California MEHPA

Action Alert! Dictatorial Emergency Powers Bill That You Helped Defeat Before Is Back!

We are passing along information from our allies in California. Please act on it immediately! Your action to oppose the new Emergency Health Powers Act (California Assembly Bill AB 206) is needed immediately.

AB 206, by Assembly Member Keith Richman, addresses bioterrorism. It is essentially the same as last year's AB 1763, which was defeated. AB 206 is over broad and intrusive. It is also unnecessary because current laws are adequate. This dangerous piece of legislation is currently assigned to the California Assembly Health Committee. AB 206 could be heard as early as March 25th but not later than April 29, 2003.

It is vital that you write immediately, so that your letters arrive before AB 206 is heard and voted on by this committee. Letters should be on an organizational letterhead if possible; otherwise, use your personal business or professional letterhead.

ACTION: Write or fax, in the following order of priority, the chair of the Assembly Health Committee, the committee consultants, the author (these individuals are identified in bold on the list of names following the Sample Letter below); and then the members of the Assembly Health Committee themselves.

To enable us to ensure that the Assembly Health Committees documents everyone who opposes AB 206 on the committee analysis, please either fax a copy of your letter to 916-415-9470 or mail a copy to:

SAMPLE LETTER

(Your Letterhead)

The Honorable (first & last name)
Assembly
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Assembly Member (last name)

Please list (organization or business name, or "me" if you are writing as an individual) in Opposition to Assembly Bill AB 206.

[Attention letter writer: Use the above sentence. Listing specific points is optional. If you choose to give reasons, select one or more of the following points, modifying the wording as appropriate to fit your own style.]

We are strongly opposed to AB 206 for many reasons, including the following:

• AB 206 gives the Governor inappropriate authority to declare a state of public health emergency without consulting anyone and without any immediate accountability, including not even to the Legislature until 60 days after declaring a public health emergency, which is the earliest they can take action to override the Governor. (Sections 130570, 130596)

• AB 206 violates patient privacy by requiring physicians, pharmacists, dentists and other healthcare providers to report personally identifying information about patients before there is a declaration of a state of public emergency, and without the patient's written consent. It also requires pharmacists to report data on over-the-counter sales, and customer information which pharmacists are not required to obtain under current law. (Sections 130450, 130542, 130454)

• AB 206 permits authorities to isolate or quarantine individuals or groups without objective evidence being required to justify their action, and without any provision to keep families together, including keeping children with their parents or legal guardians during quarantine or isolation. (Section 130652)

• AB 206 is contrary to the Nuremberg Code. AB 206 calls for mandatory immunizations without prior informed consent; without consideration of personal beliefs, prior medical conditions or contraindications under the threat of forced incarceration by quarantine or isolation, and subjection to being charged with a misdemeanor. (Section 130642, 130646, 130656)

• AB 206 inappropriately gives police powers over healthcare providers, healthcare facilities and ordinary citizens to the Department of Health Services, to local government agencies responsible for protecting the public's health, and to any person designated by them. (Sections 130515(b), 130584, 130586, 130588)

• AB 206 is unnecessary because current law is adequate. The California Emergency Services Act and all other existing laws, including provisions in the Health and Safety Code, are in place and have been proven effective to address potential and actual emergencies that could affect public health.

Letters should be faxed or mailed (see address at top of SAMPLE LETTER above) to the following members of the Assembly Health Committee and the committee's key consultant.

For any given Assemblymember's phone or fax number, insert the Assemblymember's two-digit district number, identified in the list below, as follows:

Phone number: Insert the district number in place of the XX -- 916-319-20XX
Fax number: Insert the district number in place of the XX -- 916-319-21XX

Member & District Number

Patricia Bates (73)
Wilma Chan (16)
Edward Chavez (57)
Judy Chu (49)
Rebecca Cohn (24)
Robert D. Dutton (63)
Dario Frommer (Chair) (43)
Jackie Goldberg (45)
Ray Haynes (66)
Paul Koretz (42)
Sally J. Lieber (22)
Bill Maze (34)
Kevin McCarthy (32)
Cindy Montanez (39)
Alan Nakanishi (10)
George Nakano (53)
Gloria Negrete McLeod (61)
Fabian Nunez (46)
Robert Pacheco (Vice Chair) (60)
George Plescia (75)
Keith Richman (Author) (38)
Mark Ridley­Thomas (48)
Simon Salinas (28)
Lois Wolk (08)
Leland Yee (12)

Richard Thomason, Consultant
Assembly Health Committee
State Capitol, Room 6005
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-319­2097
Fax: 916-319­2197

Kevin Hanley, Consultant
Assembly Republican Caucus, Health Committee
1020 N St, Room 400
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-319­3900
Fax: 916-319­3902