Bill Text: CA SB233 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Practice of medicine: Arizona physicians: abortions and abortion-related care for Arizona patients.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 56-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 11, Statutes of 2024. [SB233 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB233-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  April 25, 2024

Amended  IN  Assembly  September 01, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  August 14, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  May 18, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  May 02, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  April 10, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 233

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Introduced by Senator Skinner and Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry
(Coauthors: Senators Archuleta, Ashby, Becker, and Min)(Coauthor: Assembly Member Ting)

January 24, 2023

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An act to add Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section 44269) to Part 5 of Division 26 of, and to repeal Section 44269.1 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to transportation electrification. An act to add and repeal Section 2076.6 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 233, as amended, Skinner. Battery electric vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment: bidirectional capability. Practice of medicine: Arizona physicians: abortions and abortion-related care for Arizona patients.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to license and regulate the practice of medicine, and establishes examination, training, and other requirements for licensure as a physician and surgeon. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor.

This bill, through November 30, 2024, would authorize a physician licensed to practice medicine in Arizona who meets certain requirements to practice medicine in California for the purpose of providing abortions and abortion-related care to patients who are traveling from Arizona, upon application for registration with the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as applicable. The bill would prohibit the physician from providing care or consultation for other purposes or to other patients, except under specified circumstances. The bill would require an Arizona physician, before practicing in California, to submit specified information to the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as applicable, including, among other information, written verification from the Arizona Medical Board or the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery, or documentation printed from an online licensing system, that the physician’s Arizona license to practice medicine is in good standing and confers on the physician the authority to practice abortions and abortion-related care. The bill would require the applicant to provide an affidavit attesting that, among other things, the applicant meets all of the requirements for registration, as specified, and would make it a misdemeanor for a person to provide false information. The bill would deem a physician registered pursuant to the bill’s provisions a licensee of the applicable board, would authorize the applicable board to take enforcement against a person registered pursuant to the bill’s provisions, and would prohibit the applicable boards from collecting any fees for registration. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal the bill’s provisions on January 1, 2025.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to electric vehicles. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, working with the State Air Resources Board (state board) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), to prepare a statewide assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed to support the levels of electric vehicle adoption required for the state to meet its goals of putting at least 5,000,000 zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2030, and of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Existing law requires the state board, in conjunction with the Energy Commission, to develop and administer a program to provide grants to individuals, local governments, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses to encourage the purchase or lease of a new zero-emission vehicle.

This bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the state board and the PUC, on or before June 30, 2024, to convene a stakeholder workgroup to examine challenges and opportunities associated with using a battery electric vehicle and bidirectional electric vehicle service equipment as a mobile battery to power a home or building or to provide electricity to the electrical grid, and require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the stakeholder workgroup, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature that includes, among other things, specified information related to the bidirectional capability of battery electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment, as specified.

This bill would authorize the state board, in consultation with the Energy Commission and the PUC, to require any weight class of battery electric vehicle to be bidirectional capable if the state board determines there is a sufficiently compelling beneficial bidirectional-capable use case to the battery electric vehicle operator and electrical grid.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NOYES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 2076.6 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

2076.6.

 (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a physician who meets the requirements set forth in subdivision (b) may practice medicine in California through November 30, 2024, solely for the purpose of providing abortions, as defined in Section 123464 of the Health and Safety Code, and abortion-related care to patients traveling from Arizona seeking abortions or abortion-related care in California.

(2) Except as provided in Section 2058 or 2060, the physician shall not provide care or consultation to any patient that is not related to either performing an abortion or abortion-related care, and shall not provide care or consultation for an abortion or abortion-related care to any patient unless they have traveled from Arizona to California for that care or consultation.

(b) The physician shall:

(1) Hold a medical license in good standing in Arizona that confers on the physician the authority to practice abortions and abortion-related care within a similar scope as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 123464 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) Have performed at least one activity within the scope of subdivision (a) of Section 123464 of the Health and Safety Code under the authority of their Arizona medical license during the two years immediately preceding their registration submission to the applicable board pursuant to paragraph (3).

(3) Submit to the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as applicable, written verification from the Arizona Medical Board or the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery, as applicable, or documentation printed from an online licensing system, that the physician’s Arizona license is in good standing.

(4) For a physician provider who is licensed in more than one jurisdiction, the physician shall:

(A) Maintain an Arizona medical license in good standing.

(B) Submit to the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as applicable, written verification from the state licensing board, or documentation printed from an online licensing system, for each jurisdiction that the registrant’s license is in good standing in that jurisdiction.

(5) Submit to the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as applicable, the address of their permanent residence in Arizona, their temporary California address of record, if any, and an affidavit attesting to both of the following:

(A) The provider meets all of the requirements for registration under this section.

(B) The information submitted to the applicable board pursuant to this section is accurate to the best of the provider’s knowledge.

(c) Any person who provides false information in the affidavit required pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) is guilty of a public offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(d) (1) The Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as applicable, shall register a physician who meets the requirements of subdivision (b) within 15 calendar days of receiving all applicable documentation described in that subdivision. A physician who meets the requirements of subdivision (b) may provide abortions and abortion-related care while their registration is pending. The registration shall expire on November 30, 2024.

