BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 769|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 769
Author: Alquist (D)
Amended: 9/9/09 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/22/09
AYES: Alquist, Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, Cox,
DeSaulnier, Leno, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 6/1/09
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff,
Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Ducheny, Walters, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 9/8/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Federal funding: supplemental
SOURCE : Health Officers Association of California
DIGEST : This bill provides that federal funding received
pursuant to the federal Supplemental appropriations Act,
2009 (Public Law 111-32) for pandemic flu preparedness and
response is subject to appropriation by the Legislature for
CONTINUED
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allocation by the Department of Public Health pursuant to
the 2008-09 federally approved collaborative state-local
plan.
Assembly Amendments delete the prior version of the bill
and recast the bill in its current form and added an
urgency clause.
ANALYSIS : Under existing federal law, the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), makes
supplemental appropriations for job preservation and
creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and
science, assistance to the unemployed, and state and local
fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2009.
Existing state law establishes local health departments to
protect and preserve the public health, and provides for
the allocation of state aid to local health departments
according to a specified formula for prescribed purposes,
including communicable disease control activities and
community and public health surveillance activities.
This bill requires federal funding received pursuant to the
2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act (Public Law 111-32)
for public health activities to be:
1. Subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act or
other statute for allocation by the California
Department of Public Health (DPH).
2. Allocated pursuant to the federally approved state-local
plan and in the same proportion as stipulated in the
2008-09 federally approved state-local plan (30 percent
- 70 percent).
3. Used by the California Department of Public Health (DPH)
to expand the California Health Action Network and other
communication networks to improve emergency
communication with hospitals and primary clinics during
a public health emergency.
Background
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The Recovery Act includes spending increases and tax
relief, intended to spur an economic recovery and create
jobs. The final bill includes $507 billion in spending
programs and $282 billion in tax relief. According to a
summary of the House Committee on Appropriations, the money
allocated for healthcare-related activities is distributed
as follows:
1. Health Information Technology: $19 billion to jumpstart
efforts to computerize health records.
2. Prevention and Wellness Fund: $1 billion to fight
preventable chronic diseases and infectious diseases. Of
this amount, $300 million goes towards immunization
programs and $650 million goes towards clinical and
community-based prevention and wellness strategies.
3. Healthcare Effectiveness Research: $1.1 billion for
Healthcare Research and Quality programs to compare the
effectiveness of different medical treatments.
4. Community Health Centers: $2 billion for the provision
of services to the uninsured, renovate clinics, and make
health information technology improvements.
5. Training Primary Care Providers: $500 million to address
workforce shortages and future demand.
6. Indian Health Service: $500 million to modernize aging
hospitals and health clinics and make healthcare
technology upgrades to improve healthcare for
underserved rural populations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, a
one-time allocation of $28 million in federal funding from
the federal Public Health and Social Services Fund related
to pandemic flu generally and the H1N1 virus specifically,
to be shared 30 percent -70 percent (state/county) among
DPH and LHJs. Additional unknown future distributions of
federal funding in the 30 percent -70 percent sharing
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ratio. At this time, an additional $5.8 billion of federal
funds nationally has been set aside by Congress to support
additional public health activities related to pandemic
flu.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/9/09)
Health Officers Association of California (source)
Board of Supervisor County of Santa Clara
Contra Costa Health Services
County of Contra Costa Board of Supervisors
County of San Diego
County of Yolo Health Department
Inyo County Public Division of Human and Health Services
Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency
Ventura County Public Health
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the Health Officers
Association of California (HOAC), hiring public health
nurses and other professionals will immediately stimulate
the economy by providing an infusion of money to local
health departments that have been forced to slash their
workforce as a result of the economic downturn. HOAC
writes that this bill will make sure that public health
funding provided by the federal government will be used
where it can do the most good, both for the economy and for
public health.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Adams, Vacancy
JJA:do 9/10/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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