The longtime effort in California to expand the scope of unsupervised care by nurse practitioners (NPs) is beginning to take form. AB 890 by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Eureka) went into effect on January 1, 2021.

The widespread use of internet-connected consumer “smart” devices brings not only an increasing dependence on technology for daily living, but also the need to shield users’ privacy and to protect vast amounts of data collected through their use.

The state’s budget for fiscal year 2021-2022, which began on July 1, amounts to $262.6 billion. Unprecedented by a $76 billion state surplus and $27 billion in federal aid, the record-busting budget reflects new agreements between state legislators and Governor Newsom.

The No Surprises Act goes into effect January 1, 2022. The new federal law, following much of the blueprint of California’s AB 72 enacted in 2017, holds patients harmless from surprise bills.

On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau announced its 2020 Census results. The results show the country’s population count at 331,449,281 residents as of April 20, 2020. Not surprisingly, California remains the most populous state in the union with 39,538,223 residents, while Wyoming came in as the least populous state with 576,851 residents.