Based on the recommendations from its reports, the Little Hoover Commission supported 81 pieces of legislation in nine different policy areas during the 1997-1998 legislative session. In some cases, the bills were outgrowths of recent studies conducted by the Commission. In other cases, the Commission supported measures based on recommendations it made as many as 10 years ago, but remain relevant today.
The Commission withdrew support from 15 bills when amendments made them no longer compatible with Commission recommendations. Of the remaining 66 bills, 37 measures passed both houses of the Legislature, and the Governor signed 25 of those measures. Twelve Commission-supported bills were vetoed.
The Commission’s legislative activities during the 1997-1998 legislative session were largely focused on the areas of crime and prisons, education and long-term care. To a lesser degree, there was legislative activity in the topics of child support and general state management. Other subject matters, such as foster care, procurement, and utilities, also received the Commission’s legislative attention.
Child Support
AB 123 (Wildman)
Summary: Originally would have modified the criminal penalty provisions for failing to provide child support.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
AB 1334 (Caldera)
Summary: Originally would have established a pilot project to allow alternative methods of service of process in child support actions.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
AB 1961 (Aroner)
Summary: Creates a dispute resolution process for child support collection disputes.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 936 (Burton)
Summary: Requires counties to collect and compile specified information on child support enforcement programs.
Fina Action: Chaptered, Ch. 926, Stats. 1997.
Crime
AB 70 (Woods)
Summary: Prohibits a juvenile court from committinga person to the Youth Authority for the commission of specified criminaloffenses in a county that has adopted a plan involving community-basedpunishment.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
AB 320 (Goldsmith)
Summary: Establishes a pilot program for certain non-violentjuvenile offenders to attend a victim-offender reconciliation program, perform community service, and pay victim restitution.
Final Action: Vetoed.
AB 486 (Margett)
Summary: Establishes an education and transitional supportprogram for graduates of juvenile boot camps.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
AB 640 (Aguiar)
Summary: Authorizes a pilot program in San Bernardino County designed to demonstrate the effects of a collaborative and integrated approach to the apprehension, treatment, rehabilitation, education, and punishment of juvenile offenders in a community-based program.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 753, Stats. 1997.
AB 963 (Keeley)
Summary: Establishes a crime prevention program in specified counties for the purposes of reducing gang and criminal activity and youth violence.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 885, Stats. 1997.
AB 986 (Migden)
Summary: Originally would have revised the goals of the juvenile justice laws.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn
SB 483 (Schiff)
Summary: Declares the intent of the Legislature to create a Department of Juvenile Justice in state government for the purpose of coordinating juvenile justice services.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 668 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Revised the goals of the juvenile justice laws.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 670 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Establishes the California Sentencing Commission, creates a Judicial Advisory Committee to assist the commission in developing sentencing guidelines, and authorizes counties to create local sentencing commissions for the purpose of establishing sentencing guidelines for misdemeanors.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 711 (Mountjoy)
Summary: Modifies the sealed records law and the confidentiality of certain proceedings relating to juvenile offenders.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 817 (Polanco)
Summary: Creates regulations for private sector boot camps.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
SB 822 (Lockyer)
Summary: Creates the California Youth Violence Prevention Authority.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 1136 (Kopp)
Summary: Originally would have established a deferred entry of judgment procedure in juvenile court for a minor who has committed a felony offense if specified circumstances apply.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 1195 (Schiff)
Summary: Enhances the ability of victims or families of victims of juvenile offenders to participate in the justice process.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 910, Stats. 1997.
SB 1218 (Schiff)
Summary: Authorizes certain juvenile offenders convicted of a felony to be released under supervision for a maximum period of two years after the offender reaches the age of 25.
Final Action: Died in Senate
SB 1259 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Establishes a crime prevention program in specified counties for the purposes of reducing gang, criminal activity, and youth violence.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 1485 (Rosenthal)
Summary: Requires the Department of Corrections to award mentally ill offender grants to provide a continuum of sanctions for mentally ill offenders.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 501, Stats. 1998.
