California: Assembly, Senate Pass 962 Bills

Before adjourning Sept. 12, the California Legislature passed nearly a thousand bills, among them measures to normalize HIV testing and promote human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must veto or sign the measures into law by Oct. 21.

Among the measures passed is AB 1429, which would require insurers that cover cervical cancer treatment to also cover vaccinations that prevent the strains of HPV responsible for most cervical cancers. The bill's sponsor is Assembly member Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa).

Assembly Bill 682 would do away with separate consent forms to conduct HIV testing, allowing HIV test consent to be indicated on general consent forms for health screenings. The bill's sponsor is Assembly member Patty Berg (D-Eureka).

If the governor approves AB 1334, a measure sponsored by Assembly member Sandre Swanson (D-Alameda), California would allow the distribution of condoms in prisons.

Senate Bill 443, sponsored by Sen. Carol Migden (D-San Francisco) and recently signed into law by the governor, allows HIV-positive men in serodiscordant couples wanting to conceive to use reproductive technology that "washes" the sperm of infectious diseases. The law aims to help minimize the infection risk to any HIV-negative woman who wants a child fathered by an HIV-positive partner.

For more information, visit www.leginfo.ca.gov.

Back to other news for September 2007