BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1278 (Hill) - Health Facilities: smoking.
Amended: June 20, 2012 Policy Vote: Health 6-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: July 2, 2012 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1278 expands the existing prohibition on
smoking in general acute care hospitals, to the entire hospital
campus.
Fiscal Impact:
Minor enforcement costs to the Department of Public Health,
which licenses hospitals.
Unknown, potentially offsetting impacts on state tobacco
tax revenue and/or state public health coverage programs.
See staff comments below.
Background: Under current law, the Health and Safety Code
prohibits smoking in patient care areas of hospitals, with
certain exceptions. A violations of these requirements is an
infraction and is punishable by a fine up to $100.
Also under current law, the Labor Code generally prohibits an
employer from permitting tobacco smoking in enclosed spaces at
places of employment, with certain exceptions.
Proposed Law: AB 1278 would prohibit smoking in all areas of a
hospital campus, beginning on March 1, 2013. This prohibition
would be an extension of the existing prohibition in the Health
and Safety Code. The bill's prohibition would not apply when the
treating physician determines a patient's treatment will be
negatively impacted by denial of tobacco or on property owned by
a hospital but which is not part of the main hospital campus.
The bill requires hospitals to post notice of the prohibition
and to inform new employees of the prohibition.
AB 1278 (Hill)
Page 1
The bill eliminates the existing infraction penalty for
noncompliance with the prohibition of smoking in hospitals (or
on a hospital campus).
Related Legislation:
SB 575 (Desaulnier) would eliminate most exceptions to the
existing prohibition on smoking in places of employment.
That bill is in the Assembly Governmental Organization
Committee.
AB 217 (Carter) would restrict smoking in long-term care
facilities, by only allowing smoking in designated, outdoor
smoking areas. That bill is in the Senate Labor and
Industrial Relations Committee.
Staff Comments: The state of California imposes a tax of $0.87
per pack of cigarettes, with the proceeds divided between the
General Fund and several special funds. To the extent that this
bill will lead to smokers who work on hospital campuses to
reduce their smoking or quit entirely, this bill could lead to
reduced tax revenue. The extent to which this will occur is
unknown. However, if only a few employees per hospital quit
smoking because of this prohibition, total revenue losses could
be in the tens of thousands per year (various funds).
On the other hand, smoking is associated with significant
long-term health care costs. The Department of Public Health
indicates that the average health care cost of smoking related
illness, per smoker in the state, is about $1,700 per year. Any
reduction in smoking in the state may reduce health care costs,
including costs incurred by the state's health care programs
such as Medi-Cal.