BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1225
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1225 (De La Torre)
As Amended January 25, 2010
Majority vote
HEALTH 14-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Jones, Fletcher, Adams, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, |
| |Ammiano, Block, Ruskin, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |De Leon, Hall, Hayashi, | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| |Hernandez, | |Fuentes, Hall, John A. |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, | |Perez, Skinner, Solorio, |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas | |Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Conway |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Audra Strickland |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) and
local public health departments (LHDs), when conducting
emergency or disaster preparedness exercises relating to the
outbreak of an infectious disease, to establish a process to
identify deficiencies in preparedness and track measures to
improve preparedness plans. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DPH and LHDs, when conducting emergency or disaster
preparedness exercises relating to the outbreak of an
infectious disease, to establish a process to identify
deficiencies in preparedness plans and procedures and track
the implementation of corrective measures to ensure that
necessary improvements to the preparedness plans are made.
Requires the process to provide for the following:
a) Preparation of an after-action report (AAR), as
specified, for each disaster preparedness exercise
conducted, to be submitted to DPH within 90 days of the
exercise, or within a time period required by the terms and
conditions federal financial assistance DPH or the LHD has
received to prepare for an act of bioterrorism or other
public health emergency; and,
b) Written procedures to assist in the review,
AB 1225
Page 2
consideration, and, if applicable, optional implementation
of recommendations included in AARs.
2)Requires DPH to make AAR available for inspection by the
public by either posting it on the department's Internet Web
site, providing a copy, upon request, or both.
FISCAL EFFECT: : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, this bill has minor fiscal effect and
absorbable workload to DPH and LHD to continue compliance with
federal and state emergency preparedness statutes and
regulations. Both state and federal law require the completion
of the preparedness items addressed in this legislation.
COMMENTS : The author states that this bill is needed because
requiring DPH and LHDs to submit AARs after emergency
preparedness exercises will enhance statewide preparedness and
improve the state's ability to identify and address infectious
disease outbreaks. The author notes that while DPH and LHDs are
required to submit AARs after actual emergencies, existing state
and federal requirements do not mandate AARs for emergency
preparedness exercises.
An infectious disease outbreak is one of several types of events
that can trigger an emergency response. Infectious disease
emergencies can be caused by biological agents, including
bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms, and can have
natural, accidental, or intentional origins. Examples of
biological agents that are considered high priority bioterrorism
threats include anthrax, avian flu, botulism, plague, smallpox,
and tularemia.
Responsibility for California's infectious disease response
preparedness lies with several local, state, and federal
entities. The initial response to any type of emergency,
including one caused by an infectious disease, is the
responsibility of the local jurisdiction in which the emergency
occurs. The Office of Emergency Services (OES) is the lead
emergency management agency in California and coordinates the
state's response to major emergencies. OES has identified DPH
as the state's lead department for responding to public health
emergencies such as infectious disease emergencies. DPH is
responsible for coordinating statewide public health assistance
during disasters and providing specialized services using state
AB 1225
Page 3
health laboratories. The Emergency Medical Services Authority
(EMSA) is responsible for supporting DPH during public health
emergencies by managing the state's medical response and
establishing medical response policies and procedures within the
framework of the overall state response.
In August 2005, the California State Auditor (CSA) issued a
report concerning California's preparedness to respond to an
infectious disease emergency. The CSA stated that California
needs to do more to improve its preparedness, citing that DPH
(then the Department of Health Services) did not have a tracking
system for following up on recommendations identified in AARs.
The CSA stated that without a tracking system for following
AARs, DPH reduces the likelihood that it will take appropriate
and consistent corrective action. Both OES and EMSA had
established tracking systems in 2005.
AB 2584 (De La Torre) of 2006 and AB 2996 (De la Torre) of 2008
were similar to this bill. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed both
bills due to concerns about duplication of current efforts
without an accompanying increase in public protection.
Analysis Prepared by : Martin Radosevich / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0003623