More than 20 bills have been introduced and as many as a dozen might be voted on this week as lawmakers face a deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin.

Because of California’s sheer size, its implementation of the new law could serve as a model for other states. The state has 8.2 million uninsured residents, nearly equivalent to the population of New Jersey. The number has ballooned in recent years as Californians lost jobs and health insurance due to the recession.

The bills seek to enact reforms signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. Among other changes, they would prohibit health insurers from denying coverage because of preexisting conditions and create an exchange through which individuals could buy insurance.

A separate bill would take state reforms further than federal requirements by making insurance companies obtain state approval before raising their fees.

The bills are considered works in progress that will change over the course of the legislative session, as the state learns more from the federal government about specific requirements in the law.

Republican lawmakers say the flurry of legislative activity is premature because upcoming elections could shift the balance of power in Congress and result in a repeal of the federal reforms. They also say the exchange, a marketplace through which individuals and small-business owners can buy health insurance at affordable rates, could lead to higher insurance rates because fees will be imposed on insurers to recoup its operational costs.

Despite resistance from members of his own party, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made health care reform a priority. He introduced his own plan in 2007, but it failed, in part because of concerns about runaway costs to the state in future years.

The Republican governor threw his support behind the national reform plan in April, and his office has been meeting with lawmakers to work through the details.

One of the first steps is to establish an exchange. The idea is to create a consumer-friendly website that could be used to compare and buy health insurance plans, similar to the packages offered by employers.

It also would serve as a place to screen whether an individual is eligible for Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for the poor, or other state services.

The state would use federal money to run the exchange. It would create a new entity to operate it or work with a nonprofit organization, said Jennifer Kent, Schwarzenegger’s deputy legislative secretary.

Under the federal law, states can decide whether their exchanges will act as tough negotiators to get the best rates for customers or play a less intrusive role in the market.

Kent said Schwarzenegger wants to have the exchange created before he leaves office in January, although it would not be fully operational until 2014.

“He really has always grasped the issue, in terms of if you don’t reform this system, because it’s so badly broken it only succeeds to be a drag on the economy,” Kent said.

Legislative leaders have introduced two bills to create the exchange.

Under SB900, the exchange would have a website and online calculator that would allow consumers to compare plans and cost, said Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, who introduced the bill and is chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee.

“The goal is to get Californians enrolled in a health plan in 30 minutes or less, rather than in hours or days,” Alquist said in an e-mailed response.

Under Alquist’s proposal, the exchange would negotiate and enter into contracts with health plans. It would be run by a board whose members are appointed by the governor and Legislature.

AB1602, a similar proposal introduced by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, also is expected to be voted on next week. That bill would create an exchange, eliminate annual and lifetime limits on health care coverage, and raise the age for children to stay on their parents’ insurance to 26, among other provisions.

The state is closely following the example of Massachusetts, which set up its own exchange in 2006. Lawmakers and the governor’s staff have met with Jon Kingsdale, the executive director of Massachusetts Connector, that state’s health insurance exchange, who will consult with California as it develops its own version.

“He runs the largest exchange in the country, but from a scale factor, we are so going to dwarf that,” Kent said.

Still, there is plenty to be learned from Massachusetts, especially when it comes to insurance companies jacking up premiums, said Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento.

“Massachusetts thought prices would go down,” he said. “But what happened was, when people were legally required to buy insurance, insurers took advantage of that and raised their prices.”

That’s one reason Jones introduced AB2578, which would require insurance companies to obtain approval from the state Department of Insurance or the Department of Managed Health Care before raising their prices on premiums and copays. He calls it the missing piece of national health care reform.

Anthem Blue Cross proposed raising health insurance premiums by 39 percent before rescinding the increase, and Blue Shield announced an increase of up to 75 percent on small group policy holders.

“I think the public and policy makers have finally had it with these yearly double-digit health insurance and health premium increases,” Jones said.

Other bills seek to ban insurers from denying health insurance or specific treatments to patients with pre-existing conditions.

Children would be protected from this practice under a bill by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles. AB 2244 would prohibit health insurers from excluding or limiting coverage to anyone under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition. It also would get tough on insurers by declaring that if a company does not sell policies to families with children, it would forfeit its right to sell insurance to large employers.

“We have an opportunity here in California … to be a catalyst for the strongest protections for kids in the nation,” Feuer said.

___

Online:

The main health care bills to be considered in the Assembly and Senate this week are AB1595, AB1600, AB1602, AB1825, AB1887, AB2244, AB2470, AB2477, AB2578, SB890, SB900, SB1088 and SB1163.

http://www.assembly.ca.gov

http://www.senate.ca.gov

Friday is the last day for bills to pass their first house. About 360 measures will be up for votes starting Tuesday after lawmakers return from a Memorial Day break.

The list would have been longer had it not been for California’s $19 billion budget deficit. Appropriations committees last week derailed dozens of bills for fear the state can’t afford the associated cost.

The bills that clear their originating chamber will soon start working their way through committees in the opposite house. Bills must pass both the Senate and Assembly by Aug. 31.

