Reportable diseases and conditions.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a list of reportable communicable and noncommunicable diseases and conditions, including, but not limited to, diphtheria, listeria, salmonella, shigella, and streptococcal infection in food handlers or dairy workers, and typhoid. Existing law requires reporting by the local health officer of any disease or condition on the list. Violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would delete the specified list of required reportable diseases and conditions. The bill would require the department to establish a list of communicable diseases and conditions for which clinical laboratories are required to submit a culture or specimen to local and state public health laboratories, as specified. Under existing law, no civil or criminal penalty, fine, sanction, finding, or denial, suspension, or revocation of licensure may be imposed on any person or facility based upon failure to provide notification of a reportable disease or condition unless the disease or condition was printed in the California Code of Regulations at least 6 months prior to the date of the claimed failure. This bill would limit the above exemption to a licensed physician and surgeon or a clinical laboratory, and would extend the exemption to the submission of a culture or specimen, as required, and would require notification of the licensed physician and surgeon or clinical laboratory by the department and publication in the California Code of Regulations at least 6 months prior to the date of the claimed failure before a penalty, fine, sanction, finding, or denial, suspension, or revocation of licensure may be imposed. Existing law prohibits the disclosure of public health records relating to HIV and AIDS, and the information contained in those records, with specified exceptions for public health purposes, or pursuant to a written authorization. Existing law requires a disclosure of these records or information to include only the information necessary for the purpose of the disclosure, and to be made only upon agreement that the information will be kept confidential and will not be further disclosed without written authorization. Existing law imposes civil penalties for the disclosure, whether negligent or willful and malicious, of the content of a confidential public health record, as defined, as well as specified criminal penalties, under certain circumstances. This bill would expand the information disclosure provisions applicable to the information contained in public health records relating to HIV and AIDS, including when the person who is the subject of the record is coinfected with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and a sexually transmitted disease, as specified. The bill would also increase the maximum civil penalties applicable for the disclosure of the content of a public health record, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 120130 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 2541, to be operative only if AB 2541 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is chaptered last. To the extent that this bill would increase the duties of the local public health officer, and would change the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.