Assembly Standing Committee on Health

Hello. Good afternoon. We welcome to the Assembly Health Committee hearing on Tuesday, June 24th. Before we begin, I want to make sure everyone understands our Committee procedures to ensure we maintain order and run a fair and efficient hearing with the goal of hearing as much from the public within the limits of our time.

We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so that we can have effective deliberation on the critical issues facing California. Rules of conduct by Members of the public include no engaging in the conduct that disrupts, disturbs or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this hearing.

Engaging in personal attacks of Members of this Committee, authors, staff or other witnesses talking or loud noises from the audience. Please be aware that violations of these rules may subject you to removal or other enforcement processes. If you are providing witness testimony at this hearing, all witnesses will be testifying in person.

Main support and opposition will be allowed two main witnesses for a maximum of two minutes each.

As a reminder, primary witnesses and support must be those accompanying the authority or who otherwise have registered a support position with the Committee, and the primary witness in opposition must have their opposition registered with the Committee per the instructions on our website. All other support and opposition can be stated at this standing mic.

When called upon to simply state name, affiliation and position. All testimony comments are limited to the Bill at hand. Some housekeeping items I would like to note that Assemblymember Elawary is substituting for Assemblymember Stefani for today's hearing. The following bills are proposed for consent for today's hearing.

Any Member of the Committee may remove a Bill from consent on consent. We have item 3, SB329 by Blakespear with a motion of do pass to appropriations. Item number five, SB 520, Caballero with the motion of do pass to Higher education. Item number seven, SB862.

Author Senate Health Committee with a motion of do pass as amended to Appropriations. With that, we will await our first author and we will start as a Subcommitee until we are able to establish quorum. I believe we have quorum. Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

We have a quorum. We'll now move on to voting on the consent calendar. Motion by Chen. Seconded by Krell. Please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

The consent calendar is out. When we have the opportunity, we are very excited to hear about SB81 by Arreguin. SB250 by Ochoa Bogh, SB504, Laird. SB717 by Richardson. Come on down, Senators. We'll now Hear file item 1. SB81 by Aragin. Yes, Senator, please come to the table. There we go. Thank you, Senator, whenever you're ready.

Well, thank you, Madam Chair. Members, for the opportunity present. SB81, which requires healthcare providers to create non public areas in their facilities and bars immigration enforcement from entering unless they have a valid judicial warrant or court order. I just came from caucus, so give me a second.

Like to begin by thanking the Committee for a Thoughtful engagement on this important bill. I will be accepting the Committee amendments. This bill is about ensuring that health spaces remain safe spaces. It builds on the foundation the California Values Act, a landmark victory for immigrants rights.

By codifying guidance from our Attorney General into law, SB 81 will strengthen patient privacy protections by recognizing immigration status past and present, along with the place of birth, are part of confidential medical records. And to put this in context, nearly 1 in 4 Californians are immigrants.

In my district, more than half the patients served by hospitals and community health providers are persons who are immigrants or refugees. These individuals are backbones of our economy and our state. To put this in context, we're already seeing the impacts of mass raids on our state's economy and on the safety of our communities.

Families are being ripped apart. Children with cancer are being forcefully moved and deported to countries where they have no connections to. The level of dehumanization is something that I would never have expected to see in our country. Everyone has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and access to health care.

Instead of proving improving public safety, these rates have created fear and intimidation in our communities. This legislation is urgent and necessary, which is why it has an urgency clause. And I want to thank the many stakeholders that work with us in cracking this bill, including the California Hospital Association, our labor partners, SAIU California and California Nurses Association.

Once again, this Bill really does two things. Protecting information on citizenship status from being disclosed to federal immigration authorities unless there's a valid judicial warrant.

And two, ensuring that the non public areas of health facilities that they cannot access those areas unless there's a valid judicial warrant to ensure that individuals who are seeking care, whether emergency care, reproductive health care or other health care services in the State of California, are able to access that care without fear of arrest or deportation, and that we're centering health care in how we're delivering services in California.

