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AP19:106

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 31, 2019
CONTACT:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Authorizes State Regulation of Kidney Dialysis Clinics. Establishes Minimum Staffing and Other Requirements. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that the proponents of a new initiative were cleared to begin collecting petition signatures yesterday.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponents and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponents and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

AUTHORIZES STATE REGULATION OF KIDNEY DIALYSIS CLINICS. ESTABLISHES MINIMUM STAFFING AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires at least one licensed physician on site during treatment at outpatientkidney dialysis clinics; authorizes Department of Public Health to exempt clinics from thisrequirement due to shortages of qualified licensed physicians if at least one nurse practitioner orphysician assistant is on site. Requires clinics to report dialysis-related infection data to state andfederal governments. Requires state approval for clinics to close or reduce services. Prohibitsclinics from discriminating against patients based on the source of payment for care. Summaryof estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased state and local health care costs, likely in the low tens of millions of dollars annually, resulting from increased dialysis treatment costs. (19-0025A1.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1882 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 19-0025.

The proponents of the measure, Sarah Steck and Elliot Petty, must collect signatures of 623,212 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2018 general election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than June 30, 2020*. The proponents can be reached c/o George Yin of Kaufman Legal Group, APC at (213) 452-6576. The address for the Kaufman Legal Group, APC is 777 Figueroa St., Suite 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017.

*Date adjusted for official deadline, which falls on a Saturday (Elec. Code § 15)

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