of on-again/off-again eligibility for Medi-Cal without a share-of-cost if their income fluctuates. This bill helps stabilize eligibility to avoid the “flipping” or “yo-yo” effect. It is co-sponsored by Justice in Aging and Western Center on Law and Poverty. There will also be a companion budget proposal submitted to the budget committees.
AB 1643 (E. Garcia) – Developmental Services: Regional Center Notices
Requires Regional Centers to send written notice to consumers if there is a change in services, irrespective of whether the regional center action was deemed to be made by mutual consent of the consumer. The written notice must be sent by mail, certified mail, or electronic mail, as determined by the recipient.
AB 2245 (Kalra) – Nursing Home Oversight
Increases long-term care facility citation penalties and clarifies the causation standard by adopting the “substantial factor” test for incidents resulting in the death of a patient in a skilled nursing facility. This is a revised version of AB 506 (Kalra) which was vetoed last year.
AB 2328 (C. Garcia) – LEAP Expansion
Extends the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) by requiring the Department of Human Resources to establish guidelines for reasonable accommodation and to develop a model reasonable accommodation policy. The bill also requires the department to identify 10 state agencies or departments that have the lowest representation rate of persons with disabilities and requires them set new goals and timetables for hiring persons with disabilities. This is a revised version of AB 365 (C. Garcia) which was vetoed by the Governor in 2018.
SB 214 (Dodd) – Medi-Cal: California Community Transitions Program
Requires the State Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to implement and administer the California Community Transitions program (CCT), as authorized under federal law and pursuant to the terms of the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration.
SB 398 (Durazo) - P&A Access Authority
Updates state law implementing federal Protection and Advocacy access and investigation authority to reflect federal regulatory changes. Specifies P&A authority applies to immigrant detention centers.
SB 512 (Pan & Kalra) – Long Term Care and Supports
Establishes the California Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Benefits Board to oversee a program to provide LTSS to eligible Californians. It would also establish the California LTSS Benefits Trust to manage and invest revenues made available to pay for LTSS for eligible older adults and persons with disabilities, mobility, sensory, intellectual/developmental, and mental health disabilities.
SB 849 (Portantino) – Pupil Attendance: Excused Absence: Mental or Behavioral
Provides that missed school days by a student due to mental or behavioral health needs shall constitute an excused absence.
SB 862 (Dodd) – Planned Power Outage: Public Safety
Includes a planned public safety power shut off (PSPS) event within the conditions constituting a state of emergency and a local emergency under the California Emergency Services Act. Additionally, it requires an electrical corporation, as part of its public safety mitigation protocols, to include protocols that deal specifically with access and functional need individuals, including those individuals who are enrolled in the Alternative Rates for Energy program.
SB 1016 (Wieckowski) – Supported Decision Making
Requires appointed counsel for a proposed limited conservatee to advocate for the expressed interests of the proposed limited conservatee. The bill also requires the court to inquire as to what alternatives to conservatorship have been tried and for how long, including the use of supported decision making.
SB 1062 (Durazo) – Prohibits the Payment of Sub Minimum Wage in Developmental Disability Facilities
Precludes the state from paying regional center client workers in any state developmental center less than the applicable state or local minimum wage, whichever is higher.
SB 1063 (Durazo) – Definition of Competitive Integrated Employment
Conforms the state law definition of competitive integrated employment with federal law.