Amended in Senate June 16, 2014

Amended in Assembly January 6, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 1, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 8, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 468

Introduced by Assembly Member begin delete Chesbro end delete begin insert Chávez end insert

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members begin delete Alejo, Levine, and Stone end delete begin insert Chesbro and Dahle end insert )

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)

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February 19, 2013

An act to begin delete amend Sections 4593.2, 4593.3, 4593.8, 4593.9, 4593.11, 4594, and 4594.7 of the Public Resources Code, relating to forest resources. end delete begin insert add Sections 14166.152, 14166.153, and 14166.155 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 468, as amended, begin delete Chesbro end delete   begin insert Chávez end insert . begin delete Nonindustrial timber management plans: forest landowners. end delete begin insert Medi-Cal: delivery system reform incentive pool payments. end insert

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Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires the department to seek a successor demonstration project or federal waiver of Medicaid law to implement specified objectives, which may include better care coordination for seniors, persons with disabilities, and children with special health care needs. Existing law provides that beginning with services provided on or after July 1, 2013, to the extent that additional federal funding is made available pursuant to the Special Terms and Conditions of the demonstration project or waiver, nondesignated public hospitals shall be eligible to receive safety net care pool payments for uncompensated care costs.

end insert begin insert

This bill would, beginning with the 2014-15 fiscal year, subject to federal approval and if specified conditions are met, require that nondesignated public hospitals receive delivery system reform incentive pool funding, as specified. The bill would also require nondesignated public hospitals to report and certify specified information for each successor demonstration year.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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Existing law prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Forest Practice Act of 1973 provides that the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection has the final authority to determine whether a timber harvesting plan conforms with rules and regulations pertaining to timber harvesting. Existing law authorizes a person who intends to become a nonindustrial tree farmer to file a nonindustrial timber management plan with the department, and prescribes procedures for the preparation, filing, and approval of those plans. Existing law, for purposes of provisions governing nonindustrial timber management plans, defines a “nonindustrial tree farmer” to mean an owner of timberland with less than 2,500 acres who has an approved nonindustrial management plan and is not primarily engaged in the manufacture of forest products.

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This bill would replace references in the Forest Practice Act of 1973 to a “nonindustrial tree farmer” with the term “nonindustrial forest owner.”

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 14166.152 is added to the end insert begin insert Welfare and
Institutions Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 14166.152. end insert   

(a) For dates of service on and after July 1, 2014,
nondesignated public hospitals shall be eligible to receive delivery
system reform incentive pool payments to the extent additional
federal funding is made available for this purpose under the
delivery system reform incentive pool in the successor
demonstration project and if the nondesignated public hospitals
comply with the delivery system reform incentive pool funding
requirements set forth in Section 14166.155.

(b) The amount of funds that may be received shall not exceed
the additional federal funding made available for delivery system
reform incentive pool payments to nondesignated public hospitals,
and shall not reduce the amounts that would otherwise be made
available to designated public hospitals in the absence of this
section, including the amounts that designated public hospitals
would be eligible to receive under their delivery system reform
incentive pool plans approved as of January 1, 2012.

(c) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), if the designated public
hospitals are unable to claim the full amount of federal funding
made available to the designated public hospitals pursuant to
Section 14166.77 and the Special Terms and Conditions, including
through reallocations made pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) of Section 14166.77 as authorized by the Special
Terms and Conditions, and the unused amount of federal funding
made available to the designated public hospitals cannot be used
in a later demonstration year, the department may authorize the
unused funding to be made available to the nondesignated public
hospitals.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 14166.153 is added to the end insert begin insert Welfare and
Institutions Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 14166.153. end insert   

(a) Beginning in the 2012-13 fiscal year, within
five months after the end of a successor demonstration year, each
of the nondesignated public hospitals shall submit to the
department all of the following reports:

(1) The hospital’s Medicare cost report for the project year or
successor demonstration year.

