BILL NUMBER: SB 594 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 28, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wolk
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Sections 101150 and 101160 of, and to add Sections
101161 and 101162 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to public
health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 594, as amended, Wolk. Local public health laboratories.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and
sets forth its powers and duties relating to the prevention and
control of disease , including, but not limited to
, the duty to approve local public health laboratories.
This bill would recast those provisions to specify the duties of
the local public health laboratories, to require the department to
develop and administer written examinations for the certificate of
public health microbiologist for public health laboratories, to
require the department to adopt regulations related to certification
and approval of training programs and continuing education
requirements, and to define related terms. The bill would preclude
the assessment of related fees for certificates or continuing
education. By requiring that local agencies comply with these
requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 101150 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
101150. (a) For the purpose of protecting the community and the
public health, the local health department of a city or county shall
have available the services of a city or county public health
laboratory for the examination of specimens from suspected cases of
infectious and environmental diseases, that may include, but need not
be limited to, the examination of specimens from milk, milk
products, waters, food products, vectors, and the environment.
(b) The public health laboratory shall provide laboratory services
necessary for the various examination of
specimens from suspected cases of infectious and environmental
diseases to support the communicable disease and environmental health
programs of the local health department. The public
health laboratory may support other programs of the local health
department or other departments. The public health laboratory
shall also provide the analyses required to assist in community
disease surveillance and to meet the responsibilities and support the
programs of the local health department.
(c) In matters concerning the public's health, the public health
laboratory director shall be responsible to the local health officer
whose duty it is to enforce the law in accordance with Section
101030, 101375, 101460, or 101470. This subdivision
does not preclude the local health department from requiring the
public health laboratory director to be administratively responsible
to other local health department personnel.
(d) The public health laboratory shall provide consultation and
reference services to further the development of improved laboratory
procedures and practices related to the identification, prevention,
control, and surveillance of human disease in the community.
(e) A local health officer After
consulting with the health officer and the public health laboratory
director, a local health department may contract with any
official city or county public health laboratory or with the
laboratories of the State Department of Public Health to provide the
services required by this chapter.
(f) The laboratories of the State Department of Public Health are
hereby designated as the public health laboratory for all local
health department jurisdictions that do not otherwise have access to
local public health laboratory service.
SEC. 2. Section 101160 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
101160. (a) Any city or county public health laboratory
established for the purposes set forth in this chapter and its
personnel shall be approved by the State Department of Public Health
and shall comply with the requirements of CLIA.
(b) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "CLIA" means the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement
Amendments of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 263a; P.L.
Public Law 100-578) and the regulations adopted thereunder by
the federal Health Care Financing Administration and effective on
January 1, 1994, or any later date, when adopted in California
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1208 of the Business and
Professions Code.
(2) "Approved" or "approval" means certified by the
State Department of Public Health to be in compliance with state and
federal statutory or regulatory requirements pertaining to
municipal and county public health laboratories and public health
laboratory personnel.
(3) "Certificate" means a certificate of approval issued by the
State Department of Public Health to a city or county facility or an
individual after the department's determination that the city or
county facility personnel, or training program qualifications, are in
conformity with the requirements of this article.
(4) "Public health laboratory" means a laboratory that is operated
by a city or county , or pursuant to a joint exercise of powers
agreement entered into pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act
(Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of
the Government Code), in conformity with this article.
(5) "Public health laboratory director" means a person who meets
the CLIA requirements for laboratory director and who is authorized
to direct a public health laboratory certified under this article.
(6) "Public health microbiologist" means a person who meets the
CLIA requirements for testing personnel in a high complexity
laboratory and who is authorized to perform high
complexity tests limited to the specialties of microbiology and
diagnostic immunology and waived and moderate complexity tests in any
specialty or subspecialty laboratory tests or
analyses pursuant to a certificate issued under this article.
(7) "Public health microbiologist-trainee" means a person meeting
the academic qualifications and approved by the State Department of
Public Health to train in an approved public health laboratory
leading to examination and certification as a public health
microbiologist under this article.
(8) "Specialty" means histocompatibility, microbiology, diagnostic
immunology, chemistry, hematology, immunohematology, pathology,
genetics, or other specialty or subspecialty specified by regulation
adopted by the State Department of Public Health.
(9) "Subspecialty" means any of the following:
(A) For purposes of microbiology, it means bacteriology,
mycobacteriology, mycology, parasitology, virology, molecular
biology, and serology for diagnosis of infectious diseases, or other
subspecialty specified by regulation adopted by the State Department
of Public Health.
(B) For purposes of diagnostic immunology, it means syphilis
serology, general immunology, or other subspecialty specified by
regulation adopted by the State Department of Public Health.
(C) For purposes of chemistry, it means routine chemistry,
clinical microscopy, endocrinology, toxicology, or other subspecialty
specified by regulation adopted by the State Department of Public
Health.
(D) For purposes of immunohematology, it means ABO / Rh Type and
Group, antibody detection for transfusion, antibody detection
nontransfusion, antibody identification, compatibility, or other
subspecialty specified by regulation adopted by the State Department
of Public Health.
(E) For purposes of pathology, it means tissue pathology, oral
pathology, diagnostic cytology, or other subspecialty specified by
regulation adopted by the State Department of Public Health.
(F) For purposes of genetics, it means molecular biology related
to the diagnosis of human genetic abnormalities, cytogenetics, or
other subspecialty specified by regulation adopted by the State
Department of Public Health.
SEC. 3. Section 101161 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
101161. The State Department of Public Health shall develop and
administer the written examinations for the certificate of public
health microbiologist for public health laboratories. The examination
shall be developed in consultation with the California Association
of Public Health Laboratory Directors. The examination shall be held
as needed and where designated by the State Department of Public
Health. There shall be no fee levied upon individuals for the
examinations.
SEC. 4. Section 101162 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
101162. (a) The State Department of Public Health, by January 1,
2013, shall adopt regulations, in consultation with the California
Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors, to do all of the
following:
(1) Establish minimum requirements for training laboratories that
train public health microbiologist-trainees, and require that
training laboratories that accept those personnel for the purposes of
this article be approved and certified by the State Department of
Public Health.
(2) Initiate, administer, and monitor a program of continuing
education for public health microbiologists certified pursuant to
this article.
(3) Require a maximum of 12 hours of continuing education
completed within a 12-month period, or 24 hours of continuing
education completed within a 24-month period, as a condition for
renewal of a certificate issued under this article.
(b) Fees shall not be levied upon county or municipal public
health laboratories or public health laboratory personnel for
approval or renewal of any certificates or maintaining the continuing
education program pursuant to this article.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.