With me to testify is Mikey Vaughn, a Member of Sci, United Health Care Workers, and Marvelez, Director of Policy at the California Coalition for Healthy California.

Thank you, Senator. You'll each have two minutes. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Members of the Health Committee. My name is Mike Yvonne, and I'm a certified nursing assistant at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles.

I'm proud to speak to you all today as a part of SEIU, UHW, a union that represents more than 100,000 frontline healthcare workers in California, many of whom are immigrants and many of whom serve immigrant patients every day.

I've been a Member of SEIU for three years and have assisted registered nurses in caring and looking out for patients with chronic diseases. I'm here today to advocate for my patients and colleagues and to reaffirm that healthcare workers should be able to provide uninterrupted, consistent, quality care.

The recent presence of immigration agents at hospitals and clinics sends a chilling message that even in a medical emergency, patients and workers alike are at risk for being targeted and deported. I've personally witnessed the fear this creates. I've had colleagues, immigrant and Latina Healthcare workers told by patients to be careful due to the increase in immigration enforcement.

These warnings reflect the anxiety and uncertainty my co workers face every day. The fear isn't just limited to health care workers. Immigrant patients themselves are afraid to seek care. Many families have expressed fear that seeking medical attention could expose them to immigration.

When patients don't trust that their health care spaces are safe, they end up suffering in silence and put their health, their families, health and our communities at risk. As healthcare workers, we advocate for ourselves, for our patients and our communities.

At my hospital, I'm surrounded by hard working and educated immigrant workers and people who are first and second generations. It should come as no surprise that the contributions of immigrants and their children have been fundamental to the prosperity of California and of the United States.

When it comes to hospitals and clinics, immigrants and their families are the backbone of our health care system. At seiu, we believe immigrant justice is union work. We hold employers accountable to create safe, respectful environments for everybody who walks through our doors, regardless of where they're from. For these reasons, I urge you all to support SB81.

Thank you, Senator, for authoring this critical measure.

Thank you.

Hello. Okay, there we are. Okay. Good afternoon, Chair and Members. My name is Marveles, Director of Policy for the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. Our Organization advances and protects Latino health through policy advocacy with a vision of ending Latino health disparities in our state and we are proud co sponsors of SB81.

SB81 will strengthen protections to ensure all patients can safely access health care services regardless of their immigration status. By ensuring that immigration status is protected, health information and by ensuring private areas of hospitals and health locations are guaranteed are guarded against unwarranted immigration enforcement.

These protections are more critical than ever as the federal Administration ramps up inhumane and violent deportations in our communities across the state. California is home to 10.6 million immigrants and almost half of those immigrants are Latino and one in five children live in a mixed status home.

These raids have compounded the chilling effect carried over from the first Trump Administration. Not only are doctors and clinics reporting seeing higher rates of appointment cancellations among immigrant patients, including those with chronic conditions, but some individuals are choosing not to seek care in emergency situations due to fear of being picked up by immigration authorities.

This chilling effect directly exacerbates existing health disparities in the community and can lead to worse health outcomes over the long term. SB81 maintains clinics, hospitals and other health care locations, including mobile clinics, as safe places where people can continue to access life saving care.

Individuals and families should not have to worry about whether or not they will come back home just for seeking the care that they need and that they deserve. Health care is a human right and our state has made access to care a priority and that includes accessing care without fear that our information will be used against us.

We can't let federal threats take away our vision. We thank you and please support S B81. Thank you. Thank you.

We'll now hear from Members in the audience for additional support.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Members. Marty Lopez, with the California Nurses Association proud co sponsor.

Monica Madrid, with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, CHIRLA and strong support. Thank you.

Sandra Poole, Western Center on Law and Poverty and support.

Lang Lai on behalf of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California in strong support.

Maura Gibney, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform in support.

Chloe King, with Political Solutions on behalf of the California Dental Association in support. Thank you.

Nora Angeles, with Children Now in support.

Katie Jennings, on behalf of the Children's Partnership and support.

Sarah Flocks, California Federation of Labor Unions in support.

Johnny Pineda, on behalf of Associacion De Migrantes Guatemaltecos in support.

