2024 Year End Political Update Summary
 

LEGISLATURE

The California State Legislature has now adjourned, which completes the second year of the 2023-2024 legislative session. The California State Budget and its staggering multi-billion deficit has had a detrimental effect on legislation being realized, with a great deal of measures failing to clear the Appropriations committees in the Senate and Assembly. While 2024 was not as onerous as 2023, Public Policy Advocates engaged on a number of legislative fronts. 

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Public Policy Advocates (PPA) as directed by the CAMLT Legislative Committee, continued to actively pursue the long-term objective of providing state funding incentives for credentialed hospitals to offer increased training positions for qualified students seeking internships to address the reduction in the number of available training positions and counteract shortages in CLS and MLTs in California. As such, PPA secured Assembly Member Phillip Chen to introduce legislation for funding. AB 27-2 was supported by various entities with no opposition on file. Further information on the CAMLT Sponsor bill can be found under the Legislation section. 

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HOW YOU CAN HELP
Public Policy Advocates, as in the past years of representation continue to stress the importance of having a strong legislative program in place. The probability of legislative measures adversely affecting the laboratory profession continuing to be introduced in future legislative sessions remain consistently high. CAMLT has continued to defend laboratory standards to protect patients as others continue to try and convince legislators to dilute licensing and personnel standards. CAMLT is also extremely focused on securing funding for training positions. As your legislative advocacy team in Sacramento, we continue to emphasize that growth of CAMLT membership is of paramount importance. A financially strong association coupled with sustainable membership growth is vital to effectively execute a comprehensive legislative program in California. Education of key legislators and government officials is of critical importance. To date, CAMLT continues to be at the forefront exclusively protecting the legislative interests of CLS's, MLT's, and other laboratory personnel. CAMLT continues to be the only professional association solely representing clinical laboratory science personnel that retains a lobbying firm in Sacramento. CAMLT is typically the last Association holding the line against onerous legislative and regulatory changes. 

 

As in each past legislative session, PPA has been honored to work to protect CAMLTs interests. As health threats emerge - stress on the laboratory workforce will continue as will encroachments on the standards and integrity of the profession. The California Legislature continues to count medical professionals among its elected members and some hold membership on key committees that push through legislation that often times has adverse effects on the laboratory profession. As long as those individuals hold office, we must anticipate that they will continue to introduce legislation that at times conflicts with what is in the best interests of the laboratory professional. Building CAMLT membership as well as a strong grass-roots program is vital to the health of your Association. 

LEGISLATION
CAMLT actively opposed several pieces of legislation and amended/watched others. The following is
report on legislation for the second year of the 2023-2024 legislative session.

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AB 2107 (Chen R) Clinical laboratory technology: remote review. POSITION-NEUTRAL

• Current law requires the State Department of Public Health to license, inspect, and regulate clinical laboratories and specified clinical laboratory personnel. Current law requires a clinical laboratory, as defined, performing clinical laboratory tests or examinations classified as of moderate or of high complexity under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) to obtain a clinical laboratory license, as specified. Current law requires a separate license or registration to be obtained for each laboratory location, except for, among other things, laboratories that are not at a fixed location, as specified. This bill would authorize, upon determination by the department that the authorization conforms to federal law, practice by a pathologist who is performing pathology services at a primary laboratory site licensed by the state to review digital materials, as defined, at a remote location under a primary site’s CLIA certificate. The bill would require the department, on or before June 30, 2025, to consult with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and would require the department to make a determination on or before January 1, 2026, for those purposes. This bill would require the department, if it determines that the authorization conforms to federal law, to communicate its determination to the Legislature and the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

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Status: 9/27/2024-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 699, Statutes of 2024.

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AB 2702 (Chen R)   Training programs for clinical laboratory scientists and medical laboratory technicians: grants. POSITION - SPONSOR 

• Would authorize the State Department of Public Health, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish a grant program to provide funding to training programs that both offer training programs for clinical laboratory scientists or medical laboratory technicians, and are approved by the department or accredited by a recognized accrediting program approved by the department. The bill would also authorize the department to award grants to those training programs in the amount of no more than $600,000, to be used within 3 years of receiving a grant.

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Status: 5/16/2024-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(b)(8). Current Location: 5/16/2024-A. DEAD

 

AB 3009 (Ward D)   Healing arts: clinical laboratories. POSITION-WATCH 

• Current law provides for the licensure, registration, and regulation of clinical laboratories and various clinical laboratory personnel by the State Department of Public Health, with specified exceptions. Current law authorizes a person who is licensed under those provisions to perform certain laboratory tests. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to clinical laboratories.

 

Status: 5/2/2024-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(b)(6). Current Location: 5/2/2024-A. DEAD

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