California Healthline Highlights Recent Legislative Action

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) recently has signed and vetoed a number of health-related bills. Summaries are provided below.

Approved

Schwarzenegger signed the following bills:

AB 321, sponsored by Assembly member David Cogdill (R-Modesto) (Office of the Governor release, 9/9). Under the law, some health plans will have to make information about the termination date for contracts with major health care providers available to health plan members. As an urgency statute, the law takes effect immediately (Bill text, 9/9).
AB 1655, sponsored by Assembly member Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) (Office of the Governor release, 9/14). The law will allow the Emergency Medical Services Authority to levy an administrative fine against paramedics who commit "specified conduct." Proceeds from the fine would be deposited in the state General Fund (Bill text, 9/14).
AB 2876, sponsored by Assembly member Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) (Office of the Governor release, 9/9). The law will require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to provide to California hospitals, local health departments or local health officers information from some hospital reports current state law requires OSHPD to maintain. The bill also would require OSHPD to provide such information to the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research, the National Center for Health Statistics or any other division of CDC (Bill text, 9/9).
SB 635, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Dunn (D-Santa Ana) (Office of the Governor release, 9/15). The law will permit Santa Barbara County to increase criminal fines and penalties to offset the cost to physicians, surgeons and hospitals of providing emergency medical services for which no other reimbursement is received (Bill text, 8/27).
SB 785, sponsored by Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) (Office of the Governor release, 9/9). The law will require the Department of Health Services to make changes to some Medi-Cal applications to allow residents of counties served by Medi-Cal managed care plans to request an application from an enrollment contractor before residents' eligibility is determined. Provisions of the law are contingent upon the availability of federal funds (Bill text, 9/9).
SB 1359, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) (Office of the Governor release, 9/9). The law will require DHS to work with the state Department of Justice to identity segments of the Medi-Cal fee-for-service program that are most at risk for fraud (Bill text, 9/9).
SB 1662, sponsored by Sen. Nell Soto (D-Pomona) (Office of the Governor release, 9/9). Under the law, operators of residential care facilities for the elderly must provide a written notice of a rate increase resulting from a change in the level of care within two days of the change (Bill text, 9/9).
SB 1745, sponsored by Sen. Don Perata (D-Oakland) (Office of Governor release, 9/14). The law will institute a fee for all applications or renewals to operate a mental health rehabilitation facility. The fee will be deposited into the state General Fund. In addition, the law will allow mental health rehabilitation facilities to suspend all or some of its bed capacity or its license to operate such a facility. Under the law, the facility could reinstate its bed capacity or license if the facility complies with state requirements (Bill text, 9/14).

Vetoed

The governor vetoed the following bills:

AB 824, sponsored by Assembly member Barbara Matthews (D-Tracy) (Office of the Governor release, 9/16). The bill would have provided additional state funding for wages and benefits to five counties that administer In-Home Supportive Services programs themselves (Office of the Governor release, 9/16).
AB 1898, sponsored by Assembly member George Nakano (D-Torrance) (Office of the Governor release, 9/16). The bill would have altered the composition of the Commission on Emergency Medical Services and added one member (Office of the Governor release, 9/16).
AB 2281, sponsored by Assembly member Patty Berg (D-Eureka), would have transferred the Rural Health Policy Council from OSHPD to the Health and Human Services Agency (Office of Governor release, 9/15).

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