Legislative Deadlines Quickly Approaching
Despite the shortened week due to the Independence Day holiday, the Legislature continued a busy schedule of policy committee hearings. Just one week remains for policy committees to pass all fiscal-related bills, and non-fiscal bills have two weeks to be passed from policy committees.
We highlight several items of interest to CHEAC Members below. Our full bill chart for this week is available here.
Local Health Department Administration
AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) as amended on 6/21/17 – Oppose
The hearing for Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer’s AB 1250 was pushed back one week to Wednesday, July 12 at 9:30 am. The measure would place onerous requirements on county contracting, including many of the contracts into which local health departments enter for vital public health services.
As a result of the hearing being rescheduled, the bill will not be double-referred to a second policy committee as previously anticipated. A number of amendments may be under consideration, but no additional details are available at this time. CHEAC remains a part of a large coalition of organizations led by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), including over 100 partners and 40 counties, in opposing this measure.
Alcohol & Drug Services
AB 40 (Santiago) as amended 7/5/17 – Support
Assembly Member Miguel Santiago’s AB 40 was passed from the Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. The measure would allow the CURES database to integrate with other health information technology systems. Amendments were made this week to address privacy concerns and modify administrative requirements between the Department of Justice and health care facilities. CHEAC supports this measure as a modest, but important step in addressing the rising opioid epidemic.
AB 186 (Eggman) as amended 3/23/17 – Watch
AB 186 by Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman was heard in the Senate Health Committee this week. The measure permits specified counties or cities within the specified counties to authorize a supervised injection facility within their jurisdiction for those who consume intravenous drugs. The bill delineates site requirements and provides prosecutorial immunity for those involved in the operation and use of the site. Currently, there are no cities, counties, or states in the U.S. that operate an identical safer drug consumption program as this measure proposes, but the concept is beginning to gain traction in some U.S. cities to address rising overdose deaths. AB 186 will be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee next week.
Health Care Coverage
AB 391 (Chiu) as amended 6/19/17 – Support
Assembly Member David Chiu’s AB 391 was passed from the Senate Health Committee to the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. The measure would require DHCS to seek a state plan amendment to add patient asthma education and environmental asthma trigger assessments for individuals with poorly controlled asthma as a Medi-Cal allowable service if provided by a qualified asthma service provider.
Maternal & Child Health
AB 1316 (Quirk) as amended on 7/3/17 – Watch
AB 1316 by Assembly Member Bill Quirk was heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee this week. The measure would require the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to establish regulations by January 2019 that include a risk assessment for determining the most significant factors of whether a child is at risk of elevated blood levels. AB 1316 was amended this week to also require CDPH to prepare and post online an annual report that evaluates the progress in identifying children with high blood lead levels and reducing the incidence of excessive childhood lead exposure. The measure will next be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.