October 20, 2023 | CRA Newsletter: Legislative, Regulatory, Local & Other Updates | |
Message from the President | | |
The 2023 legislative year has officially ended with the Governor's October 14 deadline to take action on all of bills that made it to his desk. The CRA team was busy tracking the fate of our priority legislation and have included a detailed recap in our October newsletter below. Despite Democrats controlling the legislature and labor having an outsized influence this year, the CRA team was able to make several bad bills better lessening the impact on our members and the greater business community.
Additionally, the CRA team hosted a successful Annual Meeting in Irvine earlier this month, which included our inaugural annual CA Retail Law Summit. Keep reading for a recap of the event. I am grateful for the participation of elected officials and other leaders throughout the state and country that came together to bring a lot of valuable education and content for our members.
You will also see in this month's newsletter a very busy regulatory report as rulemaking continues to ramp up for new, wide-sweeping regulations including the Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) rule under the California Air Resources Board and SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, under CalRecycle. The CRA team has secured leadership positions on both regulatory processes providing a crucial voice for retailers in the rulemaking. Earlier this year I was named to the SB 54 Advisory Board- one of only two business representatives serving on the Board- and CRA's Sarah Pollo Moo was recently selected to serve on the ACF Implementation Workgroup.
In the coming weeks and as the end of the year approaches, the CRA team will be working on our end of year report, providing highlights of the work we accomplished in 2023 and getting prepared for 2024, which will include our annual advocacy days event, details of which will be announced soon. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with questions.
Rachel
In this Issue:
- Legislative Updates
- Regulatory Updates
- CA Community Pharmacy Coalition Updates
- CRA Annual Meeting Recap
- CRA Outreach and Activities
- CRA In The News
- Cal-ORCA Updates
- CRA Member Portal
| | |
2023 Legislative Session Recap | | |
Regulatory and Local Updates | | |
All regulatory advocacy letters are available on CRA's member portal. Access the portal here. | |
California Community Pharmacy Coalition Updates | | |
Legislative Updates
The CRA team closely tracked Governor Newsom's decisions ahead of the October 14 deadline to take action on bills that made it out of the 2023 legislative session. All CCPC priority bills have been acted upon as follows:
-
AB 1286 (Haney) Medication Error Reporting/Staffing Floor/Tech Duties/Ratio - SIGNED (CCPC Oppose)
-
AB 1341 (Berman) Pharmacists dispensing Paxlovid/Administering non-oral SUD treatment - SIGNED (CCPC Support)
-
AB 317 (Weber) Reimbursement for Pharmacist Services - SIGNED (CCPC Support)
-
SB 816 (Roth) Pharmacy Fee Increases (CCPC Watch)
-
AB 782 (McKinnor) Compounding Exception for Flavoring - VETOED -view veto message here (CCPC Support)
Board of Pharmacy
The CRA team testified on behalf of the CCPC on a number of issues on the Board of Pharmacy's Licensing Committee agenda including central fill pharmacies and mail order pharmacies. To read the testimony click here.
The BoP's next full board meeting in November has been published online at the BoP website. View the agenda here. The board meeting will be held on Wed. Nov. 1 beginning at 1:00pm PST and Thurs. Nov. 2 beginning at 9:00am PST.
Medi-Cal RX
Medi-Cal Rx will be postponing the reinstatement of Reject Code 80 Diagnosis Requirements. View the alert here.
Medi-Cal Rx published an alert on the reinstatement of Reject Code 76, effective October 13, 2023. Read the alert here.
Humatin/Tabloid Support and Information: There is another drug impacted by Reject 85 and a pathway for access to therapy similar to Humatin and Tabloid to assist with access to therapy. The drug impacted is Regranex 0.01% Gel. Please take note of the updated version of the communication, which now includes Regranex. View the communication here.
The NEW Medi-Cal Rx Enteral Nutrition Prior Authorization Request form is now available on the web portal.
MediCal RX Commercialized COVID Vaccines: the new commercialized vaccines will no longer be supplied free by the federal government for most members. For the latest information please see link to the alert published by Medi-Cal Rx for providers here. HERE. Note, that coverage of the vaccine with Medi-Cal Rx is to be determined at this time. Uninsured and underinsured adults may obtain the vaccine free through the CDC’s Bridge Access Program. For beneficiaries, please see the following resources here.
CURES Update
Beginning August 1, 2024, all California dispensers of controlled substances will be required to report dispensations to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) using version 4.2B of the American Society of Automation in Pharmacy (ASAP) format. On and after this date, data submitted using the current CURES ASAP version 4.1 format will no longer be accepted. Read more here.