Jay O. Dentas on behalf of Alameda County in support.

Maria Morales on behalf of Hispanos Organized for Political Equality Hope and support.

Symphony Barbee on behalf of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in support.

Good afternoon, Chair, Committee Members. Brian Mayor Montes with the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees in support. Thank you.

Tim Madden representing the California Chapter of The American College of Emergency Physicians in support.

Kevin Wusman with the California Medical Association in support.

Max Perrey, on behalf of Valiados Ealth and our 17 Member health centers. And strong support.

Andrea Mavisca on behalf of CPCA advocates in support of the bill is currently. Drafted and reviewing amends. Thank you.

Vanessa Gonzalez with the California Hospitals Association in support of the bill and also reviewing the Committee amendments.

Aljay with SEIU California in support.

Hello. Bruno Huizar with the California Immigrant Policy Center proud co sponsor in support.

Thank you. Now we'll move to any primary witnesses in opposition seeing none. Any other witnesses in the hearing room in opposition seeing none. I will bring it back to the Committee for any comments or questions. Assemblymember Carrillo thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to thank you, Senator Arreguin, for bringing this measure forward. As an immigrant myself, thank you. I am also standing as a proud co sponsor of this bill as it also it is a Latino caucus priority.

In today's political climate where fear and uncertainty continue to impact our undocumented communities, SB81 is a vital step forward, ensuring families can access the Medicare they need without the threat of harassment or deportation. Again, I'm one of those immigrants that had to live like that when I came here in 1988.

I am also authoring AB894, a Bill that complements this effort by strengthening privacy protections and reinforcing safety for families seeking care in high stress and emergency situations in our hospitals. With that, I'd like to move the Bill.

Motion by Carrillo. Second seconded by El Hawari. Assemblymember Coloza.

Thank you. Chair Bonta. Also just wanted to echo Assemblymember Carrillo and give my thanks to the author. Thank you, Senator, for bringing this bill forward. Thank you to all the advocates who came and testified in support. I think right now we're all grappling with how to make safer communities, safer cities, safer spaces.

So this is a really important step in the right direction to protect all our communities. So thank you.

Assembly Member Elhawary.

echoing my colleagues. I think right now especially and hearing the witness testimony, just the importance of supporting protecting our communities. There have been numerous health care facilities in my district and in neighboring districts where Ayes has come in, and so this is incredibly important.

I'm really glad that there's an urgency clause as well, because we need to push this forward, and we need it now. So thank you so much, Senator, for your leadership on this.

Assembly Member Gonzalez, quickly.

I've been working with the author on other legislative items. We've been working together. And, you know, you're from Northern California, Southern California. But we do agree on a lot of these issues. And I just appreciate the author for coming forward.

And for you, for folks who came up today to testify and taking time out of your day to do that, I represent the epicenter of where all of this is not only just happening as it trickles surrounding areas, but the healthcare industry is the number one target.

And as I've been saying to folks, look, they're missing their Doctor appointments, and assuming folks have access to telehealth, you know, that's not always on the table, but providing the safeguard is a shield for our community. I just wanted to thank you for that.

Assembly Member Patterson thank you.

You know, I'm going to be laying off this bill today. I just wanted to share that there's two, you know, two separate things in this bill for me. One is what is the government entitled to know about when it comes to anybody that goes to seek medical care?

And I don't think, you know, the state government or Federal Government really has very little. They should not be getting involved with my relationship or anybody's relationship with their provider. If you happen to share with them your immigration status or anything else like that, I don't think that's the government's business at all.

In terms of the medical relationship. My concern is obviously, and probably comes as no surprise is while I understand concerns shared by you and some of my colleagues, you know, I think we are, I'm not sure exactly how this would be implemented in a hospital or a medical setting.

And feel free to respond, obviously, to the extent which you have the Federal Government saying that they're trying to enforce what they believe is a, you know, a right for them to do, to carry out federal law.

And they show up at a hospital or another medical setting and they say in the hospitals, like, well, no, we have this state law on the books that says you can't come into these areas. How does that really, how does that work in the, in the real world? Exactly. Thank you.

