Amended in Senate April 6, 2015

Senate Bill No. 672

Introduced by Senator Hernandez

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section begin delete 103577 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vital records. end delete begin insert 1157 of the Evidence Code, relating to evidence. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 672, as amended, Hernandez. begin delete Certified records of live birth: homeless persons: fees. end delete begin insert Discovery: pharmacy review committees. end insert

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Existing law exempts from discovery as evidence the proceedings and records of specified organized committees of health care professionals and review committees having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of the quality of care.

end insert begin insert

This bill would extend this exemption, for purposes of civil proceedings only, to the proceedings and records of pharmacy organized committees and review committees, as described above.

end insert begin delete

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, duties as State Registrar relating to the uniform administration of provisions relating to vital records and health statistics. Existing law requires the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to, upon request and payment of the required fee, supply to an applicant a certified copy of the record of a birth, fetal death, death, marriage, or marriage dissolution registered with the official. Existing law authorizes the issuance of certain records without payment of the fee.

end delete begin delete

Existing law, on and after July 1, 2015, requires each local registrar or county recorder to issue, without a fee, a certified record of live birth to any person who can verify his or her status as a homeless person or a homeless child or youth, as defined.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

end delete

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 1157 of the end insert begin insert Evidence Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

1157.  

(a) Neither the proceedings nor the records of organized
committees of medical, medical-dental, podiatric, registered
dietitian, psychological, marriage and family therapist, licensed
clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, begin insert pharmacy, end insert
or veterinary staffs in hospitals, or of a peer review body, as defined
in Section 805 of the Business and Professions Code, having the
responsibility of evaluation and improvement of the quality of care
rendered in the hospital, or for that peer review body, or medical
or dental review or dental hygienist review or chiropractic review
or podiatric review or registered dietitian review begin insert or pharmacist
review end insert or veterinary review or acupuncturist review committees
of local medical, dental, dental hygienist, podiatric, dietetic,
begin insert pharmacy, end insert veterinary, acupuncture, or chiropractic societies,
marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker,
professional clinical counselor, or psychological review committees
of state or local marriage and family therapist, state or local
licensed clinical social worker, state or local licensed professional
clinical counselor, or state or local psychological associations or
societies having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement
of the quality of care, shall be subject to discovery.

(b) Except as hereinafter provided, begin delete no end delete begin insert a end insert person in attendance
at a meeting of any of begin delete those end delete begin insert the end insert committees begin insert described in
subdivision (a) end insert shall begin insert not end insert be required to testify as to what transpired
at that meeting.

(c) The prohibition relating to discovery or testimony does not
apply to the statements made by begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert person in attendance at a
meeting of any of begin delete those end delete begin insert the end insert committees begin delete who end delete begin insert described in
subdivision (a) if that person end insert is a party to an action or proceeding
the subject matter of which was reviewed at that meeting, or to
begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert person requesting hospital staff privileges, or in begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert action
against an insurance carrier alleging bad faith by the carrier in
refusing to accept a settlement offer within the policy limits.

(d) The prohibitions in this section do not apply to medical,
dental, dental hygienist, podiatric, dietetic, psychological, marriage
and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, professional
clinical counselor, begin insert pharmacy, end insert veterinary, acupuncture, or
chiropractic society committees that exceed 10 percent of the
membership of the society, nor to any of those committees if any
person serves upon the committee when his or her own conduct
or practice is being reviewed.

(e) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 1081 of
the Statutes of 1983, or at the 1985 portion of the 1985-86 Regular
Session of the Legislature, at the 1990 portion of the 1989-90
Regular Session of the Legislature, at the 2000 portion of the
1999-2000 Regular Session of the Legislature, or at the 2011
portion of the 2011-12 Regular Session of the Legislature, begin insert or at
the 2015 portion of the 2015- end insert begin insert 16 Regular Session of the Legislature, end insert
do not exclude the discovery or use of relevant evidence in a
criminal action.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

103577.  

(a) On or after July 1, 2015, each local registrar or
county recorder shall, without a fee, issue a certified record of live
birth to any person who can verify his or her status as a homeless
person or a homeless child or youth. A homeless services provider
that has knowledge of a person’s housing status shall verify a
person’s status for the purposes of this subdivision. In accordance
with all other application requirements set forth in Section 103526,
a request for a certified record of live birth made pursuant to this
subdivision shall be made by a homeless person or a homeless
child or youth on behalf of themselves, or by any person lawfully
entitled to request a certified record of live birth on behalf of a
child, if the child has been verified as a homeless person or a
homeless child or youth pursuant to this section. A person applying
for a certified record of live birth under this subdivision is entitled
to one birth record, per application, for each eligible person verified
as a homeless person or a homeless child or youth. For purposes
of this subdivision, an affidavit developed pursuant to subdivision
(b) shall constitute sufficient verification that a person is a homeless
person or a homeless child or youth. A person applying for a
certified record of live birth under this subdivision shall not be
charged a fee for verification of his or her eligibility.

(b) The State Department of Public Health shall develop an
affidavit attesting to an applicant’s status as a homeless person or
homeless child or youth. For purposes of this section, the affidavit
shall not be deemed complete unless it is signed by both the person
making a request for a certified record of live birth pursuant to
subdivision (a) and a homeless services provider who has
knowledge of the applicant’s housing status.

(c) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code), the department may implement and administer this section
through an all-county letter or similar instructions from the director
or State Registrar without taking regulatory action.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:

(1) A “homeless child or youth” has the same meaning as the
definition of “homeless children and youths” as set forth in the
federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 11301 et seq.).

(2) A “homeless person” has the same meaning as the definition
of that term set forth in the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).

(3) A “homeless services provider” includes all of the following
individuals or entities:

(A) A governmental or nonprofit agency receiving federal, state,
or county or municipal funding to provide services to a “homeless
person” or “homeless child or youth,” or that is otherwise
sanctioned to provide those services by a local homeless continuum
of care organization.

(B) An attorney licensed to practice law in this state.

(C) A local educational agency liaison for homeless children
and youth, as designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of
Title 42 of the United States Code, or a school social worker.

(D) A human services provider or public social services provider
funded by the State of California to provide homeless children or
youth services, health services, mental or behavioral health
services, substance use disorder services, or public assistance or
employment services.

(E) A law enforcement officer designated as a liaison to the
homeless population by a local police department or sheriff’s
department within the state.

end delete