BILL NUMBER: SJR 15	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Alquist
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Jones)

                        JUNE 17, 2009

   Relative to public health laboratories.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 15, as introduced, Alquist. Public health laboratories.
   This measure would encourage the Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services to amend the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment
regulations to, and the Congress and the President of the United
States to enact legislation that would, allow qualified nondoctoral,
nonboard certified persons to serve as laboratory directors of local
public health laboratories with the express goals of ensuring
adequate local public health laboratory support for response to
communicable disease events, ensuring an adequate supply of local
public health laboratory directors, and ensuring protection for the
balance of the nation by increasing national security through
adequate disease identification. This measure would encourage
specified federal entities to also encourage CMS and the Congress and
President of the United States to accomplish these goals in this
manner.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) has adopted the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment
(CLIA) regulations related to laboratory director qualifications that
are unreasonable for the California local public health laboratory
system and have led to the closure of needed local public health
laboratories in California; and
   WHEREAS, CMS fails to recognize the unique responsibility and
authority of local public health laboratories in response to
disasters, both naturally occurring and man made; and
   WHEREAS, The California local public health laboratory system has
been recognized internationally for decades, is considered exemplary
in quality of service and accuracy of testing, has responded to both
naturally occurring and man made disasters, and has protected
California's citizens for decades; and
   WHEREAS, The California local public health laboratory system is
an important element of the public health system that forms the
triad, along with law enforcement and fire officials, in protecting
our communities; and
   WHEREAS, California's many immigration gateways, without adequate
local public health laboratory resources, can be an entry point for
the spread of infectious diseases with potential national impact; and

   WHEREAS, The loss of local public health laboratory support in any
community creates a national security concern that must not be
ignored; and
   WHEREAS, Congresswoman Doris Matsui has drafted federal
legislation to provide states with the authority to permit local
public health laboratories to operate in accordance with minor
changes in CLIA language regarding laboratory director
qualifications; and
   WHEREAS, The California Conference of Local Health Officers, the
California Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors, and the
County Health Executives of California have all requested
administrative relief from the onerous regulation without success;
now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
encourages CMS to amend the CLIA regulations to, and the Congress and
the President of the United States to enact legislation that would,
allow qualified nondoctoral, nonboard certified persons to serve as
laboratory directors of local public health laboratories with the
express goals of ensuring adequate local public health laboratory
support for response to communicable disease events, ensuring an
adequate supply of local public health laboratory directors, and
ensuring protection for the balance of the nation by increasing
national security through adequate disease identification; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California
encourages the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Department of Homeland Security, and other relevant federal
regulatory authorities to encourage CMS to amend the CLIA
regulations, and the Congress and President of the United States to
enact legislation, to accomplish these policy goals in this manner;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of
the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in
the Congress of the United States.