AB 2279

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1991, establishes the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (Program) , which is administered by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations establishing a standard of care, at least as stringent as the most recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention screening guidelines. Existing law provides that the standard of care shall require a child who is determined to be at risk for lead poisoning to be screened. Existing law requires the regulations to include the determination of specified risk factors, including a child's time spent in a home, school, or building built before 1978. Existing law requires the department to develop the regulations, in consultation with specified individuals, including medical experts, and environmental experts, and to develop the regulations by July 1, 2019. This bill would add several risk factors to be considered as part of the standard of care specified in regulations, including a child's residency in or visit to a foreign country, or their residency in a high-risk ZIP Code, and would require the department to develop, by January 1, 2021, the regulations on the additional risk factors, in consultation with the above-specified individuals. (2) Existing law requires the department to ensure appropriate case management for children who have been identified with lead poisoning, and authorizes the department to contract with any public or private entity, including any local agency, to perform that duty. This bill would require the department to update its formula for allocating funds to any local agency that contracts with the department to administer the Program, and to revise funding allocations before each contract cycle.