July 6, 2018 Edition
Only one week remains before the early bird price of $399 for the 2018 CHEAC Annual Meeting expires. After July 13, the registration fee will increase to $450 until registration closes on September 1. CHEAC Members are strongly encouraged to register and book a hotel room at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento as soon as possible.
This year’s annual meeting will be held from October 17 – October 19 and will provide local health department professionals representing a wide variety of disciplines throughout California with networking and learning opportunities.
For attendees coming to Sacramento on Tuesday, October 16, rooms at still available at the Hyatt Regency. However, CHEAC has met its room block for Tuesday night and the discounted room rate is no longer available; rooms will be offered on Tuesday night at the Hyatt’s prevailing room rate. Rooms are still available at CHEAC’s discounted rate for Wednesday and Thursday nights. Members are encouraged to stay at the Hyatt Regency as all conference programming will occur at this location.
If the Hyatt’s prevailing rate for the night of Tuesday, October 16 is an issue for jurisdictions, nearby hotels, including the Sterling Hotel, the Best Western Plus Sutter House, the Holiday Inn Express Sacramento Convention Center, and the Residence Inn by Marriott, are offering a discounted government rate for a Tuesday night stay.
More information on this year’s CHEAC Annual Meeting, including registration, is available here.
The California Legislature wrapped up its work yesterday afternoon and adjourned for its month-long summer recess. This week, several policy committees held hearings to meet today’s deadline to hear and report all non-fiscal bills.
The Legislature will reconvene on Monday, August 6. Upon their return, legislators will face a very busy four weeks of fiscal committee hearings and floor-only session before adjourning the legislative session at the end of August.
Below, we highlight a few actions of interest to CHEAC Members. For a full update, the CHEAC Weekly Bill Chart is available here.
Cannabis
AB 3067 (Chau) as introduced on February 16, 2018 – Support
Assembly Member Ed Chau’s AB 3067 was advanced on consent from the Senate Judiciary Committee to the Senate Floor on Tuesday. The measure would require advertising services not to market cannabis, cannabis products or businesses, or associated cannabis paraphernalia when an internet service, online service, or mobile application is directed to minors. Such prohibitions currently exist for alcohol, firearms and ammunition, spray paint, and tobacco.
Health Coverage/Health Care Reform
AB 2430 (Arambula) as amended on June 7, 2018 – Support
AB 2430 by Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula was set for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday. The measure is part of the bill package proposed by the Assembly Select Committee on Health Care Delivery Systems and Universal Coverage and would increase Medi-Cal eligibility for seniors and disabled individuals up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Recall, funding for this expansion was not included in the FY 2018-19 State Budget. Assembly Member Arambula waived presentation on AB 2430, and the measure was placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File where it will be considered at a later date.
Tobacco Control
AB 1097 (Levine) as amended on June 13, 2018 – Support
Assembly Member Marc Levine’s AB 1097 was also set for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday. The measure would ban smoking and disposal of cigar and cigarette waste at a state coastal beach, state parks, public campgrounds, monument sites, landmark sites, and sites of historical interest deemed by the State. AB 1097 is virtually the same measure as AB 725 (Levine) that was passed by the Legislature and vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2017. Assembly Member Levine waived presentation on AB 1097, and the measure was placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File where it will be considered at a later date.
Assembly Member Richard Bloom announced this week his intent to introduce a bill in next year’s legislative session to assess a “health impact fee” on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) to fund obesity and diabetes prevention programs. Also this week, the California Dental Association (CDA) and the California Medical Association (CMA) filed an initiative for the November 2020 ballot to create a statewide tax on SSBs.
These announcements are in response to last week’s budget budget negotiations and activities. Recall, the Legislature passed and Governor Brown signed into law AB 1838. The measure bans the ability of local jurisdictions to impose new taxes on groceries, which by definition includes SSBs, until 2031. The trailer bill was the result of a deal negotiated by labor and the California Business Roundtable to stop the “Tax Fairness, Transparency, and Accountability Act of 2018” initiative slated for the November 2018 ballot. The initiative, if passed, would have required a two-thirds approval by voters or the local elected body for a local tax or fee increase. The passage of this initiative would have inhibited local governments from imposing taxes or fees and could have had a significant impact on local revenues, both existing and new.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Office of Oral Health will be holding a webinar on oral health data and data dashboards on Wednesday, July 11 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am PDT. The webinar will feature county and regional data of dental visits during pregnancy, dental sealant measure data, and other county-level dental visit and service data. A second webinar featuring the same topic and information will be provided on July 17. Registration and additional information is available here.