(2) Other cost reporting and statistical data necessary for the
determination of amounts due the hospital under the demonstration
project or successor demonstration project, as requested by the
department.

(b) For each project year or successor demonstration year, the
reports shall identify all of the following:

(1) To the extent applicable, the costs incurred in providing
inpatient hospital services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries on a
fee-for-service basis and physician and nonphysician practitioner
services costs.

(2) The costs incurred in providing hospital services to
uninsured individuals.

(c) Each nondesignated public hospital, or governmental entity
with which it is affiliated, that operates nonhospital clinics or
provides physician, nonphysician practitioner, or other health
care services that are not identified as hospital services under the
Special Terms and Conditions for the demonstration project and
successor demonstration project, shall report and certify all of the
uncompensated Medi-Cal and uninsured costs of the services
furnished. The amount of these uncompensated costs to be claimed
by the department shall be determined by the department in
consultation with the governmental entity so as to optimize the
level of claimable federal Medicaid reimbursement.

(d) Reports submitted under this section shall include all
allowable costs.

(e) The appropriate public official shall certify to all of the
following:

(1) The accuracy of the reports required under this section.

(2) That the expenditures to meet the reported costs comply with
Section 433.51 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(3) That the sources of funds used to make the expenditures
certified under this section do not include impermissible provider
taxes or donations as defined under Section 1396b(w) of Title 42
of the United States Code or other federal funds. For this purpose,
federal funds do not include delivery system reform incentive pool
payments or patient care revenue received as payment for services
rendered under programs such as nondesignated state health
programs, the Low Income Health Program, Medicare, or
Medicaid.

(f) The certification of public expenditures made pursuant to
this section shall be based on a schedule established by the
department in accordance with federal requirements.

(1) The director may require the nondesignated public hospitals
to submit quarterly estimates of anticipated expenditures, if these
estimates are necessary to obtain interim payments of federal
Medicaid funds.

(2) All reported expenditures shall be subject to reconciliation
to allowable costs, as determined in accordance with applicable
implementing documents for the demonstration project and
successor demonstration project.

(g) The director shall seek Medicaid federal financial
participation for all certified public expenditures reported by the
nondesignated public hospitals and recognized under the successor
demonstration project.

(h) The timeframes for data submission and reporting periods
may be adjusted as necessary in accordance with federal
requirements.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 14166.155 is added to the end insert begin insert Welfare and
Institutions Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 14166.155. end insert   

(a) (1) Beginning in the 2014-15 fiscal year, if
federal approval is obtained for an amendment to the successor
demonstration project, nondesignated public hospitals shall receive
payments pursuant to this section. The amount of delivery system
reform incentive pool funding, consisting of both the federal and
nonfederal share of payments, that is made available to each
nondesignated public hospital system in the aggregate for the term
of the successor demonstration project shall be based initially on
the delivery system reform proposals that are submitted by the
nondesignated public hospitals to the department for review and
submission to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services for final approval. The initial percentages of delivery
system reform incentive pool funding among the nondesignated
public hospitals for each successor demonstration year shall be
determined based on the annual components as contained in the
approved proposals.

(2) The actual receipt of funds shall be conditioned on the
nondesignated public hospital’s progress toward, and achievement
of, the specified milestones and other metrics established in its
approved delivery system reform incentive pool proposal. A
nondesignated public hospital may carry forward available
incentive pool funding associated with milestones and metrics from
one year to a subsequent period as authorized by the Special Terms
and Conditions and the final delivery system reform incentive pool
protocol.

(3) The department may reallocate the incentive pool funding
available under this section pursuant to conditions specified, and
as authorized by, the Special Terms and Conditions and the final
delivery system reform incentive pool protocol.

(b) Each nondesignated public hospital shall be individually
responsible for progress toward, and achievement of, milestones
and other metrics in its proposal, as well as other applicable
requirements specified in the Special Terms and Conditions and
the final delivery system reform incentive pool protocol, in order
to receive its specified allocation of incentive pool funding under
this section.

