BILL NUMBER: SB 1256 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 754
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2000
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2000
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Senator Polanco
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Bock)
(Coauthor: Senator Ortiz)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cardenas, Firebaugh, and Steinberg)
FEBRUARY 26, 1999
An act to amend Sections 122405 and 122410 of, and to add Sections
122406, 122415, and 122420 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating
to hepatitis, and making an appropriation therefor.
(Approved by Governor September 26, 2000. Filed with
Secretary of State September 27, 2000.)
On this date I have signed Senate Bill 1256 with a reduction.
This bill requires (1) the State Department of Health Services to
develop and implement a public education and outreach program to
raise awareness of Hepatitis C, (2) an annual report to the
Legislature by the California Department of Corrections on the
prevalence of Hepatitis C in correctional facilities, and (3) a
report to the Legislature by the Department of Veterans Affairs
regarding the use of funds earmarked by the federal Veterans
Administration to regional offices in CA to education, screen and
treat veterans with the Hepatitis C virus.
This bill addresses a growing public health concern, with as many
as 500,000 Californians affected by the virus. This problem is
particularly acute among veterans, with 20% of veterans tested
nationally since 1998 testing positive for Hepatitis C. For this
reason, I am directing the Department of Health Services to allocate
at least 50% of the funds made available by this bill to outreach,
education and testing efforts targeted at veterans. I am also
reducing the appropriation contained in the bill by $500,000. The
revised appropriation shall be $1,500,000.
GRAY DAVIS, Governor
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1256, Polanco. Hepatitis C.
Existing law, the Hepatitis C Education, Screening, and Treatment
Act, requires the State Department of Health Services to make
available protocols and guidelines developed by the National
Institutes of Health and California legislative advisory committees
on hepatitis C for educating physicians and health professionals and
training community service providers. Existing law further provides
that these guidelines may include education programs for specified
high-risk individuals.
This bill would provide that these guidelines may also include
outreach programs and would expand the categories of high-risk
individuals for which these programs are targeted.
This bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
report to the Legislature on or before March 1, 2001, regarding the
use of funds earmarked by the federal Veteran's Administration to
regional offices in California to educate, screen, and treat veterans
with the hepatitis C virus. It would also require the Director of
Corrections and Director of Health Services to perform various
functions and duties with respect to providing outreach to, and
testing of, certain targeted groups and would appropriate $2,000,000
from the General Fund to the State Department of Health Services for
these purposes.
The bill would require the Director of Health Services to include
hepatitis C counseling, education, and testing, as appropriate, into
local state-funded programs, and urge local public health officials
to make hepatitis C virus screening available for uninsured
individuals upon request.
Appropriation: yes.
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.
SEC. 2. Section 122406 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
122406. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall report to the
Legislature on or before March 1, 2001, regarding the use of funds
earmarked by the federal Veteran's Administration to regional offices
in California to educate, screen, and treat veterans with the
hepatitis C virus.
SEC. 3. Section 122410 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
122410. (a) The State Department of Health Services shall make
available protocols and guidelines developed by the National
Institutes of Health, the University of California at San Francisco,
and California legislative advisory committees on hepatitis C for
educating physicians and health professionals and training community
service providers on the most recent scientific and medical
information on hepatitis C detection, transmission, diagnosis,
treatment, and therapeutic decisionmaking.
(b) The guidelines referenced in subdivision (a) may include, but
not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Tracking and reporting of both acute and chronic cases of
hepatitis C by public health officials.
(2) A cost-efficient plan to screen the prison population and the
medically indigent population in California.
(3) Protocols within the Department of Corrections to enable that
department to provide appropriate prevention and treatment to
prisoners with hepatitis C.
(4) Protocols for the education of correctional peace officers and
other correctional workers who work with prisoners with hepatitis C.
(5) Protocols for public safety and health care workers who come
in contact with hepatitis C patients.
(6) Surveillance programs to determine the prevalence of hepatitis
C in ethnic and other high-risk populations.
(7) Education and outreach programs for high-risk individuals,
including, but not limited to, individuals who received blood
transfusions prior to 1992, hemophiliacs, veterans, women who
underwent a caesarian section or premature delivery prior to 1990,
persons who received an organ transplant prior to 1990, persons who
receive invasive cosmetic procedures, including body piercing and
tattooing, students, minority communities, and any other categories
of persons at high risk for hepatitis C infection as determined by
the director. Education and outreach programs shall be targeted to
high-risk individuals as determined by the director. Education
programs may provide information and referral on hepatitis C
including, but not limited to, education materials developed by
health-related companies, community-based or national advocacy
organizations, counseling, patient support groups, and existing
hotlines for consumers.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the
department to develop or produce any protocol, guideline, or
proposal.
SEC. 4. Section 122415 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
122415. (a) The Director of Corrections shall do all of the
following:
(1) Provide the budget subcommittees of the Legislature, on or
before March 1, 2002, with an annual statistical report on the
prevalence of the hepatitis C virus in correctional facilities and
trends in the incidence and prevalence of the hepatitis C virus in
the correctional system.
(2) Establish and make available a voluntary program to test
inmates for the presence of the hepatitis C virus upon incarceration
and in conjunction with any routine blood testing.
(3) Update treatment protocols and regimens as new therapies
become available.
(b) This section shall be implemented only to the extent funds for
this purpose have been appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
SEC. 5. Section 122420 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
122420. The Director of Health Services shall do all of the
following:
(a) Develop and implement a public education and outreach program
to raise awareness of the hepatitis C virus aimed at high-risk
groups, physician's offices, health care workers, and health care
facilities. The program shall do all of the following:
(1) Attempt to coordinate with national public education efforts
related to the identification and notification of recipients of blood
from hepatitis C virus-positive donors.
(2) Attempt to stimulate interest and coordinate with
community-based organizations to sponsor community forums and
undertake other appropriate community outreach activities.
(3) Employ public communication strategies utilizing a variety of
media that may include, but is not limited to, print, radio,
television, and the Internet.
(b) Include information on co-infection of human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) or hemophilia with the hepatitis C virus in the
professional training and all appropriate care and treatment programs
under the jurisdiction of the department.
(c) Develop a program to work with the Department of Corrections
to identify hepatitis C virus-positive inmates likely to be released
within two years and provide counseling and treatment options to
reduce the community risk.
(d) Urge local public health officials to make hepatitis C virus
screening available for uninsured individuals upon request.
(e) Include hepatitis C counseling, education, and testing, as
appropriate, into local state-funded programs including those
addressing HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted disease, and all
other appropriate programs approved by the director.
SEC. 6. The sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) is hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Health
Services for purposes of implementing Section 122420 of the Health
and Safety Code.