PI Action alerts & updates ... 1996

California ADAP Budget in State Assembly /
Senate Conference Committee

Calls needed in support of Senate’s $10 million increase!!

State Assembly/Senate Budget Conference Committee is currently reviewing HIV/AIDS funding for Fiscal Year 1996–97. It will soon determine the budget for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which provides treatments at no or low-cost to people with HIV/AIDS who could not otherwise afford them. The State Senate has proposed a $10 million increase over this year’s ADAP funding level, while the Assembly and Governor Wilson have offered a $5 million increase. This $10 million increase, combined with increased federal funding obtained earlier this year, would go a long way toward ensuring an adequate and comprehensive California ADAP formulary and the addition of newly approved protease inhibitors.

In addition, the Committee will consider a proposal that would shift $1.4 million from Ryan White Title II funding intended for Title II consortia to ADAP. This is problematic, as many crucial AIDS services, especially in rural communities, rely on this funding and may not be able to afford any decrease. It could also set a dangerous precedent of shifting money from one program to another without a full needs assessment.

Action Needed:
Call the following members of the Budget Conference Committee immediately and urge them to support the Senate’s proposed $10 million increase for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Even if you don’t live in the legislators’ district, stress that their decision is crucial to all Californians living with HIV/AIDS.

Budget Conference Committee Member	Sacramento Phone	District Phone
Assemblymember Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar)	916-445-7550	818-839-2000
Assemblymember Charles Poochigian (R-Fresno)	916-445-2931	209-253-0140
Assemblymember Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego)	916-445-7556	619-477-7979
Senator Mike Thompson (D-Santa Rosa)	916-445-3375	707-576-2771
Senator Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley)	916-445-8873	805-522-2920
Senator Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco)	916-445-0503	415-952-5666

Call your own State Assemblymember and Senator and ask him/her to contact the Budget Conference Committee members in support of the Senate’s $10 million increase for ADAP. If you are unsure who your state legislators are, call your County Registrar or local League of Women Voters.

If you need any additional background information on ADAP, please call Project Inform’s public policy department at 415-558-8669.

Update on California HIV/AIDS Legislation

The Good News:
AB 2812 (Bordonaro), which would have allowed mandatory names reporting of persons who test HIV-positive, was DEFEATED on the Assembly floor. The defeat of this bill, which would have effectively ended anonymous testing in California, is a great victory and demonstrates that educating our legislators works even in a conservative climate. Thank you and congratulations to all who wrote and called your elected officials to speak out against this bill!

AB 3093 (Villaraigosa), which would allow for compassionate release of terminally ill prisoners, was recently APPROVED by the full Assembly and is now pending in the Senate Criminal Procedures Committee. The bill allows release upon the recommendation of the Director of Corrections or the Board of Prison Terms if the court finds that the prisoner is terminally ill with a diagnosis of six to nine months of life expectancy, is permanently physically incapacitated, and the prisoner’s mental and physical condition can pose no reasonable threat to public safety. Since the Assembly is considered more conservative than the State Senate, chances for passage seem positive.

The Bad News:
AB 2248 (Baldwin), which requires school districts to receive written permission from a parent or guardian prior to providing AIDS, sex/family life, or venereal disease education to any student, PASSED the full Assembly and is pending in the Senate Education Committee. Fortunately, the bill was amended to exempt high school students from the requirement, so the bill would only apply to those courses taught in elementary and junior high school. However, this legislation remains a bad prevention bill since parents already have the option to withhold their children from such education, the bureaucratic requirement could cause many students to miss out on crucial prevention education information, and the majority of parents in California support age-appropriate AIDS education in schools.

AB 2147 (Rainey), which provides that any individual who exposes another to HIV through sexual activity or sharing a needle is guilty of a crime if he/she does not disclose his/her HIV status PASSED the full Assembly and is pending in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. This legislation would be in effect even if the person engaged in protected sexual activity or needle sharing. This bill is unnecessary as existing legislation already addresses intent to transmit HIV, and adds a special stigma for HIV transmission.

AB 3288 (Miller), which requires regular mandatory HIV testing of prisoners, was APPROVED by the full Assembly, and is pending in the Senate Criminal Procedure Committee. This bill is a poor use of resources and could lead to increased quarantine of HIV-positive prisoners.

Action Needed:
Contact your State Senator and ask him/her to SUPPORT AB 3093 and to OPPOSE AB 2248, AB 2147, and AB 3288.

Thank you to AIDS Project Los Angeles for providing information on these bills.