In what has been a relatively quiet week in Sacramento on the budget front, closed-door negotiations remain ongoing between the Newsom Administration and legislative leaders on the state’s FY 2021-22 budget. Recall, last week, the California State Senate and Assembly announced agreement between the two houses on a unified legislative budget package, setting up the…
Read More »Following the California Legislature’s floor only sessions and house of origin deadline last week, the Senate and Assembly this week resumed policy committee hearings to begin review of bills from the opposite house. Policy committees will have just over one month to meet and report bills, next facing a deadline of July 14 to advance…
Read More »Ahead of the state’s June 15 retirement of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) took a series of actions to prepare for the state’s full reopening of the economy. The Governor’s Office today established and timeline and process to continue winding down various provisions…
Read More »Ahead of the state’s anticipated June 15 retirement of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) this week issued updated COVID-19 guidance for the use of face coverings and testing requirements. Masking Guidance Under the updated face covering guidance which takes effect on June 15, masks are not required…
Read More »On Wednesday during a special meeting, the Cal/OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) backtracked its revised COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS), unanimously voting to rescind the rules adopted last week that would have relaxed many workplace preB cautions against COVID-19. Recall, the standards adopted by the board last week would have still required…
Read More »Governor Gavin Newsom today conducted the state’s second “$50,000 Fridays” drawing as part of the “Vax for the Win” incentive program to encourage California residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 15 winners were randomly selected, each winning $50,000, for a total of $750,000 in cash prizes. Today’s winners are from the following counties: Monterey, Sacramento,…
Read More »Late last year, the Superior Court of San Luis Obispo ruled that California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) exceeded their authority in allowing cannabis advertising on billboards along California highways. The BCC had interpreted provisions of Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis in California, to ban cannabis billboards from being located within a 15-mile radius of…
Read More »On Thursday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced the United States will purchase and donate 500 million Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union to support the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccines are anticipated to begin shipping in August 2021, and the U.S. will work…
Read More »The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) earlier this month released a brief entitled, “Understand the Basics of Medi-Cal Managed Care Procurement,” detailing the basics of the state’s upcoming procurement process, the scope and goals of the 2021 procurement process, the timeline and specifics of each step of the procurement process, and opportunities for public stakeholders…
Read More »The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will host a workshop series to exploring issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and disaster preparedness for special populations on Thursday, June 17, Thursday, July 1, and Thursday, July 15 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am PT. This three-series webinar will discuss planning and response activities…
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