BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1963
          Author:   Nava (D)
          Amended:  8/4/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 6/28/10
          AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
          NOES: Runner, Strickland

           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE  :  6-2, 6/30/10
          AYES: Alquist, Cedillo, Leno, Negrete McLeod, Pavley,  
            Romero
          NOES: Strickland, Aanestad
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-3, 8/2/10
          AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Wolk, Yee
          NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Price, Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  50-27, 6/1/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Pesticide poisoning

           SOURCE  :     Pesticide Action Network of North America
                      Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los  
          Angeles
                      Health Officers Association of California

           DIGEST  :    This bill requires laboratories that perform  
          certain tests on workers that handle pesticides to report  
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          the results of those tests to the Department of Pesticide  
          Regulation, requires the Office of Environmental Health  
          Hazard Assessment to review the information, and requires  
          the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of  
          Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Department  
          of Pubic Health to report to the Legislature on the current  
          program for supervising the health of workers that handle  
          pesticides.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law:

          1.Requires any physician who knows or has reasonable cause  
            to believe that a patient is suffering from pesticide  
            poisoning or any disease or condition caused by a  
            pesticide to promptly report that fact to the local  
            health officer (LHO) by telephone within 24 hours, and in  
            writing within seven days, except that the information  
            which is available to the physician is all that is  
            required to be reported, as long as reasonable efforts  
            are made to obtain the information.  

          2.Requires LHOs receiving reports under the above-mentioned  
            law to immediately notify the county agricultural  
            commissioner and, at the LHO's discretion, to immediately  
            notify the director of Office of Environmental Health  
            Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of each report received, and  
            requires LHOs to report to the director of Department of  
            Pesticide Regulation (DPR), the director of OEHHA, and  
            the director of Industrial Relations, on a form  
            prescribed by OEHHA, each case reported to him or her  
            within even days after receipt of the report.  

          3.Requires employers who have employees regularly handling  
            or exposed to specified pesticides to have a written  
            agreement with a physician to provide medical supervision  
            of those employees, and specifies the employer  
            responsibilities for medical supervision, including  
            testing at specified intervals, investigating work  
            practices when employee cholinesterase (ChE) levels fall  
            below 80 percent of baseline and removing employees from  
            the exposure if levels fall to 60 percent or less of  
            baseline, as specified.  

          This bill:

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          1.Requires laboratories that perform cholinesterase testing  
            pursuant to 3 Cal. Code Regs. 6728 to report ChE results  
            to DPR on a monthly basis.  The reports must be submitted  
            electronically and DPR must share them with OEHHA and  
            DPH.

          2.The laboratory shall report all information in its  
            possession including:

                  A.        Test results.
                  B.        The purpose of the test.
                  C.        Name of the person tested, as well as  
                    that person's date of birth.
                  D.        Contact information of the referring  
                    physician, testing laboratory, and person tested  
                    if available.
                  E.        Accession number of the specimen.

          3.The referring physician shall note in the test order the  
            purpose of the test.

          4.Declares that the information collected and reported is  
            confidential.

          5.Requires OEHHA to review ChE results and provide  
            consultation to the medical supervisor.

          6.Requires DPR, OEHHA, and DPH to prepare a report on the  
            effectiveness of medical supervision and laboratory-based  
            reporting of ChE testing by December 31, 2015.  Also  
            requires the report to be made publicly available via the  
            Internet.

          7.States that the provisions will remain in effect only  
            until January 1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed,  
            unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before  
            January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: 


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                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2010-11     2011-12     
           2012-13   Fund  
          Review of laboratory data                    Likely less  
          than $100 by 2015   Special *
            and reporting               

          * Department of Pesticide Regulation Fund.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/4/10)

          Pesticide Action Network of North America (co-source) 
          Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles  
          (co-source) 
          Health Officers Association of California (co-source) 
          ACT for Women and Girls
          American Civil Liberties Union
          American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists  
          (California)
          American Federation of State
          County and Municipal Employees
          California Church Impact
          California Commission on the Status of Women
          California Communities United Institute
          California Labor Federation
          California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
          California Nurses Association
          California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
          California Public Health Association - North
          California Primary Care Association
          California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
          Californians for Alternatives to Toxics
          Californians for Justice Collaborative
          Clean Water Action
          Commonweal
          Consumer Attorneys of California
          Dolores Huerta Foundation
          East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
          Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County
          Fresno Coalition Again the Misuse of Pesticides
          Healthy Child Healthy World
          Natural Resources Defense Council
          Nevada County Citizens - Educated Choices for Life Choice

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          Organizacion en California de Lideres Campesinas
          Pesticide Watch
          Physicians for Social Responsibility - Sacramento
          Physicians for Social Responsibility - San Francisco Bay
          Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
          Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
          Planning and Conservation League
          San Francisco City and County - Department of Public Health
          Sierra Club California
          Center for Environmental Health Research (U.C. Berkeley)
          United Farm Workers
          Urban Habitat

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/4/10)

          California Association for Medical Laboratory Technology
          California Clinical Laboratory Association
          Quest Diagnostics

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    Supporters state that nearly three  
          decades after the ChE Medical Supervision program was  
          enacted, it is impossible to judge its effectiveness  
          because the program does not include any requirements for  
          test results to be delivered to state agencies responsible  
          for worker health and workplace safety.  Supporters assert  
          that this bill will give state officials the necessary  
          information to monitor the effectiveness of the program and  
          protect farm workers from dangerous overexposure to  
          pesticides.

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    Opponents state that clinical  
          labs are willing to report information in their possession,  
          however, they should not be required to seek information or  
          be penalized if information requested (such as name and  
          address of the person tested) is not provided by the  
          physician ordering the test.  
           

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  
          AYES:  Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De  
            Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,  
            Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,  

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            Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,  
            Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,  
            Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NOES:  Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway,  
            Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,  
            Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight,  
            Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva,  
            Smyth, Tran, Villines
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Tom Berryhill, Audra Strickland, Vacancy


          CTW:nl  8/4/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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