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Nine Yamada bills take effect in the new year
Nine bills authored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) in 2012, ranging in topic from religious freedom to reporting of elder abuse to pilot safety, become effective in 2013.
Yamada now represents Lake County, as part of the Fourth District, in the California Assembly.
The bills include the following.
AB 1964: Workplace religious freedom
Prohibits employers from segregating an employee from coworkers or the public due to the employee’s religious attire, grooming, or other observance.
AB 40: Criminal physical abuse of an elder or dependent adult
Requires nursing home staff and other mandatory reporters to report directly to law enforcement any suspected incidents of abuse resulting in serious bodily injury.
AB 511: Meteorological evaluation tower: Markings for pilot safety
Establishes a statewide standard for marking Meteorological Evaluation Towers (METs), which developers of wind farms use to measure wind velocity.
METs are invisible to low-flying agricultural pilots without such safety markings.
AB 999: Long-term care insurance: Rate increase controls
Modifies the long-term care (LTC) insurance ratemaking process to protect consumers from excessive rate increases by giving the insurance commissioner the discretion to allow a lower premium increase if he or she determines that it is in the interest of policyholders.
In addition, allows the insured, if the premium becomes too expensive, to convert paid-up coverage to a lifetime benefit equal to the amount of premiums paid to date for the coverage, instead of canceling, ensuring that the policyholder will not lose all their money or all their coverage.
AB 1623: Weights and measures: Consumer protections
Ensures that consumers receive the true amount of what they buy by raising the fee collection limitation on county weights and measures programs to allow fees that fully cover the costs of annually inspecting vendor and manufacturing measuring equipment, such as scales in grocery stores.
AB 1710: The Nursing Home Administrator ‘Right Sizing’ Act of 2012
Maintains state enforcement standards for nursing home care by requiring the annual adjustment of Nursing Home Administrator licensing program fees to fully support state costs of screening, testing, and investigating nursing home administrators.
AB 1793: Emergency preparedness: Nursing homes
Ensures that nursing homes are included in the planning and providing of emergency medical care during a disaster and that they are reimbursed from federal disaster funds for their services, like other entities providing such services.
AB 1823: Veterans homes: Notice of financial obligation
Requires quarterly financial statements sent to California’s veterans home residents to include clearly written information about prospective health-related charges due upon the death of a veteran and payable by his or her estate.
AB 1626: Contesting false and misleading ballot statements
Allows a county clerk to contest in court possible false and misleading arguments on a ballot.
Visit Yamada online at www.asm.ca.gov/yamada .