This year, California state lawmakers are continuing their progressive direction on health policy with dozens of proposals, including banning a Froot Loops ingredient and free condoms for high school students.
As states increasingly divide along partisan lines, California Democrats are putting their vast majority on the laws they will consider until they adjourn at the end of August. But the cost of these proposals will be a major factor given the enormity of the state’s deficit, currently estimated at $38 billion to $73 billion.
Health coverage
Lawmakers are again considering whether to create a government-run, single-payer health care system for all Californians. AB 2200 is Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s second such attempt after a similar bill failed in 2022. The price tag would be enormous, although supporters say it There would also be associated savings. The high potential cost has left Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and others skeptical that the bill will become law while the state faces a deficit.
AB 4 would require Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, to offer health insurance policies to people who would otherwise be unable to obtain coverage because of their immigration status, in the to the extent possible under federal law. This could eventually lead to subsidized insurance premiums similar to those offered in Colorado and Washington.
Medical debt
Health care providers and collection agencies would be prohibited from sharing patients’ medical debt with credit reporting agencies under SB 1061. The bill would also prohibit credit reporting agencies from accept, store or share such information without the consumer’s consent. Last year, the Biden administration announced plans to develop federal rules prohibiting unpaid medical bills from affecting patients’ credit scores. California would be the third state to remove medical bills from consumer credit reports.
The Medi-Cal program, which provides health care to low-income people, would be required to cover medically favorable foods and nutrition starting July 1, 2026, under AB 1975. The bill s builds on an existing but limited pilot program. The legislation states that Californians of color could benefit from adequate diet and nutrition to combat largely preventable chronic health conditions, and it is one of 14 measures called for by the California Legislative Black Caucus in the framework for reparations for racial injustice.
More than 1.6 million California residents, the majority Latino, have been kicked out of Medi-Cal since the state resumed annual eligibility checks that were halted during the covid-19 pandemic. AB 2956 would require the state to seek federal approval to slow these disenrollments by taking steps such as allowing people 19 and older to automatically keep their coverage for 12 months.
Violence prevention
Rising attacks on health workers are prompting lawmakers to consider toughening criminal penalties. In California, a simple assault on workers inside an emergency room is considered a simple assault on almost anyone else and carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine. $ and six months in prison. In contrast, a simple assault on emergency medical workers in the field, such as a paramedic responding to a 911 call, carries maximum penalties of a $2,000 fine and a year in prison. AB 977 would set the same maximum penalties for assaults on emergency health care workers on the job, whether they are in the field or in the emergency room.
California could toughen penalties for interference with reproductive health services. Posting personal information or photographs of a patient or provider would be a crime if any of them were harmed. AB 2099 also strengthens penalties for intimidation or obstruction.
Under SB 53, gun owners would have to lock their weapons in state-approved safes or safes, where they would be inaccessible to anyone other than the owner or other legally authorized user. Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino, the bill’s author, says it would make it harder for anyone, including children, to use guns to harm themselves or others or to use guns to commit crimes. Critics say it would make it harder to access the weapon when needed, such as to counter a home invasion. Along the same lines, AB 2621 and AB 2917 address restraining orders regarding gun violence.
Substance Use
The increase in drug overdoses has prompted several responses: AB 3073 would require the state public health department to partner with local public health agencies, wastewater treatment facilities and others to testing wastewater for traces of dangerous drugs in an effort to identify drug hotspots. and identify new drugs. AB 1976 would require workplace first aid kits to include naloxone nasal spray, which can reverse opioid overdoses. And senators have proposed at least nine bills aimed at reducing overdose deaths, including from fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid.
Youth protection
Under AB 2229, backed by a “Know Your Period” campaign, school districts’ sex education programs would have to include menstrual health. No opposition was registered.
Public schools should make free condoms available to all students in grades 9-12 under SB 954, which would help prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, author, Sen. Democrat Caroline Menjivar. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year.
Reality TV star Paris Hilton is supporting a bipartisan bill requiring more reporting on the treatment of youth in state-licensed short-term residential therapeutic programs. SB 1043 would require the state Department of Human Services to post information about the use of restraints and seclusion rooms on a public dashboard.
California would expand its regulations on hemp products, which have become increasingly popular among young people, to circumvent state restrictions on legal adult-use cannabis. AB 2223 would build on a 2021 law that Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said doesn’t go far enough.
Under AB 2316, public schools would generally be prohibited from providing foods containing red dye 40, titanium dioxide and other potentially harmful substances, which are currently used in products such as Froot Loops and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. It’s Democratic Rep. Jesse Gabriel’s follow-up to his legislation last year that attempted to ban a chemical used in Skittles.
Women’s health
AB 2515 would ban the sale of menstrual products intentionally containing PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to serious health problems. Newsom vetoed a previous attempt.
Social networks
Social media companies could face substantial penalties if they don’t do enough to protect children, under AB 3172. The measure would allow financial damages of up to $1 million for each child under of 18 years of age who proves to the court that he has suffered damage, i.e. three times the amount of the child’s actual damage. The industry opposes the bill, calling it harmful censorship.
Cyberbullies could face civil liabilities of up to $75,000 under SB 1504, and these damages could be sought by anyone. Under current law, damages are capped at $7,500 and can only be brought by the state attorney general.
Well-being
Bosses could be fined if they repeatedly contact employees after hours under AB 2751, a “right to disconnect” bill modeled after similar restrictions in 13 countries . The bill’s author, Democratic Assemblyman Matt Haney, said that despite the advent of smartphones that “have blurred the lines between work and home life,” employees should not be expected to work 24 hours a day. The measure is being challenged by the California Chamber of Commerce.
Finally, Democrat Anthony Rendon, longtime speaker of the state Assembly, is spending his final year in the House leading a nation-first special committee on happiness and public policy outcomes. The committee is not planning any legislation but intends to issue a report after lawmakers adjourn in August.
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