Based on the recommendations from its reports, the Little Hoover Commission supported 50 pieces of legislation in six different policy areas during the 1999-2000 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 3 bills when amendments made them no longer compatible with Commission recommendations. Of the remaining 47 bills, 20 failed passage and 15 were signed into law. Twelve Commission-supported bills were vetoed.
The Commission’s legislative activities during the 1999-2000 legislative session were largely focused on the areas of children’s services, long-term care and prisons. To a lesser degree, there was legislative activity in the topics of education, school facilities and youth.
Children’s Services
AB 105 (Alquist) Child Care and Development Services: State Master Plan.
Sponsor: LHC
Summary: Requires the development of a state master plan for child care and development services.
Final Action: Died in Senate Health & Human Services.
AB 153 (Cunneen) Child care and development: reimbursement rates.
Summary: Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to reimburse certain providers of child care and extended day care services at a rate higher than the standard reimbursement rate; would make an appropriation for this purpose.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 212 (Aroner) Child care and development.
Summary: Establishes the California CARES (Compensation and Retention to Encourage Stability) program to support local programs in their efforts to build a skilled and stable child care workforce.
Final Action: Signed by Governor Chapter 547 Statutes of 2000.
AB 434 (Aroner) Student aid: emancipated foster youth.
Summary: Requires Dept. of Social Services to annually report to Legislature on foster youth, former foster youth and others who apply and receive Cal Grant awards to attend college.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
AB 443 (Mazzoni) Child care: family support.
Summary: Establishes the Parent Services Project: Family Support in Child Care and Development Programs to provide services for early detection of and referral for child abuse.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
AB 607 (Aroner) Foster Children’s Health Care Services Act.
Summary: Establishes a statewide health care system for children in foster care and requires coordination of health services for foster children.
Final Action: Vetoed. 10/10/99
AB 658 (Washington) School safety.
Summary: Extends foster care eligibility to age 20 to youth that are making progress towards completion of an educational program.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 645, Statutes of 1999.
AB 1225 (Ashburn) Adoptions.
Summary: Requires greater effort to inform adoptive families of the availability of adoption assistance and access to that funding later in the maturity of the adoption.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 905, Statutes of 1999.
AB 1923 (Cardenas) Income and bank and corporation taxes: credit: child care facilities.
Summary: Increases the percentage of costs for which a tax credit can be claimed for child care facilities serving low-income children. Provides a similar credit in connection with loans financing the purchase, construction, expansion, or rehabilitation of qualified child care and development facilities.
Final Action: Died in Assembly Appropriations.
AB 2210 (Ashburn) Foster care.
Summary: Permits counties to disclose all available information about a foster child to prospective foster care providers, who are also prospective adoptive parents, prior to the child’s placement.
Final Action: Vetoed. 9/28/00
AB 2278 (Aroner) Mental health: community treatment facilities.
Summary: Requires priority be given to foster children and their families for substance abuse treatment. (Amendments deleted this provision and instead restored funding to Community Treatment Facilities to serve severely emotionally disturbed foster children).
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 2307 (Davis) Children: foster care.
Summary: Authorizes county child welfare agencies to create training programs for relative foster caregivers.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 745, Statutes of 2000.
SB 147 (Alpert) Medi-Cal eligibility.
Summary: Extends Medi-Cal eligibility to transitioning foster youth until their 21stbirthday. (Amendments deleted this provision and instead require no income or asset test be applied for establishing eligibility for Medi-Cal to independent foster care adolescents).
Final Action: Vetoed. 9/28/00
SB 305 (Vasconcellos) Parenting education.
Summary: Requires Department of Health Services to convene a summit to develop a master plan for including parenting education in the curriculum of certain schools and youth correctional centers. (See SB 1348).
Final Action: Vetoed. 10/9/99
SB 487 (Wright) Children’s Mental Health Services Act.
Summary: Provides funding for the expansion of children’s mental health services.
Final Action: Dropped by Author.
SB 543 (Bowen) Children: psychotropic medication: foster care.
