BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 460
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 460 (Pavley) - As Amended: August 19, 2013
Policy Committee: HealthVote:18-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California Department of Public Health
(CDPH) to include information regarding environmental health in
the California Prenatal Screening Program Prenatal Patient
Booklet (booklet), including a specified statement and link to
web sites discussing environmental health.
It also requires CDPH to send an informational notice to all
distributors of the booklet, and requires CDPH to update the
booklet with the specified information only when the booklet is
otherwise revised and reprinted.
FISCAL EFFECT
Ongoing costs, not likely to exceed $50,000, to review
information related to environmental health and develop a new
page in the booklet with a specified statement and links to
information.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author, exposure to certain
chemicals during pregnancy can have ill effects on the
development of an unborn child, resulting in health conditions
later in life. Common reproductive toxins include mercury and
lead, as well as less obvious chemicals in consumer products.
The author states many pregnant women are unaware of their
level of exposure to harmful reproductive toxins.
2)Prenatal Screening Program . The Prenatal Screening Program
provides pregnant women with a risk assessment for numerous
birth defects, such as open neural tube defects and Down
SB 460
Page 2
syndrome, through one or two blood tests. A booklet is
provided by CDPH to educate women on the program and
conditions it screens for, in order to ensure the women can
meaningfully consent to the testing and interpret results.
CDPH states the booklet was last updated in April 2013 and a
year's supply was printed at that time.
3)Related Legislation . SB 962 (Migden), Chapter 517, Statutes of
2007, among other things, mandated that information be added
to the Prenatal Patient Booklet regarding prenatal cord blood
banking and information was added in January of 2008.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081