This 12 months, Gov. Gavin Newsom affirmed abortion entry, known as California “a proud state of reproductive freedom” and criticized Republicans throughout the nation for making an attempt to remove households' rights.
Signed laws requiring insurance coverage firms to cowl in vitro fertilization. He supported limiting scholar cellular phone use in faculties and signed a nation-leading ban on using meals coloring at school snacks and drinks. And he backed a invoice that may enable firms to function Amsterdam-style hashish cafes.
Nonetheless, in a heated election cycle with Vice President Kamala Harris, a Californian, on the presidential ticket, the Democratic governor was notably reluctant to impose further laws on the business.
Newsom vetoed a number of well being and security payments, often citing price considerations. However many of those proposals risked perpetuating California stereotypes preached by presidential candidate Donald Trump and different Republicans. The governor rejected warning labels on fuel stoves in addition to dashing alerts for brand new vehicles, and even acquired lukewarm reward on social media from Republican Meeting Chief James Gallagher, who gave credit score to Newsom for vetoing “some fairly dangerous/silly payments.”
A lot of the legal guidelines Newsom handed will take impact on January 1, 2025, whereas some have longer implementation occasions. Listed here are the governor's actions on key well being payments:
well being care
Group well being care plans and incapacity insurance coverage should cowl infertility and fertility providers underneath SB 729, together with for LGBTQ+ individuals, usually starting in mid-2025. The California Affiliation of Well being Plans warns in opposition to greater premiums in consequence.
Native well being officers can examine personal detention amenities, together with six immigration detention facilities, underneath SB 1132.
And the governor signed AB 869, which permits small, rural or “distressed” hospitals to get an extension of as much as three years on the 2030 authorized deadline for earthquake retrofits. However he vetoed SB 1432, which might have allowed all hospitals to request a deadline extension of as much as 5 years.
Newsom additionally vetoed SB 966, which might have regulated middlemen often known as pharmacy profit managers and banned some enterprise practices that critics say elevate prices and restrict client selections. He additionally rejected AB 2467, which might have required menopause well being care protection, and AB 3129, which might have required approval from the state lawyer normal for transactions involving well being care suppliers and personal fairness corporations. And he vetoed AB 2104 and SB 895, which might have allowed some group faculty districts to supply bachelor's levels in nursing.
medical debt
Credit score reporting companies will likely be prohibited from together with medical debt on shoppers' credit score experiences underneath SB 1061, however last-minute amendments weakened protections. Earlier this 12 months, the Biden administration proposed federal guidelines prohibiting unpaid medical payments from affecting sufferers' credit score scores.
Physician
Medi-Cal, which offers well being care to roughly 15 million low-income individuals, will cowl therapy of psychiatric emergencies in hospital emergency rooms underneath AB 1316.
However Newsom rejected AB 1975, which might have made medically supported meals and vitamin a Medi-Cal profit, and AB 2339, which might have expanded Medi-Cal telehealth protection.
psychological well being
Newsom signed greater than a dozen payments geared toward boosting behavioral well being care, together with via California's new court-ordered therapy program.
However citing prices, Newsom rejected an annual scholarship fund for college students pursuing a psychological well being occupation in the event that they labored for 3 years in that new therapy program. Critics say SB 26 ought to have expanded the grant to all county behavioral well being applications.
Abortion
California will improve penalties for obstructing or impeding entry to reproductive well being care providers and for posting private data or images of a affected person or supplier. These are presently misdemeanors; AB 2099 would make them punishable as misdemeanors or felonies.
Deliberate Parenthood Associates of California additionally supported AB 2085, which facilitates the approval of latest well being facilities, and SB 1131, which helps California's Household PACT (Planning, Entry, Care and Therapy) program for individuals with decrease household incomes. 200% of the federal poverty degree.
Growing old
Newsom handed a dozen payments associated to getting older, together with measures requiring elevated coaching for legislation enforcement (AB 2541) and well being care professionals (SB 639) to assist individuals with dementia. AB 1902 requires higher entry to recipe labels for many who have hassle seeing or want translated directions. And he signed one other package deal of payments aimed extra broadly at serving to individuals with disabilities.
