H-3284              _______________________________________________

 

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1396

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Day, Padden, Leonard, Braddock, S. Wilson, Fisch, Dobbs, Dellwo, Winsley, Smitherman and P. King

 

 

Read first time 1/14/86 and referred to Committee on Social & Health Services.  Referred to Committee on Ways & Means 1/28/86.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to establishing a state cancer coordinating council; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; making an appropriation; providing an expiration date; and providing an effective date.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.     The legislature finds and declares that:

          (1) Of children born this year, one in three will develop cancer;

          (2) Of persons currently diagnosed as having cancer, approximately fifty percent will survive for five or more years;

          (3) As other diseases are conquered and as the largest percentage of the population enters middle age, cancer will become an ever-larger threat to life;

          (4) The cost of treating cancer is increasing due to a greater number of cases and the increased medical ability to treat newly diagnosed cancer cases;

          (5) Early diagnosis, self-examination, early education in cancer detection, and education about the causes of cancer can substantially increase the survival rate of cancer and substantially reduce the cost of treatment;

          (6) Various types of cancer have been shown to be related to widely different environmental, lifestyle, dietary, and genetic causes;

          (7) Cancer patients cured of cancer or in remission are subject to discrimination in seeking employment, insurance coverage, financial services, etc.;

          (8) Cancer reporting, diagnosis, research, education, short-term medical attention, hospitalization, patient and family counseling, long-term care, pharmaceutical care, dietary needs, physical therapy, and return to active life are all components of a comprehensive cancer treatment program;

          (9) Cancer research has led to significant technology transfer to private business and the establishment of a promising biotechnology industry in Washington state;

          (10) Coordination between the diverse parties involved in the diagnoses, treatment, care, research, counseling, reporting, public and professional education, biotechnology, public health, epidemiology, surveillance and measurement of end results of cancer, as well as coordination among those providing financial services (including health and life insurance and pension coverage), long-term care, diet and food production, community environmental controls and educational services, will assist the legislature in placing emphasis on the priority use of the state's limited resources, help the legislature and state agencies plan health care coverage, implement educational programs, identify research needs, and advise on public policy questions relating to cancer and the care of cancer patients.

          The legislature finds it necessary and in the public interest to establish a cancer coordinating council to advise the legislature, the governor, other elected officials, and state agencies on the needs and priorities for public and private cancer research, cancer treatment, and the post-treatment care of cancer patients.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.     There is created a cancer coordinating council under the department of social and health services.  The department shall provide administrative services for the council including maintenance of records, notice of meetings, and promulgation of the council's report(s), subject to chapter 34.04 RCW.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.     (1) The cancer coordinating council shall have the following members:

          (a) Four members of the legislature to be appointed by the majority and the largest minority parties of the senate and of the house of representatives;

          (b) The state insurance commissioner or his or her designee;

          (c) The superintendent of public instruction or his or her designee;

          (d) A representative of the governor appointed from each of the following state agencies:

          (i) The department of social and health services:

          (ii) The state department of ecology; and

          (iii) The department of labor and industries.

          (e) Fifteen members at large, appointed by the governor from among the following groups:

          (i) Voluntary associations concerned with cancer education, research, and treatment;

          (ii) Research organizations involved as teaching hospitals, research universities, or regional cancer research centers;

          (iii) Hospitals or tumor institutes;

          (iv) Health care professionals involved in diagnosing, treating, or caring for cancer patients;

          (v) Providers of counseling care for cancer patients and their families;

          (vi) One labor member trustee and one business member trustee of an employee's health care trust or pension plan;

          (vii) Other governmental units involved with environmental oversight or health care delivery;

          (viii) Industries involved with manufacturing, selling or providing food products, tobacco, restaurant services, toxic materials, or consumer products;

          (ix) Providers of financial services to current, former, or potential cancer patients;

          (x) Biotechnology firms in Washington state; and

          (xi) Members of the public-at-large.

          (2) Each member appointed by the governor shall be appointed for a maximum term of three years.  The terms shall be staggered among the fifteen members appointed by the governor under subsection (1)(e) of this section to provide for one-third of the membership to be appointed each year.  Nothing in this section shall preclude the governor from reappointing a member whose term has expired.

          (3) The governor shall designate the chair of the council from among the council members.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.     The cancer coordinating council shall undertake to prioritize the needs in cancer education, environmental protection, cancer research, early detection and screening, cancer reporting, development of technology transfer to build, within the state, a biotechnology industry, cancer care delivery, long-term cancer care, counseling of cancer patients and their families, and other cancer programs.  The council shall report its findings and recommended actions to the governor and the legislature by November 15 of each year.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.     The sum of forty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of social and health services from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, to carry out the purposes of this act.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.     Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall expire on June 30, 1994, and shall be subject to review under chapter 43.131 RCW.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.     Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9.     This act shall take effect on July 1, 1986.