SB 1913 (Ayala)
Summary: Makes the Office of the Inspector General an entity wholly independent of any other state agency.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 969, Stats. 1998.
Education
AB 36 (Firestone)
Summary: Establishes the Alpert-Firestone BilingualEducation Reform Act of 1997 in order to provide a new program of instructional services for English learners.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 55 (Mazzoni)
Summary: Originally would have changed the vote requirement for the approval of bond measures related to school facility construction.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
AB 458 (Caldera)
Summary: Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instructionto make apportionments for additional educational programs offered by charterschools provided the schools meet specified requirements.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 544 (Lempert)
Summary: Increases the maximum number of charter schools allowedto operate in the State from 100 to 250.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 34, Stats.1998.
AB 844 (Caldera)
Summary: Repeals the limitation on the number of charter schools operating in the State and in any school district.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 865 (Pringle)
Summary: Authorizes school districts to utilize commercial buildings that do not meet the requirements of the Field Act as schoolbuildings under specified circumstances.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 629, Stats.1997.
AB 867 (Pringle)
Summary: Requires the State Board of Education to annually identify low-achieving elementary and high schools and permits the parentsof the pupils at such schools to submit to the governing board of the school district a petition to establish a charter school.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 1254 (Baldwin)
Summary: Makes inoperative the limitation on the number of charter schools operating in the state provided that the Senate and Assembly Education Committees make specified findings regarding charter schools and pupil performance.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
ACA 7 (Escutia)
Summary: Originally would have provided an exemption from the property tax limitation for property taxes to pay the interest charges on bonded indebtedness incurred by school districts for school facility construction and changes the vote requirement for the approval of bond measures related to school facility construction from two-thirds to a majority.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 6 (Alpert)
Summary: Establishes theAlpert-Firestone Bilingual Education Reform Act of 1997 in order to provide a new program of instructional services for English learners.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 222 (Lewis)
Summary: Repeals the limitation on the number ofcharter schools operating in the state and in any school district.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 223 (Lewis)
Summary: Permits a petition for the establishment of a charter school to be submitted by the parents, guardians, or caregivers of pupils under specified circumstances.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 224 (Lewis)
Summary: Originally would have deemed the Regentsof the University of California, the Chancellor of the California StateUniversity, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges as a governing board for the purpose of establishing charter schools.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 804 (Rosenthal)
Summary: Revises the procedure utilized by the Superintendentof Public Instruction for calculating the days of school attendance in a manner that takes into account a school district’s average rate of apportionable absences.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 298, Stats. 1997.
SB 843 (Hayden)
Summary: Originally would have increased the number of charter schools allowed to operate in the State.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 1538 (Alpert)
Summary: Provides for a comprehensive reform of the State’s education finance system.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
Foster Care
AB 2598 (Aroner)
Summary: Creates an Interagency Coordinating Council for Foster Care.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 916 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Enhances preplacement and annual training of foster care parents.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 542, Stats. 1997.
General Government
AB 697 (Davis)
Summary: Requires the Trade & Commerce Agencyto meet program-specific benchmarks, goals, and objectives set by the Legislatureand imposes a monetary sanction for failing to meet the established goals.
Final Action: Vetoed.
Long-Term Care
AB 190 (Napolitano)
Summary: Originally would have declared the intent of theLegislature to increase the penalties for fraud against adults over theage of 65 to a level commensurate with the pain or suffering inflictedon the victim.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
AB 560 (Perata)
Summary: Establishes a registered dental hygienist in alternativepractice as a new category of dental auxiliary and provides that such servicesmay be rendered as a covered benefit to Medi-Cal recipients under specified conditions.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 753, Stats. 1997.
AB 668 (Aroner)
Summary: Requires the Director of Health Services to seek amendmentsto existing waivers of federal Medicaid requirements in order to expandthe class of persons who would be eligible to receive personal care services.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 896, Stats. 1998.
