BILL NUMBER: AB 594 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 2, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dymally
FEBRUARY 21, 2007
An act to add Chapter 13.8 (commencing with Section
25990) to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
pigs. An a ct to add Section 14133.17 to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 594, as amended, Dymally. Pigs: tethering and
confinement. Medi-Cal: smoking cessation programs.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by
the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic
health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons.
The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal
Medicaid provisions.
This bill would expressly specify the extent that tobacco
cessation programs are benefits covered under the Medi-Cal program,
subject to specified terms and conditions. The bill would also
require the department to undertake an outreach and education
initiative to educate Medi-Cal recipients, primary care providers,
and managed care contractors of these benefits, as provided.
Existing law generally regulates the treatment of farm animals.
This bill would, subject to exceptions and commencing July 1,
2011, prohibit any person from tethering or confining a pig during
pregnancy, or on a farm, for all or the majority of any day, in a
manner that prevents the animal from lying down and fully extending
its limbs or turning around freely.
Violation of these provisions would be punishable by a fine of up
to $1,000 for each violation, and up to $1,000 for each day that the
violation continues, or both, or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding 90 days. The fine would be payable to the local agency
issuing the citation.
Because this bill would create a new crime, this bill would impose
a state-mandated, local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as
follows:
(a) Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in
California.
(b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports
that men who smoke incur $15,800 more lifetime medical expenses than
men who do not smoke and women incur $17,500 more in medical
expenses than those who do not.
(c) Providing tobacco cessation counseling and medication is one
of the most clinically effective and cost-effective health services
available, second only to inoculations. Tobacco cessation is five to
80 times more cost effective than pharmacologic interventions used to
prevent heart attacks.
(d) Access to counseling and pharmaceutical benefits doubles the
successful quit rate and has achieved quit rates of 25 to 30 percent.
Health plan experience indicates that access to all cessation
services saves four dollars for every dollar invested.
(e) The smoking rate among adults in California is 15 percent, but
the prevalence of smoking among low socioeconomic adults is about
twice that percentage.
(f) California provides cessation benefits to smokers who are part
of the Medi-Cal program, but a University of California study found
that only 30 percent of Medicaid clients and 60 percent of Medicaid
providers were familiar with the existence of a cessation benefit.
(g) California's Medi-Cal cessation benefit under the
fee-for-service model requires that a behavior modification program
be undertaken before pharmacotherapy can be prescribed. This linkage
costs twice as much as allowing each service to be prescribed
individually yet does not improve a person's chances of successfully
quitting.
(h) It is in California's interest to optimize Medi-Cal clients'
use of the tobacco cessation benefit in order to increase successful
quit attempts. Decreasing the smoking rate among Medi-Cal clients
would improve the health of newly established nonsmokers, decrease
smoking-related health costs in the Medi-Cal system, and bolster
efforts to decrease smoking rates among a population that represents
a disproportionate percentage of smokers in California.
SEC. 2. Section 14133.17 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code , to read:
14133.17. (a) The purpose of this section is to specify the
extent to which tobacco cessation benefits are covered under the
Medi-Cal program and to maximize the effectiveness of providing
tobacco cessation coverage under Medi-Cal.
(b) Medi-Cal tobacco cessation coverage shall include both of the
following:
(1) Personal counseling, which may be provided by telephone or in
person.
(2) All federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
medication for tobacco cessation, including prescription and
over-the-counter medications. A prescription from a physician and
proof of Medi-Cal coverage shall be sufficient documentation to fill
a prescription for over-the-counter tobacco cessation medications.
(c) The receipt of covered services, either pharmacotherapy or
counseling, shall not be a precondition for the use of one form of
treatment in order to receive the other.
(d) The department shall undertake an outreach and education
initiative to educate Medi-Cal participants, primary care providers,
and managed care contractors of the tobacco cessation benefit. As
part of the initiative, the department shall prepare all of the
following:
(1) Information to be provided to counties to assist them in
educating Medi-Cal applicants and participants about the tobacco
cessation benefit.
(2) Information for primary care providers to educate providers
about the existence of the benefit and encourage providers to discuss
a client's smoking history and cessation during medical visits.
(3) Information for managed care contractors that focuses on
encouraging contractors to educate network physicians about the
benefit and encourage discussion of smoking and cessation options
during client medical visits.
SECTION 1. Chapter 13.8 (commencing with
Section 25990) is added to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
CHAPTER 13.8. FARM ANIMAL CONFINEMENT
25990. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Farm" means the land, building, support facilities, and other
equipment that is wholly or partially used for the production of
animals for food or fiber.
(b) "Pig" means any animal of the porcine species.
(c) "Turning around freely" means having the ability to turn
around in a complete circle without any impediment, including a
tether, or, in the case of an animal in an enclosure, including what
is commonly described as a "gestation crate" or "gestation stall,"
without touching any side of the enclosure.
(d) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, joint
venture, association, limited liability company, corporation, estate,
trust, receiver, or syndicate.
25991. Except as provided in Section 25992, no person may tether
or confine any pig during pregnancy, or on a farm, for all or the
majority of any day, in a manner that prevents the animal from lying
down and fully extending its limbs or turning around freely.
25992. A person may tether or confine a pig in the manner
prohibited by Section 25991 during the following periods:
(a) During the seven-day period before the pig's expected date of
giving birth.
(b) During lawful scientific or agricultural research.
(c) During examination, testing, individual temporary treatment,
or operation for veterinary purposes.
(d) During lawful transportation.
(e) During lawful rodeo exhibitions, state or county fair
exhibitions, and 4-H programs.
(f) During the killing of a pig in accordance with the provisions
of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 19501) of Division 9 of the
Food and Agricultural Code, relating to humane methods of slaughter,
and other applicable laws and regulations.
25993. (a) A peace officer, officer of a humane society as
qualified under Section 14502 or 14503 of the Corporations Code, or
officer of an animal control or animal regulation department of a
public agency as qualified under Section 830.9 of the Penal Code, may
issue a citation to a person or entity that violates this chapter.
(b) A violation of Section 25991 is a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation,
and up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day that the
violation continues, or both, or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding 90 days.Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section shall
be payable to the local agency initiating the proceedings to enforce
this chapter to offset the costs to the agency-related court
proceedings.
(c) A person who violates this chapter may be prosecuted by the
district attorney of the county in which the violation occurred, or
by the city attorney of the city in which the violation occurred.
25994. (a) Sections 25990, 25991, 25992, and 25993 shall become
operative on July 1, 2011.
(b) It is the express intention of the Legislature, by delaying
the operative date of the provisions of this chapter, to allow a
period for persons and entities engaged in agricultural practices to
modify their business practices to conform to the provisions of the
chapter.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this
act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.