CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 700

Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Robert Rivas)

February 13, 2023

An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 104210) to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 700, as introduced, Grayson. California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which is responsible for various programs relating to, among other things, disease prevention and health promotion, including the Cancer Research Program, under which the department provides grants for cancer research.
This bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes, establish the California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program, and would require the State Department of Public Health, in consultation with the University of California Office of Research and Innovation and the FIRESCOPE Program, to develop and administer the program. The bill would require the department to award grants to eligible educational institutions to conduct research using a fire service community-based participatory research model, as defined.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters in the United States. California’s firefighters are exposed to many known and suspected human carcinogens in the line of duty.
(b) In June of 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as a Group 1 known human carcinogen.
(c) Recent studies from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) confirm an increased risk of cancer in firefighters, including a 14-percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general United States population, a twofold increase in both the incidence and mortality of firefighters diagnosed with mesothelioma, and a tenfold increase in the incidence of bladder cancer among women in the fire service.
(d) A NIOSH case-control study of California firefighters found significant increases of melanoma, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia, and prostate, brain, and kidney cancer.
(e) The Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), and Office of the State Fire Marshall (SFM) jointly administer the FIRESCOPE Program, which represents the unified voice of the fire service in California. In August 2022, FIRESCOPE established the Cancer Prevention Subcommittee within the program.
(f) The fire service community-based participatory research (CBPR) model involves firefighters and researchers collaboratively developing research aims, study design, and timelines so that research results will have a positive, direct, and timely impact on the California fire service. Conducting CBPR projects is an integral part of California’s 2021-2025 Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan, which seeks to prevent cancer and save lives through collaboration.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act, to establish a program to award grants for fire service community-based participatory research examining biomarkers of carcinogenic exposure and effect in order to identify the biological mechanisms that cause cancer in firefighters, and to reduce the incidence of cancer among California firefighters.

SEC. 2.

 Article 4 (commencing with Section 104210) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
Article  4. California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program

104210.
 For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Eligible educational institutions” means University of California campuses that meet the eligibility criteria developed pursuant to Section 104210.1.
(b) “Community-based participatory research” means a mechanism by which academic partners establish a meaningful and ongoing collaboration with the population of interest to ensure that the research is relevant and needed in the community and is conducted in a responsible and respectful manner. The research engages communities at different times during the research process.

104210.1.
 (a) The California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program is hereby established. The State Department of Public Health, in consultation with the University of California Office of Research and Innovation and the FIRESCOPE Program, shall develop and administer the program pursuant to this article.
(b) Under the program, the department shall award grants to eligible educational institutions to conduct research using a fire service community-based participatory research model. The research shall include, but not be limited to, understanding of biomarkers of exposure that quantify chemical carcinogens absorbed and metabolized by firefighters and studying biomarkers of effect that quantify cancer-promoting cellular changes that ultimately lead to a cancer diagnosis.

104210.2.
 Implementation of this article shall be subject to an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes.