One Week Remains of Legislative Session
With one week remaining in the 2017 Legislative Session and limited time to advance bills to the governor, both the Senate and Assembly continue to make their way through busy floor session agendas. Today is the deadline for amendments to be made to bills, though a handful of amendments are still expected to come into print early next week. Hundreds of bills await their fate as time is quickly winding down in the Legislature.
The housing deal, which includes a $4 billion bond, a fee on real estate transactions, and a handful of measures to streamline developments, recently struck between Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders has not yet received a vote in the Senate or Assembly. Legislative leaders continue to attempt to gather votes prior to next Friday’s deadline.
CHEAC continues to monitor over 50 measures making their way through the Senate and Assembly Floors. On over 10 of those measures, CHEAC has taken an active position. This week’s full CHEAC Bill Chart is available here. Below, we highlight several bills of interest to CHEAC Members.
LHD Administration
AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) as amended on 9/5/2017 – Oppose
AB 1250 by Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr., remains in play for this year’s legislative session and has not been declared a two-year bill at this time. 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. Amendments made this week do not significantly change the content or impact of the bill.
CHEAC remains an active member of a large opposition coalition led by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) to AB 1250. We will continue to provide updates to members as information becomes available.
AB 1603 (Ridley-Thomas) as amended on 8/24/2017 – Oppose
This week, Assembly Member Sebastian Ridley Thomas’ Office indicated AB 1603 would become a two-year bill. The measure would have revised the definition of “public employee” and would authorize collective bargaining for temporary employees without consent by the public employer or temporary agency. Given its two-year status, the measure will not be acted upon further this legislative session; however, the bill may be picked up again in early 2018.
CHEAC, along with CSAC, the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH), and a variety of county colleague organizations opposed this measure. CHEAC will continue to keep an eye on this bill moving into next year’s legislative session.
Health Coverage/Health Reform
AB 340 (Arambula) as amended 9/7/2017 – Support
AB 340 by Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula was recently amended to now require the Department of Health Care Services to convene an advisory working group to update, amend, or develop protocols for screening children for trauma within the EPSDT benefit. The advisory group will now be required to provide the Legislature with a report on findings and recommendations, including appropriations necessary to implement recommendations. AB 340 is currently on the Senate Floor awaiting a final floor vote.
Health Equity
SB 138 (McGuire) as revised on 9/1/2017 – Support
Senator Mike McGuire’s SB 138 continues to make its way through the Legislature where it is currently back in the Senate for concurrence in Assembly amendments. The measure requires local education agencies participating in the federal school meal program to implement a system to directly certify pupils eligible for free or reduce priced meals using Medi-Cal participation data. The measure also requires high poverty schools to apply to operate a universal meal service program which allows schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students without their families having to apply. CHEAC, along with the Health Officers Association of California (HOAC) and the California Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) support SB 138.