The legislation is a mix, from consumer protections to paparazzi restrictions to gun controls.

Here are some of the bills scheduled for Senate votes this week:

_ The secretary of state’s official pre-election ballot pamphlet would tell voters which groups are financially backing initiatives under a bill by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord. His SB1202 would require listing the five top contributors to each ballot measure and the amount of their contributions as of 110 days before Election Day.

_ Sports agents representing student athletes would have greater scrutiny and more restrictive contracts, under SB1098. The measure by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, would require agents to register with the Department of Industrial Relations. Student athletes would have 14 days to opt out of contracts, and agents would have to notify the student’s school within three days of signing the document.

_ It would be tougher for local governments to file for bankruptcy under an Assembly bill that was amended in the Senate. AB155 by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, would require governments to go before the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission before filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The local governments could override the commission’s recommendation.

_ California could soon set its own comfort standards for airline passengers stuck on the tarmac for more than two hours. SB1264 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require commercial airlines to provide passengers with food and beverages, restrooms, fresh air and lighting. The state Public Utilities Commission could fine airlines up to $27,500 per passenger for violations.

_ Customers could redeem gift certificates or gift cards for cash if the remaining value is less than $20 under a bill by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro. Her SB885 also prohibits charging dormancy fees for unused cards. Her bill was prompted by the estimated $6.4 billion worth of gift cards that went unspent nationally in 2008.

_ Private employers would have to give employees time off to donate organs or bone marrow under SB1304. The bill by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, would give employees of private companies the same leave rights that are available to many public employees.

_ Consumers could opt out of receiving telephone directories under a bill by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. His SB920 would require directory publishers to put information on the cover of their directories telling recipients how they can avoid getting the printed listings in the future.

Here are some of the bills scheduled for Assembly votes this week:

_ It would be illegal to openly carry a gun in public, even if it’s unloaded, under a bill by Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego. The bill, AB1934, would make it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed handgun on any public street or in a public place. Saldana says unloaded guns pose a threat to public safety, in part because gun owners are allowed to carry ammunition with them. Republicans say the bill would infringe on a person’s right to bear arms.

_ Individuals convicted of illegally carrying a gun would be banned from owning a firearm for 10 years under AB2186 by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles. De Leon says studies show that criminals convicted of firearm-related offenses are more likely to commit a violent offense. The bill would apply to individuals convicted of illegally carrying a concealed firearm in a motor vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm or permitting firearms in their vehicles.

_ A criminal’s conviction as a juvenile would no longer count toward the state’s Three Strikes law under AB1751 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco. Ammiano says the current law discriminates against juveniles who often are not given a jury trail. Republicans say the bill would put Californians at risk by allowing the release of convicted criminals who have committed serious crimes in the past.

_ Paparazzi could be arrested for loitering outside a celebrity’s home or work place under legislation by Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. AB2479 also would make it a crime under California’s anti-stalking statute for paparazzi to participate in surveillance activities outside schools of a celebrity’s child. Bass says her bill is an effort to stem the aggressive tactics of paparazzi vying to get valuable photos and recordings of celebrities.

_ Medical marijuana storefronts would be banned within 600 feet of a school under AB2650 by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo. Local governments that already have enacted ordinances governing the location of cooperatives and dispensaries would be exempted. Cities would be allowed to impose more stringent regulations under the bill. Medical marijuana advocates say the bill could result in the closure of dispensaries that serve thousands of ill patients.

_ Supermarket shoppers would be charged for grocery bags beginning in 2012 under legislation by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica. AB1998 would ban grocery stores, large pharmacies and convenience stores from providing free plastic or paper bags. Only recycled paper bags made of 40 percent post-consumer material could be sold to shoppers who forget to bring their own bags. Brownley has said disposable bags are wasteful, and kill or maim marine wildlife and cost Californians more than $25 million a year to collect and truck to landfills. The California Taxpayers’ Association says disposable bags are affordable and convenient.

_ The state would have a new Department of Energy led by a cabinet head under legislation by Assemblyman Mike Villines, R-Clovis. The department would replace the California Energy Commission. AB2561 is sponsored by the Schwarzenegger administration as a way to consolidate state energy policy.

_ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would need to win legislative approval to sell two dozen state office buildings under a bill by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate. The Republican governor has promoted the sales as a way to help close California’s $19 billion budget deficit. AB2605 also would require the administration to perform a 50-year cost-benefit analysis before selling the buildings. Lawmakers have questioned whether selling and then renting back the buildings makes economic sense.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

LOS ANGELES _ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he supported a proposed state law that would prevent teacher layoffs based on seniority, a stance that quickly drew the ire of teachers unions while being lauded by civil rights activists.

Schwarzenegger appeared at Edwin Markham Middle School in the Watts area of Los Angeles, which lost more than half its teachers in layoffs last year because they were largely new hires.

“Several teachers of the year have gotten pink slips. How can that happen if they are award-winning teachers?” the governor told an auditorium full of cheering children. “It is very important we change the system.”

The California Teachers Association, which represents teachers statewide, and United Teachers Los Angeles, the union in the Los Angeles Unified School District, has denounced the bill proposed by state Sen. Robert Huff, R-Diamond Bar.

