Amended in Senate January 16, 2014

Amended in Senate January 6, 2014

Amended in Senate April 23, 2013

Amended in Senate April 15, 2013

Senate Bill No. 747

Introduced by Senator DeSaulnier

February 22, 2013

An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 108670) to Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 747, as amended, DeSaulnier. Public health impact assessments.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to regulate various consumer products, including food and drugs, for the protection of the people of the state.

This bill, known as the Public Health Epidemic Prevention Act of 2014, would authorize the department to begin delete submit a written request to end delete begin insert request in writing that end insert the manufacturer or a group of manufacturers of a contributing product, as defined, begin delete to end delete submit a written response to the department’s determination that the product is a contributing product. The bill would require the written response to contain specified information, including begin delete a risk assessment end delete begin insert an analysis end insert of adverse public health impacts and a mitigation plan for those impacts. The bill would authorize the department to charge the manufacturer of the contributing product an amount not exceeding $20,000 for the reasonable costs of reviewing the begin delete risk assessment end delete begin insert analysis end insert and mitigation document.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. 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) Public health for the people of the state is now, and in the
future, a matter of statewide concern.

(b) The health and well-being of all people is a critical element
in supporting a healthy and prosperous California, including
economic sustainability, increasing workforce participation and
productivity, and slowing the ongoing rise of medical care
expenditures.

(c) California and its residents face a growing burden of largely
preventable chronic illness, including heart disease, stroke, obesity,
and diabetes.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to find ways to develop and
maintain public health, prevent negative public health risks, provide
the people of the state with protection from products sold in the
state that pose significant negative health risks, and develop
mitigation strategies.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to take immediate steps to
identify products sold in the state for consumer consumption that
pose a critical public health risk and coordinate any actions
necessary to prevent or mitigate those risks.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to regulate products sold in
the state for consumer consumption that pose significant public
health risks and mitigate their use in order to prevent chronic illness
and improve public health.

SEC. 2.  

Article 6 (commencing with Section 108670) is added
to Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

 

Article 6.  Public Health Impact Assessments

 

108670.  

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Public Health Epidemic Prevention Act of 2014.

108671.  

For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:

(a) “Contributing product” means a manufactured product
intended for consumer consumption in this state for which the
department has credible evidence that use of the product
significantly contributes to a public health epidemic and that meets
both of the following criteria:

(1) The public health epidemic to which the product contributes
is one recognized by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, the Surgeon General, or the United States Food and Drug
Administration.

(2) The adverse impact on public health from use of the product
in this state begin delete would have end delete begin insert has end insert a fiscal impact of fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) or more annually on the state public health system,
including, but not limited to, public hospitals and overall Medi-Cal
expenditures.

(b) “Credible evidence” means peer-reviewed research, data,
and studies currently available to the department.

(c) “Department” means the State Department of Public Health.

(d) “Manufacturer” means the manufacturer whose name appears
on the label of a product that is identified by the department as a
contributing product.

108672.  

If the department determines that a product is a
contributing product, then the department may submit a written
request to the contributing product’s largest manufacturers,
representing 80 percent of the costs identified in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 108671 and that do business in the state,
to submit a written response to the department’s determination
that the product is a contributing product. The written response
shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (a) end insert  A written begin delete risk assessment end delete analysis that identifies the public
health impacts resulting from the sale of the product in this state.

(b) A list of mitigation strategies sufficient to reasonably reduce
adverse public health impacts identified in the begin delete risk assessment end delete
begin insert analysis end insert .

108673.  

The department may enact all regulations necessary
to implement this article pursuant to the Administrative Procedure
Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

108674.  

The department may charge the manufacturer of the
contributing product an amount not exceeding twenty thousand
dollars ($20,000) for the reasonable costs of reviewing the begin delete risk
assessment end delete begin insert analysis end insert and mitigation document submitted pursuant
to Section 108672. Fees collected pursuant to this subdivision shall
be placed in the Public Health Fund, which is hereby established
in the State Treasury and which may be used by the department,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the implementation of
this article.

108675.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section
25257.1, the requirements of this article shall not be interpreted
to affect any authority of the Department of Toxic Substances
Control pursuant to Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251)
of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20.

begin insert

(b) This article does not limit, and shall not be construed to
limit, the department’s or any other department’s or agency’s
existing authority over consumer product regulation.

end insert begin insert

(c) This article does not authorize the department to supersede
the regulatory authority of any other department or agency.

end insert begin insert

(d) The department shall not duplicate or adopt conflicting
regulations for product categories already regulated or subject to
pending regulation consistent with the purposes of this article.

end insert