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California Watch

News stories in this section spotlight activities in California, including actions by the state Assembly and state Senate; proposed legislation; regulators like the Department of Managed Health Care and Department of Insurance; and the state ACA exchange, Covered California.

The Word & Brown Companies Named in Business Insurance’s Annual Best Places to Work

The Word & Brown Companies has been named in the annual “Best Places to Work in Insurance” program, which recognizes employers for their outstanding performance in establishing workplaces where employees can thrive, enjoy their work, and help the companies grow.

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California Passes Legislation to Expand Mandated Retirement Plans

In 2016 California passed legislation that employers who do not sponsor an employee-retirement plan must participate in a state-run retirement program. This program became known as CalSavers.

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Why San Francisco Is ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ The Monkeypox Outbreak Is Slowing

After about two months of rapid spread, San Francisco appears to be turning a corner on monkeypox, with early data showing the local epidemic may be slowing down. The number of new cases reported each week hit a high of 143 the week of July 24 and has tapered each week since, first to 87 ...

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Gavin Newsom Announces $4.7 Billion Overhaul Of California’s Mental Health System

Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Fresno’s McLane High School on Wednesday morning to announce a $4.7 billion investment in mental health and substance abuse supports for young Californians ages 0 to 25.

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California Issues Its First Monkeypox Isolation Guidance

People recovering from monkeypox should wait at least 48 hours after symptoms subside before resuming activities outside the home and wear condoms during sex for 12 weeks after infection, California health officials said in their first recommendations for monkeypox isolation.

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Omicron Subvariants BA.4.6 And BA.2.75 Are Here. How Concerned Should California Be?

As the latest coronavirus wave fueled by the super-infectious Omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to recede, health officials are turning a wary eye to what might come next.

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Newsom Vetoes Bill To Set Up Drug Overdose Prevention Programs In Some California Cities

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday vetoed a controversial bill that would have allowed supervised injection site pilot programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, in efforts to prevent drug overdose deaths and connect people to treatment for addiction. The number of safe injection sites that would have been authorized by the bill could ...

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California To Protect Health Benefits For Young Immigrants

About 40,000 low-income adults living in the country illegally won’t lose their government-funded health insurance over the next year under a new policy announced Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. California already pays for the health care expenses of low-income adults 25 and younger, regardless of their immigration status. A new law scheduled to ...

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Employers Couldn’t Fire Workers For Off-Site Cannabis Use Under California Bill

When California voters legalized recreational marijuana use in 2016, workplace regulations were left in the hands of employers. A new bill proposed by Assembly Member Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, would change that.AB2188 would prevent employers from penalizing workers who use cannabis outside of work hours. Employees could still be fired for being impaired while on the ...

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Fiscal Committee Recap: 2 Job Killers Amended, Many Harmful Bills Move

Strong opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce helped to secure amendments that removed some of the most onerous aspects of two job killer bills last week. As a result of these changes, the CalChamber has removed the job killer tag from SB 1044 (Durazo; D-Los Angeles) and SB 1162 (Limón; D-Goleta). While numerous harmful ...

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