2014 Legislative Session Update

Legislative Update

By Rebecca Gonzales, Director of Government Relations and Political Affairs

The National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter (NASW-CA) is proud to release our 2014 Legislative Scorecard.  NASW-CA represents over 10,000 professional social workers who have degrees from accredited social work programs.  NASW-CA advocates on behalf of our members and their clients, for the implementation and improvement of programs and policies designed to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people.  For more information on the NASW-CA policy priorities, please visit www.naswca.org.

Methodology
This analysis is based on the final floor votes (excluding the concurrence vote) cast on the selected measures.  Legislators who were officially absent for a vote did not have their vote included in the rating.  The Governor’s rating is based on whether he signed or vetoed measures we supported. Please note that these bills are a subset of the bills on NASW-CA’s priority list for 2014 and do not constitute all of the bills NASW-CA took a position on in 2014.

Summary of Legislation
AB 1455 (Campos) Bullying: Counseling: Lobby Days Bill

This bill authorizes a school counseling referral for the victims of school bullies. Current law only stipulates a referral for the perpetrator. School social workers are specifically mentioned in the bill.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

AB 1517 (Skinner) DNA Evidence
This bill helps to reduce the huge backlog in untested rape kits by specifying guidelines for testing and entering DNA profile information into CODIS, the FBI’s national DNA database.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

AB 1522 (Gonzalez) Employment: Paid Sick Days
Requires employers to provide three days of paid sick leave to employees who works 30 or more days within a year. Employees will be entitled to paid sick days after 90 days of employment.  Employers are prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests paid sick days.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 AB 1579 (Stone) CalWORKs- Pregnant Mothers
The bill will allow for a pregnant woman to receive aid each month that she is pregnant, beginning the month in which she submits verification of her pregnancy – rather than current law which only allows aid in the last four months of the pregnancy.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

AB 1929 (Chau) California Housing Finance Agency: MHSA Funding: Special Needs Housing for Persons with a Mental Illness
This bill authorizes the counties and specified state agencies to work together to develop permanent supportive housing for people with a mental illness using Mental Health Services Act funding.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 AB 1951 (Gomez) Vital Records: Birth Certificates
Requires the State Registrar to modify birth certificates to recognize same-sex couples, allowing for a gender neutral option on the certificate identifying a “parent.”
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

SB 895 (Corbett) Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE)
Requires deficiencies found in RCFE’s to be corrected in 10 days. Failure to remedy a deficiency would result in a misdemeanor. Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to post on its Internet Web site information on how to obtain an inspection report. Also requires DSS to design a poster that contains information on the appropriate reporting agency in case of a complaint or emergency and requires these posters to be on display in the entryway of the facilities.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 SB 910 (Pavely) Domestic Violence: Restraining Orders
Broadens the definition of “domestic violence” to include children in the household for the purposes of domestic violence restraining orders.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

SB 1023 (Liu) Community Colleges: Foster YouthThis bill would authorize the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges to enter into agreements with up to 10 community college districts to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

SB 1046 (Beall) Insurance: Mental Illness: Developmental Disabilities: Coverage: Penalties
This bill gives the California Department of Insurance power to assess penalties for non-compliance with the Mental Health Parity Act.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor

 SB 1053 (Mitchell) Health Care Coverage: Contraceptives
This bill would require health insurance carriers for plans issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016, to provide coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and products for women, as well as voluntary sterilization procedures, contraceptive education and counseling, and related follow-up services.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

SB 1135 (Jackson) Inmates: Sterilization
This bill prohibits the sterilization of inmates in prison or jails for birth control without their consent.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 SB 1159 (Lara) Professions and Vocations: License Applicants: Individual Tax Identification Number
This bill authorizes a board, the State Bar of California, and the Bureau of Real Estate (BRE) to accept an application from an individual containing an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) for the issuance of a license in lieu of a social security number (SSN). This applies to applicants for an ASW or an LCSW.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 SB 1174 (Lara) English Language Education
This bill amends and repeals various provisions of Proposition 227 of 1998, the “English Only Initiative.” Repeals the requirement that all children be taught only in English and allows school districts and county offices of education, in consultation with language experts in the field and parents, to determine the best language instruction methods and language acquisition programs to implement.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 SB 1227 (Hancock) Diversion: Members of the Military
This bill would authorize a pretrial diversion program for a current or former member of the military who may be suffering from service-related trauma, substance abuse, or mental health issues and are charged with a misdemeanor.  In many cases, military members would be referred to a treatment program.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 SB 1252 (Torres) Public Social Services: Former Foster Youth: Transitional Housing
This bill would allow a county to extend Transitional Housing Program-Plus services to a former foster youth who is not more than 25 years of age, and for a total of 36 cumulative months, if the former foster youth is completing secondary education or is enrolled in an institution that provides postsecondary education.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 SB 1296 (Leno) Juveniles: Contemptuous Habitual Truants
This bill prohibits secured detention as a sanction for truants who are found in contempt of court solely on the grounds of failing to comply with a court order relating to the truancy.
NASW-CA Position: Support
Outcome: Signed into law by the Governor

 2014 Highlights and Notes
In 2014 we were happy to see the passage of one of our lobby days bills, AB 1455, which authorizes a school counseling referral for the victims of school bullies. This year also marked the first year in a long fight to expand health care coverage to undocumented immigrants. For our entire legislative package, which includes the 17 bills outlined above, the Governor signed 73 bills that we supported and he vetoed only 9.

We look forward to the new legislative session and to the restoration of programs that were cut back during the recession!

For additional information, please contact:

Rebecca Gonzales,Director of Government Relations and Political Affairs
1016 23^rd Street                                     (916) 442-4565 ext. 12

Sacramento, CA  95816                          (916) 442-2075 – Fax

www.naswca.org                                  rgonzales@naswca.org