BILL NUMBER: SB 594 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 11, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 28, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Sections 101150 and 101160 of, and to add Sections
101161 and 101162 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to public
health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 594, as amended, Wolk. Local public health laboratories.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and
sets forth its powers and duties relating to the prevention and
control of disease , including, but not limited to, the
duty to approve local public health laboratories.
This bill would recast those provisions to specify the duties of
the local public health laboratories, to require the department to
develop and administer written examinations
the examination for the certificate of public health
microbiologist for public health laboratories in consultation
with the California Association of Public Health
Laboratory Directors , to require the department to adopt
regulations related to certification and approval of
training programs training laboratories and
continuing education requirements, and to define related terms.
The bill would preclude the assessment of related fees for
certificates or continuing education. By requiring that
local agencies comply with these requirements, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 101150 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
101150. (a) For the purpose of protecting the community and the
public health, the local health department of a city or county shall
have available the services of a city or county
public health laboratory for the examination of specimens from
suspected cases of infectious and environmental diseases, that may
include, but need not be limited to, the examination of specimens
from milk, milk products, waters, food products, vectors, and the
environment.
(b) The public health laboratory shall provide laboratory services
necessary for the examination of specimens from suspected cases of
infectious and environmental diseases to support the communicable
disease and environmental health programs of the local health
department. The public health laboratory may support other programs
of the local health department or other departments. The public
health laboratory shall also provide the
(b) The public health laboratory shall
provide the analyses required to assist in community disease
surveillance and to meet the responsibilities and support the
programs of the local health department.
(c) In matters concerning the public's health, the public health
laboratory director shall be responsible to the local health officer
whose duty it is to enforce the law in accordance with Section
101030, 101375, 101460, or 101470. This subdivision does not preclude
the local health department from requiring the public health
laboratory director to be administratively responsible to other local
health department personnel.
(d) The public health laboratory shall provide consultation and
reference services to further the development of improved laboratory
procedures and practices related to the identification, prevention,
control, and surveillance of human disease in the community.
(e)
(d) After consulting with the health officer
and the public health laboratory director , a local health
department may contract with any official city or county public
health laboratory or with the laboratories of the State Department of
Public Health to provide the services required by this chapter.
(f)
(e) The laboratories of the State Department of Public
Health are hereby designated as the public health laboratory for all
local health department jurisdictions that do not otherwise have
access to local public health laboratory service.
SEC. 2. Section 101160 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
101160. (a) Any city or county public health laboratory
established for the purposes set forth in this chapter and its
personnel shall be approved certified
by the State Department of Public Health and shall comply
with the requirements of CLIA. Health to be in
compliance with state and federal statutory or regulatory
requirements pertaining to municipal and county public health
laboratories and public health laboratory personnel
pursuant to applicable provisions of Title 17 of the California Code
of Regulations, including, but not limited to, Sections 1076, 1078,
and 1079, and in compliance with the requirements of CLIA.
(b) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "CLIA" means the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement
Amendments of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 263a; Public Law 100-578) and the
regulations adopted thereunder by the federal Health Care Financing
Administration and effective on January 1, 1994, or any later date,
when adopted in California pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
1208 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) "Approved" or "approval" means certified by the State
Department of Public Health to be in compliance with state and
federal statutory or regulatory requirements pertaining to municipal
and county public health laboratories and public health laboratory
personnel.
(3) "Certificate" means a certificate of approval issued by the
State Department of Public Health to a city or county facility or an
individual after the department's determination that the city or
county facility personnel, or training program qualifications, are in
conformity with the requirements of this article.
(4) "Public health laboratory" means a laboratory that is operated
by a city or county, or pursuant to a joint exercise of powers
agreement entered into pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act
(Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of
the Government Code), in conformity with this article.
(5)
(2) "Public health laboratory director" means a person
who meets the CLIA requirements for laboratory director and who is
authorized to direct a public health laboratory certified
under this article. qualified by the State Department
of Public Health to direct a public health laboratory certified under
this article and p ursuant to applicable provisions of
Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, including, but not
limited to, Section 1302.
(6)
(3) "Public health microbiologist" means a person who
meets the CLIA requirements for testing personnel and who is
authorized to perform laboratory tests or analyses pursuant to a
certificate issued under this article and applicable provisions
of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, including, but not
limited to, Section 1079 .
(7)
(4) "Public health microbiologist-trainee" means a
person meeting the academic qualifications and approved by the State
Department of Public Health to train in an approved public health
laboratory leading to examination and certification as a public
health microbiologist under this article and pursuant to
applicable provisions of Title 17 of the California Code of
Regulations, including, but not limited to, Section 1080 .
SEC. 3. Section 101161 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
101161. The State Department of Public Health shall develop and
administer the written examinations for the certificate of public
health microbiologist for public health laboratories. The examination
shall be developed in consultation with the California Association
of Public Health Laboratory Directors. The examination shall be held
as needed and where designated by the State Department of Public
Health. There shall be no fee levied upon individuals for the
examinations.
101161. The examination developed pursuant to Section
1079(c) of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations shall be
developed in consultation with the California Association of Public
Health Laboratory Directors.
SEC. 4. Section 101162 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
101162. (a) The State
Department of Public Health, by January 1, 2013, shall adopt
regulations, in consultation with the California Association of
Public Health Laboratory Directors, to do all of the following:
(1) Establish minimum requirements for training laboratories that
train public health microbiologist-trainees, and require that
training laboratories that accept those personnel for the purposes of
this article be approved and certified by the State Department of
Public Health.
(2) Initiate, administer, and monitor a program of continuing
education for public health microbiologists certified pursuant to
this article.
(a) Establish minimum requirements for training laboratories that
train public health microbiologist-trainees.
(b) Approve of and monitor a program of continuing education for
public health microbiologists certified pursuant to this article.
(3)
(c) Require a maximum of 12 hours of continuing
education completed within a 12-month period, or 24 hours of
continuing education completed within a 24-month period, as a
condition for renewal of a certificate issued under this article.
(b) Fees shall not be levied upon county or municipal public
health laboratories or public health laboratory personnel for
approval or renewal of any certificates or maintaining the continuing
education program pursuant to this article.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.