End of Year 1 of the 2023-24 California Legislative Session

September 14, 2023, was the final day of this year’s legislative session, which is the deadline for all bills to pass both houses of the Legislature and be sent to the Governor’s desk. 2,600 bills were introduced this year, and Governor Newsom will have until October 14th to sign or veto legislation that made it to his desk.

Healthcare is always a big issue in California politics, and this year was no different, with major legislation to reform the Mental Health Services Act, protect abortion access, and raise the minimum wage for healthcare workers being considered. These priorities were on top of our own policy priorities.

Several bills from Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins seek to close remaining gaps in California’s abortion protection and access network. One bill of interest was SB 487, which would prohibit health insurers and the state from penalizing abortion providers who have been sanctioned in other states. This bill was sponsored by Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) and supported by California Health+ Advocates.

SB 525 (Durazo) mandates a new minimum wage of $25 per hour for workers in the health care sector. After long negotiations with the Assembly Speaker, the sponsors, and author, California Health+ Advocates was able to secure amendments placed in the bill which address the concerns of community health centers (CHCs) with implementation; therefore, we removed our opposition. We remain committed to PPS reform in the next legislative session to ensure CHCs can pay for the impacts of the bill and remain sustainable long-term. The bill is now headed to the Governor for his consideration.

Governor Newsom spent much of this year focused on changing the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) to the Behavioral Health Services Act with a new focus on addressing homelessness. These policy changes were placed in SB 326 (Eggman) late in the legislative session. We support funding for supportive housing to those who need it; however, we have concerns with taking these funds away from some of our CHCs that have been able to access this funding. Expanding housing should not be done to the detriment of current programs. The bill is headed to the Governor’s desk where it will most certainly be signed.

California Health+ Advocates co-sponsored two bills that are heading to the Governor’s desk this year. AB 85 (Weber) which will allow CHCs to be reimbursed for social determinants of health screenings, and AB 1612 (Pacheco) which will reform OSHPD 3 building standards for CHCs. We will need your advocacy to help get these two bills signed by the Governor.

CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates also opposed SB 779 (Stern) which requires new data reporting from CHCs. Our team was successfully able to successfully advocate to significantly narrow this bill. SB 779 is on its way to the Governor’s desk where we will be advocating for a veto.

We appreciate your advocacy throughout the year, as we look forward to the final month during the Governor’s signing period.