BILL NUMBER: SB 484 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Rubio
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Section 6254.14 of the Government Code, and
to add Section 5023.8 to the Penal Code, relating to
public records the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 484, as amended, Rubio. Public records: health care services
contract records. records: health care
spending.
The
(1) The Public Records Act
provides that records of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation that relate to health care services contract
negotiations, and that reveal the deliberative processes,
discussions, communications, or other portion of the negotiations,
are not subject to disclosure until one year after the contract is
fully executed, except that the portion of a contract that contains
the rates of payment is not open to inspection until 3 years after a
contract or amendment is fully executed. The entire contract or
amendment is immediately open to inspection by the Joint Legislative
Audit Committee and the Bureau of State Audits, subject to specified
conditions.
The act also exempts from disclosure under its provisions, records
the disclosure of which is exempted or prohibited under provisions
of the Evidence Code relating to privilege.
This bill would include the Legislative Analyst's Office among
those entities authorized to inspect the entire contract or
amendment, subject to those specified conditions. It would specify
that this authorization applies notwithstanding a provision of the
Evidence Code permitting an owner of a trade secret to invoke a
privilege against disclosure of that secret.
(2) Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to enter into contracts with providers of health care
services to provide health care services to inmates. Existing law
states that it is the intent of the Legislature that the department
operate in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible when
purchasing health care services for inmates.
This bill would require the department to develop targets and
implement a plan based on those targets to achieve a reduction in
prison health care spending while maintaining an adequate level of
care. The bill would require the department to seek ways of achieving
a goal of spending no more per inmate on health care than the state
pays per patient for Medi-Cal services by 2015. The bill would,
beginning January 1, 2013, and ending January 1, 2017, require the
department to provide an annual report to the Legislature to provide
updates on attaining this goal.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6254.14 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
6254.14. (a) (1) Except as provided in Sections 6254 and 6254.7,
nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require disclosure of
records of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that
relate to health care services contract negotiations, and that reveal
the deliberative processes, discussions, communications, or any
other portion of the negotiations, including, but not limited to,
records related to those negotiations such as meeting minutes,
research, work product, theories, or strategy of the department, or
its staff, or members of the California Medical Assistance
Commission, or its staff, who act in consultation with, or on behalf
of, the department.
(2) Except for the portion of a contract that contains the rates
of payment, contracts for health services entered into by the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the California
Medical Assistance Commission on or after July 1, 1993, shall be open
to inspection one year after they are fully executed. In the event
that a contract for health services that is entered into prior to
July 1, 1993, is amended on or after July 1, 1993, the amendment,
except for any portion containing rates of payment, shall be open to
inspection one year after it is fully executed.
(3) Three years after a contract or amendment is open to
inspection under this subdivision, the portion of the contract or
amendment containing the rates of payment shall be open to
inspection.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not
limited to, Section 1060 of the Evidence Code, the entire contract
or amendment shall be open to inspection by the Joint Legislative
Audit Committee, the Bureau of State Audits, and the Legislative
Analyst's Office. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the Bureau
of State Audits, and the Legislative Analyst's Office shall maintain
the confidentiality of the contracts and amendments until the
contract or amendment is fully open to inspection by the public.
(5) It is the intent of the Legislature that confidentiality of
health care provider contracts, and of the contracting process as
provided in this subdivision, is intended to protect the competitive
nature of the negotiation process, and shall not affect public access
to other information relating to the delivery of health care
services.
(b) The inspection authority and confidentiality requirements
established in subdivisions (q), (v), and (y) of Section 6254 for the
Legislative Audit Committee shall also apply to the Bureau of State
Audits and the Legislative Analyst's Office.
SEC. 2. Section 5023.8 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
5023.8. (a) Using 2010 statewide prison health care costs as the
baseline, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
develop targets and shall implement a plan based on those targets to
achieve a reduction in prison health care spending while maintaining
an adequate level of care. When setting these targets, the department
shall seek ways of achieving a goal of spending no more per inmate
on health care than the state pays per patient for Medi-Cal services
by 2015. Progress made toward meeting that goal shall be reviewed as
part of the annual budget process for the department's budget.
(b) The department shall report to the Legislature by January 1,
2013, and annually by January 1 thereafter, to provide updates on
accomplishing the goal specified in subdivision (a).
(c) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (b) is inoperative on January 1, 2017, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.