Would you like to respond? Question from the Assemblymember. Well, first, if I may, with respect to the issue of, you know, should health providers be asking people citizenship status? This Bill does not mandate that they have to ask in the case that information is provided regarding somebody's nationality.

It does prohibit the health, the health provider from disclosing that information unless there's a valid judicial warrant.

And I'm good with that. Yeah.

On the second point, you know, it's very interesting, the process of developing this bill. And I want to just give credit to the Attorney General who provided model policy guidance which helped and DOJ worked with us in shaping this Bill. California actually doesn't have any state statutes or regulations specifically regarding the monitoring receiving of visitors, for example.

And so some of that can be addressed in the context of patients rights, privacy, health and safety. But one, we're trying to codify that in this instance. And secondly, California's recognized a privacy interest in healthcare treatment areas. I want to refer to a court case, Shulman vs Group W Productions in 1998, as sort of relevant case law.

Facilities generally may refuse warrantless entry into non public areas. That's existing case law, that's existing practice. We have not addressed a specific issue of immigration enforcement in that context.

And so I do think there is ample case law and judicial precedent in practice that's already being implemented by providers in California that does help support the implementation of this policy in terms of enforcement. I know that's an issue I've talked to Committee staff about.

You know, like any other statute, it would have to be, you know, enforcement have to be done by the Department of Justice. This, we are in active conversation with DOJ on this. And you will continue to work with them and as well as any, any Members and relevant stakeholders on further refining this bill.

But it's going to be up to the individual provider to implement this. And there already are existing restrictions. You, nobody can just walk into an emergency room or an operating room or certain parts of a medical facility.

There are, there's existing case law, there's existing legal precedent and practice that we're building upon for the purpose of this bill.

Why don't I thank you, Senator, for bringing forward this Bill and for responding to that. I think the reality is that we have had incredible violations of people's ability, of a sense of safety. And we have that happening more than we can almost bear right now in our communities.

And it's so very important that we ensure that our community Members, particularly our immigrant community Members, particularly those who are just brown, quite frankly, have the ability to know that they can enter into a health care facility and receive the care that they so desperately need.

And I want to thank you for bringing forward this bill with an urgency clause on it, which I think is very important given the context in which we are living these days. And I also just want to respond to our colleagues questions around understanding the data and information privacy.

We have had a terrible breach in this United States where sensitive medical information we believe has been transferred from from the agency, the federal agency responsible for holding Medicare and Medicaid information to Homeland Security. We know that to be something that we are wrestling with right now and a complete violation of privacy.

I want to thank you for bringing for this bill. As you've mentioned, there are some amendments to take.

I think for the sake of making sure that this gets to be heard in privacy, those amendments are going to be taken in the Privacy Committee and we know that we have some additional work to do in defining different providers who are subject to this Bill and and to make sure that the provisions of this bill are followed in the way that you stated.

So with that assem. Senator, would you like to close?

We will continue to work as this bill moves forward on further refining the definition of who's covered under this bill and working with DOJ and Committee staff on really outlining the enforcement provisions.

We want this to be a law that is clear and enforceable, but I just want to lift up the work that's already being done in our health care space. But not every provider has implemented policies and so this is about trying to codify that as the law throughout the State of California.

It's urgent, it's timely and I respectfully asked her and Aye vote thank you.

And this bill, I believe joins probably close to two dozen other bills that are moving forward in this legislative process to be able to protect our immigrants at this incredibly important time. With that, Secretary, can you call the roll? We have a motion in a second.

The motion is due. Pass to privacy and consumer protection. [Roll Call]

That measure's on call. Thank you so much, Senator. We'll move on now To File Item 2, SB 250 By Ochoa Bogh. Whenever you're ready, Senator.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members, I'm pleased to present Senate Bill 250 which will add skilled nursing facilities to the existing managed care provider directory administered by the Department of Healthcare Services. Navigating long term care options can feel overwhelming, particularly for individuals who require 247 skilled nursing facilities.

