BILL NUMBER: SB 222INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla FEBRUARY 11, 2013 An act relating to genetic information. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 222, as introduced, Padilla. Genetic information: privacy. Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual's genetic information. Existing law protects the genetic test result contained in the medical records of an applicant to, or enrollee of, a health care service plan. Existing law establishes civil and criminal penalties for the negligent or willful disclosure of a persons genetic test results, as specified. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would protect individuals from the unauthorized use of their genetic information, ensure that genetic information is personal information that is not collected, stored, or disclosed without the individual's authorization, provide protections for the collection, storage, and authorized use of genetic information, and promote the use of genetic information for legitimate reasons, including, but not limited to, health care, research, advancement of medicine, and educational purposes, as the field of genomics advances. This bill would also make findings and declarations regarding genetic privacy. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) On October 11, 2012, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (commission) released a report titled "Privacy and Progress in Whole Genome Sequencing," recommending the adoptions of policies to help ensure privacy and security, as the field of genomics advances. (b) Various national and state policies are in place to protect personally identifiable health information and records. (c) The commission urges federal and state governments to ensure a consistent floor of privacy protections covering whole genome sequencing data regardless of how they were obtained. (d) Policies should protect individual genetic information by prohibiting the unauthorized use of surreptitious collection. (e) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would protect individuals from the unauthorized collection, storage, and disclosure of their genetic information. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would ensure that genetic information is personal information that is not collected, stored, or disclosed without the individual's authorization. (g) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would provide protections for the collection, storage, and authorized use of genetic information. (h) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would promote the use of genetic information for legitimate reasons, including, but not limited to, health care, research, advancement of medicine, and educational purposes, as the field of genomics advances.