(1) The nondesignated public hospital shall submit semiannual
reports and requests for payment to the department by March 31
and the September 30 following the end of the second and fourth
quarters of the successor demonstration year, or comply with any
other process as approved by the federal Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services.

(2) Within 14 days after the semiannual report due date, the
nondesignated public hospital system or its affiliated governmental
entity shall make an intergovernmental transfer of funds equal to
the nonfederal share that is necessary to claim the federal funding
for the pool payment related to the achievement or progress metric
that is certified. The intergovernmental transfers shall be deposited
into the Public Hospital Investment, Improvement, and Incentive
Fund, established pursuant to Section 14182.4.

(3) The department shall claim the federal funding and pay both
the nonfederal and federal shares of the incentive payment to the
nondesignated public hospital system or other affiliated
governmental provider, as applicable. If the intergovernmental
transfer is made within the appropriate 14-day timeframe, the
incentive payment shall be disbursed within seven days with the
expedited payment process as approved by the federal Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, otherwise the payment shall be
disbursed within 20 days of when the transfer is made.

(4) The nondesignated public hospital system or other affiliated
governmental provider is responsible for any fee or cost required
to implement the expedited payment process in accordance with
Section 8422.1 of the State Administrative Manual.

(c) The department shall submit for federal approval an
amendment to the successor demonstration project to implement
this section.

(d) In the event of a conflict between any provision of this section
and the Special Terms and Conditions for the successor
demonstration project and the final delivery system reform
incentive pool protocol, the Special Terms and Conditions and the
final delivery system reform incentive pool protocol shall control.

end insert

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert begin insert

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

end insert begin insert

In order to improve access to health care services for patients
in underserved areas at the earliest possible time, it is necessary
that this act take effect immediately.

end insert

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SECTION 1.  

Section 4593.2 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.2.  

Notwithstanding Section 4521, unless the context
otherwise requires, the following definitions govern construction
of this article:

(a) “Nonindustrial timberlands” means timberland owned by a
nonindustrial forest landowner.

(b) “Nonindustrial forest landowner” means an owner of
timberland with less than 2,500 acres who has an approved
nonindustrial management plan and is not primarily engaged in
the manufacture of forest products.

(c) “Uneven aged management” means the management of a
specific forest, with the goal of establishing a well stocked stand
of various age classes and that permits the periodic harvest of
individual or small groups of trees to realize the yield and
continually establish a new crop.

(d) “Sustained yield” means the yield of commercial wood that
an area of commercial timberland can produce continuously at a
given intensity of management consistent with required
environmental protection and that is professionally planned to
achieve over time a balance between growth and removal.

(e) “Nonindustrial timber management plan” means a
management plan for nonindustrial timberlands with an objective
of an uneven aged managed timber stand and sustained yield for
each parcel or group of contiguous parcels meeting the
requirements of Section 4593.3.

(f) “Nonindustrial timber harvest notice” means notice of timber
harvest operations pursuant to an approved nonindustrial timber
management plan and meeting the requirements of Section 4594.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4593.3 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.3.  

A nonindustrial timber management plan may be filed
with the department in writing by a person who intends to become
a nonindustrial forest landowner with the long-term objective of
an uneven aged timber stand and sustained yield through the
implementation of a nonindustrial timber management plan. The
management plan shall be prepared by a registered professional
forester. It shall be a public record and shall include all of the
following information:

(a) The name and address of the timberland owner.

(b) A description of the land on which the plan is proposed to
be implemented, including a United States Geological Survey
quadrangle map or equivalent indicating the location of all streams,
the location of all proposed and existing logging truck roads, and
indicating boundaries of all site I classification timberlands to be
stocked in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 4561 and
any other site classifications if the board establishes specific
minimum stocking standards for other site classifications.

