BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 484
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 484 (Rubio)
As Amended July 11, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :34-4
JUDICIARY 7-1 HEALTH 10-3
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, |Ayes:|Monning, Atkins, Bonilla, |
| |Dickinson, Huber, | |Eng, Gordon, Hayashi, |
| |Monning, Wieckowski | |Bonnie Lowenthal, Pan, V. |
| | | |Manuel Pèrez, Williams |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Beth Gaines |Nays:|Ammiano, Mitchell, |
| | | |Nestande |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |
| |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | |
| |Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | |
| |Solorio, Wagner | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to
have the same access to the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (CDCR) health services contracts that the
Joint Legislature Audit Committee (JLAC) and the Bureau of State
Audits (BSA) have under existing law. Specifically, this bill
provides that, notwithstanding any restrictions imposed by law,
CDCR records relating to health care services contracts, or any
amendments thereto, shall be open to inspection to the LAO, and
that the LAO shall maintain the confidentiality of any contract
and amendment until the contract or amendment is fully open to
inspection by the public.
SB 484
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, under the California Public Records Act, that all
public agency documents be disclosed to the public, unless a
specific statutory exemption applies.
2)Provides that, notwithstanding any restrictions imposed by
law, that CDCR records relating to health care services
contracts, or any amendments, shall be open to inspection to
JLAC and BSA, and that JLAC and BSA shall maintain the
confidentiality of any contract and amendment until the
contract or amendment is fully open to inspection by the
public.
3)Requires CDCR to consult with the California Medical
Assistance Commission (CMAC) to assist the department in
planning and negotiating contracts for the purpose of health
care services and negotiating with providers.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible fiscal impact.
COMMENTS : Although the Public Records Act (PRA) generally
requires that all public records should be open for public
inspection, it permits a number of exceptions. Under existing
law, the PRA limits access to the records of CDCR that relate to
its health care services contracts. Information that reveals
the process of negotiations are not subject to disclosure for
one year after execution of the contract, and information that
relates to payment rates are not subject to disclosure for three
years after execution. The purpose of this restriction is to
protect the competitive nature of the bidding process.
Notwithstanding these restrictions, contracts are immediately
open to inspection by JLAC and BSA, so long as confidentiality
is maintained until the contracts would generally be available
to the public. This bill gives the LAO the same access to
contracts, subject to the same confidentiality requirement.
According to the author, the LAO will use this information for
purposes of analyzing CDCR's budget needs.
According to the author, "Prison health care costs are currently
skyrocketing. The non-partisan LAO found 'dramatic increase in
spending on adult prison health care: from $1.2 billion in
2005-2006 to $2.5 billion in 2008-2009.' Last year, California
SB 484
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spent an average of $16,000 per inmate (170,000 total) on health
care services. The LAO directly attributes the growing health
care costs to greater usage of contract medical services.
Despite the growing costs in prison health care, the LAO and the
Legislature are kept in the dark about exactly how much is being
spent on health contracts because all health care contracts and
records under the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
are exempt from the Public Records Act."
Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001922