Search
May is just around the corner and so are several legislative deadlines. May 3rd is the last day for policy committees to hear and report non-fiscal bills introduced in their house to the Floor and the last day for fiscal committees to meet and report bill introduced in the house of origin is May 17th. This year we are very fortunate, AND BUSY, as Assembly Member Frazier had asked all of his colleagues in the Assembly to address at least one issue of importance to the intellectual and developmental disability. The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration have several high priority bills that include, but are certainly not limited to, our sponsor/co-sponsor bills SB 338, AB 311, AB 436 and AB 911.
SB 338 Senior and Disability Victimization: Law Enforcement Policies (Senator Hueso) will require that local law enforcement agencies follow the guidelines promulgated by the 2018 San Diego County Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Blueprint when they adopt policies on elder and dependent adult abuse. This bill passed out of the Senate Human Services Committed on consent and is now waiting to be heard on the Senate Floor.
AB 311 Regional Centers: Billing: Daily Rates (Assembly Member Frazier) would repeal the requirement that activity centers, adult development centers, behavior management programs and other look-alike day programs bill regional centers for services in terms of half and full days of service. This bill passed unanimously out of Assembly Human Services and is now on the Appropriations Suspense File. We are meeting with members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee to inform them about the impact to services as a result and the importance of moving this bill through to the next stage of the legislative process.
AB 438 Regional Centers: Uniform Holiday Schedule (Assembly Member Frazier) would repeal the mandated uniform holiday schedule for certain providers of regional center contracted services for individuals with developmental disabilities. This bill passed out of the Assembly Human Services Committee on Consent and is now on the Assembly Appropriations Committee to inform them about the impact to services as a result and the importance of moving this bill through to the next stage of the legislative process.
AB 911 Office of Emergency Services: Emergency Information System (Rodriquez) would require the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to establish a statewide 911 Emergency Communication System that enables all Californians to voluntarily share information about themselves to first responders during an emergency. This bill was referred to both Communication and Conveyance Committee and Government Organization Committee. It passed unanimously out of Communication and Conveyance and received 18 “yes” votes and 3 abstentions in Government Organization. It is currently awaiting to be heard in Assembly Appropriations.
There are many important bills making their way through the legislature that seek to address issues such as housing, transportation, employment, health care, criminal justice, civil rights and other issues of importance to the IDD community. Check out our bill file at https://thearcca.org/advocacy/state-bill-file/ to see some of the bills that would have a direct impact on the IDD community.
Teresa Anderson, Policy Director, The Arc & UCP Collaboration