CURIOUS ABOUT ACHD MEMBER BENEFITS?

ACHD CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE 73RD ANNUAL MEETING

WHAT'S NEW IN APRIL

CEO MESSAGE

Greetings from Sacramento, where things are very busy from an advocacy perspective. Policy committees in both the Senate and the Assembly are in full swing, hearing bill proposals on a broad range of topics, anything from bills that ban cat declawing to making Bigfoot the official state cryptid (Okay, I’m not too proud to admit I had to look up the word “cryptid”). In the healthcare district space, we have good news to share. ACHD's sponsored bill, AB 533, which strikes the sunset date from previously passed legislation and re-authorizes the ability for healthcare districts, as specified, to use the design-build process when contracting for construction projects, passed the Assembly Local Government committee on March 26 unanimously, and the Assembly Appropriations Committee on April 9, on consent. The bill is now headed to the Assembly floor. Thank you to all the healthcare districts that shared your logo in support of the bill. Your voice makes a difference! Be sure to review Sarah Bridge's legislative update below for more details on the various bills we are tracking.

ACHD is excited to announce that the Keynote Speaker for our 73^rd Annual Meeting, taking place at the Sheraton San Diego Resort, September 24-26, will be Robyn Benincasa. Robyn is a veteran San Diego firefighter, a World Champion Adventure Racer, a Guinness World Record Endurance Kayaker, a New York Times best-selling author, and the Founder of The Project Athena Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping survivors of medical or other traumatic setbacks achieve their adventurous dreams. We are thrilled to have Robyn kick off the first full day of the conference by sharing her strategies for inspiring the type of team mindset that enables organizations to adapt, overcome and “win as one” in the face of extreme challenge and change. Registration for our Annual Meeting will open in late May.

Speaking of Annual Meeting, does your district have a best practice or innovation you’d like to share? Our annual District Best Practices presentations, held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting, are the perfect opportunity to do just that! Submit your proposal today!

Please reach out to us directly if you have any questions on any issue. We are here to serve healthcare districts and two-way communication is paramount to our success. We look forward to hearing from you.

With gratitude,

The 2025-26 legislative session is in full swing. Today marks the start of the legislative Spring Recess. Lawmakers will return on May 2 to continue their work. For the next several days legislators will be in their districts. We encourage healthcare districts to take advantage of this recess by reaching out and connecting with your elected officials while they are back home. May 16 marks the final day for policy committees to meet and May 23 marks the last day for fiscal committees to meet. For reference, the legislative calendar is available, here. ACHD is tracking just over 300 measures. We will be adopting final positions on measures over the next week.

Bills of Note

SB 632 (Arreguín) – Workers’ Compensation Presumptions for Hospital Employees

Would establish a rebuttable presumption that specific injuries in an acute care hospital setting, including infectious diseases, PTSD, musculoskeletal injuries, and cancer, arose from work. The bill passed out of Senate Labor Committee on April 9, 2025 and will now move to the Appropriations Committee. ACHD is opposed to the bill.

SB 669 (McGuire) - Rural Perinatal Unit Pilot Program

Would allow rural hospitals, as specified, to pilot the operation of a standby perinatal unit to preserve access to labor and delivery services in their communities. The measure passed out of the Senate Health Committee on April 9, 2025. ACHD is in support of the bill.

AB 533 (Flora) – Design-Build Authority Revival

Would reinstate streamlined design-build contracting for healthcare districts’ construction projects, as specified. The bill was voted out of Assembly Local Government Committee unanimously and was moved out of Assembly Appropriations Committee on April 9, 2025, on consent. The measure will now head to the Assembly floor for its final vote of the first house. ACHD is sponsoring this measure.

AB 810 (Irwin) - Internet Domain Mandates

Would requires local agencies to adopt “.gov” or “. ca.gov” domains by 2031. The bill moved out of Assembly Local Government Committee on April 9, 2025, with a 7-1 vote. ACHD will be adopting an oppose unless amended position, requesting healthcare districts be wholly exempted from the measure.

Budget

As has been noted in several new publications, California missed the March 31 federal deadline to submit Medi-Cal rate increases under Prop 35, delaying promised payments to providers serving low-income patients and forfeiting federal matching funds for Q1 2025.

Further, the state borrowed $3.4 billion from its general fund to cover Medi-Cal’s cost overruns, driven by rising prescription drug prices, expanded enrollment (due to the expansion populations including undocumented immigrants and all income eligible adults) and federal funding uncertainty.

The State anticipates the need for additional short-term borrowing in the health and human services area, further exacerbating budget pressures.

As a reminder, the Governor will present his May Revision to the budget by May 14, 2025. ACHD will be providing an update to members following this announcement. June 15, 2025, marks the final day for the legislature to pass a balanced budget. With that said, there will be several “Budget Bill Juniors” and trailer bills following the enactment of the budget framework. We also anticipate a special session on the budget will be needed if federal cuts to the Medicaid program continue.

Seismic Update

The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) has been hosting webinars as it relates to 2030 seismic compliance, relevant reporting, and the extensions under AB 869. On March 4, they hosted a webinar which is available on demand, here. The slides can be viewed, here.

HCAI will be co-hosting a webinar and questions session with ACHD on May 8, 2025, from 10:00 – 12:00 pm. The first hour will focus on a general overview that is specific to healthcare districts, the second hour will be an open forum for question, answer and discussion with HCAI. To register for the webinar please complete this form.

As always, HCAI is available to meet with districts directly. We encourage districts with questions or who need to complete seismic work, to reach out to Ali Sumer, Supervisor of Seismic Compliance Unit, at ali.sumer@hcai.ca.gov.