Skilled nursing facilities Often patients have little time to adjust to the idea that a skilled nursing facility or SNF must be or will be most appropriate for them. This process is further complicated for the nearly 723,000 seniors and individuals with disabilities who are only eligible for Medi Cal.

This is because not all SNF except Medi Cal and managed care plans only cover certain SNFs in their service area. Medi Cal beneficiaries looking for other providers or clinics have the same issue. However, DHCS updates and maintains a provider directory which displays providers and clinics within a giving area alongside the plans that those providers or clinics accept.

Unfortunately, this directory only includes doctors and dentists along with hospitals, the dental clinics, and medical clinics. SB250 will require DHCs to add skilled nursing facilities to this directory so Medi Cal beneficiaries can make informed decisions.

SB250 will ease barriers to accessing information for older adults and people with disabilities in their search for a facility or plan that best fits their needs. With me today is Maura Gibney from Canner, California, Advocates for Nursing Home Home Reform.

Thank you. You'll have two minutes.

Sorry about that. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you so much. I'm Executive Director of Caner. We're a statewide nonprofit. We have worked for over 40 years to improve the quality of California's long term care system and we're proud sponsors of SB 250. Medi Cal managed care plans cover more than 60% of nursing home residents in California.

Each plan contracts with only a limited number of facilities, leaving beneficiaries confused about which nursing homes can cover their care needs. Currently, people must contact their plans directly or individual facilities to find out which nursing homes contract with their specific plan.

This is a very tall order for people who are already overwhelmed by often unexpected medical emergencies, who are also under pressure from hospitals to find facilities in a very short amount of time. In LA County, for example, there are three different Medi Cal plans and over 360 nursing homes.

My organization receives thousands of calls from people trying to navigate California's long term care system. Recently we received a call from the wife of a man who was in a hospital after suffering a medical emergency. He was ready to be discharged to a nursing home for a long term stay requiring Medi Cal coverage.

But the caller wanted help with choosing a plan contracted with a facility closer to home so she could visit her husband regularly. When she contacted Medi Cal for help, they recommended she either call the nursing homes she was interested in or call each individual plan in her county to ask them for a list of contracted facilities.

Already incredibly stressed by her husband's health situation. She was daunted by the prospect of calling all these different providers, all while being pressured to accept a placement for her husband an hour from her home. Health and Safety code already requires Medi Cal plans to publish directories of their contracted providers.

However, these directories are often buried in the plan website, are difficult to navigate, or are not an online directory at all, but a 500 page PDF.

SB250 offers a simple solution by ensuring that information DHCIS already collects is publicly displayed in an easy to use website for Medi Cal beneficiaries to use in their search for a facility or plan that best fits their needs. On behalf of Canner and thousands of Medi Cal beneficiaries requiring long term care, I respectfully request your.

I vote on SB250.

Thank you. Are there any others in support of the Bill in the hearing room? Good afternoon. Linda Way with Western center on Law and Poverty and Support.

David Bollock, serving family values, in support. Thank you. Andrew Mendoza on behalf of the Alzheimer's Association. In support.

Thank you. Are there any primary witnesses in opposition? Seeing none. Any others in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. I will bring it back to the Committee for any comments or questions. Assemblymember Gonzalez, moved by Sanchez, seconded by Chen.

Thank you to the author. I think you and I have spoken briefly offline just in terms of having to deal with our parents. And this is just such a good tool, especially for our district offices who have to guide people. But you know, it's. It sort of prevents that surprise billing when you can't make those connections.

And having gone through this recently, it is difficult. And having to read a 500 page PDF to navigate that is even harder, especially for folks who might not have English as their first language. I really appreciate the author for bringing this forward today.

Thank you.

Thank you. Senator. This Bill makes a small but important change to the DHCS website to make it easier to find which Medi Cal plans cover which skilled nursing facilities. And in a time of crisis, that's certainly something that we all need. With that, would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second secretary. Please call the roll.