(c) A description of the silviculture methods to be applied and
the type of yarding equipment to be used.

(d) An outline of the methods to be used to avoid excessive
accelerated erosion from timber operations to be conducted within
the proximity of a stream.

(e) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the boundaries of the proposed nonindustrial timber management
plan.

(f) A description of the existing stand, its current projected
growth, alterations required to achieve the management objectives,
the projected timber volumes and tree sizes to be available for
harvest, and projected frequencies of harvest.

(g) A certification by the registered professional forester
preparing the plan that he or she or a designee has personally
inspected the plan area.

(h) Any other information the board provides by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4593.8 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.8.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner may submit a
proposed amendment to the approved plan and may not take any
action that substantially deviates, as defined by the board, from
the approved plan until the amendment has been filed with the
director and the director has determined that the amendment is in
compliance with the rules and regulations of the board and the
provisions of this chapter that were in effect at the time the
nonindustrial timber management plan was approved, in accordance
with the same procedures specified in Section 4593.7.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4593.9 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.9.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner may take actions
that do not substantially deviate from the approved plan without
the submittal of an amendment, but those actions shall be
subsequently reported to the department. The board shall specify,
by regulation, those nonsubstantial deviations that may be taken.
The board shall specify the requirements for reporting those
deviations.

SEC. 5.  

Section 4593.11 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4593.11.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner may cancel the
nonindustrial timber management plan by submitting a written
notice to the department. Once timber operations have commenced
pursuant to a nonindustrial timber harvest notice, cancellation is
not effective on land covered by the notice until a report of
satisfactory completion has been issued pursuant to Sections 4585,
4586, and 4587.

SEC. 6.  

Section 4594 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4594.  

The nonindustrial forest landowner who owns, leases,
or otherwise controls or operates on all or any portion of any
timberland within the boundaries of an approved nonindustrial
timber management plan, and who plans to harvest any of the
timber thereon during a given year, shall file a nonindustrial timber
harvest notice with the department in writing. A notice shall be
filed prior to the harvesting of any timber and shall be effective
for a maximum of one year from the date of filing. If the person
who files the notice is not the owner of the timberland, the person
filing the notice shall notify the timberland owner by certified mail
that the notice has been submitted, and shall certify that mailing
to the department. The notice shall be a public record and shall
include all of the following information:

(a) The name and address of the timber owner.

(b) The name and address of the timber operator.

(c) The name and address of the registered professional forester
preparing the nonindustrial timber harvest notice.

(d) A description of the land on which the work is proposed to
be done.

(e) A statement that no archaeological sites have been discovered
in the harvest area since the approval of the nonindustrial timber
management plan.

(f) A statement that no rare, threatened, or endangered plant or
animal species has been discovered in the harvest area since the
approval of the nonindustrial timber management plan.

(g) A statement that there have been no physical environmental
changes in the harvest area that are so significant as to require any
amendment of the nonindustrial timber management plan.

(h) A certification by the registered professional forester that
the notice as carried out will implement best management practices
for protection of the beneficial uses of water, soil stability, forest
productivity, and wildlife as required by the current rules of the
board, or a certification that practices consistent with the original
plan will not result in any significant degradation to the beneficial
uses of water, soil stability, forest productivity, or wildlife.

(i) Special provisions, if any, to protect any unique area within
the area of timber operations.

(j) The expected dates of commencement and completion of
timber operations during the year.

(k) A statement that the harvesting notice conforms to the
provisions of the approved management plan.

(l) Any other information the board provides by regulation to
meet its rules and the standards of this chapter.

SEC. 7.  

Section 4594.7 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4594.7.  

If it is determined that the objectives of uneven aged
management and sustained yield are not being met by a
nonindustrial forest landowner, or there are other persistent
violations detected that are not being corrected, a previously
approved nonindustrial timber management plan shall be canceled
by the department and any further timber operations under the plan
shall be terminated.

end delete