BILL NUMBER: SB 43 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 19, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alquist
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Torrico )
JANUARY 6, 2009
An act to add Section 851.5 to the Business and
Professions Code, to amend Section 128051 of the Health and Safety
Code, and to amend Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code,
relating to health professions. An act to add Section
6532 to the Government Code, relating to joint powers agencies.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 43, as amended, Alquist. Health professions.
Joint powers agencies: City of Santa Clara.
Under existing law, 2 or more public agencies may enter into an
agreement to jointly exercise any power common to the contracting
parties, as specified.
This bill would authorize a joint powers agency that includes the
City of Santa Clara and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa
Clara formed to construct, operate, or maintain a stadium for use by
a professional football team to let a design-build contract without
utilizing the competitive bid process for the stadium construction
project, as specified.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various
healing arts by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Existing law establishes the Task Force on Culturally and
Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists and assigns the task
force various duties, including, among other things, identifying the
key cultural elements necessary to meet cultural competency.
Existing law authorizes physicians and surgeons, dentists, and dental
auxiliaries to report information regarding their cultural
background and foreign language proficiency to their respective
licensing boards and requires those boards to collect that
information, as specified.
This bill would authorize the healing arts boards, as defined, to
collect information regarding the cultural and linguistic competency
of persons licensed, certified, registered, or otherwise subject to
regulation by those boards. The bill would require that this
information be used only for the purpose of meeting the cultural and
linguistic concerns of the state's diverse patient population.
Existing law requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development to establish a health care workforce clearinghouse to
serve as the central source of health care workforce and educational
data in the state and requires the office to work with specified
entities to collect that data. Existing law requires the Director of
the Employment Development Department to permit the use of
information in his or her possession for specified purposes.
This bill would additionally require the director to permit the
use of that information by the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development for the health care workforce clearinghouse. The bill
would specify that personally identifiable information obtained by
that office for the health care workforce clearinghouse is
confidential and not subject to public inspection.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6532 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
6532. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the
best interest of the communities located within the City of Santa
Clara that a joint powers agency that includes the City of Santa
Clara and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Clara formed
to construct, operate, or maintain a stadium for use by a
professional football team be authorized to let a sole source
contract for the stadium construction project to a qualified
design-build contractor. This authorization may enable that joint
powers agency to prevent cost overruns, improve efficiency, and
benefit from specialized expertise.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and subject to
subdivision (c), a joint powers agency including the City of Santa
Clara and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Clara formed
to construct, operate, or maintain a stadium for use by a
professional football team may award a design-build contract related
to that stadium to a qualified design-build contractor without
utilizing an otherwise applicable competitive bid process, provided
that the governing body of the joint powers agency determines that
the cost of the contract is reasonable and that award of the contract
without utilizing the competitive bid process is in the best
interest of the joint powers agency.
(c) A joint powers agency that includes the City of Santa Clara
and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Clara shall not
award a design-build contract pursuant to subdivision (b) unless all
of the following conditions are met:
(1) The design-build contract does not require expenditure of
money from the general fund of the City of Santa Clara.
(2) The obligation of the Redevelopment Agency of the City of
Santa Clara to contribute funding toward amounts due under the
design-build contract is limited to a specified maximum amount,
provided that the specified maximum amount need not apply to debt
service and other financing costs.
(3) A private party will be responsible for any construction cost
overruns.
(d) A joint powers agency awarding a design-build contract
pursuant to this section shall require that subcontract work be
awarded through a competitive process established by the joint powers
agency.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 3248 of the Civil Code, for
design-build contracts awarded pursuant to this section, the joint
powers agency may specify that the payment bond shall be in a sum not
less than one-half of the contract price or three hundred million
dollars ($300,000,000), whichever is less.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that
Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 6532 to the Government
Code, is a special law which is necessary because a general law
cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article
IV of the California Constitution because of the unique
circumstances of the City of Santa Clara. In that respect, the City
of Santa Clara needs to address the unemployment rate in and around
the City of Santa Clara and the San Francisco Bay Area.
SECTION 1. Section 851.5 is added to the
Business and Professions Code, to read:
851.5. (a) A healing arts board referred to in this division may,
in a manner deemed appropriate by the board, collect information
regarding the cultural and linguistic competency of persons licensed,
certified, registered, or otherwise subject to regulation by that
board.
(b) The information collected pursuant to this section shall be
used for the purpose of meeting the cultural and linguistic concerns
of the state's diverse patient population. Any other use of the
information collected pursuant to this section is prohibited.
(c) Personally identifiable information collected pursuant to this
section shall be confidential and not subject to public inspection.
