Amended in Assembly April 16, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 8, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 775


Introduced by Assembly Members Chiu and Burke

(Coauthors: Assembly Membersbegin delete Rendonend deletebegin insert Atkins, Rendon,end insert and Wood)

February 25, 2015


An act to add Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 123470) to Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 775, as amended, Chiu. Reproductive FACT Act.

Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, provides that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to reproductive decisions. Existing law provides that the state shall not deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, as defined, or when necessary to protect her life or health. Existing law specifies the circumstances under which the performance of an abortion is deemed unauthorized.

This bill would enact the Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency) Act, which would require a licensed covered facility, as defined, to disseminate a notice to all clients, as specified, stating, among other things, that California has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services, prenatal care, and abortion, for eligible women. The bill would also require an unlicensed covered facility, as defined, to disseminate a notice to all clients, as specified, stating, among other things, that the facility is not licensed as a medical facility by the State of California.

The bill would authorize the Attorney General, city attorney, or county counsel to bring an action to impose a specified civil penalty against covered facilities that fail to comply with these requirements. The bill would also require the Attorney General to post on the Department of Justice’s Internet Web site a list of the covered facilities upon which a civil penalty has been imposed.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares that:

2(a) All California women, regardless of income, should have
3access to reproductive health services. The state provides insurance
4coverage of reproductive health care and counseling to eligible,
5low-income women. Some of these programs have been recently
6established or expanded as a result of the federal Patient Protection
7and Affordable Care Act.

8(b) Millions of California women are in need of publicly funded
9family planning services, contraception services and education,
10abortion services, and prenatal care and delivery. In 2012, more
11than 2.6 million California women were in need of publicly funded
12family planning services. More than 700,000 California women
13become pregnant every year and one-half of these pregnancies are
14unintended. In 2010, 64.3 percent of unplanned births in California
15were publicly funded. Yet, at the moment they learn that they are
16pregnant, thousands of women remain unaware of the public
17programs available to provide them with contraception, health
18education and counseling, family planning, prenatal care, abortion,
19or delivery.

20(c) Because pregnancy decisions are time sensitive, and care
21early in pregnancy is important, California must supplement its
22own efforts to advise women of its reproductive health programs.
23In California, low-income women can receive immediate access
24to free or low-cost comprehensive family planning services and
25pregnancy-related care through the Medi-Cal and the Family PACT
26programs. However, only Medi-Cal providers who are enrolled in
P3    1the Family PACT program are authorized to enroll patients
2immediately at their health centers.

3(d) The most effective way to ensure that women quickly obtain
4the information and services they need to make and implement
5timely reproductive decisions is to require licensed health care
6facilities that are unable to immediately enroll patients into the
7Family PACT or Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant Women
8Medi-Cal programs to advise each patient at the time of her visit
9of the various publicly funded family planning and
10pregnancy-related resources available in California, and the manner
11in which to directly and efficiently access those resources.

12(e) It is also vital that pregnant women in California know when
13they are getting medical care from licensed professionals.
14Unlicensed facilities that advertise and provide pregnancy testing
15and care must advise clients, at the time they are seeking or
16obtaining care, that these facilities are not licensed to provide
17medical care.

18

SEC. 2.  

The purpose of this act is to ensure that California
19residents make their personal reproductive health care decisions
20knowing their rights and the health care services available to them.

21

SEC. 3.  

Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 123470) is
22added to Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and
23Safety Code
, to read:

24 

25Article 2.7.  Reproductive FACT Act
26

 

27

123470.  

This article shall be known and may be cited as the
28Reproductive FACT (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive
29Care, and Transparency) Act or Reproductive FACT Act.

30

123471.  

(a) For purposes of this article, and except as provided
31in subdivision (c), “licensed covered facility” means a facility
32licensed under Section 1204 or an intermittent clinic operating
33under a primary care clinic pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
341206, whose primary purpose is providing family planning or
35pregnancy-related services, and that satisfies two or more of the
36following:

37(1) The facility offers obstetric ultrasounds, obstetric sonograms,
38or prenatal care to pregnant women.

39(2) The facility provides, or offers counseling about,
40contraception or contraceptive methods.

P4    1(3) The facility offers pregnancy testing or pregnancy diagnosis.

2(4) The facility advertises or solicits patrons with offers to
3provide prenatal sonography, pregnancy tests, or pregnancy options
4counseling.

5(5) The facility has staff or volunteers who collect health
6information from clients.

