Important Events Newsworthy Enough to Post!
Governor Brown Acts to Protect Pregnant Women and New Mothers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 6, 2011
SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed four bills to protect pregnant women and new mothers. The bills ensure maternity services are covered by health insurers and new mothers can no longer lose their health insurance as a result of taking maternity leave.
“Healthy mothers mean healthy babies. I want the next generation of Californians to get the best possible start in life. The bills I signed today require that insurance companies cover maternity services for pregnant women,” said Governor Brown, “and ensures that mothers who take maternity leave no longer have to fear losing their medical coverage.”
The following bills have been signed by Governor Brown:
SB 222 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and AB 210 by Assemblymember Roger Hernandez (D-Baldwin Park) – Together, these bills require that every individual and group health insurance policy must provide coverage for maternity services.
SB 299 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) – This bill prohibits employers from refusing to maintain and pay for coverage under group health plans for women who take maternity leave.
Governor Brown also signed SB 502 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), the Hospital Infant Feeding Act. This bill will help hospitals promote breast feeding.
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Thursday, October 6, 2011
SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed four bills to protect pregnant women and new mothers. The bills ensure maternity services are covered by health insurers and new mothers can no longer lose their health insurance as a result of taking maternity leave.
“Healthy mothers mean healthy babies. I want the next generation of Californians to get the best possible start in life. The bills I signed today require that insurance companies cover maternity services for pregnant women,” said Governor Brown, “and ensures that mothers who take maternity leave no longer have to fear losing their medical coverage.”
The following bills have been signed by Governor Brown:
SB 222 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and AB 210 by Assemblymember Roger Hernandez (D-Baldwin Park) – Together, these bills require that every individual and group health insurance policy must provide coverage for maternity services.
SB 299 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) – This bill prohibits employers from refusing to maintain and pay for coverage under group health plans for women who take maternity leave.
Governor Brown also signed SB 502 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), the Hospital Infant Feeding Act. This bill will help hospitals promote breast feeding.
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2011 FINAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
PRIORITY BILLS
The 2011 California legislative session has come to a close.
The Legislature passed numerous bills supported by the Commission
and sent them to the Governor for his signature or veto.
The following is a summary of Governor Brown’s actions on many of those bills.
AB 210 ( Hernandez) – Health insurance; maternity coverage
Requires all group health insurance policies to include coverage for maternity care services,
including prenatal, labor and delivery, and postnatal care.
AB 454 (Silva) – Protective orders; modification or termination
Requires that a party protected by a civil protective order be
notified prior to a hearing to modify or terminate the order before its expiration date.
AB 499 (Atkins) – Medical care; minor’s consent
Authorizes a minor to consent to medical care related to
the prevention of a sexually transmitted disease.
AB 588 (Perez, Manuel) – Domestic violence; rental housing
Provides greater protection to victims of domestic violence by increasing the time period in which a victim may obtain early termination of a residential lease after issuance of a domestic violence court order or police report.
SB 48 (Leno) – Sexual orientation; educational materials
Adds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to the list of groups of people whose role and contributions must be included in social science instruction and accurately portrayed in public school instructional materials, and prohibits sexual orientation from being adversely reflected in educational materials.
SB 222 (Evans) – Health insurance; maternity coverage
Requires all policies in the individual health insurance market to include
coverage for maternity care services, including prenatal, labor and delivery, and postnatal care.
SB 299 (Evans) – Pregnancy leave; maternity coverage
Requires employers to continue to provide health insurance coverage for
employees who are on maternity leave under the Pregnancy Disability Leave law.
Vetoed:
AB 568 (Skinner) Women in prison; pregnant inmate restraints
Limits the use of shackles on incarcerated pregnant women and
requires pregnant inmates to be restrained in the least restrictive way possible
consistent with legitimate security needs.
SB 185 (Hernandez) – Postsecondary education; admissions policies
Authorizes the University of California and the California State University
to consider race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, geographic origin, and
household income in undergraduate and graduate admissions,
so long as no preference is given.
For a complete list of legislation tracked by the Commission this year, go to www.women.ca.gov and click on "Legislation" then "2011 Priority Bills” California Commission on the Status of Womenwww.women.ca.gov
