Official Summary Text
SB 508, as amended, Valladares.
Out-of-state physicians and surgeons: telehealth: license exemption.
California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impact mitigation.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
If a lead agency determines that a project will have a
significant transportation impact, existing law authorizes the lead agency to mitigate the transportation impact to a less than significant level by helping to fund or otherwise facilitating housing or related infrastructure projects, including by contributing an amount, to be determined pursuant to guidance issued by the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, to the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Fund for purposes of the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Program. Existing law authorizes the deposit of those contributions into the fund beginning on or before July 1, 2026, as determined by the Department of Housing and Community Development, and makes those moneys available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of awarding funding for affordable housing or related infrastructure projects under the program in accordance with specified priorities. On or before July 1, 2026, and at least once every 3 years thereafter, existing law requires the
office, in consultation with other state agencies, to issue guidance related to the implementation of these provisions, as provided. Existing law makes related findings and declarations.
This bill would require a contribution to the fund to be deemed full and complete mitigation for that portion of the project’s significant transportation impact mitigated by the contribution to the fund and a legally sufficient mitigation measure under CEQA. The bill would authorize the deposit of those contributions into the fund beginning on the date of the issuance of the initial guidance by the office. The bill would make additional related findings and declarations.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of the practice of medicine by physicians and surgeons. Existing law generally prohibits the practice of medicine without a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued by the board.
Existing law authorizes a health care provider to deliver health care via telehealth to a patient pursuant to specified protocols and conditions. Existing law defines “telehealth” as the delivery of health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient’s health care, and that telehealth includes synchronous interactions
and asynchronous store and forward transfers.
Existing law authorizes a person licensed as a physician and surgeon in another state, as specified, to deliver health care via telehealth to an eligible patient, as defined. Existing law defines “eligible patient” as a person who, among other requirements, has a life-threatening disease or condition, as defined, and has not been accepted to participate in the clinical trial nearest to their home for the immediately life-threatening disease or condition, as specified, or in the medical judgment of a physician and surgeon, as defined, it is unreasonable for the patient to participate in that clinical trial due to the patient’s current condition and state of disease.
This bill would
also include within the definition of “eligible patient” a patient whose immediately life-threatening disease or condition is in remission and the patient is continuing care with the previously established eligible out-of-state physician and surgeon, and would provide that those patients are not subject to the clinical trial requirement, as specified.