Bill Text: CA AB2218 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-08-29 - Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 28. Noes 9. Page 4434.). [AB2218 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB2218-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 04, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2218

---

Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago
(Principal coauthor: Senator Wiener)

February 12, 2020

---

An act to add Division 119 (commencing with Section 150900) to the Health and Safety Code, and making an appropriation therefor, relating to access to health services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2218, as amended, Santiago. Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund.

Existing law establishes an Office of Health Equity in the State Department of Public Health for purposes of aligning state resources, decisionmaking, and programs to accomplish certain goals related to health equity and protecting vulnerable communities. Existing law requires the office to develop department-wide plans to close the gaps in health status and access to care among the state’s diverse racial and ethnic communities, women, persons with disabilities, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning communities, as specified.

This bill establishes would establish the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, for use by the State Department of Health Care Services, under the administration of the office, for grants to transgender-led nonprofit (Trans-led) organizations and hospitals, health care clinics, and other medical providers that provide gender-conforming health care services or and have an established partnership with a transgender-led nonprofit Trans-led organization, to create, or fund existing, programs focused on coordinating trans-inclusive medical care, behavioral health care, and social services, including supportive housing health care, as defined, for people that identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex.

The bill would appropriate $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, established pursuant to this bill, for these purposes.

Digest Key

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

---

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) At least 218,400 people in California identify as transgender.

(b) In California, 27 percent, or 796,000, of youth 12 to 17, inclusive, years of age are viewed as gender nonconforming by their peers at school.

(c) One in five transgender adults in California have attempted suicide—a rate six times that of the state’s adult cisgender population.

(d) Transgender adults are significantly more likely to report having a disability due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition, 60 percent compared to 27 percent of cisgender adults.

(e) Transgender adults are more likely to delay or not get needed doctor-prescribed medicine, at a rate of 32 percent compared to 11 percent of cisgender adults.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Division 119 (commencing with Section 150900) is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

DIVISION 119. Transgender Wellness and Equity

150900.

 (a) The Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund is established in the State Treasury.

(b) The State Department of Health Care Services Public Health’s Office of Health Equity shall administer the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund for purposes of funding grants to create programs, or fund funding existing programs, focused on coordinating trans-inclusive medical care, behavioral health care (including mental health care and substance use disorder services), and social services (including supportive housing for transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex individuals with severe mental illness) health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex. intersex (TGI).

(c)The grants shall be available to a transgender-led nonprofit organization and to a hospital, health care clinic, or other medical provider that provides gender-conforming health care services (such as hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery) or has an established relationship with a transgender-led nonprofit organization.

(c) The grants available from the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund may be used for the following purposes:

(1) The grants shall be available to Trans-led organizations for the purpose of increasing the capacity of health care professionals to effectively provide transgender health care and institute trans-inclusive best practices. This includes the creation of educational materials or facilitation of capacity building trainings.

(2) The grants shall be available to Trans-led organizations for the purpose of facilitating therapeutic arts programs, such as dancing, painting, or writing.

(3) The grants shall be available to Trans-led organizations for purposes of assisting, identifying, and referring TGI people to access supportive housing. This includes case management opportunities, financial assistance, and assisting TGI people in receiving and utilizing housing vouchers. If a Trans-led organization has already implemented a trans-specific housing program, funding may be utilized to maintain or expand existing housing programs.

(4) The grants shall be available to a hospital, health care clinic, or other medical provider that currently provides gender-affirming health care services, such as hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery, to continue providing those services, or to a hospital, health care clinic, or other medical provider that will establish a program that offers gender-affirming health care services and has an established relationship with a Trans-led organization that will lead in establishing the program.

(d) A hospital, health care clinic, or other medical provider that applies for a grant must apply in partnership with a Trans-led organization and consult with the Trans-led organization throughout the process of creating and implementing its trans-inclusive health care program.

(e) This section does not limit or impact payer coverage requirements of health care or other social services.

(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Health care” means all of the following:

(A) Medical, behavioral, and spiritual care, which includes, but is not limited to, guided meditation and nondenominational therapy.

(B) Therapeutic arts programs, which includes, but is not limited to, dancing, painting, and writing classes.

(C) Services related to substance use disorder or substance abuse.

(D) Supportive housing as a mechanism to support TGI-identified individuals in accessing other social services.

(2) “Trans-led organization” means any of the following:

(A) An organization in which the president, chief executive officer, or executive director that drives the direction of the organization identifies as TGI and at least 75 percent of the people employed by the organization identify as TGI.

(B) An organization governed by a board, a collective, or an advisory committee in which the majority of staff, collective, or committee members identify as TGI.

(C) An organization that serves as a fiscal sponsor to a group, collective, or volunteer-run organization in which the chair or president of the board is an individual who identifies as TGI.

SEC. 2.SEC. 3.

 The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, established pursuant to Section 150900 of the Health and Safety Code.