Other Updates
Jacey Cooper, the State Medicaid Director, announced she is resigning from DHCS effective October 20 to work at CMS. The CRA team will update CCPC members as we learn more about who will replace her at DHCS.
| |
CRA Outreach and Activities | | |
CRA Annual Meeting is a Huge Success
CalRetailers hosted our Annual Meeting in Irvine, which included an Inaugural annual CA Retail Law Summit in partnership with the National Retail Federation. CRA members heard from industry leaders and policymakers on a variety of issues impacting the retail industry including EPR, Supply Chain, Organized Retail Crime and Retail Theft, Labor & Employment Issues and PAGA Reform. The conference also included CA Legislative, Regulatory and Political Updates.
Guest speakers included Senator Josh Newman, Author of Senate Bill 707, Commissioner Sean Duryee, California Highway Patrol, Honorable Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, President and CEO, Public Policy Institute of California, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Resig, California District Attorneys Association CEO Greg Totten, National Stewardship Action Council Executive Director Heidi Sanborn, MPA, Jim Gatto, seasoned veteran of AI.
The event was a huge success - especially the Law Summit - where we were sold out and even overflowing with attendees eager to get the latest updates and resources for the new and unique legal requirements retailers face in California. Legal experts led conversations around litigation threats, privacy laws and labor and employment regulations relevant to the coming year and beyond.
Click here to see photos from the event and stay tuned for a save the date for next year's event, which is already in the works. We will also soon be announcing CRA's 2024 Board of Directors.
| |
CRA President Speaks at Cal/OSHA and California Employment Law Summit
CRA President and CEO Rachel Michelin spoke at Conn Maciel Carey LLP's Inaugural Cal/OSHA and California Employment Law Summit providing an update on Workplace Violence and the work CRA did around SB 553. The Summit was hosted by the California-based attorneys in CMC's national OSHA, Workplace Safety and Labor and Employment Practice Groups, to update California employers on important developments involving workplace safety and health and employment law issues in California. Learn more about the Summit here.
| |
Additional CRA Team Outreach and Activities
CRA President Rachel Michelin spoke at the Independent Voter Project Make it with Mexico Cross-Border Conference. Topics addressed during the event included nearshoring and manufacturing, infrastructure and law enforcement and illicit markets. Attendees included Senator Brian Jones and Assemblymembers David Alvarez, Lisa Calderon, Blanca Rubio, Eduardo Garcia, Juan Carillo and Esmeralda Soria.
CRA Government Affairs Director Ryan Allain attended a public safety town hall in San Francisco and met with Supervisor Matt Dorsey who represents the sixth district on the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors. The meeting focused on ORC, Retail Theft and the effort to fix Prop. 47.
The CRA team met with the California Highway Patrol regarding a new regional Organized Retail Crime Association forming in Sacramento.
The CRA team spoke to the California Municipal Revenue and Tax Association about ways CalRetailers are partnering and working with local government throughout the state on overlapping issues impacting both the business and local government sectors including ORC and Retail Theft.
| |
Three Weeks to Cal-ORCA Virtual Summit Release
Sessions Include:
-
An Insider’s Look at the Evolution of the Threat Landscape: New Strategies for Successfully Preventing Retail Violence Presented by Dr. Larry Barton, Laurence Barton, LLC
-
Partnerships and Leadership: Combatting Organized Retail Crime and Retail Theft Presented by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig
-
CHP Organized Retail Crime Task Force: Year in Review Presented by Captain Jason Cavett, California Highway Patrol
-
Homeland Security Investigation's Efforts to Combat Organized Retail Crime, Cargo Theft and Organized Theft Groups Presented by Raul O. Aguilar, Deputy Assistant Director, Countering Transnational Organized Crime, Financial & Fraud Division, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Department of Homeland Security
- Automated License Plate Recognition Technology: Current Effectiveness and Future Expectations for California Agencies, Speakers TBA
| |
Exclusive Cal-ORCA Member Benefits with 2023 Virtual Summit Include:
- Special Q&A session with Virtual Summit speakers (forum will be for one hour via Zoom; date and time will be announced soon)
- Contact list of Virtual Summit participants and attendees
- 10% discount on registration and sponsorships for Cal-ORCA's 2024 live in-person conference, details coming soon!
- Call for presentations for Cal-ORCA's 2024 conference with potential for Post/accreditation
| |
|
Follow CRA on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Instgram to stay up to date on the latest developments in statewide and local legislation and policies, regulations, relevant industry and member related news and association events. |
| | | |