Prior Priority Legislation

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Levine

Date: 08/29/2022

Status: Vetoed

Mental health services: This bill would require a health care service plan or a health insurance policy that includes coverage for mental health services to, among other things, approve the provision of mental health services for persons who are detained for 72-hour treatment and evaluation under the LPS Act and to schedule an initial outpatient appointment for that person with a licensed mental health professional on a date within 48 hours of the person’s release from detention.

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MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Ward

Date: 09/25/2022

Status: Passed

Substance abuse treatment: certification: Existing law requires DHCS to require that a person providing counseling services within alcoholism or drug abuse recovery be registered with or certified by a certifying organization approved by the department. This requirement discourages qualified graduate student interns participating in supervised internships affiliated with graduate university programs in psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, or counseling from working in SUD treatment programs by also requiring them to register with a certifying organization as if they were on the career path to become a certified SUD counselor. This bill would change statute to allow these qualified graduate student interns to complete their supervised internships at SUD treatment programs.

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Related Documents

• Bill Fact Sheet
• Template Support Letter

MHAC Position: Support

Author: Arambula

Date: 08/29/2022

Status: Vetoed

Prior authorization and step therapy: Existing law permits a health care provider or prescribing provider to appeal a denial of a step therapy exception request for coverage of a nonformulary drug, a prior authorization request, or a step therapy exception request, consistent with the current utilization management processes of the health care service plan or health insurer. Existing law also permits an enrollee or insured, or the enrollee’s or insured’s designee or guardian, to appeal a denial of a step therapy exception request for coverage of a nonformulary drug, prior authorization request, or step therapy exception request by filing a grievance under a specified provision, formulary drug, prior authorization request, or step therapy exception request. This bill would require a health care service plan’s or health insurer’s utilization management process to ensure that an appeal of a denial of an exception request is reviewed by a clinical peer of the health care provider or prescribing provider, as specified. The bill would require health care service plans and health insurers that require step therapy or prior authorization to maintain specified information, including, but not limited to, the number of exception requests for coverage of a nonformulary drug, step therapy exception requests, and prior authorization exception requests received by the plan or insurer, and, upon request, to provide the information in a deidentified format to the department or commissioner, as appropriate.

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Related Documents

• Bill Fact Sheet

MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Pellerin

Date: 04/12/2024

Existing law requires the department to establish the California Child and Family Service Review System, in order to review all county child welfare systems, including child protective services, foster care, adoption, family preservation, family support, and independent living. Existing law requires the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a workgroup, as prescribed, to establish a work plan by which child and family service reviews shall be conducted. Existing law requires the workgroup to consider, among other things, measurable outcome indicators, which shall be consistent with specified federal measures and standards. This bill would require the outcome indicators to include data from the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment tool.

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MHAC Position: Support

Author: Cervantes

Date: 04/12/2024

This bill would require the program to conduct at least one maternal mental health screening during pregnancy, and at least one additional screening during the first 6 months of the postpartum period. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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MHAC Position: Support

Author: Salas

Date: 09/27/2022

Status: Vetoed

School-Based Health Center Support Program: Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, to establish a Public School Health Center Support Program to assist school health centers, which are defined as centers or programs, located at or near local educational agencies, that provide age-appropriate health care services at the program site or through referrals, as specified. This bill would rename the program as the School-Based Health Center Support Program and would redefine a school-based health center to mean a student-focused health center or clinic that is located at or near a school or schools, is organized through school, community, and health provider relationships, and provides age-appropriate, clinical health care services onsite by qualified health professionals. The bill would authorize a school-based health center to provide primary medical care, behavioral health services, or dental care services onsite or through mobile health or telehealth. This bill would increase planning, startup, and sustainability grant amounts.Existing law requires the State Department of Education to establish an Office of School-Based Health Programs for the purpose of assisting local educational agencies regarding the current health-related programs under the purview of the department. This bill would require the office to work with the State Department of Public Health in supporting the School-Based Health Center Support Program.

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MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Ward

Date: 04/12/2024

Existing law establishes the State Department of Education in state government, and vests the department with specified powers and duties relating to the state’s public school system, including encouraging and assisting school districts to improve and monitor the health of their pupils. Existing law requires the department, as part of that assistance, to provide information and guidance to schools that request the information and guidance to establish “Health Days” to provide screenings for common health problems among pupils.This bill would require the department to include county offices of education and charter schools in the above-described provisions. The bill would require the department to encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to participate in programs that offer reimbursement for school-based health services and school-based mental health services, as provided.

