South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

R347, S970

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Hutto
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11914ac08.doc

Introduced in the Senate on January 9, 2008
Introduced in the House on February 20, 2008
Last Amended on May 28, 2008
Passed by the General Assembly on May 29, 2008
Governor's Action: June 11, 2008, Vetoed
Legislative veto action(s): Veto sustained

Summary: DHEC

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1/9/2008  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-6
    1/9/2008  Senate  Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs SJ-6
   2/13/2008  Senate  Committee report: Favorable Medical Affairs SJ-23
   2/14/2008  Senate  Read second time SJ-34
   2/14/2008          Scrivener's error corrected
   2/19/2008  Senate  Read third time and sent to House SJ-9
   2/20/2008  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-13
   2/20/2008  House   Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and 
                        Municipal Affairs HJ-13
    4/3/2008  House   Committee report: Favorable Medical, Military, Public 
                        and Municipal Affairs HJ-6
    4/9/2008  House   Requests for debate-Rep(s). Rice, Mack, Loftis, Hayes, 
                        Shoopman, Leach, GR Smith, JR Smith, Davenport, Moss, 
                        Miller, Battle, Hosey, Clyburn, Owens, Toole, Frye, 
                        Duncan, Haskins, and Sellers HJ-35
   4/10/2008  House   Debate adjourned until Wednesday, April 16, 2008 HJ-51
   4/22/2008  House   Debate adjourned until Wednesday, May 7, 2008 HJ-92
    5/7/2008  House   Debate adjourned until Wednesday, May 21, 2008 HJ-26
   5/28/2008  House   Amended HJ-206
   5/28/2008  House   Read second time HJ-206
   5/28/2008  House   Roll call Yeas-97  Nays-0 HJ-210
   5/28/2008  House   Reconsidered HJ-227
   5/28/2008  House   Amended HJ-227
   5/28/2008  House   Read second time HJ-230
   5/28/2008  House   Roll call Yeas-92  Nays-0 HJ-230
   5/29/2008  House   Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments 
                        HJ-39
   5/29/2008  Senate  Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-175
   5/30/2008          Scrivener's error corrected
    6/5/2008          Ratified R 347
   6/11/2008          Vetoed by Governor
   6/25/2008  Senate  Veto sustained Yeas-25  Nays-13
   6/25/2008  Senate  Reconsider vote whereby veto was sustained
   6/25/2008  Senate  Veto overridden by originating body Yeas-27  Nays-12
   6/25/2008  House   Veto sustained Yeas-38  Nays-65

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/9/2008
2/13/2008
2/14/2008
4/3/2008
5/28/2008
5/30/2008

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

NOTE: THIS COPY IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL PUBLISHED IN THE ADVANCE SHEETS TO THE ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS. WHEN THIS DOCUMENT IS PUBLISHED IN THE ADVANCE SHEET, THIS NOTE WILL BE REMOVED.

(R347, S970)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 44-29-135, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONFIDENTIALITY OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE RECORDS, SO AS TO APPLY CONFIDENTIALITY TO RECORDS RELATING TO CASES OF A BLOODBORNE DISEASE AND TO DELETE THE PROVISION REQUIRING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO NOTIFY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT AND SCHOOL NURSE IF A MINOR IS ATTENDING A SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT AND HAS ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME OR IS INFECTED WITH THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS; BY ADDING SECTION 44-29-137 SO AS TO REQUIRE A SCHOOL NURSE OR OTHER SCHOOL OFFICIAL TO REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL INCIDENTS IN WHICH BLOOD OR BODILY FLUIDS HAVE BEEN TRANSMITTED BETWEEN STUDENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 44-29-230, RELATING TO REQUIRED TESTING WHEN A HEALTH CARE WORKER IS EXPOSED TO A BLOODBORNE DISEASE, SO AS TO REVISE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS INCLUDING ADDING HEPATITIS C TO THE DEFINITION OF "BLOODBORNE DISEASES" AND TO DEFINE "PERSON PROVIDING CARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GOOD SAMARITAN ACT"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-10-220 SO AS TO REQUIRE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ADOPT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION RECOMMENDATIONS ON UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS FOR BLOODBORNE DISEASE EXPOSURE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Confidentiality of sexually transmitted disease records

SECTION    1.    Section 44-29-135 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 44-29-135.    All information and records held by the Department of Health and Environmental Control and its agents relating to a known or suspected case of a sexually transmitted disease or a bloodborne disease are strictly confidential except as provided in this section. The information must not be released or made public, upon subpoena or otherwise, except under the following circumstances:

(a)    release is made of medical or epidemiological information for statistical purposes in a manner that no individual person can be identified;

(b)    release is made of medical or epidemiological information with the consent of all persons identified in the information released;

(c)    release is made of medical or epidemiological information to the extent necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter and related regulations concerning the control and treatment of a sexually transmitted disease;

(d)    release is made of medical or epidemiological information to medical personnel to the extent necessary to protect the health or life of any person; or

(e)    in cases involving a minor, the name of the minor and medical information concerning the minor must be reported to appropriate agents if a report is required by the Child Protection Act of 1977. No further information is required to be released by the department."

Reporting required for transmission of blood or bodily fluids between students

SECTION    2.    Chapter 29, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 44-29-137.    A school nurse, or other school official, who knows of, or who has reason to believe, that there has been a transmission of blood or bodily fluids between or among students due to an incident occurring on school property or at a school-sponsored or school-sanctioned event shall report such incidents to the Department of Health and Environmental Control."

Definitions

SECTION    3.    Section 44-29-230(D) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

(D)    For purposes of this section:

(1)    'Person' means a patient at a health care facility or physician's office, an inmate at a state or local correctional facility, an individual under arrest, or an individual in the custody of or being treated by a health care worker or an emergency response employee.

(2)    'Emergency response employee' means firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, medical residents, medical trainees, trainees of an emergency response employee as defined herein, and other persons, including employees of legally organized and recognized volunteer organizations without regard to whether these employees receive compensation, who in the course of their professional duties respond to emergencies, and persons providing care in accordance with the Good Samaritan Act.

(3)    'Bloodborne diseases' means Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

(4)    'Significant risk' means a finding of facts relating to a human exposure to an etiologic agent for a particular disease, based on reasonable medical judgments given the state of medical knowledge, about the:

(a)    nature of the risk;

(b)    duration of the risk;

(c)    severity of the risk;

(d)    probabilities the disease will be transmitted and will cause varying degrees of harm.

(5)    'Health care professional' means a physician, an epidemiologist, or infection control practitioner.

(6)    'Health care worker' means a person licensed as a health care provider under Title 40, a person registered under the laws of this State to provide health care services, an employee of a health care facility as defined in Section 44-7-130(10), or an employee in a physician's office.

(7)    'Person providing care in accordance with the Good Samaritan Act' means a person who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an accident or emergency, as provided for in Section 15-1-310."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations on universal precautions for bloodborne disease exposure

SECTION    4.    Article 2, Chapter 10, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-10-220.    By January 1, 2009, each school district shall adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations on universal precautions for bloodborne disease exposure and shall communicate written notice of these procedures to each school within the district. The notice must provide information regarding education and training in the areas of infection control, universal precautions, and disinfection and sterilization techniques."

Time effective

SECTION    5.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 5th day of June, 2008.

__________________________________________

President of the Senate

___________________________________________

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Approved the ____________ day of _____________________2008.

___________________________________________

Governor

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