PRINTER'S NO. 1350
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.1202
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY ZIMMERMAN, STAMBAUGH, KRUPA AND KUZMA,
APRIL 15, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, APRIL 15, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for long-term infectious
disease control.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 58A
LONG-TERM INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL
Sec.
58A01. Definitions.
58A02. Response to emergency.
58A03. Inspection and review.
58A04. Facilities.
§ 58A01. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless
context clearly indicates otherwise:
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18 "Advanced emergency medical technician." An advanced
emergency medical technician as defined in section 8103
(relating to definitions).
"Commission." The Infectious Disease Advisory Commission
established under section 58A02(f) (relating to response to
emergency).
"Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
"Disaster emergency." A declaration by the Governor of a
disaster emergency under section 7301(c) (relating to general
authority of Governor) relating to public health.
"Emergency medical technician." An emergency medical
technician as defined in section 8103.
"Facility." Any of the following:
(1) Domiciliary care as defined in section 2202-A of the
act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The
Administrative Code of 1929.
(2) A personal care home as defined in section 1001 of
the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human
Services Code.
(3) An assisted living residence as defined in section
1001 of the Human Services Code.
(4) Any of the following entities as defined in section
802.1 of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as
the Health Care Facilities Act:
(i) Home care agency.
(ii) Home care registry.
(iii) Home health care agency.
(iv) Hospice.
(v) Long-term care nursing facility.
(5) An older adult daily living center as defined in
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30 section 2 of the act of July 11, 1990 (P.L.499, No.118),
known as the Older Adult Daily Living Centers Licensing Act.
(6) A PACE provider as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1395eee(a)
(3) (relating to payments to, and coverage of benefits under,
programs of all-inclusive care for elderly (PACE)).
(7) Any other public or private organization, entity or
part of a private organization or entity, that uses public
funds and is paid, in part, to provide care to care-dependent
individuals.
"Infectious disease coordinator." An employee of the
facility designated to implement the infectious disease plan
required under section 58A04 (relating to facilities).
"Organization." An organization that supplies or
manufactures personal protective equipment.
"Paramedic." A paramedic as defined in section 8103.
"Personal protective equipment" or "PPE." Gloves, hand
sanitizer, respirators, face masks, gowns, face shields and
other protective equipment designed to be worn or used by
individuals to prevent or contain contact with, or to prevent
transmission of, a communicable illness or the pathogens that
cause communicable illness.
"Plan" or "infectious disease plan." The infectious disease
plan required under section 58A04(a).
"PPE stockpile" or "stockpile." The PPE stockpile
established under section 58A02(b).
"Recipient." An individual who receives care, services or
treatment in or from a facility.
"Relative." An individual who is related within the fifth
degree of consanguinity or affinity to a recipient in a
facility.
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30 § 58A02. Response to emergency.
(a) Selection of organization.--The Governor, or the
Governor's designee, shall select an organization, by
competitive bid, for successive terms of five years each to
oversee the procurement, manufacturing and distribution of PPE
in this Commonwealth.
(b) Duties of selected organization.--The organization
selected under subsection (a) shall perform the following
duties:
(1) Purchase and keep up-to-date a stockpile of PPE to
be used by a facility in the event of a disaster emergency in
accordance with subsection (c).
(2) Select three manufacturers of PPE from which the
organization shall procure PPE.
(3) Contract with manufacturers of PPE to provide PPE to
facilities within this Commonwealth and supply the PPE
stockpile under paragraph (4). A manufacturer must be
domiciled and manufacture PPE in this Commonwealth in order
to be eligible for a contract under this paragraph.
(4) Determine four locations within this Commonwealth to
store PPE as follows:
(i) One-fourth of the stockpile shall be located in
the northwest area of this Commonwealth.
(ii) One-fourth of the stockpile shall be located in
the northeast area of this Commonwealth.
(iii) One-fourth of the stockpile shall be located
in the southwest area of this Commonwealth.
(iv) One-fourth of the stockpile shall be located in
the southeast area of this Commonwealth.
(c) Required amount of PPE.--The amount of PPE stored in the
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30 stockpile shall be determined by the Governor, or the Governor's
designee, the first year. For each subsequent year, the PPE
stored in the stockpile shall equal the amount of PPE purchased
the previous year at a minimum, but may not be more than
quadruple the volume.