(d) The authority provided in this section shall be in addition
to, and not a limitation on, the authority provided under subdivision
(c) of Section 2425.3 and subdivision (d) of Section 1717.5.
(e) For purposes of this section, "board" refers to any healing
arts board, division, or examining committee that licenses,
certifies, or regulates health professionals pursuant to this
division.
SEC. 2. Section 128051 of the Health and Safety
Code is amended to read:
128051. (a) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development shall work with the Employment Development Department's
Labor Market Information Division, state licensing boards, and state
higher education entities to collect, to the extent available, all of
the following data:
(1) The current supply of health care workers, by specialty.
(2) The geographical distribution of health care workers, by
specialty.
(3) The diversity of the health care workforce, by specialty,
including, but not necessarily limited to, data on race, ethnicity,
and languages spoken.
(4) The current and forecasted demand for health care workers, by
specialty.
(5) The educational capacity to produce trained, certified, and
licensed health care workers, by specialty and by geographical
distribution, including, but not necessarily limited to, the number
of educational slots, the number of enrollments, the attrition rate,
and wait time to enter the program of study.
(b) Personally identifiable information collected for purposes of
this article shall be confidential and not subject to public
inspection.
SEC. 3. Section 1095 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code is amended to read:
1095. The director shall permit the use of any information in his
or her possession to the extent necessary for any of the following
purposes and may require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred
in providing any and all information specified in this section,
except information specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive:
(a) To enable the director or his or her representative to carry
out his or her responsibilities under this code.
(b) To properly present a claim for benefits.
(c) To acquaint a worker or his or her authorized agent with his
or her existing or prospective right to benefits.
(d) To furnish an employer or his or her authorized agent with
information to enable him or her to fully discharge his or her
obligations or safeguard his or her rights under this division or
Division 3 (commencing with Section 9000).
(e) To enable an employer to receive a reduction in contribution
rate.
(f) To enable federal, state, or local government departments or
agencies, subject to federal law, to verify or determine the
eligibility or entitlement of an applicant for, or a recipient of,
public social services provided pursuant to Division 9 (commencing
with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A
of Title IV of the Social Security Act, where the verification or
determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the
administration of public social services.
(g) To enable county administrators of general relief or
assistance, or their representatives, to determine entitlement to
locally provided general relief or assistance, where the
determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the
administration of general relief or assistance.
(h) To enable state or local governmental departments or agencies
to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection
with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, relief provided
under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and
Institutions Code or to enable the collection of expenditures for
medical assistance services pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with
Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i) To provide any law enforcement agency with the name, address,
telephone number, birth date, social security number, physical
description, and names and addresses of present and past employers,
of any victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person
for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued, when a request for
this information is made by any investigator or peace officer as
defined by Sections 830.1 and 830.2 of the Penal Code, or by any
federal law enforcement officer to whom the Attorney General has
delegated authority to enforce federal search warrants, as defined
under Sections 60.2 and 60.3 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, as amended, and when the requesting officer has been
designated by the head of the law enforcement agency and requests
this information in the course of and as a part of an investigation
into the commission of a crime when there is a reasonable suspicion
that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to
relevant evidence. The information provided pursuant to this
subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law
and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and
accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing
department records. Any person who receives any information under
this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to
the law enforcement agency that employs him or her, for filing under
the normal procedures of that agency.
(1) This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the
release to any law enforcement agency of a general list identifying
individuals applying for or receiving benefits.
(2) The department shall maintain records pursuant to this
subdivision only for periods required under regulations or statutes
enacted for the administration of its programs.
(3) This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the
information provided to law enforcement agencies to that pertaining
only to applicants for, or recipients of, benefits.
(4) The department shall notify all applicants for benefits that
release of confidential information from their records will not be
protected should there be a felony arrest warrant issued against the
applicant or in the event of an investigation by a law enforcement
agency into the commission of a felony.
(j) To provide public employee retirement systems in California
with information relating to the earnings of any person who has
applied for or is receiving a disability income, disability
allowance, or disability retirement allowance, from a public employee
retirement system. The earnings information shall be released only
upon written request from the governing board specifying that the
person has applied for or is receiving a disability allowance or
disability retirement allowance from its retirement system. The
request may be made by the chief executive officer of the system or
by an employee of the system so authorized and identified by name and
title by the chief executive officer in writing.
(k) To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the
Department of Industrial Relations to seek criminal, civil, or
administrative remedies in connection with the failure to pay, or the
unlawful payment of, wages pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of, and Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code.
