BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 186|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 186
Author: Williams (D), et al.
Amended: 8/31/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 06/08/11
AYES: Hernandez, Strickland, Alquist, Anderson, Blakeslee,
De León, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 08/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Runner, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 05/05/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Reportable diseases and conditions
SOURCE : Health Officers Association of California
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Public
Health (DPH) to establish a list of communicable diseases
and conditions for which clinical laboratories must submit
specimens to local public health laboratories to undergo
further testing and to specify circumstances when the
specimens must also be submitted to the state public health
laboratory.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires DPH to establish a list of diseases and
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conditions which health care providers and local health
officers are required to report to the local public
health department. Allows DPH to modify this list and
exempts this modification from requirements, governing
changes in administrative regulations under California's
Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
2.Under regulation, requires labs to report test results on
certain diseases considered to be of "public health
importance."
3.Does not exempt DPH from complying with APA requirements
when modifying the list of reportable diseases and
conditions for which public health labs are required to
submit specimens.
This bill:
1.Requires DPH to establish a list of communicable diseases
and conditions for which clinical laboratories must
submit a culture or a specimen to the local public health
laboratory to undergo further study.
2.Permits DPH to modify the list at any time, after
consultation with the appropriate local public health
stakeholders, including but not limited to, local health
officers and public health laboratory directors.
3.Requires that DPH file the list and any modifications to
the list with the Secretary of State for publication in
the California Code of Regulations California Code of
Regulations (CCR).
4.Deletes specific diseases that are enumerated in law as
mandatory reportable diseases.
5.Exempts from civil and criminal penalties any person or
facility that fails to submit a culture or specimen as
required, unless the disease or condition for which a
culture or specimen is required has been printed in the
CCR and the department has notified the person or
facility of the disease or condition at least six months
prior to the date of the failure to report.
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6.Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the
need to enable prompt identification of a disease
outbreak, send positive specimens to the public health
laboratory for identification, and enable DPH to assess
newly emerging diseases and conditions in a timely
manner.
Background
Clinical laboratories . In addition to reporting a case, or
suspected case, of any disease or condition on the DPH list
to the local health officer of the jurisdiction where the
patient resides, health care providers are required to send
specimens to a clinical laboratory when applicable.
Clinical laboratories include all hospital laboratories and
community laboratories that receive tests from health care
providers for analysis. Under regulation, labs are
required to report test results on certain diseases
considered to be of "public health importance." The list
of communicable diseases and conditions for which
laboratories in California must submit cultures is
currently established by regulation, and adding or deleting
a disease or condition requires administrative regulations.
The APA does permit adoption of emergency regulations for
this purpose, but requires a 5-day public notice, and
emergency regulations can only remain in effect for up to
180 days.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
DPH additional up to $185 up
to$370up to $370 General
laboratory staff
Local public health
unknown, but potentially significant if
General*
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additional laboratory staffthe laboratories workload
increased
enough to need to hire an additional
technician
*Could be eligible for reimbursement by the Commission on
State Mandates
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/11)
Health Officers Association of California (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the Health Officers
Association of California (HOAC), it could take one and
one-half to two years for DPH to update the list of
reportable diseases, whereas under this bill, it could take
as little as two months.
HOAC writes in support of this bill that public health
laboratories are the front line in the war against disease
outbreaks. These labs can quickly identify sub-types of
contaminants, such as E. coli, so that a common source
outbreak can be identified and investigated. HOAC further
states that public health laboratories can also examine
avian flu isolates for strain typing to determine their
potential to result in a human pandemic. HOAC contends
that this bill will enable public health laboratories to
better protect all Californians during the outbreak of a
dangerous disease.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 05/05/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
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Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Furutani, Garrick, Gorell,
Jones, Nielsen, Vacancy
CTW:nl 8/31/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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