An act to amend Sections 124238 and 124238.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to youth health.
Summary
AB 387 is a two-part bill that amends both youth sports safety law and jury selection law. On the youth sports side, it revises the Nevaeh Youth Sports Safety Act to require that, beginning January 1, 2027, athletes in youth sports programs have access to an automated external defibrillator during official practices or matches not only where an AED already exists, but also at public or private local facilities with permanent sports infrastructure used for youth sports. Those facilities would be responsible for procuring and maintaining the AED and ensuring access for the youth sports organization. The bill also specifies that any AED use must be by a certified medical professional, coach, or other designated person who meets applicable legal requirements, and it defines “permanent sports infrastructure.”
On the civil procedure side, AB 387 amends the Trial Jury Selection and Management Act to add probation officers to the list of people who may not be selected for voir dire in criminal matters. Existing law already excludes certain peace officers from jury panels in civil or criminal cases, or in criminal cases only; this bill extends a similar exclusion to probation officers as defined in the Penal Code. The bill therefore affects county jury commissioners, trial courts, probation officers, youth sports organizations, and operators of public and private sports facilities.
The bill’s impact on state law is to expand AED access requirements for youth sports and to narrow the pool of potential jurors in criminal cases by categorically excluding probation officers from voir dire. It does not create an appropriation or a fiscal committee referral in the provided materials, and it amends both the Health and Safety Code and the Code of Civil Procedure. The youth sports provisions shift some responsibility from youth sports organizations to the facilities where sports are played, while the jury provisions codify a new exclusion from jury service selection procedures.
The general sentiment reflected in the voting history appears strongly favorable. The bill passed the Assembly 67-0 after an earlier committee vote of 11-1, and the later committee action in the provided history was “amend, and do pass as amended” with 7-0 support. No committee transcript objections are provided, but the near-unanimous votes suggest broad bipartisan support for both the youth safety and jury administration components.
The main point of possible contention is the breadth of the AED mandate and who must bear the cost and operational responsibility. The bill requires public and private facilities with permanent sports infrastructure to procure and maintain AEDs for youth sports use, which could raise implementation concerns for facility operators. The jury-selection change may also be notable because it excludes probation officers from criminal voir dire, but the available record does not show recorded opposition or debate on that issue.
Impact
AB 387 would amend Health and Safety Code section 124238.5 to expand AED access requirements for youth sports at facilities with permanent sports infrastructure and would amend Code of Civil Procedure section 219 to bar probation officers from being selected for voir dire in criminal matters. The bill would affect youth sports organizations, facility operators, county jury commissioners, and criminal trial courts by reallocating AED procurement duties and narrowing the juror pool for criminal cases.
Sentiment
The available voting record indicates strong support for the bill. It passed the Assembly overwhelmingly and received unanimous or near-unanimous committee approval in the records provided. No committee transcript is included, but the recorded votes suggest the bill was viewed favorably as a youth safety measure and a jury administration update.
Contention
The most likely area of contention is the AED requirement for public and private facilities with permanent sports infrastructure, because those entities would be responsible for purchasing, maintaining, and providing access to the device for youth sports programs. A secondary issue is the exclusion of probation officers from criminal voir dire, which changes jury selection rules and could be questioned as a categorical occupational exclusion, though the provided record does not show organized opposition.
Payment rates established for certain substance use disorder treatment services, and vendor eligibility recodified for payments from the behavioral health fund.
Cover Outstanding Vulnerable Expansion-eligible Residents Now Act or the COVER Now Act This bill establishes a demonstration program to allow local governments to provide health benefits to the Medicaid expansion population in states that have not expanded Medicaid. Under the program, local governments may provide coverage for individuals who are newly eligible for Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e., the Medicaid expansion population) for a maximum of 10 years, or until their respective states expand Medicaid. The bill provides a 100% federal matching rate for the first three years of program participation. The bill prohibits states from taking certain actions against participating localities, such as withholding funding, increasing taxes, or restricting provider participation. States that violate these requirements are subject to certain funding penalties.