BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 604
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 604 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 5, 2011
Policy Committee: HealthVote:13-6
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the California Department of Public Health
to allow entities meeting specified eligibility criteria to
provide needle exchange projects to reduce the spread of
infection such as HIV and viral hepatitis. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Authorizes DPH to approve needle exchange projects to be
administered by eligible entities. This bill does not modify
the current law authority of local jurisdictions (cities and
counties) to approve needle exchange projects.
2)Requires DPH to establish and maintain information on their
website about needle exchange projects established pursuant to
this bill.
3)Requires DPH to produce biennial reports on needle exchange
projects established pursuant to this bill and submit these
reports to the local health officer in each jurisdiction.
4)Exempts needle exchange project staff and volunteers, as well
as program participants, from criminal prosecution related to
drug paraphernalia laws.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual costs to the Department of Public Health (DPH) of
$30,000 to $40,000 in 2011-12 through 2013-14 to establish
regulations. DPH indicates that the department could absorb
the additional workload with no new funding by redirecting
existing federal monies for HIV prevention.
AB 604
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2)Ongoing, likely absorbable costs for DPH to continue oversight
of needle exchange projects after 2014.
3)Unknown, potentially significant savings to the extent this
bill reduces medical costs associated with infectious diseases
such as HIV and hepatitis.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance
to increase the availability of needle exchange projects
statewide and to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases
such as HIV and viral hepatitis.
2)Background . Under current law there are authorized needle
exchange projects in 21 counties and 28 cities statewide.
Current law requires that before needle exchange programs can
be established, a county board of supervisors or city council
must vote to approve the projects in their jurisdiction.
Current law also requires public input with regard to any
potential adverse impacts of syringe exchange programs to
ensure issues are addressed and mitigated.
3)Reduced Disease Transmission . This bill expands avenues by
which needle exchange projects may be established. Injection
drug use and the sharing of contaminated needles is one of the
most common modes of HIV transmission. In California, this is
the second most common mode of infection, leading to 20% of
all AIDS cases statewide. To successfully reduce transmission,
HIV outreach and education programs have included strategies
to address intravenous drug use. Needle exchanges are a core
harm reduction strategy for intravenous drug users, and have
been endorsed by major state, national, and international
health and medical associations, including the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine of
the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical
Association, and the World Health Organization. Needle
exchange programs are a highly cost-effective component of a
comprehensive HIV and hepatitis control strategy.
4)Related Legislation . AB 1858 (Blumenfield) was nearly
identical to this bill, and was vetoed. The veto message
indicated an unwillingness to authorize the state to override
local decision-making authority.
AB 604
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AB 547 (Berg), Chapter 692, Statutes of 2005 established the
needle exchange program addressed and expanded in AB 1858.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081