California Senate Bill SB249 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 249AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Cox  (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member   Torlakson   )  FEBRUARY 24, 2009 An act to amend Section 120395 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vaccinations. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 249, as amended, Cox. Vaccinations: meningitis. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to develop information about meningococcal disease,  by April 1, 2002,  and make it available to each requesting degree-granting public and private postsecondary institution and to each requesting school district. Existing law authorizes the department to design and implement a public awareness campaign to reach members of the population identified as being at high risk for contracting the disease. This bill would  expressly authorize this campaign to include children 11 years of age   , instead, require the department to develop information about meningococcal disease, including information   pertaining to children who are between 11 and 18 years of age, by April 1, 2010  . Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the Advisory Committee on  Immunizations   Immunization  Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently recommended that parents and adolescents between 11 and 18 years of age be made aware that a vaccine is now available to protect this age group from the potentially fatal disease known as meningitis. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all the following: (1) Encourage the State Department of Public Health to increase the awareness of the availability of the vaccine to this age group. (2) Encourage local public health officials to provide information about meningitis, including the availability of, and recommendations for, the vaccine, in any manner they deem appropriate. (3) Encourage local school districts to educate their students within the 11 to 18 age group, as well as their parents, about the meningitis disease, its potential danger, and the availability of a vaccine to protect these children. SEC. 2. Section 120395 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 120395. (a) The State Department of Public Health shall, no later than April 1,  2002   2010  , develop information about meningococcal disease  , including, but not limited to, information pertaining to children who are between 11 and 18 years of age  . The information shall include: (1) Information about meningococcal disease, including symptoms, risks, and treatment. (2) Notice of the availability, benefits, risks, and limitations of a meningococcus vaccination, with specific information as to those persons at higher risk for the disease. (b) The department shall make available to each degree-granting public and private postsecondary institution, upon the request of that institution, information developed by the department on meningococcal disease. (c) The department shall also send an information notice to each school district advising each school district of the availability of information developed by the department, and shall make the information available to any school district upon the request of that school district. (d) The department may also use the information developed to design and implement a public awareness campaign about meningococcal disease to reach members of the population identified as being at high risk for contracting the disease  , including children who are at least 11 years of age  .