Committee Approves Bill To Change HIV Reporting System
The Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday voted to approve a bill (SB 699) that would establish a names reporting system for state residents who have tested positive for HIV, The Advocate reports (The Advocate, 2/23).
The bill, by Sen. Nell Soto (D-Ontario), would give the state one year to create rules for the new, confidential names-based system. The bill also would create penalties for those who do not adhere to the confidentiality rules and would allow anonymous HIV testing in certain locations (California Healthline, 2/22). California currently uses an HIV reporting system involving alphanumeric codes instead of names.
The full Assembly is expected to vote on the bill this month (The Advocate, 2/23).