BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 208 (Lara) - Developmental services: request for proposals.
          
          Amended: April 11, 2013         Policy Vote: Human Services 6-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: April 22, 2013                            
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: SB 208 would require any request for proposals  
          that is prepared by the Department of Developmental Services or  
          a regional center to include a section relating to issues of  
          equity and diversity.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Likely one-time costs between $100,000 and $200,000 for the  
              Department of Developmental Services to adopt or update  
              regulations (General Fund).

          Background: The Department of Developmental Services is  
          responsible for coordinating care and services for about 250,000  
          people with developmental disabilities. The vast majority of  
          these people are served by 21 regional centers, which are  
          non-profit entities that contract with the state. The regional  
          centers, in turn, contract with a variety of vendors to provide  
          direct services to the developmentally disabled.

          In April 2012, the Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related  
          Disorders held an informational hearing to investigate equal  
          access to regional center services for consumers with autism  
          spectrum disorders. Following the hearing, a Taskforce on Equity  
          and Diversity for Regional Center Autism Services was  
          established to study and make recommendations to ensure that  
          consumers of regional center services receive appropriate  
          services, regardless of race, ethnicity, or other socio-economic  
          factors. Based on the deliberations of the taskforce, staff of  
          the Select Committee compiled recommendations and findings of  
          the taskforce into a draft report. SB 208 would implement one of  
          the recommendations included in the report.

          Proposed Law: SB 208 would require any request for proposals  








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          that is prepared by the Department of Developmental Services or  
          a regional center to include a section relating to issues of  
          equity and diversity.

          Proposals would be required to include, at a minimum, a  
          statement outlining the applicant's plans to serve diverse  
          populations, examples of the applicant's commitment to  
          addressing the needs of diverse populations, and any additional  
          information that is relevant.

          The bill would not apply to any contracts entered into before  
          January 1, 2014.

          Related Legislation: 
              SB 158 (Correa) would require a demonstration program to  
              provide improved services to individuals with autism  
              spectrum disorders through the regional centers. That bill  
              will be heard in this committee.
              SB 319 (Price) would require regional centers to collect  
              and analyze data on consumers race and ethnicity and access  
              to services. The bill would require regional centers to  
              develop plans to reduce disparities that are found. That  
              bill will be heard in this committee.
              SB 321 (Price) would require the Department of  
              Developmental Services to establish contract guidelines and  
              performance measures relating to cultural and linguistic  
              competence.
              SB 367 (Block) would require regional centers to report  
              annually on issues relating to possible inequities in the  
              access to services and efforts made to address inequities.  
              That bill will be heard in this committee.
              SB 555 (Correa) would require communications between a  
              regional center and a consumer and his/her family to be in  
              the consumer's native language.
              AB 1232 (V. M. Perez) would require an existing Department  
              of Developmental Services quality assurance tool to assess  
              the provision of services in a culturally and linguistically  
              appropriate manner. That bill is in the Assembly Human  
              Services Committee.

          Staff Comments: The Administrative Procedure Act (beginning at  
          Section 11340 of the Government Code) prohibits state agencies  
          from issuing or enforcing any rule, regulation, order, or  
          standard of general application unless it has been issued as a  








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          regulation under the Administrative Procedure Act. In order to  
          clarify the requirements of this bill, the Department will most  
          likely have to adopt implementing regulations.