Assembly Standing Committee on Health

Good morning. We will start when we have a member of the Republican Party here, not former members of the Republican Party, but a current member of the Republican Party, as is our tradition. So thank you. Okay, good morning. We will go ahead and begin as a Subcommittee, since we're still a couple Members short. Mr. Berman, would you like to present your Bill? Before we start, a couple of comments. I'm sorry. You can relax. You can go get a cup of coffee, whatever.

So before we begin, I'd like to make a statement on providing testimony at this hearing. We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so we can have an effective deliberation on critical issues facing California. All witnesses will be testifying in person. We will allow two main witnesses for a maximum of three minutes each. Additional testimony will be in person and limited to name, position, and organization if you represent one. I'd like to welcome new Members to the Committee.

We have Tasha Boerner Horvath, Vince Fong, Joe Patterson, who is actually here, Carlos VIllapudua, and Dr. Akilah Weber. So when we do have a quorum, we will go ahead and take roll. But for the time being, Mr. Berman, would you like to present AB 269?

We good? Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Chair and colleagues. AB 269 is an urgency measure that would codify two waivers that have been in place during the COVID-19 state of emergency. When the Governor announced that this emergency will be terminated at the end of this month, he requested the statutory changes in this Bill to prevent these two important waivers from expiring.

First, the Bill will allow the Department of Public Health's Test-to-Treat program to continue for an additional year by allowing for doctors and nurses to store and dispense COVID therapeutics at approved sites in low-access communities. Second, the Bill will continue to allow any laboratory profession who meets federal standards to analyze COVID tests as they have been allowed to do since the start of the pandemic.

I've also heard the concerns from the folks who are opposed, unless amended, and find their solution to be a good one. So I've formally committed to adding a five-year sunset date to those provisions of the Bill through another vehicle sometime later this session. Members, while the formal State of emergency may be ending, we know that testing and treatment for COVID-19 will remain absolutely critical. Respectfully ask for your. I vote.

Thank you, Mr. Berman, we're going to pause for a second because we have a quorum. So, Madam Secretary, please take the roll.

[Roll call].

All right, thank you, Madam Secretary. Witnesses in support of the Bill.

So with me today, just as FYI, is Maral Farsi with the Department of Public Health only to answer technical questions, not with any planned witness testimony.

Thank you. We have a motion by Dr. Rambula seconded by Mr. Rodriguez. Witnesses in support.

Good morning. Mike Robson here on behalf of Quest Diagnostics in support of the Bill. Quest Diagnostics is currently still operating with about 20% of their COVID testing being done by people who are qualified to do so by virtue of the waiver, who are CLEO qualified but do not have a California license. There is a severe workforce shortage in the lab industry. We'd encourage this Committee and the Legislature as a whole to address that workforce shortage.

We have ideas on that and look forward to working with the Health Committee, the Business Professions Committee, and anybody interested on that matter. Thanks.

Thank you.

Chairman and Members, Bruce Pomer with the California Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors, CAPHLD. We strongly support the Bill. We feel the waiver allowing CLS scientists to do the test has increased and added to the workforce that is very short in terms of public health lab directors. We'd like to say that at some point in the process, we'd like to see this waiver expanded so it could be used for other disease outbreaks. We feel that would be very useful.

And I don't know of many professional groups that are willing to relieve their licensing standards in terms of increasing personnel. Just finally, I want to say that in many of our counties, this waiver allowed us to nearly double our testing staff. So it's critical, and that's why we'd like to see it expanded to other diseases. We thank Assemblyman Berman, you all, for doing what you're doing today for the Administration, and thank you.

Thank you. Other witnesses, just your name and organization, if you represent one.

Hi, Kristi Foy here on behalf of the California Clinical Laboratory Association in strong support.

Thank you.

Good morning. Norlyn Asprec, representing CHEAC, the County Health Executives Association of California, in support.

Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing no one. Is there opposition to the Bill?

Mr. Chair and Members, Matt Broad on behalf of the Teamsters and engineers and scientists of California, not here in opposition, here to amend our opposed unless amended position. We thank the author for working with us on a sunset quickly, and we're looking forward to seeing that in another vehicle later this year. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning. Audra Hartmann here with Public Policy Advocates. I'm here on behalf of the California Association of Medical Laboratory Technology. We also are removing our opposition based on your comments today. And thank you very much.

Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? I see no one. Bring it back to the Committee. Questions or comments from the Committee? We do have a motion by Dr. Arambula. Second by Mr. Rodriguez. I think that was the order. But if not, it doesn't really matter.

No.

Any questions or comments? All right. The Bill does enjoy a do pass recommendation. Madam Secretary, please call the roll. The motion is do pass.

[Roll call].

That Bill has 10 votes. It's out. We'll leave the roll open for other Members for five minutes for other Members to add on. So if there are Members out there and you're a Member of the Committee, you've got five minutes to add on. So thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Berman. Madam Secretary, please open the roll. Call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

That vote is now 11-0. Okay, we will go ahead and close this hearing. The vote on AB 269 was 11-0. So this ends the Assembly Health Committee hearing this morning. Thank you.