Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that requires healthcare employers to stockpile at least 45 days worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) and mandates the California Department of Public Health to establish a PPE stockpile to last at least 90 days.

Highlights:

• Requires the State Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Services to establish a personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpile within one year of the effective date of this section (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the Personal Protective Equipment Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the department and office for the development of guidelines for the procurement, management, and distribution of PPE (Sec. 1).  

• Requires the department to develop guidelines informed by the committee’s recommendations that take into account information including, but not limited to (Sec. 1):

• The types of PPE that may be required during a pandemic or other health emergency;

• The shelflife of PPE types and how to restock such PPE;

• Geographical distribution of PPE storage;

• Policies and funding required to establish a state PPE stockpile; and

• How distribution of PPE should be prioritized in the event that there is insufficient PPE to meet the needs of providers and employers of essential workers.

• Requires health care employers to maintain an inventory of new, unexpired PPE sufficient for 45 days of surge consumption, for use in the event of a declared state of emergency beginning January 1, 2023 or 365 days after the department sets forth requirements for determining 45-day surge capacity levels, whichever is later (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Department of Industrial Relations, in consultation with the State Department of Health, to set forth requirements for determining 45-day surge capacity levels (Sec. 2).

• Establishes a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each violation for health care employers that violate the inventory requirements (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes the department to exempt a health care employer from a civil penalty if the department determines that supply chain limitations make meeting the mandated level of supplies infeasible and the health care employer has made a reasonable attempt to obtain PPE, or the employer makes a showing that meeting the mandated level of supplies is not possible due to issues beyond their control (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that health care employers are not subject to the civil penalty if their inventory dips below the mandated level for 30 days, provided they replenish their inventory to the mandated level within those 30 days (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that a health care employer with a facility of 25 or fewer employees that agrees to close in-person operations during a public health emergency until sufficient PPE becomes available may apply for a waiver of some or all of the PPE inventory requirements (Sec. 2)

• Specifies that the provisions of this act are severable (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text