Summary: Requires the case plan for each foster child to include an updated health, mental health and education summary each time that child is placed in a new foster home.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 552, Statutes of 1999.
SB 549 (Ortiz & Rainey) Personal income and bank and corporation taxes: credits: child care.
Summary: Increases the percentage of costs for which a tax credit can be claimed for child care facilities serving low-income children. Provides a similar credit in connection with loans financing the purchase, construction, expansion, or rehabilitation of qualified child care and development facilities.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
SB 643 (Alpert) County children and families first commissions: matching grant program.
Summary: Provides matching funds for counties that use Prop. 10 funds to support cost-effective early childhood programs.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
SB 887 (Ortiz) Foster care.
Summary: Creates a council to oversee foster care programs.
Final Action: Vetoed. 10/10/99
SB 903 (McPherson) Kinship support services.
Summary: Provides unique service needs to relative caregivers through expansion of the Kinship Support Services Program beyond the current eight pilot counties.
Final Action: Vetoed. 10/10/99
SB 924 (Vasconcellos) Child abuse prevention and intervention: family conferencing.
Summary: Authorizes a pilot program to implement family conferencing plans for child abuse intervention.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
SB 925 (Vasconcellos) Child Care and Development Services: State Master Plan.
Summary: Requires the development of a state master plan for child care and development services.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
SB 1238 (Hughes) Foster care: grandparents.
Summary: Makes more relative-placed children eligible for higher foster care rates by exempting children placed with grandparents from needing to qualify for federal AFDC-FC.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
SB 1270 (Escutia) Interstate adoption assistance agreements: social service regulations.
Summary: Extends Medi-Cal coverage for interstate adoptions when the adoptive parents move to other states or are residents of another state.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 887, Statutes of 1999.
SB 1348 (Vasconcellos) Parenting education.
Summary: Requires Supt. of Public Instruction to submit a proposal to convene a summit regarding developing a master plan for parenting education.
Final Action: Vetoed. 9/28/00
SB 1579 (Alpert) Foster care: Early Start to Emancipation programs.
Summary: Establishes a pilot program for foster care children to help maximize their chances of graduating from high school and entering college.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
SB 1703 (Escutia) Child care.
Summary: Commits the Legislature to fully funding child care assistance to all eligible Californians within five years. Changes eligibility criteria for those already receiving assistance from a maximum of 75% of state median income to 100%. (Amendments deleted these provisions and instead appropriate $42,000,000 on a one-time basis to Dept. of Education for specified child care purposes).
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 704, Statutes of 2000.
SB 1946 (McPherson) Kinship support services.
Summary: Expands the availability of support programs for kinship care foster families.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 866, Statutes of 2000.
SB 1980 (Ortiz) Foster care.
Summary: Creates a Foster Care Policy Council to review policies and assess methods for improving the quality of foster care services.
Final Action: Died in Assembly Appropriations.
SB 2091 (Ortiz) Children: foster care.
Summary: Establishes pilot programs in certain counties to aid foster youth transitioning into adulthood.
Final Action: Vetoed. 9/28/00
Long-term Care
AB 16 (Honda) In-home supportive services.
Summary: Provides funding to encourage counties to form public authorities to improve delivery of services under the In-Home Supportive Services program.
Final Action: Died in Senate Appropriations.
AB 452 (Mazzoni) School libraries: Classroom Library Purchase Act.
Summary: Implements the recommendations from the LHC report on long-term care generated by AB 1215 (Chapter 322, Statutes of 1997) to integrate and/or consolidate the licensing and certification of state-administered long-term care programs.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 895, Statutes of 1999.
AB 499 (Aroner) Medi-Cal: assisted living demonstration project.
Summary: Creates a demonstration project to test the efficacy of providing an assisted living benefit to low-income beneficiaries under the Medi-Cal program.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 557, Statutes of 2000.
AB 1160 (Shelley) Long-term health care facilities: skilled nursing facilities.
Summary: Declares the intent of the Legislature to establish an effective enforcement system and a provisional licensing system for long-term care facilities. Sets specific standards and penalties.
