BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
29 (Jones)
Hearing Date: 6/29/2009 Amended: 6/16/2009
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Health 9-1
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: ACR 29 would request the California Health and
Human Services Agency (CHHS) to provide leadership to ensure
that its departments prioritize the prevention, reduction and
elimination of health disparities, as specified, within existing
resources and programs.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Health disparities unknown, potentially major state
costs General
programs, activities, to the extent that these efforts exceed
and strategies current agency and departmental
activities
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Existing law establishes CHHS, the state agency that administers
and oversees the departments and offices charged with providing
health care, social services, public assistance and
rehabilitation services to Californians.
This resolution would request that CHHS ensure that departments
within the agency implement programs, activities, and strategies
that place a priority focus on preventing, reducing, and
eliminating health disparities among racial and ethnic
population subgroups within existing programs and resources.
This resolution would encourage interdepartmental collaboration
with an emphasis on the social, environmental, and behavioral
factors that contribute to health disparities, particularly when
identifying strategies aimed at the prevention of chronic
diseases, including cardiovascular disease.
This resolution would also encourage the consideration of the
diverse health care needs of various ethnic subgroups including
subgroups within the Asian Pacific Islander population.
Several programs exist within the departments and offices
administered by CHHS that, through their activities, address
health disparities, including the Office of Multicultural Health
(OMH), the Office of Women's Health, the Healthcare Workforce
Development Division (HWDD), Maternal, Child, and Adolescent
Health Programs (MCAH), Project LEAN and School Health
Connections, and the California Diabetes Program (CDP).
However, the extent to which CHHS chooses to provide leadership
as requested by this resolution and to the extent that any of
these activities go beyond current efforts and
Page 2
ACR 29 (Jones)
programs currently under the authority of CHHS, there could be
major state costs in the hundreds of thousands to millions of
dollars to address disparities in the manner described in this
resolution.
Additionally, on June 3, 2009, the Legislative Budget Conference
Committee (conference committee) voted to recommend the
elimination of the agency level of state government, which would
include CHHS. If the agency is eliminated, there would be cost
pressure on another governmental entity to assume the leadership
role as requested in this resolution.
The conference committee also voted to reduce the budget of the
MCAH Programs by $11.6 million General Fund. There would be
significant cost pressure on this program to absorb any new
duties within its reduced budget as requested by this
resolution.
Staff recommends that the bill be amended as follows in order to
reduce cost pressure:
"Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature requests that the
California Health and Human Services Agency provide leadership
to encourage ensure that, within existing resources and
programs, departments within the agency to implement programs,
activities, and strategies that place a priority focus on
preventing, reducing, and eliminating health disparities among
racial and ethnic population subgroups; and be it further?."