BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1858 (Blumenfield)
Hearing Date: 8/2/2010 Amended: 7/15/2010
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Health 5-3
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1858 would permit the California Department of
Public Health (CDPH) to authorize entities to provide hypodermic
needle and syringe exchange programs in any location the
department determines is necessary.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
CDPH regulations and $45 $110 $110 Federal*
ongoing administration
2013-14 2014-15
$30 - $170 $30 - $170 Federal*
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cooperative
Agreement Funds
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
This bill would require CDPH and any city, county, or city and
county that would authorize a syringe exchange program, as
recommended by the United States Public Health Service, to
establish the program subject to available funding and as part
of a comprehensive network or services intended to combat the
spread of HIV and bloodborne Hepatitis infection among injection
drug users. An entity's application to CDPH would be required to
demonstrate its ability to provide certain syringe exchange
program services as well as specified education services
regarding the prevention of Hepatitis B, HIV, and sexually risky
behaviors.
This bill would exempt staff and volunteers participating in the
authorized program from any law related to the possession,
furnishing, or transfer of hypodermic needles or syringes during
participation in the program. Additionally, program participants
would be immune from criminal prosecution for the possession of
needles or syringes acquired from an authorized program. This
bill would require CDPH to report biennially, instead of
annually, to a local health officer on programs it authorized.
Costs to CDPH to promulgate regulations over a period of two and
a half years to further define application requirements would be
approximately $45,000 in FY 2010-2011, $110,000 in FY 2011-2012
in FY 2012-2013. Ongoing costs to review and approve
applications and to post specified information on CDPH's website
would be minor and absorbable to up to $170,000 annually,
commencing in FY 2013 -2014. The actual costs would depend on
the number of applications received annually, which could range
from 5 - 50. If the number is more than 10, the workload would
no longer be absorbable. In order to assess the efforts and
fiscal impacts of this new CDPH duty, staff recommends that the
bill be amended to sunset December 31, 2018, and to require CDPH
to report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the
Legislature no later than July 1, 2016, on the activities of the
program.