LEGISLATION WE SUPPORT, SPONSOR and/or CO-SPONSOR (includes CSL PROPOSALS ARE NOW LEGISLATIVE BILLS) The California Senior Legislature supports the following legislative bills and resolutions (brief summaries are provided): ASSEMBLY BILLS AB 6 (Fuentes) This bill repeals provisions relating to fingerprinting for eligibility purposes under the CalWORKS and CalFresh programs, and also repeals the quarterly reporting requirements under the CalWORKS program. In addition, the bill would require the development of a utility assistance initiative. AB 20 (Halderman) This bill requires an attorney who solicits or consults with a client for purposes of filing a residential construction defect action to provide certain written information to the client, including a description of a seller's duty to disclose certain facts concerning real property. AB 40 (Yamada) Requires the mandated reporter to report elder abuse to both the local ombudsperson and the local law enforcement agency. Makes various technical, non-substantive changes. CSL proposal AP-12/Loh, CSL is sponsor. AB 52 (Feuer) Requires a health care service plan (HMO) or health insurer that issues individual or group contracts or policies to file with the State Department of Managed health Care or the Department of Insurance a complete rate application for any proposed rate, or rate change. AB 56 ( Hill) Prohibits a public utility from recovering any fine or penalty in any rate approved by the Public Utilities Commission. The bill requires the utility to file reports with specified entities describing how the utility is spending ratepayer funds approved for expenditure by the commission. AB 69 ( Beall) Relates to the CalFresh Program. Requires the Department of Social Services seek a federal waiver, demonstration project or other authority to establish a pilot project in 2 areas of the state to more easily enroll eligible recipients into the CalFresh program. AB 138 (Beall) This bill would require, if specified conditions are met, the department to report data from the Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index), as defined, for each service area included in the state plan. CSL Proposal AP-16 (2008)/Young, CSL is co-sponsor. AB 151 (Monning) This bill requires an insurer to make available Medicare Supplemental benefit plans, A, B,C and F, and benefit plan K and L, or benefit plan M or N. The bill also extends eligibility for specific Medicare supplemental coverage to individuals enrolled in an Medicare Advantage (HMO) plan that increases its premium. AB 210 (Solorio) This bill amends existing law that establishes the Emergency medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act. It requires the membership of an emergency medical care committee in each county to be representative of the emergency medical service system. AB 310 (Ma) This bill prohibits health care service plans and health insurers that offer prescription drug coverage from creating specialty tiers for prescription drugs that require payment by an enrollee or insured of a percentage cost of the drugs. AB 332 (Butler) Amends existing law regarding identity theft and elder abuse and prescribes penalties for violations thereof. Increases the maximum fines for those offenses. CSL Proposal AP-11/Shontz, CSL is sponsor. AB 367 (Smyth) This bill requires a county adult protective services agency or a local law enforcement agency to accept a report by a mandated reporter, or any other person, of suspected elder or dependent adult abuse even if the agency lacks jurisdiction to investigate the report, unless the call can be immediately transferred to an agency with proper jurisdiction. AB 533 (Yamada) Appropriates from the Federal Trust Fund, to the Department of Aging, the amount of federal funds contained in the Federal Trust Fund necessary to pay area agencies on aging for the administration of programs under their jurisdiction and to the Department of Rehabilitation, to pay independent living centers for the administration of programs under their jurisdiction. AB 579 (Monning) Permits the award of attorney's fees and, in some cases, other litigation expenses, to a local governmental entity in an action brought by the owner of a mobilehome park to challenge the validity or application of a local ordinance, rule, regulation, or initiative measure that regulates space rent or is intended to benefit or protect residents in a mobilehome park, if the local governmental entity is determined to be the prevailing party. CSL Proposal AP-23/Molnar, CSL is sponsor.
