Bill Text: CA AB700 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 268, Statutes of 2023. [AB700 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB700-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 14, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 700

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Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Robert Rivas)(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cervantes, Robert Rivas, and Weber)

February 13, 2023

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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 amended, 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 Health to develop and administer a competitive grant program to award grants to eligible educational institutions to conduct research using a fire service community-based participatory research model, as defined. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the University of California and the FIRESCOPE Program, to develop the strategic guidelines and priorities of the program. The bill would also require the department to receive and evaluate the applications of the eligible educational institutions. The bill would require the FIRESCOPE Program to make final recommendations to the department on which grants should be funded. The bill would also require the department to prepare an annual report to the Legislature, beginning on January 1, 2025, with specified information, including the number and dollar amounts of the grants that have been awarded.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

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 2021–25 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. Health shall develop and administer a competitive grant program for the purpose of awarding 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.

(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.

(b) The department, in consultation with the University of California and the FIRESCOPE Program, shall develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the program.

(c) The department, in consultation with the FIRESCOPE Program, shall receive and evaluate applications of eligible educational institutions.

(d) The FIRESCOPE Program shall make the final recommendations to the department on which research grants should be funded based on the research priorities established for the program.

(e) The department shall prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2025, and every year thereafter. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) The number and dollar amounts of research grants that have been awarded.

(2) The name of each eligible educational institution receiving grant awards.

(3) The name of each fire department working with the eligible educational institution conducting research funded by a grant awarded under this section.

(4) A summary of research findings from the research funded by a grant awarded under this section.

(f) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this section is inoperative on January 1, 2029, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(2) A report to be submitted under this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

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.