The Latest: Senate backs health plan pricing bill


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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on action by the California Legislature (all times local):

6:25 p.m.

California lawmakers are sending Gov. Jerry Brown legislation that would require health insurance plans to notify customers if state regulators have deemed their premiums unreasonable.

The bill cleared the state Senate in a 25-12 vote on Wednesday.

California regulators review proposed health plan rates each year for companies that sell directly to individuals or small businesses. The regulators have no power to reject prices they consider unreasonable or unjustified but can publicly label them as such.

The advocacy group Health Access California says many consumers don't know that their health plan has been designated as unreasonably expensive. SB908 would provide an opportunity to shop around.

Health plans say the measure would create administrative problems and disrupt the insurance market.

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6:15 p.m.

California lawmakers are sending a measure to decriminalize prostitution for minors to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.

SB1322 decriminalizes the act for people under the age of 18 and allows them to be taken into temporary custody. It's billed as an effort to help stop the criminalization of commercially sexually exploited children.

Supporters argue children should not be charged with the crime, as minors are unable to legally consent to sexual intercourse. They say in commercial sex trafficking, minors are the victims, not criminals.

The Senate voted 29-9 Wednesday to approve Assembly amendments. It had narrowly passed the Assembly 41-20.

Law enforcement officers who encounter minors involved in commercial sex would also be asked to report the circumstances to the county child welfare agency.

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5:50 p.m.

Legislation to prevent California police from prematurely selling suspected criminals' belongings is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown.

California law already requires that a person be convicted before police can seize cash or property valued under $25,000 that's believed to have been attained illegally.

Democratic Sen. Holly Mitchell of Los Angeles says police work around that law by partnering with federal agencies to seize assets before convictions, reaping millions of dollars.

SB443 would prohibit law enforcement agencies from profiting off of those partnerships in cases of suspected drug activity. It would increase the ceiling for other crimes to $40,000.

The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to approve Assembly changes requested by police and prosecutors.

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5:30 p.m.

Lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow sexual assault victims to say in court that they were raped, even if the attack doesn't meet the technical definition under California law.

The definition came under fire after former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman with his finger.

The Assembly unanimously agreed to send AB701 to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown Wednesday. It is a skeleton of Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia's initial proposal to expand the definition of rape, which is currently limited to nonconsensual intercourse between a man and a woman.

The Bell Gardens Democrat says prosecutors, defenders and attorneys forced her to abandon that effort. They were concerned it would keep them from bringing multiple charges against perpetrators.

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4:25 p.m.

California lawmakers are advancing a measure that cracks down on doctor shopping in response to the nation's ongoing opioid epidemic.

The proposal by Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens requires that providers consult an existing database of patient prescription histories before recommending addictive drugs.

The Assembly approved it 79-0 Wednesday. Amendments to the measure must be approved by the Senate before it could move to the governor's desk.

Advocates say patients may gather several drug supplies from different providers if doctors don't check the state's database before writing prescriptions.

The measure requires health care practitioners to check before first prescribing drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl — which musician Prince accidentally overdosed on in April — and every four months thereafter for as long as the prescription is continued.

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3:05 p.m.

California women who take birth control could face fewer trips to the pharmacy under a bill moving through the Legislature.

SB999 would require insurers to cover up to a 12-month contraception supply at one time, rather than 30- or 90-day amounts.

The Assembly voted 62-5 Wednesday to send the bill to the Senate to approve amendments.

Supporters argue birth control is most effective when taken consistently. They say longer supplies would reduce skipped doses and bring fewer unintended pregnancies.

Two groups representing insurers had asked for changes to delay the bill's starting date by one year and to allow insurers to request a patient that be stabilized on the method before receiving a full year's supply.

The California Right to Life Committee is concerned about contraceptives' consequences on women's health.

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12:25 p.m.

California lawmakers are sending Gov. Jerry Brown a proposal to keep a closer watch over the state's efforts to combat global warming.

AB197 would add two legislators as non-voting members of the Air Resources Board, which enforces California's law targeting greenhouse-gas reductions. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon says the board has "a credibility problem."

It also requires the board to annually report California emissions and air contamination online and to lawmakers.

Republican Assemblywoman Catharine Baker of Dublin says that's like relying on children to discipline themselves. She and other opponents want an independent review of emissions regulations and the state's cap-and-trade program.

The bill the Assembly approved 44-28 Wednesday is tied to another proposal to extend the life of California's climate change law. SB32 is also scheduled for a vote Wednesday.

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11:40 a.m.

The California Senate is approving legislation that requires everyone, including law enforcement officers, to secure guns they leave in a vehicle.

The bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown follows several high-profile thefts from the vehicles of law enforcement officers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

SB869 by Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill of San Mateo was approved in a 26-12 vote. It would require that handguns left in unattended vehicles be locked in the trunk or in a locked container out of view.

Violating the law would be an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.

The measure was supported by gun-control groups and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, which says stolen guns can be used in crimes.

Nobody spoke against it in the Senate Wednesday.

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