Communicable disease reporting.

(1) Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a list of reportable communicable and noncommunicable diseases and conditions and to specify the requirements for a health officer, as defined, to report each listed disease and condition. Existing law generally makes a violation of the reporting requirements pertaining to these listed diseases and conditions a crime. Existing law requires, in the event of a declared emergency related to a communicable disease, a skilled nursing facility to report communicable disease data to the State Department of Public Health, residents of the skilled nursing facility, and their representatives and family members, as specified, and makes a violation of this reporting requirement a crime. Existing law requires the department to post data relating to the total number of disease-related deaths and suspected disease-related deaths reported from skilled nursing facilities on its internet website on a weekly basis. This bill instead would require a health facility, as defined to include a skilled nursing facility and other health or care facilities, to report communicable disease data to the department, patients or residents of the health facility, and their representatives and family members, as specified. By increasing the reporting duties on these health facilities, the bill would expand an existing crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to post data relating to the total number of disease-related deaths and suspected disease-related deaths reported from these health facilities on its internet website on a weekly basis. (2) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.