The motion is due. Pass to appropriations. Bonta. Aye. Bonta Aye. Chen. Chen. Aye. Addis. Aguiar. Curry. Coloza. Coloza Aye. Carrillo. Carrillo. Aye . Flora. Gonzalez. Gonzalez. Aye. Crell. Patel. Patterson. Patterson. Aye. Rodriguez. Sanchez. Sanchez. Aye. Shiavo. Shiavo Aye. Sharp. Collins. El Hawari. El Hawari. Aye.

That measures out. Thank you. So much. Sen. We will now look forward to hearing from Senator Laird and Senator Richardson.

We'll vote on the consent calendar. Well, we'll open up for add ons for the consent calendar.

Agar, Curry. Flora. Flora Aye. Patel. Rodriguez. Schiavo. Schiavo. Aye. Sharpe, Collins.

Measure still out. Hello, Senator. Item number six, SB717. Whenever you're ready, please come sit at the table.

This is a big Committee. You guys are bigger than we are. Well, good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Members of the Committee. The California Cancer Registry, also known as CCR was established in 1985 and is the largest cancer registry in the nation.

The CCR operated under the Department of Public Health as a vast repository of cancer data that provides vital information to public health officers and researchers helping to inform cancer treatment prevention and cures as well as understanding the cancer burden and outcomes across different populations.

Since its inception, the CCR has relied upon the the regional registries as the state designated agents to perform data collection for the statewide cancer surveillance Systems.

The current three regional registries of the CCR have been in operation since 2000 and they are also the core registries of the Surveillance and End Results SE R program and the National Cancer Institute.

The three regional cancer registries are the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Surveillance excuse me Program, the Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry and the Cancer Registry of Greater California. These three regional registries have been the primary pillars of cancer surveillance activities.

Utilizing CCR data, each region actively engages in the research the use of the regional and statewide cancer surveillance data to provide essential cancer statistics, fulfill data requests, support research grant applications, lead or co lead externally funded scientific investigations and publications.

However, the current law does not recognize the three regional registries which will likely risk their eligibility for the competitive renewal of the next NCI SEER contracts and in turn would would pose a severe financial strain for the state to maintain the legally mandated statewide cancer reporting systems.

By codifying the relationship between the regional registries and the CCR, SB717 would cert would secure the federal funding and protect cancer collection data in California. And if I could pause just in summary, both of my grandparents on my mother's side were diagnosed and died of cancer. My mom has had cancer about four times in my lifetime.

More recently diagnosed with esophagus cancer. And I'm not supposed to talk about this publicly, so I hope my sister's not watching this. But last year my sister was diagnosed with cancer. So and we even though testing the BRC gene and all of that, none of it has come up of a feature family relation.

So for me personally and I think for many Californians and people across the country. It's important that we do everything that we can to appropriately create and collect data so that we can best know what's happening and why to certain families and in certain communities. And with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you, Senator.

And do you have a primary witness?

I do. I have a guest here who leads the research unit with the Cancer Registry of Greater California program at the Public Health Institute. You'll have two minutes. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair Banda and Members of the Committee. My name is Ansu Shrestha. I lead the research unit at the Cancer Registry of Greater California, a program of Public Health Institute and it's one of the three regional cancer registries.

PHI is proud to co sponsor SP717 because it provides a vital safeguard for California's very successful cancer surveillance infrastructure, using three regional cancer registries to maximize federal funding and efficiency. Why is this Bill essential?

California's regional cancer registries are a cornerstone of our state's public health system, federally funded since 2000 through the National Cancer Institute's SEER program, covering 80% of their cost. However, current state law does not explicitly recognize these registries, putting their eligibility for future federal funding at risk.

Without an action, we risk losing over 15 million in annual federal funding, a significant cost to the state that would jeopardize cancer surveillance.

Cancer registries provide critical data to track cancer burden and trains allocate resources to communities with greatest needs, generate new knowledge about cancer and support vital efforts such as the National Childhood Cancer Registry and the National Firefighter registry for cancer.

SB717 is a common sense solution that protects federal funding for cancer surveillance by maintaining the the regional registries as an integral part of California's cancer data infrastructure, it will maintain the nimble regional data informs public collection system that support data driven cancer prevention and treatment and informs public health policy and research to save lives.