The unions said the proposal infringes on teachers’ rights while glossing over the issue of underfunded public education.

The state has cut education funding by $17 billion over the past two years, resulting in the layoff of 16,000 teachers last year. Another 26,000 teachers have received layoff notices this year.

UTLA President A.J. Duffy said districts already have the ability to retain junior teachers if they have special training and experience.

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he would support legislation that gives districts flexibility to retain talented teachers, as long as the process is developed with teachers unions and an LAUSD task force on effective teachers.

NAACP California state conference President Alice Huffman and other civil-rights leaders said seniority-based layoffs disproportionately affect poor, minority students because inner-city schools are often staffed with newer teachers.

“You deserve the same resources as an all-white school,” Huffman told the students.

Schwarzenegger and other supporters pointed to the effects of seniority-based layoffs at Markham as well as two other inner-city schools that lost 50 to 75 percent of their teaching staffs last year.

The schools are the subject of a lawsuit by the ACLU of Southern California, which claims the Los Angeles school district is violating students’ constitutional right to a quality education by not adequately staffing classrooms.

Markham Principal Tim Sullivan said last year’s layoffs devastated his team of “rock stars” _ mostly younger, new teachers eager to bring cutting-edge instructional methods to one of the city’s lowest-performing campuses.

Now, many classes are being taught by a bewildering succession of substitutes, leaving students with no stability in lessons. One substitute gave all students C’s because she didn’t know how to grade them, according to the lawsuit.

Markham English teacher Nicholas Melvoin said the first question jaded students ask teachers is how long they’re going to stay.

Melvoin, 24, said his case is typical. After graduating from Harvard University, he was enthusiastic about going to work at a school like Markham. In his first year on the job, he got laid off.

Determined to stay at the school, he signed on in September as a long-term substitute at lower pay. He was rehired in January, only to receive a layoff notice in March.

Sullivan said schools in more affluent neighborhoods simply haven’t been hit as hard because their teaching staffs are more stable and thus more senior.

“I can’t go through this process of teacher decimation for the second straight year,” Sullivan said. “I need an entire staff.”

“We have a $20 million budget gap, so difficult, almost draconian, measures have to be put on the table,” explained H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for Governor Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance.

Ironically, those cuts would come at a time when Californians need the programs most. A new report released this week from the non-profit, California Budget Project, Proposed Budget Cuts Come at a Time of Growing Need, argues that California’s economy hasn’t been weaker since the Great Depression. The 12-page report notes that Californians are ill-equipped to weather the cuts the governor is proposing.

The Golden State has lost more than a million jobs since the recession began, and it continues to lose tens of thousands of jobs every month. Six job seekers are searching for each available job. Enrollment in the state’s Food Stamp Program has increased 43%. The number of Californians receiving CalWorks welfare checks has grown by 86,000; the number enrolled in Medi-Cal has jumped by more than 470,000.

Nearly 900,000 children depend on Healthy Families, the children’s health program Schwarzenegger has proposed to eliminate. More than a half-million families depend on CalWORKS, the welfare program the governor has said needs to be scrapped.

Another program the governor wants to terminate, In Home Support Services for the elderly, disabled and blind, currently serves over 400,000 Californians, according to the state Department of Social Services.

Cutting these services could have dire consequences. For example, “If the Governor eliminates the entire IHSS, it’s going to lead to (poor, elderly people) dying alone in their apartments and SROs [single room occupancy], because in many cases the home care person is the only person who sees them,” said James Chionsini, a community organizer with the San Francisco organization, Planning for Elders in the Central City.

“It’s not even financially sound,” Chionsini said, “because the cost of home care for an entire year is cheaper than one or two trips to the emergency room,” where the old, blind and disabled will be more likely to land if IHSS is cut.

“The Governor has said he doesn’t want this to happen, which is why he’s engaged our congressional delegation and the White House” in an effort to get additional federal aid, spokesperson Palmer said.

Advocates note, however, that Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts actually jeopardize federal matching funds that are meant to help states continue, and even expand, programs like Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and CalWORKs.

For instance, $2 billion in proposed cuts to social services could cause the Golden State to lose $5 billion from the federal budget, California Budget Project director Jean Ross said in a conference call Tuesday.

“The impact on California families and our state’s economy would be more than triple the savings in the Governor’s proposed reductions,” Ross said.

That Schwarzenegger will stick to his proposal is especially concerning in light of the federal budget announced this week by President Obama.

“There’s some good news for California in the President’s budget,” Ross said. “The President is continuing increased government’s share of the Medi-Cal program here in California. Each dollar the state spends will be more than met by the federal government.”

Palmer said he’s aware of the trade-off. “Given the fact that we have close to a $20 billion budget deficit, it’s pretty natural that we would lose some federal matching funds,” he said.

Palmer said Schwarzenegger will wait until May when the governor usually proposes his revised budget to the state legislature based on mid-year taxes collected and anticipated. At that point, if federal funds materialize, he will rescind his proposed action. Otherwise, Palmer said, “we’ll pull the trigger.”