READ FIRST TIME 02/28/03.   

     AN ACT Relating to hepatitis C; amending RCW 49.60.172 and 49.60.174; adding a new section to chapter 70.54 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.20 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 70.54 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The secretary of health shall design a state plan for education efforts concerning hepatitis C and the prevention and management of the disease by January 1, 2004. In developing the plan, the secretary shall consult with:
     (a) The public;
     (b) Patient groups and organizations;
     (c) Relevant state agencies that have functions that involve hepatitis C or provide services to persons with hepatitis C;
     (d) Local health departments;
     (e) Public health and clinical laboratories;
     (f) Providers and suppliers of services to persons with hepatitis C;
     (g) Research scientists;
     (h) The University of Washington; and
     (i) Relevant health care associations.
     (2) The plan shall include implementation recommendations in the following areas:
     (a) Hepatitis C virus prevention and treatment strategies for groups at risk for hepatitis C with an emphasis towards those groups that are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C, including persons infected with HIV, veterans, racial or ethnic minorities that suffer a higher incidence of hepatitis C, and persons who engage in high-risk behavior, such as intravenous drug use;
     (b) Educational programs to promote public awareness about hepatitis C and knowledge about risk factors, the value of early detection, screening, services, and available treatment options for hepatitis C, which may be incorporated in public awareness programs concerning bloodborne infections;
     (c) Education curricula for appropriate health and health-related providers covered by the uniform disciplinary act, chapter 18.130 RCW;
     (d) Training courses for persons providing hepatitis C counseling, public health clinic staff, and any other appropriate provider, which shall focus on disease prevention, early detection, and intervention;
     (e) Capacity for voluntary hepatitis C testing programs to be performed at facilities providing voluntary HIV testing under chapter 70.24 RCW;
     (f) A comprehensive model for an evidence-based process for the prevention and management of hepatitis C that is applicable to other diseases; and
     (g) Sources and availability of funding to implement the plan.
     (3) The secretary of health shall develop the state plan described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section only to the extent that, and for as long as, federal or private funds are available for that purpose, including grants. Funding for this act shall not come from state sources.
     (4) The board of health may adopt rules necessary to implement subsection (2)(b) of this section.
     (5) The secretary of health shall submit the completed state plan to the legislature by January 1, 2004. After the initial state plan is submitted, the department shall update the state plan biennially and shall submit the plan to the governor and make it available to other interested parties. The update and progress reports are due December 1, 2004, and every two years thereafter.
     (6) The state plan recommendations described in subsection (2)(b) of this section shall be implemented by the secretary of health only to the extent that, and for as long as, federal or private funds are available for that purpose, including grants.
     (7) This section expires June 30, 2007.

Sec. 2   RCW 49.60.172 and 1988 c 206 s 903 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No person may require an individual to take an HIV test, as defined in chapter 70.24 RCW, or hepatitis C test, as a condition of hiring, promotion, or continued employment unless the absence of HIV or hepatitis C infection is a bona fide occupational qualification for the job in question.
     (2) No person may discharge or fail or refuse to hire any individual, or segregate or classify any individual in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive that individual of employment opportunities or adversely affect his or her status as an employee, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of the results of an HIV test or hepatitis C test unless the absence of HIV or hepatitis C infection is a bona fide occupational qualification of the job in question.
     (3) The absence of HIV or hepatitis C infection as a bona fide occupational qualification exists when performance of a particular job can be shown to present a significant risk, as defined by the board of health by rule, of transmitting HIV or hepatitis C infection to other persons, and there exists no means of eliminating the risk by restructuring the job.
     (4) For the purpose of this chapter, any person who is actually infected with HIV or hepatitis C, but is not disabled as a result of the infection, shall not be eligible for any benefits under the affirmative action provisions of chapter 49.74 RCW solely on the basis of such infection.
     (5) Employers are immune from civil action for damages arising out of transmission of HIV or hepatitis C to employees or to members of the public unless such transmission occurs as a result of the employer's gross negligence.

Sec. 3   RCW 49.60.174 and 1997 c 271 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For the purposes of determining whether an unfair practice under this chapter has occurred, claims of discrimination based on actual or perceived HIV or hepatitis C infection shall be evaluated in the same manner as other claims of discrimination based on sensory, mental, or physical disability; or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person.
     (2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to transactions with insurance entities, health service contractors, or health maintenance organizations subject to RCW 49.60.030(1)(e) or 49.60.178 to prohibit fair discrimination on the basis of actual HIV or actual hepatitis C infection status when bona fide statistical differences in risk or exposure have been substantiated.
     (3) For the purposes of this chapter((,)):
     (a) "HIV" means the human immunodeficiency virus, and includes all HIV and HIV-related viruses which damage the cellular branch of the human immune system and leave the infected person immunodeficient; and
     (b) "Hepatitis C" means the hepatitis C virus of any genotype.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 50.20 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Credentialed health care professionals listed in RCW 18.130.040 shall be deemed to be dislocated workers for the purpose of commissioner approval of training under RCW 50.20.043 if they are unemployed as a result of contracting hepatitis C in the course of employment and are unable to continue to work in their profession because of a significant risk that such work would pose to other persons and that risk cannot be eliminated.
     (2) For purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a health care professional who was employed on a full-time basis in their profession shall be presumed to have contracted hepatitis C in the course of employment. This presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that demonstrates that the health care professional contracted hepatitis C as a result of activities or circumstances not related to employment.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   Section 1 of this act does not create a private right of action.