(l) To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or
agencies to administer child support enforcement programs under
Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(m) To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments
or agencies with wage and claim information in its possession that
will assist those departments and agencies in the administration of
the Victims of Crime Program or in the location of victims of crime
who, by state mandate or court order, are entitled to restitution
that has been or can be recovered.
(n) To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments
or agencies with information concerning any individuals who are or
have been:
(1) Directed by state mandate or court order to pay restitution,
fines, penalties, assessments, or fees as a result of a violation of
law.
(2) Delinquent or in default on guaranteed student loans or who
owe repayment of funds received through other financial assistance
programs administered by those agencies. The information released by
the director for the purposes of this paragraph shall not include
unemployment insurance benefit information.
(o) To provide an authorized governmental agency with any or all
relevant information that relates to any specific workers'
compensation insurance fraud investigation. The information shall be
provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations. For
the purposes of this subdivision, "authorized governmental agency"
means the district attorney of any county, the office of the Attorney
General, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department
of Insurance. An authorized governmental agency may disclose this
information to the State Bar, the Medical Board of California, or any
other licensing board or department whose licensee is the subject of
a workers' compensation insurance fraud investigation. This
subdivision shall not prevent any authorized governmental agency from
reporting to any board or department the suspected misconduct of any
licensee of that body.
(p) To enable the Director of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
and Vocational Education, or his or her representatives, to access
unemployment insurance quarterly wage data on a case-by-case basis to
verify information on school administrators, school staff, and
students provided by those schools who are being investigated for
possible violations of Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 94700) of
Part 59 of the Education Code.
(q) To provide employment tax information to the tax officials of
Mexico, if a reciprocal agreement exists. For purposes of this
subdivision, "reciprocal agreement" means a formal agreement to
exchange information between national taxing officials of Mexico and
taxing authorities of the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise
Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Furthermore,
the reciprocal agreement shall be limited to the exchange of
information that is essential for tax administration purposes only.
Taxing authorities of the State of California shall be granted tax
information only on California residents. Taxing authorities of
Mexico shall be granted tax information only on Mexican nationals.
(r) To enable city and county planning agencies to develop
economic forecasts for planning purposes. The information shall be
limited to businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county
whose planning agency is requesting the information, and shall not
include information regarding individual employees.
(s) To provide the State Department of Developmental Services with
wage and employer information that will assist in the collection of
moneys owed by the recipient, parent, or any other legally liable
individual for services and supports provided pursuant to Chapter 9
(commencing with Section 4775) of Division 4.5 of, and Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 7200) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
7500) of Division 7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(t) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or
permit the use of information obtained in the administration of this
code by any private collection agency.
(u) The disclosure of the name and address of an individual or
business entity that was issued an assessment that included penalties
under Section 1128 or 1128.1 shall not be in violation of Section
1094 if the assessment is final. The disclosure may also include any
of the following:
(1) The total amount of the assessment.
(2) The amount of the penalty imposed under Section 1128 or 1128.1
that is included in the assessment.
(3) The facts that resulted in the charging of the penalty under
Section 1128 or 1128.1.
(v) To enable the Contractors' State License Board to verify the
employment history of an individual applying for licensure pursuant
to Section 7068 of the Business and Professions Code.
(w) To provide any peace officer with the Division of
Investigation in the Department of Consumer Affairs information
pursuant to subdivision (i) when the requesting peace officer has
been designated by the Chief of the Division of Investigation and
requests this information in the course of and as part of an
investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act
when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act
may be connected to the information requested and would lead to
relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(x) To enable the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor
Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to
identify, pursuant to Section 90.3 of the Labor Code, unlawfully
uninsured employers. The information shall be provided to the extent
permitted by federal law and regulations.
(y) To enable the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges,
in accordance with the requirements of Section 84754.5 of the
Education Code, to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing January 1,
1993, on students who have attended one or more community colleges,
to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of
students, to conduct the annual evaluation of district-level and
individual college performance in achieving priority educational
outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and
the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent
permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(z) To enable the Public Employees' Retirement System to seek
criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the
unlawful application for, or receipt of, benefits provided under Part
3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.
(aa) To enable the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development to utilize data within the director's possession for the
purpose of the health care workforce clearinghouse established
pursuant to Section 128050 of the Health and Safety Code. Personally
identifiable information utilized by the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development pursuant to this subdivision shall be
confidential and not subject to public inspection.
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that
Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this act impose a limitation on the public's
right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of
public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of
Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that
constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following
findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and
the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect the privacy of individual members of the
health care workforce, it is necessary to ensure that personally
identifiable information regarding those individuals is protected as
confidential.