Legislature Reaches Fiscal Bill Deadline, Strikes Deal on Housing
With the legislative session quickly winding down, the Senate and Assembly had a busy week of finalizing committee activities and preparing for upcoming floor sessions. Today is the deadline for fiscal committees to meet and report all fiscal bills, and the last two weeks of the session will be floor session only.
Notably, this week, Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders reached a housing deal which includes a $4 billion bond, a new fee on real estate transactions, and a handful of measures to streamline housing development projects. The deal is expected to lead to development of approximately 70,000 housing units and partly relieve the urgent housing crisis in California. A vote on the package of housing bills is expected next week.
Our full CHEAC Bill Chart is available here. Below, we highlight a handful of bills of interest to members, as well as Suspense File bills heard today.
LHD Administration
AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) as amended on 6/21/2017 – Oppose
AB 1250, as introduced by Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr., was heard on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File today where it was passed to the Senate Rules Committee. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee expressed concerns about the potential impact to county services, but also indicated their desire to ensure contracting at the local level is done so in a way that is transparent and cost-effective.
Recall, AB 1250 would place onerous requirements on county contracting, including many of the contracts into which local health departments enter for vital health services. Further amendments are expected, but time is limited given that only two weeks remain in the legislative session. CHEAC continues to oppose the measure and remains part of a large opposition coalition led by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC). We will update members as additional information becomes available.
AB 1603 (Ridley-Thomas) as amended on 8/24/2017 – Oppose
AB 1603 by Assembly Member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was sent directly to the Senate Floor this week under Senate Rule 28.8, which permits the Senate to bypass the fiscal committee if the bill does not appropriate money and has no significant fiscal impact.
The measure revises the definition of “public employee” and would authorize collective bargaining for temporary employees without consent by the public employer or temporary agency. The scope of the bill was recently narrowed to focus on those jointly employed by a public agency and another employer to work at a clinic or hospital operated to provide medical education, a non-profit or community clinic, and a county hospital. CHEAC, along with CSAC, the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH), the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California (CBHDA), and the Urban Counties of California (UCC), oppose this measure.
Health Equity
AB 210 (Santiago) as amended on 8/23/2017 – Support
AB 210 by Assembly Member Miguel Santiago was sent directly to the Senate Floor this week under Senate Rule 28.8. The measure would allow counties to establish adult and family multidisciplinary teams to facilitate the expedited identification, assessment, and linkage of homeless individuals to housing and supportive services. The measure is sponsored by Los Angeles County, and CHEAC supports this bill as a way to improve coordination of services and strengthen continuity of care for the homeless population.
Suspense File Bills
CHEAC had an eye on over 50 Suspense File bills this week. The following items are Suspense File bills on which CHEAC has taken a position. For all other Suspense File bills, please reference this week’s full bill chart.
Passed
AB 40 (Santiago) – Support – Drug & Alcohol Services – Do Pass as Amended to Senate Floor
AB 74 (Chiu) – Special Interest Bill – Health Equity – Do Pass as Amended to Senate Floor
AB 263 (Rodriguez) – Watch with Concerns – EMS – Do Pass to Senate Rules Committee
AB 340 (Arambula) – Support – Health Care Coverage – Do Pass as Amended to Senate Floor
AB 391 (Chiu) – Support – Health Care Coverage – Do Pass to Senate Floor
AB 725 (Levine) – Support – Tobacco – Do Pass as Amended to Senate Floor
AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) – Oppose – LHD Administration – Do Pass as Amended to Senate Rules Committee
AB 1591 (Berman) – Support – Health Care Access – Do Pass as Amended to Senate Floor
SB 138 (McGuire) – Support – Chronic Disease – Do Pass to Assembly Floor
SB 323 (Mitchell) – Support – Health Care Coverage – Do Pass as Amended to Assembly Floor
SB 386 (Glazer) – Support – Tobacco – Do Pass to Assembly Floor
Held on Suspense
AB 64 (Bonta) – Special Interest Bill – Cannabis – Held on Suspense
AB 175 (Chau) – Support – Cannabis – Held on Suspense
AB 823 (Chau) – Support – Cannabis – Held on Suspense
SB 162 (Allen) – Support – Cannabis – Held on Suspense