7(b) For purposes of this article, subject to subdivision (c),
8“unlicensed covered facility” is a facility that is not licensed by
9the State of California and does not have a licensed medical
10provider on staff or under contract who provides or directly
11supervises the provision of all of the services, whose primary
12purpose is providing pregnancy-related services, and that satisfies
13two or more of the following:

14(1) The facility offers obstetric ultrasounds, obstetric sonograms,
15or prenatal care to pregnant women.

16(2) The facility offers pregnancy testing or pregnancy diagnosis.

17(3) The facility advertises or solicits patrons with offers to
18provide prenatal sonography, pregnancy tests, or pregnancy options
19counseling.

20(4) The facility has staff or volunteers who collect health
21information from clients.

22(c) This article shall not apply to either of the following:

23(1) A clinic directly conducted, maintained, or operated by the
24United States or any of its departments, officers, or agencies.

25(2) A licensed primary care clinic that is enrolled as a Medi-Cal
26provider and a provider in the Family Planning, Access, Care, and
27Treatment Program.

28

123472.  

(a) A licensed covered facility shall disseminatebegin insert to
29clients on siteend insert
the following notice in English and in thebegin delete language
30of the applicable minority group as required pursuant to Section
31203 of the federal Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) to
32clients on site.end delete
begin insert primary threshold languages for Medi-Cal
33beneficiaries as determined by the State Department of Health
34Care Services for the county in which the facility is located.end insert

35(1) The notice shall state:


37“California has public programs that provide immediate free or
38low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services
39(including all FDA-approved methods of contraception), prenatal
40care, and abortion for eligible women. To determine whether you
P5    1qualify, contact the county social services office at [insert the
2telephone number].”


4(2) The information shall be disclosed in one of the following
5ways:

6(A) A public notice posted in a conspicuous place where
7individuals wait that may be easily read by those seeking services
8from the facility. The notice shall be at least 8.5 inches by 11 inches
9and written in no less than 22-point type.

10(B) A printed notice distributed to all clients in no less than
1114-point type.

12(C) A digital notice distributed to all clients that can be read at
13the time of check-in or arrival, in the same point type as other
14digital disclosures. A printed notice as described in subparagraph
15(B) shall be available for all clients who cannot or do not wish to
16receive the information in a digital format.

17(3) The notice may be combined with other mandated
18disclosures.

19(b) An unlicensed covered facility shall disseminatebegin insert to clients
20on site and in any print and digital advertising materials including
21Internet Web sites,end insert
the following notice in English and in the
22begin delete language of the applicable minority group as required pursuant to
23Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 10101 et
24seq.) to clients on site and in any print and digital advertising
25materials, including Internet Web sites.end delete
begin insert primary threshold
26languages for Medi-Cal beneficiaries as determined by the State
27Department of Health Care Services for the county in which the
28facility is located.end insert

29(1) The notice shall state: “This facility is not licensed as a
30medical facility by the State of California and has no licensed
31medical provider who provides or directly supervises the provision
32of services.”

33(2) The onsite notice shall be a sign at least 8.5 inches by 11
34inches and written in no less than 48-point type, and shall be posted
35conspicuously in the entrance of the facility and at least one
36additional area where clients wait to receive services.

37(3) The notice in the advertising material shall be the same point
38type as other information in the advertisement.

39

123473.  

(a) Covered facilities that fail to comply with the
40requirements of this article are liable for a civil penalty of five
P6    1hundred dollars ($500) for a first offense and one thousand dollars
2($1,000) for each subsequent offense. The Attorney General, city
3attorney, or county counsel may bring an action to impose a civil
4penalty pursuant to this section after doing both of the following:

5(1) Providing the covered facility with reasonable notice of
6noncompliance, which informs the facility that it is subject to a
7civil penalty if it does not correct the violation within 30 days from
8the date the notice is sent to the facility.

9(2) Verifying that the violation was not corrected within the
1030-day period described in paragraph (1).

11(b) The civil penalty shall be deposited into the General Fund
12if the action is brought by the Attorney General. If the action is
13brought by a city attorney, the civil penalty shall be paid to the
14treasurer of the city in which the judgment is entered. If the action
15is brought by a county counsel, the civil penalty shall be paid to
16the treasurer of the county in which the judgment is entered.

17

123474.  

The Attorney General shall post and maintain on the
18Department of Justice’s Internet Web site a list of the covered
19facilities upon which a penalty has been imposed for
20noncompliance with the requirements of this article.

21

SEC. 4.  

The provisions of this act are severable. If any
22provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
23shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
24effect without the invalid provision or application.



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