Bill Text: CA AB2786 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Reportable diseases and conditions.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-5)

Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-29 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2786 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB2786-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2786	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Health (Jones (Chair), Fletcher (Vice
Chair), Adams, Ammiano, Block, Carter, Conway, De La Torre, De Leon,
Emmerson, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, V. Manuel
Perez, and Salas)

                        MARCH 9, 2010

   An act to amend Section 120130 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2786, as introduced, Committee on Health. List of reportable
diseases and conditions.
   Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to
establish a list of reportable communicable and noncommunicable
diseases and conditions, including, but not limited to, diphtheria,
listeria, salmonella, shigella, and streptococcal infection in food
handlers or dairy workers, and typhoid. Existing law requires
reporting by the local health officer of any disease or condition on
the list. Existing law prohibits the imposition of any penalty or
other adverse action based upon the failure to report unless the name
of the disease or condition has been printed in the California Code
of Regulations for a period of at least 6 months. Violation of these
provisions is a crime.
   This bill would delete the specified list of required reportable
diseases and conditions. The bill would require the department to
establish a list of communicable diseases and conditions for which
clinical laboratories are required to submit a culture or specimen to
local and state public health laboratories, as specified.
   Under existing law, no civil or criminal penalty, fine, sanction,
finding, or denial, suspension, or revocation of licensure may be
imposed on any person or facility based upon failure to provide
notification of a reportable disease or condition unless the disease
or condition was printed in the California Code of Regulations at
least 6 months prior to the date of the claimed failure.
   This bill would limit the above exemption to a licensed physician
and surgeon or a clinical laboratory, and would extend the exemption
to the submission of a culture or specimen, as required, and would
require notification of the licensed physician and surgeon or
clinical laboratory by the department and publication in the
California Code of Regulations at least 6 months prior to the date of
the claimed failure before a penalty, fine, sanction, finding, or
denial, suspension, or revocation of licensure may be imposed.
   To the extent that this bill would increase the duties of the
local public health officer, and would change the definition of an
existing crime, 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 with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
   With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
   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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The intent of the Legislature is to enable prompt
identification of an outbreak, and rapid reporting and laboratory
identification during an outbreak situation, the emergence of a new
disease or condition, or the recognition of an identified disease or
condition that may constitute a danger to the public's health. During
this outbreak situation, it is absolutely imperative that positive
specimens be sent to the public health laboratory for definitive
identification, subtyping, strain typing, or DNA fingerprinting. The
public health laboratory must obtain the necessary specimens from all
sources in order to be able to quickly identify the organisms
causing illnesses and compare the subtypes, thus allowing a timely
public health response.
   (b) By authorizing the State Department of Public Health to
quickly change the list of specimens that must be submitted to the
public health laboratory without going through the administrative
regulation and rulemaking process, this process would enable the
department to include newly emerging diseases and conditions in a
timely manner. Having this authority will allow a more rapid response
by public health officers to an emerging communicable disease or
outbreak.
   (c) Recently, there have been several outbreaks of communicable
diseases affecting the health of the public for which rapid
identification, subtyping of the organism, and immediate public
health response have been necessary. The most recent of these
episodes include E. coli in spinach and salmonella in peanut butter,
both affecting the health of a large number of people, nationwide.
   (d) Without the ability to rapidly change the requirements for
submission of specimens for testing, the identification of the
organism causing the outbreak and the public health response would be
significantly hampered.
  SEC. 2.  Section 120130 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   120130.  (a) The department shall establish a list of reportable
diseases and conditions. For each reportable disease and condition,
the department shall specify the timeliness requirements related to
the reporting of each disease and condition, and the mechanisms
required for, and the content to be included in, reports made
pursuant to this section. The list of reportable diseases and
conditions may include both communicable and noncommunicable
diseases. The list may include those diseases that are either known
to be, or suspected of being, transmitted by milk or milk-based
products. The list  shall also include, but not be limited
to, diphtheria, listeria, salmonella, shigella, streptococcal
infection in food handlers or dairy workers, and typhoid. The list
 may be modified at any time by the department, after
consultation with the California Conference of Local Health Officers.
Modification of the list shall be exempt from the administrative
regulation and rulemaking requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, and shall be implemented without being adopted as a
regulation, except that the revised list shall be filed with the
Secretary of State and printed in the California Code of Regulations
as required under subdivision  (d)   (e)  .
Those diseases listed as reportable shall be properly reported as
required to the department by the health officer. 
   (b) The department shall establish a list of communicable diseases
and conditions for which clinical laboratories shall submit a
culture or a specimen to the local public health laboratory to
undergo characterization. The list shall set forth the conditions
under which the culture and specimen shall also be submitted to the
state public health laboratory to undergo further characterization.
The list may be modified at any time by the department, after
consultation with the California Conference of Local Health Officers
and the California Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors.
Both establishment and modification of the list shall be exempt from
the administrative regulation and rulemaking requirements of Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code, and shall be implemented without being
adopted as a regulation, except that the initial list and any
modifications shall be filed with the Secretary of State and printed
in the California Code of Regulations as required under subdivision
(e).  
   (b) 
    (c)  The department may from time to time adopt and
enforce regulations requiring strict or modified isolation, or
quarantine, for any of the contagious, infectious, or communicable
diseases, if in the opinion of the department the action is necessary
for the protection of the public health. 
   (c) 
    (d)  The health officer may require strict or modified
isolation, or quarantine, for any case of contagious, infectious, or
communicable disease, when this action is necessary for the
protection of the public health. 
   (d) 
    (e)  The  list   lists 
established pursuant to  subdivision  
subdivisions  (a) and  (b) and  any subsequent
modifications shall be published in Title 17 of the California Code
of Regulations. 
   (e) 
    (f)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
civil or criminal penalty, fine, sanction, finding, or denial,
suspension, or revocation of licensure for any  person or
facility   licensed physician and surgeon or clinical
laboratory  may be imposed based upon a failure to provide the
notification of a reportable disease or condition  or to provide
the submission of a culture or specimen  that is required under
this section, unless the  name of the  disease or condition
that is required to be reported  or for   which a
culture or specimen is required to be submitted  was printed in
the California Code of Regulations  and the department notified
the licensed physician and surgeon or clinical laboratory of the
disease or condition  at least six months prior to the date of
the claimed failure to report  or submit  . 
   (f) 
    (g)  Commencing July 1, 2009, or within one year of the
establishment of a state electronic laboratory reporting system,
whichever is later, a report generated pursuant to this section by a
laboratory shall be submitted electronically in a manner specified by
the department, except that this electronic reporting requirement
shall not apply to reports of HIV infections. The department shall
allow laboratories that receive incomplete patient information to
report the name of the provider who submitted the request to the
local health officer. 
   (g) 
    (h)  The department may  ,  on its 
Internet  Web site and via electronic mail  ,  advise
out-of-state laboratories that are known to the department to test
specimens from California residents of the new reporting
requirements.
  SEC. 3.   No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
   However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other 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.