(d) Funding of stockpile.--The stockpile shall be funded by
a 50% fee on purchased PPE until the required amount of PPE
stored in the stockpile under subsection (c) is met. For
subsequent PPE stored in the stockpile, the fee shall be reduced
to 7% to fund the stockpile operations. Facilities shall
purchase all PPE from the organization. The amount that each
facility purchases is the amount that will be available to the
facility during a disaster emergency.
(e) Access to PPE.--A facility, advanced emergency medical
technician, emergency medical technician or paramedic may access
the stockpile to obtain the PPE purchased by the facility for
the stockpile during a disaster emergency.
(f) Infectious Disease Advisory Commission.--
(1) The Governor shall establish the Infectious Disease
Advisory Commission.
(2) The commission shall be composed of the following
members:
(i) The Secretary of Aging or a designee.
(ii) The Secretary of Health or a designee.
(iii) The Secretary of Human Services or a designee.
(iv) Six members knowledgeable and experienced in
issues relating to operations in facilities as follows:
(A) Three members of the Senate, appointed by
the President pro tempore of the Senate, in
consultation with the Majority Leader of the Senate
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30 and the Minority Leader of the Senate.
(B) Three members of the House of
Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, in consultation with the
Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and
the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
(v) Three members appointed by the Governor as
follows:
(A) One member shall be a member of the general
public.
(B) One member shall be a member of an
organization who is directly involved in managing a
facility.
(C) One member shall be a member of an advocacy
or services organization who is directly involved in
providing services to older adults.
(3) The commission shall meet as necessary, but no fewer
than three times within the first 90 days of the disaster
emergency.
(4) The commission shall be responsible for examining
and analyzing the practices, processes and procedures
relating to the prevention of and response to infectious
diseases in facilities.
(5) The commission shall develop best practices on
disease prevention, education, training requirements and any
other operations that may be altered for facilities during a
disaster emergency.
§ 58A03. Inspection and review.
(a) Inspections and surveys.--The department, in
consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall:
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30 (1) Review and align all facility inspections and
surveys conducted by each department with best practices for
reducing the spread of infectious diseases.
(2) Determine the priority order for inspecting or
surveying facilities during an infectious disease outbreak.
(3) Determine a list of protocols for inspection and
intervention.
(b) Regulation review.--The Governor shall submit a report
to the General Assembly reviewing all regulations for
facilities. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) An outline of the regulations for facilities.
(2) A comparison of the regulations for facilities that
existed prior to a declaration of a disaster emergency and
any regulations that were suspended or altered during the
state of disaster emergency.
(3) An executive summary of the differences between the
regulations for facilities as determined under paragraph (2).
(c) Data reporting.--The department, in consultation with
the Department of Human Services, shall develop a single
reporting system for facilities to submit new cases and
information that the department determines necessary during a
disaster emergency.
(d) Sample infectious disease plan.--The department, in
consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall
develop and make available on the department's publicly
accessible Internet website a sample infectious disease plan for
a facility to implement. The model infectious disease plan shall
fulfill the requirement under section 58A04(a) (relating to
facilities). At a minimum, the infectious disease plan shall
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30 include:
(1) The data reporting requirements under subsection
(c).
(2) A mechanism for complaints or feedback regarding the
infectious disease plan.
(3) A method to obtain a one-year supply of PPE from the
organization under section 58A02(a) (relating to response to
emergency).
(4) A method to cohort recipients within the facility.
(5) A method to screen each employee before the
employee's shift begins.
(6) A schedule that assigns staff to certain areas of
the facility.
(7) A notification system to alert relatives of
recipients in the facility of the measures the facility is
taking to prevent and respond to the communicable disease or
virus.
§ 58A04. Facilities.
(a) Infectious disease plan.--Each facility shall develop an
infectious disease plan to implement upon the declaration of a
disaster emergency. At a minimum, the infectious disease plan
shall include the requirements listed under section 58A03(d)
(relating to inspection and review). Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to prevent a facility from taking additional
measures to prevent and respond to an infectious or communicable
disease during a disaster emergency.
(b) Infectious disease coordinator.--Each facility shall
designate an employee to serve as the infectious disease
coordinator within the facility during a disaster emergency to
ensure that the infectious disease plan requirements under
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30 subsection (a) are met.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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