BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 174
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( Without Reference to File)
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 174 (Monning)
As Amended August 24, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 19, 2011) |SENATE: |25-8 |(August 29, 2012) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |11-4 |(August 30, 2012) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|(HEALTH) | | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY : Establishes the California Health and Human Services
Automation Fund (Fund), in the State Treasury, to consist of moneys
appropriated to various specified health and human services
information technology (IT) projects, and requires the moneys in
the Fund to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for
expenditure by the Office of Systems Integration (OSI).
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill and
instead:
1)Establish the Fund and specify the sources of funding that should
be transferred to and appropriated from the Fund.
2)Permit the Employment Development Department (EDD) and the
Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to share information and develop data
interfaces with the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange)
for purposes of enabling the Exchange to make eligibility
determinations and comply with certain federal requirements.
3)Clarify that nothing in this bill overrides any existing state or
federal laws governing patient privacy or information security.
4)Make other technical and conforming changes to address chaptering
conflicts.
AB 174
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AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required the system of
electronic health records developed through health information
exchange demonstration projects permitted under existing law to be
implemented with the full participation of health consumers and
organizations concerned with protecting the privacy and security of
patient information in the development of policies.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)Minor costs to administer the Fund.
2)Annual costs of about $20,000 to the EDD to provide required
information to the Exchange (California Health Trust Fund).
3)Annual costs of about $20,000 to the FTB to provide required
information to the Exchange, based on projected costs to the EDD
for similar activities (California Health Trust Fund).
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is needed to formally
re-establish the inadvertently abolished OSI Fund within the Health
and Human Services Agency and rename it as the California Health
and Human Services Automation Fund. This bill reinstates statutory
authority for the Fund in order to prevent future challenges to
payments from the Fund. The author states that the OSI manages
various major health and human services IT projects that are worth
hundreds of millions of dollars and this bill is intended to ensure
that the OSI has the statutory authority it needs to fulfill its
duties.
In addition, the author notes that, currently, no mechanism exists
to allow the EDD and the FTB to share information with the
Exchange. According to the author, this bill will facilitate
allowing the Exchange to have access to this information in order
to comply with eligibility determinations and other requirements of
federal health care reform.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0005855
AB 174
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