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MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Jackson

Date: 04/12/2024

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2025, establish, until June 30, 2028, the Black Mental Health Navigator Certification Pilot Program, to be administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, to provide comprehensive training in mental health resources and awareness, as specified. This bill would require the department to collect specific data and submit a report to the Legislature and the relevant policy committees on or before December 31, 2028. The bill would make those provisions contingent upon appropriation and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2030.

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MHAC Position: Support

Author: Bonta

Date: 04/12/2024

This bill would, instead, require certain boards that regulate healing arts licensees or registrants to collect workforce data from their respective licensees or registrants, and would require that data to be required at the time of electronic license or registration renewal, as specified. The bill would, instead, require a licensee or registrant to provide the specified workforce data as a condition for license or registration renewal and would delete the provision that specifies that a licensee or registrant shall not be subject to discipline for not providing that information.

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MHAC Position: Support

Author: Arambula

Date: 08/25/2022

Status: Vetoed

Medi-Cal: behavioral health: individuals with vision loss: Would require the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to establish a pilot project to provide behavioral health services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are blind or have low vision, as a covered benefit under the Medi-Cal program.

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MHAC Position: Support

Author: Boerner

Date: 04/12/2024

This bill, until January 1, 2029, and upon appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish the Unicorn Homes Transitional Housing for Homeless LGBTQ+ Youth Program, to be administered by local community-based organizations that provide a majority of its services to the LGBTQ+ community. The bill would require the department to fund community-based organizations in up to 5 selected counties that provide transitional housing for LGBTQ+ youth, 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, experiencing homelessness due to family rejection, with the ultimate goal of reunification with the youth’s original family. The bill would require the community-based organization to place eligible youth with volunteer host families who meet specified criteria, pursuant to the results of a background check, and who are able to provide crisis intervention with a trauma-informed approach, as defined, to their care. The bill would also require the program to comply with the existing core components of Housing First.

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MHAC Position: Support, MHAC Sponsored

Author: Bonta

Date: 04/12/2024

This bill would ratify and approve the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, an interstate compact that is operational under its terms, to facilitate the practice of telepsychology and the temporary in-person, face-to-face practice of psychology across state boundaries.Under this bill, the compact would require this state, as a compact state, to recognize the right of a psychologist, licensed in a compact state in conformance with the compact, to practice telepsychology in other compact states in which the psychologist is not licensed, as provided in the compact. Under the bill, the compact would also require this state to recognize the right of a psychologist, licensed in a compact state in conformance with the compact, to practice temporarily in other compact states in which the psychologist is not licensed, as provided in the compact. Under the bill, the compact would require the board to appoint a commissioner to the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact Commission, a joint body with powers and responsibilities as established by the compact, including rulemaking authority, as prescribed.This bill would require the board to comply with the requirements of the compact and to adopt regulations as necessary to implement the compact. Under the bill, a person without a license granted under existing state law, but holding a privilege to practice under the compact, would not be prohibited from engaging in the practice of psychology or representing themselves to be a psychologist.

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MHAC Position: Support

Author: Gabriel

Date: 09/30/2022

Status: Passed

Mental health professionals: natural disasters: This bill would require, by November 1, 2024, county offices of education to develop a system for rapidly deploying qualified mental health professionals and other key school personnel employed by individual school districts and charter schools throughout the county to areas of the county that experienced a natural disaster or other traumatic event. The bill would require single school district county offices of education to enter into agreements with at least one other county office of education that they share a border with.

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MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Davies

Date: 04/18/2024

This bill would require an operator of a licensed alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility or certified alcohol or other drug program to include a disclosure on its internet website if a legal, disciplinary, or other enforcement action has been brought by the department and the facility or program was determined to be in violation. The bill would require the internet website disclosure to include the date and nature of the violation. The bill would impose a $2,500 civil penalty for failure to comply with the internet website posting requirement.

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MHAC Position: Watch

Author: Haney

Date: 04/18/2024

This bill would authorize a nonprofit or free clinic to dispense a narcotic drug for the purpose of relieving acute withdrawal symptoms while arrangements are being made for referral for treatment, as described, and would require the clinic dispensing the narcotic to be subject to specified labeling and recordkeeping requirements. Because the bill would specify additional requirements under the Pharmacy Law, a violation of which would be a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program.

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