Violence prevention
Assault or battery in opposition to a health care provider, physician, nurse or different healthcare employee inside an emergency room may result in as much as one 12 months in county jail, a $2,000 superb, or each underneath AB 977. That makes it the identical punishment most than for attacking a medical employee within the subject. Beforehand, California legislation supplied a lesser penalty for assault inside an emergency room.
The state is taking extra steps to discourage gun violence with two dozen new legal guidelines. Amongst them, SB 53 will increase necessities for safely storing firearms, in step with a push from the White Home. AB 2621 will improve legislation enforcement coaching and revise insurance policies on using gun violence restraining orders, whereas AB 2917 expands when courts can impose gun violence restraining orders.
And hospitals will ultimately must display screen sufferers, relations and guests for weapons at entrances underneath AB 2975.
Substance use
AB 1976 would require office first help kits to incorporate naloxone or different medicines that may reverse opioid overdoses, whereas defending those that administer naloxone from civil legal responsibility.
Underneath AB 1775, native jurisdictions will enable retailers to promote non-cannabis meals and drinks and supply reside music and different performances in areas the place hashish consumption is permitted. Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, mentioned his intention is to permit Dutch-style hashish cafes. Newsom authorized the measure regardless of vetoing an analogous invoice from Haney final 12 months, amid considerations from critics that the measure would undermine California's nationally main effort to ban indoor smoking.
And AB 3218 promotes the implementation of California's flavored tobacco ban, authorized in 2020.
Youth well-being
California is the primary state to usually prohibit public faculties from offering meals containing pink 40 dye or any of the 5 different artificial meals dyes utilized in merchandise comparable to Froot Loops and Flamin' Sizzling Cheetos. AB 2316 is Democratic Meeting Member Jesse Gabriel's follow-up to his laws final 12 months that banned a chemical present in Skittles sweet.
A invoice to extend transparency with using restraints and seclusion rooms in state-licensed short-term residential therapeutic applications has been signed into legislation with the high-profile assist of celeb Paris Hilton. She supported SB 1043, which will even require the state Division of Social Providers to publish the knowledge on a public dashboard.
And college districts' intercourse training curricula should embrace menstrual well being underneath AB 2229.
However Newsom vetoed AB 2442, which might have expedited licensing for gender-affirming care suppliers, and SB 954, which might have supplied free condoms in excessive faculties.
ladies's well being
The sale of menstrual merchandise with deliberately added PFAS, also called “everlasting chemical compounds,” will likely be prohibited underneath AB 2515. PFAS, quick for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to critical well being issues.
AB 2319 was handed in an effort to enhance enforcement of a 2019 legislation geared toward lowering the disproportionate price of maternal mortality amongst Black ladies and different pregnant ladies of colour.
AB 2527 goals to enhance the therapy of incarcerated pregnant ladies. Critics needed the unique model, which banned solitary confinement, and had been upset when it was amended to permit as much as 5 days of confinement if jail officers discovered a safety menace.
AB 518 goals to extend participation within the CalFresh vitamin program, a part of a package deal of wholesome meals payments.
And underneath SB 1300, the general public will obtain extra discover when hospitals plan to shut their maternity wards. The measure will improve the notification requirement to 120 days, up from the present 90.
However Newsom rejected AB 1895, which might have required six months' discover to state companies of potential maternity ward closures. Companies would then have been required to conduct a group influence evaluation.
social networks
SB 1504 expands California's Cyberbullying Safety Act, which regulates social media platforms, to use to minors quite than college students. Social media platforms that deliberately violate the legislation may face civil penalties of as much as $10,000, together with compensatory and punitive damages. These damages could possibly be sought by a mum or dad, authorized guardian, or numerous prosecutors. Underneath present legislation, damages are capped at $7,500 and might solely be sought by the state lawyer normal.
SB 976 restricts “addictive transmissions” to minors, together with prohibiting social media notifications to minors throughout college hours.
And AB 3216 will restrict smartphone use in faculties.
This text was produced by KFF Well being Information, which publishes California Healthline, an unbiased editorial service of the California Well being Care Basis.
|
|
