BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 946
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 946 (Health Committee)
As Amended September 2, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
HEALTH 18-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Monning, Logue, Atkins, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Bonilla, Eng, Garrick, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Gordon, Hayashi, Roger | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Hern�ndez, Bonnie | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| |Lowenthal, Mansoor, | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| |Mitchell, Nestande, Pan, | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| |V. Manuel P�rez, Silva, | |Solorio, Wagner |
| |Smyth, Williams | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Makes various technical and non-controversial changes
to statutes governing telemedicine, emergency medical services
(EMS) funds, food safety, HIV reporting, health information
privacy, health insurance, and mental health services payments.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes references to "telemedicine" in various statutes and
replaces them with the term "telehealth."
2)Deletes obsolete reporting requirements imposed on the
Department of Health Care Services related to the application
of telemedicine, including store-and-forward telemedicine.
3)Requires each county that has established a Maddy EMS Fund to
include a description of each disbursement for other EMS
purposes in its annual report to the Legislature, if funds
were disbursed for these purposes, and other additional
information, as specified, regarding the monies collected and
disbursed.
4)Updates the California Retail Food Code to define the term
"hot dog;" require food service employees to wash their hands
prior to donning gloves for working with food or replacing
gloves that need to be changed or replaced; prohibit
SB 946
Page 2
single-use gloves from being washed; and, establish sanitation
requirements for food service employees with lesions or open
wounds.
5)Authorizes the Department of Public Health to develop a form
to be used to report cases of HIV infection to the local
health department and permits the form to be implemented
without promulgating new regulations.
6)Renames the Office of Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) Implementation as the California
Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII).
7)Deletes a redundant code section requiring CalOHII to be under
the supervision of a director appointed by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services Agency and eliminates obsolete
reporting requirements.
8)Modifies the frequency with which the existing advisory
committee on statewide HIPAA implementation meets from at
least twice a year to an "as required" basis.
9)Revises specified sections of the Insurance Code relating to
coverage for a child to replace references to "solicitor" with
"agent or broker" or "agent or broker of the carrier."
10)Conforms state law to existing federal regulations and
current practice of the Department of Mental Health with
regard to negotiated rates and incentive payments for the
provision of Medi-Cal reimbursable community mental health
services.
11)Makes other technical changes to correct drafting errors and
resolve chaptering out conflicts.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor, if any, state reimbursable mandate costs
associated with increased reporting requirements related to
county-based Maddy EMS funds. Other provisions of this bill
will have negligible state fiscal impact.
COMMENTS : This bill is authored by the Senate Committee on
Health as omnibus legislation containing technical, conforming,
or non-controversial changes to laws affecting various health
agencies, programs, and services.
SB 946
Page 3
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0002639