For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES COMMENDS CALIFORNIA SENATE FOR PASSAGE OF SB 699
Los Angeles, Calif., January 19, 2006 – AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today lauded members of the California State Senate for passing SB 699 (Soto – Ontario), an urgency measure that will enable California to establish a confidential HIV names-based reporting system.
APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson praised lawmakers for initiating the measure. “We commend Senator Nell Soto for having the foresight to realize that California needs to remains competitive for federal HIV/AIDS funding and to accurately assess current trends in the HIV epidemic,” Thompson said. “Immediate passage of the bill will help ensure that both will be accomplished.”
In 2002, California established a reporting system tracking HIV cases, following a directive from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To allay fears of disclosure, however, a code-based system that did not use individuals’ names was adopted. This system has since proven to be highly inaccurate. According to L.A. County’s HIV Epidemiology Program, code-based lab case data collected over the last year contain a 40 percent error rate. As a result, CDC has refused to accept code-based HIV data.
“California is one of only a handful of states that have not shifted to a names-based system of reporting HIV cases,” Thompson continued. “If this situation is not corrected, the state may lose between $50 to $100 million in Ryan White CARE Act funding each year. Legislators must ensure that these federal funds continue to be available for people living with HIV/AIDS. To that end, APLA encourages the California Assembly to follow suit and pass the bill immediately.”
A similar bill, SB 945, was introduced last year by Soto and co-authored by Senators Kevin Murray and Ed Vincent and Assemblymember Mervyn Dymally. After concerns were raised regarding disclosure, the language was reworked to provide additional protection, increasing the fines against individuals who negligently or willfully disclose HIV test results. Members of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s staff have suggested that the governor supports the transition to names-based reporting.
The new bill was co-authored by members of California’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus and by Assemblymember Keith Richman. SB 699 requires local health officers to report unduplicated HIV cases by name to the State Department of Health Services. As an urgency measure, the bill necessitates that the department enact immediately specified emergency regulations -- not later than one year from the effective date of those provisions – to modify existing administrative regulations to SB 699’s provisions. Anonymous testing will still remain 1available as an option.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Founded by four friends in 1982, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.
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