For nearly four decades, the success of our state's cancer registry program has been the direct result of the unwavering support of the Legislature. Thank you. I respectfully urge the support of SB717.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Are there others in the hearing room that would like to indicate their support for the Bill?

Jen Chase on behalf of the University of California, in support.

Jonathan Clay on behalf of the USC Keck School of Medicine, proud to be a co sponsor here in support.

Jennifer Snyder on behalf of City of Hope, in support.

Kevin Wuslan with the California Medical Association, in support.

Thank you. Are there any primary witnesses in opposition? Seeing none. Are there any others in the hearing room in opposition would like to register me to seeing none. I will bring it back to the Committee for any comments or questions. Assemblymember Schiavo moved by Chen. Seconded by Schiavo.

I wanted to thank you for this Bill. We have a burning landfill in my district and have actually engaged the LA region around a cancer study. And some of the challenges around the results to that was not getting accurate data or not getting the data, not having current data available to complete some of the study.

So, you know, and having a father who was diagnosed three times with cancer, you know, personally, really important to me as well. We believe that there's a cancer cluster right next to this burning landfill in my district. And unfortunately, the information that we've been able to get was not, you know, not conclusive enough to show that.

So know how important this is and really appreciate you moving this Bill forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. I want to also thank you for sharing your personal story. I hope that your sister will forgive you. I'm sure she will, because I think it speaks to a lot of our personal experiences. I think cancer has touched many of our families, mine included, and our communities included as well.

I really appreciate the emphasis on regional registries. In my district, we have also an area that has a high incidence of cancer because of, quite frankly, air quality that comes from neighboring industry. And there are many cancer clusters throughout the East Bay.

So thankful that we have the ability to secure or not put at risk $15 million in federal funding by ensuring that we move forward with this piece of legislation. And I certainly hope and know that this is an area where there should be some priorities placed in the federal budget and aligns with California very significantly.

Tracking and reporting are the least of what we can do in this moment, and I appreciate your commitment to that. With that, Senator, would you like to. Close in a true Senate fashion? I would just like to respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due. Pass to appropriations. Bonta. Aye. Bonta. Aye. Chen. Chen. Aye. Addis. Agarakuri. Coloza. Coloza. Aye. Carrillo. Carrillo. Aye. Flora. Flora. Aye. Gonzalez. Gonzalez. Aye. Carell. Krell. Aye. Patel. Patel. Aye. Patterson. Patterson. Aye. Rodriguez. Rodriguez. Aye. Sanchez. Sanchez. Aye. Shiavo. Chiavo. Aye. Sharpe. Collins. El Hawari. El Hawari. Aye.

That bill is out, thank you so much, Senator.

Thank you all. Have a very good day.

I- I hope it was painless.

Yes, thank you.

On consent, Aguirre, Curry, Patel, Patel. Patel, Aye. Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Aye. Sharp-Collins.

We are awaiting one author, the one and only Senator Laird. We Are very excited to hear from him about communicable diseases and HIV reporting. In the meantime, we can add on to the consent calendar and our other items, starting with the consent calendar; secretary.

That measure still out on item one SB 81 at Arreguin.

Aguiar-Curry, Flora, Patel, Patel aye. Rodriguez, Rodriguez aye. Sharpe-Collins.

That measure is now out. Item number two, SB250. Achobo.

Aguiar-Curry, Flora, Flora aye. Krell. Krell aye. Patel, Patel aye. Rodriguez, Rodriguez aye. Sharpe-Collins.

That measure is item number six, SB 717. Richardson. We have everyone so really just waiting on Laird.

That. It's.

It's. Thank you. It.

For add ons. We're going to open the roll on the consent calendar.

On consent. Aguiar, Curry, Sharp, Collins, Sharpe, Collins. Aye.

For item SB81.

Aguiar, Curry, Sharpe, Collins, Sharpe, Collins. Aye.

Item 2.

SB 250, Ochoa-Bogh, Aguiar-Curry, Sharp-Collins, Sharp-Collins. Aye.

Item 6, SB717.