Final Action: Vetoed. 10/10/99
AB 1731 (Shelley) Long-term health care facilities.
Summary: Declares the intent of the Legislature that all senior citizens live with dignity and autonomy, includes improvements to facilities and an increase in wages for nursing home workers.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 451, Statutes of 2000.
SB 97 (Burton) Health facilities.
Summary: Prohibits a health facility from discriminating or retaliating against a patient or employee because the patient or employee presents a grievance or complaint, or participates in an investigation or proceeding by a governmental entity, relating to the care, services, or conditions at the facility.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 155, Statutes of 1999.
SB 288 (Peace) IHSS program: administration.
Summary: Requires each county to appoint an advisory committee and revises the county plan for the provision of In-Home Supportive Services benefits.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 445, Statutes of 2000.
SB 353 (Johannessen) Medi-Cal: residential care facility services.
Summary: Requires Dept. of Health Services to submit waiver request to federal government to obtain coverage under Medi-Cal of services provided in residential care facilities. (Amendments deleted this provision and instead require DHS to test efficacy of providing an assisted living benefit to Medi-Cal recipients).
Final Action: Died in Assembly Appropriations.
SB 1862 (Vasconcellos) Health facilities.
Summary: Declares the intent of the Legislature to establish an effective enforcement system and a provisional licensing system for long-term care facilities. Sets specific standards and penalties. (Some language from this measure was incorporated into AB 1731).
Final Action: Died in Conference Committee.
Prisons
AB 34 (Steinberg) Mental health funding: local grants.
Summary: Provides grants to encourage counties to expand services to the mentally ill, including those who would otherwise be placed in jail or prisons.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 617, Statutes of 1999.
AB 1255 (Wright) CalWORKs: drug offenses.
Summary: Provides grants to encourage counties to establish intensive supervision programs for convicted domestic violence offenders as an alternative to imprisonment in state prison. (Amendments deleted this provision and instead make changes to the CalWORKS program).
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
SB 126 (Polanco)
Summary: Adds additional language pertaining to vocational and drug treatment and reducing the rate of recidivism to the existing purpose of incarceration provisions of law. Makes specified changes to the Prison Industry Authority guidelines relative to their annual budget. (Subsequent amendments changed purpose of bill).
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 175 (Rainey)
Summary: Makes changes to encourage the use of community-based punishments; declares the intent of the Legislature to appropriate money in the annual Budget Act for associated contract costs. (Subsequent amendments changed purpose of bill).
Final Action: Support Withdrawn.
SB 297 (Polanco & Vasconcellos) Corrections: master plan.
Summary: Declares the intent of the Legislature to develop a master plan for prison operations.
Final Action: Vetoed. 10/10/99
SB 1845 (Polanco) Prisons: inmate education.
Summary: Establishes the Correctional Education Board within the California Department of Corrections (CDC), and requires every inmate be provided educational benefits.
Final Action: Vetoed. 9/24/00
Education
AB 46 (Olberg)
Summary: Repeals the cap on the number of charter schools operating in the state. (Subsequent amendments changed purpose of bill).
Final Action: Support withdrawn.
SB 267 (Lewis) Charter schools: funding.
Summary: Makes the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund more accessible, and improves its ability to assist new charter schools.
Final Action: Signed by Governor, Chapter 736, Statutes of 1999.
School Facilities
AB 2411 (Firebaugh)
Summary: Requires the establishment of a School Construction Authority in school districts with a pupil population of more than 500,000.
Final Action: Died in Senate.
Youth
AB 235 (Kuehl) California Youth Violence Prevention Authority.
Summary: Creates an authority within the office of the Attorney General; gives this authority duties and responsibilities related to youth violence prevention.
Final Action: Died in Assembly.
AB 788 (Maldonado) Juvenile court law: purpose.
Summary: Revises the purpose of juvenile court law to include dispositions intended to accomplish public safety objectives and establishes set principles based on the “Balanced Approach to Restorative Justice” model.
Final Action: Vetoed. 9/24/00