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Governor signs bill that can help improve rural access to broadband services

SACRAMENTO – On Friday Assemblymember Jim Wood’s (D-Healdsburg) legislation to improve access to broadband technology, AB 1549, was signed by the Governor.

This bill requires the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to notify companies and organizations working on broadband deployment, such as the Redwood Coast Connect Consortium and the Broadband Alliance of Mendocino County, of projects that involve construction methods suitable for installing broadband conduit and to place these notifications on the Caltrans website. It also allows interested companies and organizations to collaborate with Caltrans to install broadband conduit as part of each project. In addition, Caltrans, beginning in 2018, must develop guidelines to facilitate the installation of broadband conduit on state highway rights-of-way.

Patients protected from surprise medical bills under AB 72

Sacramento – Today AB 72 by Assemblymembers Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), Rob Bonta (D-Alameda), Susan Bonilla (D-Concord), Brian Maienschein (R-San Diego), Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), and Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) was signed by the Governor. Beginning January 1, 2017, this law will protect patients from the unfair practice of receiving surprise bills for healthcare when it was provided, unknowingly to the patient, by providers outside their health plan’s network.

Cottage Cannabis Farmer Bill Signed by Governor

Sacramento – Today, Assemblymember Jim Wood’s “Cottage Cannabis Farmers Bill” achieved a significant milestone when the Governor signed it. AB 2516 creates a new medical cannabis cultivator license category for “micro farmers.”

Small rural hospitals can employ physicians under AB 2024

Sacramento – Today AB 2024 by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) was signed by the Governor.

Recruiting physicians to practice in rural communities is a significant challenge. Only 16 of California’s 58 counties have enough primary care physicians. As a result, only one-third of Californians live in a community where they have adequate access to health care. Adequately staffing these hospitals is absolutely necessary for the health of its residents and the viability of the community.

More people will be able to access mental health care with AB 1863

Sacramento – This weekend, Governor Brown signed AB 1863, a bill authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) that will enable rural health clinics (RHCs) and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to hire qualified licensed marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and allow for them to become billable providers under Medi-Cal.