AB 779 (Woods)
Summary: Reorganizes the provisions of law creating theOffice of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in the CaliforniaDepartment of Aging and revises the powers and duties of the office.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 789 (Cardenas)
Summary: Prohibits a person from providing direct patient care in a long-term care facility if the person has been convicted of certain crimes.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
AB 846 (Knox)
Summary: Prohibits the eviction of a residentof a residential care facility for the elderly unless certain circumstances exist.
Final Action: Vetoed.
AB 1032 (Frusetta)
Summary: Prohibits a person from providing direct patientcare in a long-term care facility if the person has been convicted of certain crimes.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 1087 (Aguiar)
Summary: Requires the Director of Health Services to conduct a pilot project to examine and contrast the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organization accreditation review process with the current Medicare and Medicaid certification surveys and enforcement process for long-term health care facilities, and requires the department to seek all necessary waivers from the federal government.
Final Action: Died in Senate
AB 1133 (Gallegos)
Summary: Increases the civil penalties against long-termhealth care facilities that are in violation of laws and regulations relatingto patient care and eliminates the authority of the Director of Health Services to waive the penalty for a Class B violation.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 650, Stats. 1998.
AB 1147 (Shelley)
Summary: Provides that any civil cause of action arising from the abuse of elderly or dependent adults shall be governed by the laws applicable to professional negligence actions as well as by those relating to the abuse of elderly or dependent adults.
Final Action: Died in Senate
AB 1178 (Davis)
Summary: Originally would have established standards for informed consent for medical treatments in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
AB 1215 (Mazzoni)
Summary: Requires the Health and Welfare Agency to prepare a report regarding the licensing responsibilities for long-term health care facilities and to develop a plan to consolidate these responsibilities under a single administrative branch.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 269, Stats. 1997.
AB 1249 (Davis)
Summary: Requires the Department of Aging to establish a statewiderespite care program and registry to provide services to individuals providing care to the elderly and the disabled.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 1380 (Ashburn)
Summary: Extends the sunset date for the California Partnershipfor Long-Term Care Pilot Program from June 30, 1998 to June 30, 2000.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 37, Stats. 1997.
AB 1440 (Woods)
Summary: Requires the Department of Social Services to conduct fingerprint checks of in-home care providers at the expense of the provider.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
AB 1483 (Gallegos)
Summary: Requires every policy of long-term care insurance to be identified as either federally tax qualified or federally non-taxqualified and requires insurers offering federally tax qualified insurance to also offer federally non-tax qualified coverage.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch.700, Stats. 1997
SB 140 (McPherson)
Summary: Originally would have suspended the application of the inflation factor to the senior citizen exemption credit and transfered any resulting revenues to the California Senior Special Fund.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 253 (Burton)
Summary: Prohibits a health facility from discriminating or retaliating against a patient or employee of that facility because the patient or employee presents a grievance or complaint, or participates in an investigation or proceeding by a governmental entity, relating to the careservices, or conditions at the facility.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 381 (Watson)
Summary: Requires the Department of Social Services, in conjunction with other specified agencies, to develop or approve the curriculum content for certain training programs for licensees and staffs of adult residential facilities.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 555, Stats. 1997.
SB 527 (Rosenthal)
Summary: Requires the provisions of tax-favorable long-termcare insurance policies to be as permissive as allowed under federal lawand regulations and requires specified disclosures to be made on applications for long-term care insurance.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 701, Stats. 1997.
SB 588 (Hughes)
Summary: States the intent of the Legislature to implement an omnibus elder abuse reform effort, in coordination with the Commission on Aging, for the prevention of elder abuse.
Final Action: Died in Senate Committee.
SB 791 (Costa)
Summary: Requires adult day health care centers to provide coordination of transportation services and revises the procedures such centers must follow in emergency situations.
Final Action: Vetoed.
