BILL NUMBER: SB 222	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2013

   An act relating to genetic information.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 222, as introduced, Padilla. Genetic information: privacy.
   Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of an
individual's genetic information. Existing law protects the genetic
test result contained in the medical records of an applicant to, or
enrollee of, a health care service plan. Existing law establishes
civil and criminal penalties for the negligent or willful disclosure
of a persons genetic test results, as specified.
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would protect individuals from the unauthorized use
of their genetic information, ensure that genetic information is
personal information that is not collected, stored, or disclosed
without the individual's authorization, provide protections for the
collection, storage, and authorized use of genetic information, and
promote the use of genetic information for legitimate reasons,
including, but not limited to, health care, research, advancement of
medicine, and educational purposes, as the field of genomics
advances.
   This bill would also make findings and declarations regarding
genetic privacy.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) On October 11, 2012, the Presidential Commission for the Study
of Bioethical Issues (commission) released a report titled "Privacy
and Progress in Whole Genome Sequencing," recommending the adoptions
of policies to help ensure privacy and security, as the field of
genomics advances.
   (b) Various national and state policies are in place to protect
personally identifiable health information and records.
   (c) The commission urges federal and state governments to ensure a
consistent floor of privacy protections covering whole genome
sequencing data regardless of how they were obtained.
   (d) Policies should protect individual genetic information by
prohibiting the unauthorized use of surreptitious collection.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would protect individuals from the unauthorized collection, storage,
and disclosure of their genetic information.
   (f) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would ensure that genetic information is personal information that is
not collected, stored, or disclosed without the individual's
authorization.
   (g) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would provide protections for the collection, storage, and authorized
use of genetic information.
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would promote the use of genetic information for legitimate reasons,
including, but not limited to, health care, research, advancement of
medicine, and educational purposes, as the field of genomics
advances.