Legislation

SB 889 will allow Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to hold their own permit to provide general anesthesia and deep sedation in a dental office. If dentists chose to have an anesthesia provider in their practice, this permit allows all anesthesia professionals in California to hold their own permit.

SB 937 will modernize the service of business records subpoenas by allowing for delivery by facsimile transmission, overnight delivery, or electronic means if the subpoenaed party consents. It will also allow two extra days for compliance if one of these methods is used.   

Senate Bill 1031 will require healing arts boards under the Department of Consumer Affairs to reduce their renewal fee for inactive licenses to no more than half of the fee for renewal of an active license, unless the board establishes a lower fee.

Senate Bill 1054 clarifies that county Adult Protective Services staff and Child Welfare Services staff can disclose information with each other for the purposes of work related to prevention, intervention, management or treatment of child abuse or neglect, or the abuse or neglect of elder or dependent adults.  The measure will allow the entities to disclose information without sharing the case file.

Senate Bill 1113 will promote the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms by addressing and implementing inclusionary practices through an updated guidebook, a mandated review for the consideration of inclusionary practices in textbooks, funding technical assistance providers, a study to determine proper staffing numbers to achieve best practices, and mandating training in inclusive practices for new school administrators.

SB 1192 clarifies that design professionals (engineers, architects, etc.) are included amongst those who may substitute an alternative security in lieu of having retention payments withheld when contracting with a state agency on a public works project.

SB 1279 will strengthen and codify several aspects of guardian ad litem appointments that often occur informally or without clear guidance for litigants and their lawyers. This bill will also resolve ambiguities in the statutes as to who constitutes as an “incapacitated person” for whom a guardian ad litem may be appointed. Through these clarifications, the courts will better ensure that those provided a guardian ad litem are properly represented and protected in pending litigation.

Senate Bill 1289 will expand the exemption for licensure requirements as specified in Health and Safety Code Section 1596.792 for public recreation programs to apply to private recreation programs.

In order to fully close the mental health bed and workforce deficit, SB 1298 will continuously appropriate at least $1 billion from the General Fund annually to continue building out essential county mental health bed capacity across the entire spectrum of need. 

SB 1312 seeks to harmonize California’s marketplace facilitator law with current practice by clearly identifying the marketplace seller as the tax-responsible party in car rental transactions facilitated by an online travel company. These changes are necessary to avoid further complications in the tax-compliance processes for car rental bookings.

SB 1345 will fully integrate all underground utilities into the “Call Before You Dig” Law by adding Caltrans as a utility operator under the state’s two regional subsurface utility notification centers and by adding non-pressurized sewer lines and storm drains to the definition of “subsurface installation.” This will increase the safety of excavators who need to dig in areas that contain subsurface installations.  It will also serve to protect Caltrans-operated utilities and non-pressurized sewer lines. It also makes a number of technical/functional changes to the “Call Before You Dig” Law.

Senate Bill 1379 would permanently extend the authority granted during the emergency for a prescriber, a prescriber’s authorized agent, or a pharmacist to electronically enter a prescription or order from outside of a pharmacy or hospital to include prescriptions for controlled substances classified in Schedules II, III, IV, or V. It would also authorize a pharmacist to perform various specified services remotely, on behalf of a pharmacy located in California and under the written authorization of a pharmacist-in-charge.

SB1427 would create two grant programs in order to get individuals with mental illness and homeless individuals the care they need and to promote rehabilitation and housing stability.

Senate Bill 1453 clarifies that a speech-language pathologist (SLP) must receive written verification from certified ENT regarding procedures.