BILL NUMBER: AB 383	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gipson

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2015

   An act to amend Section 122405 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 383, as introduced, Gipson. Public health: hepatitis C.
   Existing law, the Hepatitis C Education, Screening, and Treatment
Act, sets forth provisions pertaining to education and outreach
related to hepatitis C, as specified. Existing law sets forth the
intent of the Legislature with regard to these provisions.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
   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.  Section 122405 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   122405.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares  all of
 the following:
   (a)  Hepatitis C is classified as a silent killer, where no
recognizable signs or symptoms occur until severe liver damage has
occurred.
   (b)  Hepatitis C has been characterized by the World Health
Organization as a disease of primary concern to humanity.
   (c)  Studies indicate that 1.8 percent of the population, nearly 4
million Americans, carry the virus HCV that causes hepatitis C. In
California, as many as 500,000 individuals may be carriers and could
develop the debilitating and potentially deadly liver disease
associated with hepatitis C in their lifetime. An expert panel,
convened in March by the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
estimated that 30,000 acute new infections occur each year in the
United States, and only 25 to 30 percent of those are diagnosed.
Current data sources indicate that 8,000 to 10,000 Americans die from
hepatitis C each year.
   (d)  Studies also indicate that 39.4 percent of male inmates and
54.5 percent of female inmates in California correctional facilities
have hepatitis C, 26 times higher than the general population. Upon
their release from prison, these inmates present a significant health
risk to the general population of California.
   (e)  It is the intent of the Legislature to study the adequacy of
the health care delivery system as it pertains to hepatitis C.
   (f)  It is the intent of the Legislature to urge the department to
make funds available to community-based nonprofit organizations for
education and outreach with respect to the hepatitis C virus.