Amended in Assembly August 7, 2014

Amended in Assembly August 5, 2013

Amended in Assembly June 17, 2013

Amended in Senate May 14, 2013

Amended in Senate April 10, 2013

Amended in Senate April 2, 2013

Senate Bill No. 628

Introduced by Senator Beall

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section begin delete 53395.7.5 to the Government Code, relating to local planning. end delete begin insert 1374.78 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to health care coverage. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 628, as amended, Beall. begin delete Infrastructure financing: transit priority projects. end delete begin insert Health care coverage: mental health parity: medical surveys. end insert

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Existing law requires large group, small group, and individual health care service plan contracts to provide covered mental health and substance use disorder benefits in compliance with the provisions of federal law governing mental health parity, no later than January 1, 2015.

end insert begin insert

This bill, on and after January 1, 2016, would require the Department of Managed Health Care to conduct medical surveys of health care service plans chosen by the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care, as provided, in order to evaluate those plans’ compliance with the above requirements. The bill would require the surveys to be conducted annually for at least 5 years, and would require the department, from April 1, 2017, to April 1, 2021, inclusive, to provide the Legislature with an annual report on the survey findings, as provided. The bill would also require the department to hire 5 staff members prior to June 30, 2015, to implement these provisions, funded by moneys in the Managed Care Fund. The bill would require all actual reasonable costs incurred by the department for the purposes of the surveys to be paid from the annual assessments imposed on health care service plans.

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Existing law establishes the Transit Priority Project Program, and authorizes a city or county to participate in the program by adopting an ordinance indicating its intent to participate in the program and by forming an infrastructure financing district. Existing law requires a city or county that elects to participate in the program to amend, if necessary, its general plan, and any related specific plan, to authorize participating developers to build at an increased height of a minimum of 3 stories within the newly created infrastructure financing district. Existing law exempts from these provisions a city or county that has adopted specified language in its charter, or by ordinance or resolution. Under existing law, a transit priority project that meets specified criteria is designated as a sustainable communities project, and is thus exempt from certain environmental review requirements.

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This bill would eliminate the requirement of voter approval for the creation of an infrastructure financing district, the issuance of bonds, and the establishment or change of the appropriations limit with respect to a transit priority project. The bill would require a city or county that uses infrastructure financing district bonds to finance its transit priority project to use at least 25% of the associated property tax increment revenues for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the supply of lower and moderate-income housing available in the district and occupied by persons and families of moderate-, low-, very low, and extremely low income. The bill would require the district to implement these affordable housing provisions in accordance with specified provisions of the Community Redevelopment Law, to the extent not inconsistent with the provisions governing infrastructure financing districts. The bill would require the adoption of an ordinance that would require the replacement of designated low-income dwelling units, upon their removal from the district, within 2 years of their displacement. The bill would set forth the findings and declarations of the Legislature, and the intent of the Legislature that the development of transit priority projects be environmentally conscious and sustainable, and that related construction meet or exceed the requirements of the California Green Building Standards Code.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . 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   

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begin insert Section 1374.78 is added to the end insert begin insert Health and Safety
Code end insert begin insert , end insert immediately following Section 1374.76 begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 1374.78. end insert   

(a) (1) On and after January 1, 2016, consistent
with Section 1380, the Department of Managed Health Care shall
conduct medical surveys of health care service plans to evaluate
those plans’ compliance with Section 1374.76. The surveys shall
be conducted annually for at least five years.

(2) The director shall determine no fewer than seven of the
largest health care service plans to be surveyed each year
representing no fewer than 80 percent of covered lives among any
of the plans subject to the requirements of Section 1374.76.

(b) (1) From April 1, 2017, to April 1, 2021, inclusive, the
department shall provide the Legislature with an annual report
on the survey findings, including analysis of health care service
plan compliance with timely access to services and compliance
with cost-sharing and treatment requirements of state and federal
mental health parity laws and all rules, regulations, and guidance
issued thereunder.

(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this
subdivision is inoperative on April 2, 2021, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.

(3) The report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall hire
five staff members, prior to June 30, 2015, to implement this
section, funded through the Managed Care Fund.

(d) All actual reasonable costs incurred by the department for
the purposes of the surveys of health care service plan compliance
with Section 1374.76 shall be paid from the annual plan
assessments imposed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1356.

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All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Assembly, August 5, 2013. (JR11)