Richardson, Aguiar-Curry, Sharp-Collins, Sharp-Collins. Aye.

Those measures are still out. Thank you. We are now able to Hear item number four, SB504. Laird.

I have never been cheered walking into an Assembly. Hey, there you go. I'm gonna take that and run with it. And I just want to tell you that I was presenting a Bill with extended discussion in privacy, and they were congratulating themselves on the robust discussion.

And I said that Assembly Member Bonto was not as excited about the robust discussion as they were. So I'm happy to run over here. So let me just say I begin by accepting the Committee amendments. And thank you for doing it.

This Bill permits health care providers to disclose personally identifying information regarding previously reported HIV infections when communicating with state or local health officials only when necessary for disease control or care coordination. This extension has already been made to local and state public health organizations. But this is something that was left out.

When I was one of six gay men that founded the Santa Cruz AIDS project in the 1980s, which I later was Executive Director of for a number of years. During the epidemic, the disclosure of somebody's HIV status drove them underground. It drove them out of the service.

It was counterintuitive when there were many statewide efforts to try to have mandatory reporting. It made common sense to lay people, but it didn't make common sense if you're trying to keep people in the system and trying to make sure that we were dealing with the potential spread of infection. So things have changed.

And that is why the local and state public health officials could do it for care and other purposes. But now this Bill will really allow it for disease control or care coordination for those people working on that. So with that, I won't belabor your hearing any longer.

My staff has engaged with healthcare providers, public health professionals and patient advocates to determine a path forward. There's no registered opposition. This passed out of the Senate on consent. If anybody did raise any concern, we would work with them. And I would respectfully ask for an iPhone.

Thank you so much, Senator. And I don't think that you have any witnesses. So if there are any others in the hearing room who would like to offer me, too.

Kevin Guzmano to California Medical Association in support.

Symphony Barbee on behalf of Planned Parenthood affiliates of California, in support. Thank you. Are there any primary witnesses in opposition in the room or any others who would like to add on in opposition? Seeing none, I will bring it back to the Committee. For anyone, I'd like to move the Bill for questions.

Moved by Assemblymember Patel, seconded by Coloza. Any other comments? Thank you so much, Senator Laird. We will make this an important but light conversation today. This Bill allows health care providers to communicate with local health officials and DPH regarding previously reported HIV cases for public health purposes. This collaboration will help better support our Californians living with HIV.

And I really appreciate the context that you described in terms of just needing to modernize our communication systems around this information. Senator Laird, I think you've already closed. We will offer you a glass of water before you head out to run.

Back to a hearing in the Capitol.

Let's get him that water, guys, with that. Secretary, can you please call the roll?

The motion is due. Passes. Amended to Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. Bonta. Aye. Bonta. Aye. Chen. Chen. Aye. Addis. Agarakuri. Agarakuri. Aye. Coloza. Coloza. Aye. Carrillo. Carrillo. Aye. Flora. Flora. Aye. Gonzalez. Krell. Krel. Aye. Patel. Patel. Aye. Patterson. Patterson. Aye. Rodriguez. Rodriguez. Aye. Sanchez. Sanchez. Aye. Schiavo. Schiavo. Aye. Sharpe. Collins. Sharpe. Collins. Aye. El Hawari. El Hawari.

Aye.

That measures out. Thank you so much, Senator. We'll move on now to add ons. If you haven't voted, feel free to add on now, starting with the consent calendar.

Aguiar-Curry. Aguiar-Curry. Aye.

Item number one SB 81 Arreguin.

Aguiar-Curry. Agiuar-Curry. Aye.

Item number two, SB 250. Ochoa-Bogh.

Aguiar-Curry. Aguiar-Curry. Aye.

Item number four was dispensed with. Item number six SB 717. Richardson.

Aguiar-Curry. Aguiar-Curry. Aye.

That measures out, we will hold open the roll for one other vote or SB 504. Item number four. Laird. Secretary.

Gonzalez. Gonzalez, aye.

All have voted. That measure is still out. With that, we conclude our hearing for Tuesday, January 24th.