(2) The applicable board shall not register any physician who fails to provide all applicable documentation described in subdivision (b) and shall deem the physician’s request for registration incomplete.

(3) If the applicable board deems the registration incomplete or that the physician does not meet the requirements of subdivision (b), the physician shall immediately cease the practice of medicine in California unless the applicable board later deems the physician’s registration complete.

(e) The applicable board shall not post information on its internet website regarding physicians registered pursuant to this section.

(f) A physician registered pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be a licensee of the applicable board for purposes of the laws administered by that board relating to standards of practice and discipline, for the duration of the registration. A physician registered pursuant to this section may only practice medicine within the scope described in subdivision (a).

(g) The applicable board may take appropriate enforcement action against a person registered pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to, revoking or suspending the registration of a person who does not meet the requirements of subdivision (b) or the laws applicable to licensees pursuant to subdivision (f).

(h) The applicable board shall not collect or require a fee for registration pursuant to this section.

(i) The applicable board may develop and publish guidance to implement this section.

(j) For purposes of this section, “good standing” means an active license to practice medicine with no restrictions or limitations on that license in effect and no accusation, or similar filing initiating disciplinary action, is pending, unless that accusation or filing is for an offense solely related to the performance of an abortion in that state.

(k)  This section shall become inoperative on December 1, 2024, and, as of January 1, 2025, is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 3.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

Following the April 9 Arizona Supreme Court ruling authorizing the state’s 1864 law, access to abortion care for Arizonans will be almost entirely eliminated. In order to increase access to abortion care following this ruling for Arizonans by increasing the ability for Arizonans to see an Arizona provider in California, it is necessary for the act to take effect immediately.

SECTION 1.Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section 44269) is added to Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

8.8.Electric Vehicles

44269.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply, unless updated pursuant to Section 44269.3:

(a)“Battery electric vehicle” means a vehicle that operates solely by use of an electric battery or battery pack, or that is powered primarily through the use of an electric battery or battery pack but uses a flywheel or capacitor that stores energy produced by the electric motor or through regenerative braking to assist in vehicle operation.

(b)“Beneficial bidirectional-capable use case” means the usage of bidirectional-capable battery electric vehicles and bidirectional electric vehicle service equipment in a manner that results in electrical reliability and resiliency benefits and cost savings to the battery electric vehicle operator and is compatible with battery electric vehicle operator needs.

(c)“Bidirectional capable” means the ability of a battery electric vehicle or electric vehicle service equipment to both charge and discharge electricity.

(d)“Bidirectional charging” means a charging capability that enables a battery electric vehicle to either be charged by the electrical grid or an onsite clean energy resource, and discharge stored energy capacity through electric vehicle service equipment to either serve load or export it to the electrical grid.

(e)“Bidirectional electric vehicle service equipment” means electric vehicle service equipment capable of both charging and discharging electricity from a battery electric vehicle.

(f)“Board” means the State Air Resources Board.

(g)“Commission” means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.

(h)“Electric vehicle service equipment” has the same meaning as defined in Section 44268.

(i)“Interoperability” has the same meaning as described in Section 680.108 of Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

44269.1.

(a)The commission, in consultation with the board and the Public Utilities Commission, shall, on or before June 30, 2024, convene a stakeholder workgroup to examine challenges and opportunities associated with using a battery electric vehicle and bidirectional electric vehicle service equipment as a mobile battery to power a home (vehicle-to-home) or building (vehicle-to-building) or to provide electricity to the electrical grid (vehicle-to-grid).

(b)The commission, in consultation with the stakeholder workgroup, on or before January 1, 2026, shall submit a report to the Governor and Legislature that includes all of the following:

(1)Potential benefits, and costs to consumers and ratepayers, associated with requiring bidirectional capability for electric vehicle service equipment.

(2)Mechanisms to ensure interoperability between bidirectional capable battery electric vehicles and bidirectional electric vehicle service equipment.

(3)The resources, including, but not limited to, technological innovation or infrastructure upgrades, needed from entities that operate in the electricity sector, including, but not limited to, electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities, to facilitate vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-building, and vehicle-to-grid practices.

(4)The estimated impacts of requiring bidirectional capability for various battery electric vehicle weight classes on the state’s existing zero-emission vehicle programs and goals, which considers the equity impact of requiring bidirectional capability on those programs and goals.

(c)(1)The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(2)Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2029.

44269.3.

The board may periodically update the definitions provided in Section 44269 to ensure the definitions align with current technologies in bidirectional charging and account for ongoing innovation.

44269.4.

(a)The board, in consultation with the commission and the Public Utilities Commission, may require any weight class of battery electric vehicle to be bidirectional capable if it determines there is a sufficiently compelling beneficial bidirectional-capable use case to the battery electric vehicle operator and electrical grid.

(b)This section does not prohibit the board from crediting a manufacturer of a battery electric vehicle that voluntarily includes bidirectional capability for that battery electric vehicle weight class.