SB 830 (Alpert)
Summary: Requires the Department of Social Servicesto ensure that direct payments made by a state or county to an in-home supportive services provider shall cover wages for all authorized IHSS services provided during the appropriate pay period.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 942 (Solis)
Summary: Increases the amount of payments made under the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled program for recipients in nonmedical out-of-home care facilities.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 1052 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Requires every policy of long-term care insuranceto be identified as either federally tax qualified or federally non-tax qualified and requires insurers offering federally tax qualified insurance to also offer federally non-tax qualified coverage.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch.699, Stats. 1997.
SB 1061 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Repeals requirement that long-term health care contracts of admission be submitted to the Department of Health Services for review and instead requires such facilities to utilize a standard admission agreement adopted by the department.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 631, Stats. 1997.
SB 1231 (Watson)
Summary: Authorizes a residential care facility for the elderlyto obtain a waiver from the Department of Social Services for the purposeof providing incidental medical care through a home health agency under specified conditions.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 494, Stats. 1997.
SB 1238 (Johannessen)
Summary: Increases the criminal penalties for willfully causing any elder or dependent adult to suffer physical or mental pain.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 698, Stats. 1997.
SB 1674 (Alpert)
Summary: Requires the Department of Social Services to ensurethat direct payments made by a state or county to an in-home supportiveservices provider shall cover wages for all authorized IHSS services provided during the appropriate pay period.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 1724 (Johannessen)
Summary: Originally would have required the Departmentof Health Services to apply for a waiver in order for residents of RCFE’s to receive federal services and benefits.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
Prisons
AB 1913 (Ashburn)
Summary: Declares legislative intent to require the Departmentof Corrections to provide inmates with assessments, treatment, aftercare, expanded drug treatment and parolee assistance programs, to create reintegration centers, and to establish a zero-tolerance policy of drugs in prisons.
Final Action: Died in Senate committee.
AB 2321 (Knox)
Summary: Requires the Department of Correctionsto expand the Preventing Parolee Failure Program and authorizes conditionally released or paroled prisoners to be placed in the program in lieu of the suspension or revocation of parole.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 526, Stats. 1998.
SB 295 (Rainey)
Summary: Authorizes nonviolent felons to be placed in local correctional facilities for treatment, incarceration, and supervision under specified circumstances, and authorizes the Department of Corrections to establish a Medical Detention Program for treatment of severely ill and disabled inmates.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 526, Stats. 1998.
SB 1089 (Lockyer)
Summary: Originally would have required the Department of Corrections to expand the number of beds in state institutions and community correctional facilities by 4,000 to provide intensive substance abuse treatment.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 1497 (Polanco)
Summary: Requires the Department of Corrections to establish inmate reintegration centers that provide programs that prepare inmates for successful reintegration into society upon release.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
SB 2108 (Vasconcellos)
Summary: Requires the Department of Corrections to evaluate potential parolees for amenability for treatment and to develop an individualized treatment plan for inmates.
Final Action: Chaptered, Ch. 502, Stats. 1998.
Procurement
SB 1132 (Polanco)
Summary: Revises the mission of the Prison Industry Authority, requires the state to purchase PIA products unless the state elicits bidsfrom outside vendors and receives a bid lower than the PIA quote, and creates a panel to advise the PIA and the Legislature concerning recommendations to improve the competitiveness of prison industries.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 1338 (Johannessen)
Summary: Originally would have enacted the CaliforniaElectronic Commerce Act of 1997 which, among other things, centralizes the management and responsibility for all procurement functions with the Departmentof General Services and requires the department to employ best value purchasing techniques.
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
Utilities
AB 1096 (Martinez)
Summary: Transfers the consumer advocacy functions of thePublic Utilities Commission to the Office of the Attorney General.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 653 (Calderon)
Summary: Provides for intermediate appellate review of certain types of decisions issued by the Public Utilities Commission.
Final Action: Vetoed.