AB 641 (Feuer) This bill would improve oversight of skilled nursing facilities and protect their residents by ensuring citation appeals are properly dealt with in a timely manner and violations are met with a proper level of response AB 699 (Wagner) This bill would create a revocable transfer on death deed (TOD), which would transfer real property on the death of its owner without a probate proceeding. Provides the revocable deed must be signed, dated, acknowledged, and recorded to be effective. AB 999 (Yamada) Creates the revocable transfer on death deed which would transfer real property on the death of its owner without a probate proceeding. Provides the revocable deed must be signed, dated, acknowledged, and recorded to be effective. Voids revocable deed if, at the time of the owner's death, the property is titled in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship. Provides a person who feloniously and intentional kills a decedent is not entitled generally to property and interests. AB 1090 (Blumenfield) Establishes the County Deferred Property Tax Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Citizens. Authorizes a participating county to defer a claimant's property taxes retroactively, for property taxes due on or before a specified date and prospectively. Requires the amount of property taxes deferred, plus any interest accrued thereon, to be secured by a county property tax lien. CSL Proposal AP-23/Molnar, CSL is sponsor. AB 1142 (Chesbro) Prohibits a residential care facility for the elderly from assessing personal care fees on notice of the death of a resident, and prohibits the facility from assessing fees for the residential living unit of a deceases resident once all personal property of the deceased is removed, and requires that the admission agreement clearly explain this prohibition. AB 1293 (Blumenfield) Authorizes the prosecuting agency in conjunction with a criminal proceeding alleging theft or embezzlement of property worth a minimum amount to file a petition of forfeiture with the superior court of the county in which the defendant has been charged with an underlying criminal offense, and alleging that the defendant has acquired the property or proceeds through theft or embezzlement of an elder or dependent adult's property. ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION ACR 23 (Ma) This Assembly Concurrent Resolution designates March 2011 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. SENATE BILLS SB 33 (Simitian) Makes a technical change to existing law providing that a county adult protective services office and a long-term care ombudsman, when investigating the financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult, is not prohibited from requesting financial information from a financial institution. Amends the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. Provides for mandated reporters of suspected financial abuse. CSL Proposal AP-34/Krohn, CSL is sponsor. SB 44 (Corbett) Requires the Public Utilities Commission to open an appropriate proceeding or expand the scope of an existing proceeding to establish compatible emergency response standards that owners or operators of commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities would be required to follow. SB 51 (Alquist) Relates to the federal Affordable Care Act of that prohibits a health insurance issuer from establishing lifetime limits or unreasonable annual limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary. Requires the issuance of guidance and regulations relating to medical loss ratios. SB 345 (Wolk) Amends provisions of existing law that requires the Department of Aging to establish an advisory council for the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to provide advice and consultation on issues affecting the provisions of ombudsman services. Deletes these provisions. CSL Proposal AP-32/Krohn, CSL is sponsor. SB 411 (Price) The bill requires a home care organization to inform a client of important information before arranging for the provisionof home care services, such as, the typesand hours of available home care services and the extent to which payment may be expected from specified sources. CSL is co-sponsor. SB 444 (Evans) Amends the Subdivision Map Act as regards subdivisions and rental mobilehome park conversions. Clarifies that a local agency is required to consider the results of a survey in making its decision to approve, or disapprove the map if it finds that the results of the survey have not demonstrated adequate resident support. SB 529 (Correa) Requires the Department of Aging, in consultation with the Commission on Aging, the area agencies on aging, and the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, to develop a long-term care strategic plan to provide guidance and temporary funding for community-based programs that serve seniors. CSL Proposal SP-11/Levy, CSL is sponsor. SB 558 (Simitian) Changes the standard of proof that a defendant is liable for physical abuse or neglect of an elder or dependent adult and the defendant has also been guilty of recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice in the commission of the abuse Requires that the conditions regarding the imposition of punitive damages on an employer be satisfied before any punitive damages may be imposed against an employer found to be liable for physical abuse. SB 586 (Pavley) Amends the Banking Law and the California Credit Union Law. Regulates the issuance or use of a signature stamp is financial transactions. Provides for the offense of using a signature stamp in a financial transaction without the express written authorization of a stamp holder who is an elder or dependent adult. CSL is co-sponsor. SB 840 (Evans) Amends existing law requiring the owner of a dwelling intended for human occupancy to install a carbon monoxide device approved by the State Fire Marshall. Includes residential care facilities among the types of dwellings that are subject to those requirements. SB 897 (Leno) Relates to the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) Act. Enacts the RCFE Residents Foreclosure Protection act of 2011, requires the licensee of a facility to notify the department of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and authorizes the department to initiate a compliance plan, noncompliance conference, or other appropriate action. CSL is co-sponsor. SB 924 (Walters) The bill would allow consumers to receive the fiscal and physical benefits of directly accessing physical therapy services without increasing their risk of physical harm or expanding the scope of practice for a Physical Therapist. SENATE RESOLUTION SCR 32 (Correa) This Senate Concurrent Resolution declares May 2011 and each May thereafter as "Senior Volunteer Month" to honor the contributions of California's senior volunteers. CSL Proposal SP-13/Kim-Selby, CSL is sponsor. Read more information about hearing dates and other issues related to these bills by visiting the CSL website at www.4csl.org READ MORE
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