Bill Text: CA AB70 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: State Department of Public Health: funding opportunities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-06-14 - Referred to Com. on HEALTH. [AB70 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB70-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 70	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 5, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Monning

                        DECEMBER 16, 2010

   An act to add Chapter  5 (commencing with Section 127640)
to Part 2 of Division 107   4.5 (commencing with Section
104250) to Part 1 of Division 103  of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to public health.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 70, as amended, Monning.  California Health and Human
Services Agency: public health: federal grant   State
Department of Public Health: federal funding  opportunities.

   Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to
perform various duties relating to public health, including, but not
limited to, administering programs related to the prevention of
chronic diseases.  
   This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to
examine its internal processes and develop a plan to increase the
department's flexibility to apply for, and be more responsive to,
federal funding opportunities using all appropriate methods,
including, but not limited to, direct applications and applications
in partnership with other public and nonprofit public health entities
to develop a stronger evidence base of effective prevention
programming and engage in prevention and health education activities.
 
   Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act (PPACA) (Public Law 111-148), requires the federal Secretary of
Health and Human Services to award competitive community
transformation grants to state and local governmental agencies and
community-based organizations for the implementation, evaluation, and
dissemination of evidence-based community preventive health
activities in order to reduce chronic disease rates, prevent the
development of secondary conditions, address health disparities, and
develop a stronger evidence base of effective prevention programming.
 
   Existing federal law, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
(HHFKA), provides for the issuance of federal grants to states and
local educational agencies for various programs that support the
provision of school lunches, breakfasts, and summer food service and
improve the quality and availability of healthful food in underserved
communities.  
   This bill would require the California Health and Human Services
Agency to direct the appropriate departments within the agency to
apply for federal community transformation grants under the PPACA and
HHFKA, as specified. The bill would require the agency to direct the
appropriate departments within the agency to make information
regarding federal grant opportunities under the PPACA and, if
applicable, the HHFKA available to local government agencies, local
public health departments, school districts, state and local
nonprofit organizations, and Indian tribes through existing channels,
and by placing a link on each relevant department's existing
Internet Web site. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
   (a) Given the significant fiscal challenges ahead for California,
it is important for the Legislature to ensure that state agencies
maximize their opportunity to obtain additional federal funds,
particularly in cases where doing so could offset state General Fund
costs or assist the state with the transformation of California's
health care system and the health and well-being of California's
children, under  the federal   appropriate
federal laws including, but   not limited to, the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  (PPACA) 
 (ACA)  (Public Law 111-148)  and   ,
 the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) (Public Law
111-296)  , and the federal farm bill  .
   (b) The  PPACA   ACA  is a historic
opportunity for California to prioritize preventive health programs
that have been demonstrated to save valuable health care dollars,
produce positive patient outcomes in a cost-effective manner, and
move the current health care system away from managing disease and
toward prevention and health promotion in order to improve the health
of Californians.
   (c) The HHFKA is a historic opportunity to improve the health and
well-being of California's children, prevent hunger, and reduce the
costly burden of diseases such as obesity and  Type 
 type  II diabetes. It provides valuable new federal
resources for federal child nutrition programs; requires the United
States Department of Agriculture to make significant improvements in
the nutritional standards of school meals; and provides federal grant
funding to support nutrition education and obesity prevention for
low-income children and families. 
   (d) The federal farm bill is a major agricultural and nutrition
bill that has a serious impact on priorities and programs that
influence public health. The farm bill addresses, among other things,
nutrition programs, and has designated federal funding for nutrition
education to support obesity prevention programming.  
   (d) 
    (e)  It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting
this act to take full advantage of  the  
federal funding  opportunities  through the PPACA and
HHFKA   such as grants available under the ACA, the
HHFKA, and the federal farm bill  to improve state health care
and nutrition programs and invest in  health 
prevention and  health  education, with the goal of
building, promoting, and sustaining healthy communities through a
community prevention focus that includes efforts toward the reduction
of chronic disease rates, the elimination of conditions that lead to
health disparities, and an increase in the cultural and linguistic
appropriateness of health and nutrition services. 
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the
California Health and Human Services Agency and departments within
the agency to maintain flexibility in internal processes in order to
be responsive to PPACA and, as appropriate, HHFKA grant opportunity
timelines.  
   (f) The State Department of Public Health, has, over several
decades, worked successfully to secure federal resources through
direct applications and applications in partnership with
California-based nonprofit health organizations. It is the intent of
the Legislature to encourage the State Department of Public Health to
continue to take advantage of all means at its disposal to maximize
and secure federal resources for the state and to develop a plan to
increase the department's flexibility to apply for, and be more
responsive to, federal funding opportunities using all appropriate
methods, including, but not limited to, direct applications and
applications in partnership with other California-based public and
nonprofit public health entities. 
  SEC. 2.  Chapter  5   4.5  (commencing
with Section  127640)   104250)  is added
to Part  2   1  of Division  107
  103  of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
      CHAPTER  5.   4.5.   
COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION GRANTS  FEDERAL FUNDING FOR
DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH EDUCATION 


   127640.  (a) The California Health and Human Services Agency shall
direct the appropriate departments within the agency to apply for
federal grants under Sections 4002 and 4201 of the federal 
    104250.    The State Department of Public Health
shall examine its internal processes and develop a plan to increase
the department's flexibility to apply for, and be more responsive to,
federal funding opportunities using all appropriate methods at its
disposal, including, but not limited to, direct applications and
applications in partnership with other public and nonprofit health
entities for federal grants, such as those available under the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148)
 and   ,  the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
of 2010 (Public Law 111-296)  , and the federal farm bill, 
to allow the state to develop a stronger evidence base of effective
prevention programming and engage in prevention and health education
activities that achieve, at a minimum, all of the following: 

   (1) 
    (a)  The creation of healthier school  and community
 environments, including, but not limited to, healthful food
options, free drinking water, and physical activity. 
   (2) 
    (b)  The creation of an infrastructure to support active
living and access to nutritious foods. 
   (3) 
    (c)  The development and promotion of programs targeting
a variety of age levels to increase healthy eating, physical
activity, food security, smoking cessation, mental health, and
safety, as well as address special population needs. 
   (4) 
    (d)  The promotion and improvement of access to
healthful food options in schools,  child care facilities, 
communities, worksites, and other settings. 
   (5) 
    (e)  The assessment and implementation of worksite
wellness programs. 
   (6) 
    (f)  The prioritization of strategies to address
inequities that lead to racial and ethnic health disparities.

   (b) The agency shall direct the appropriate departments within the
agency to make information regarding federal grant opportunities
under Sections 4002 and 4201 of the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) and the Healthy, Hunger-Free
Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296) available to local government
agencies, local public health departments, school districts, state
and local nonprofit organizations, and Indian tribes through existing
channels, and by placing a link on each relevant department's
existing Internet Web site.