HASC Los Angeles Regional Vice President Jaime Garcia testified last week in opposition to the City of Los Angeles Public Health Protection Act, a measure that would require the Los Angeles City Council to establish its own Public Health Department.

Garcia noted the initiative undermines the deployment and coordination of resources that currently exist in the areas of lab testing, disease control and surveillance, among others; creating a new public health department is a costly option; and fees alone will not adequately fund this department, thus requiring the City’s General Fund to backfill at a time when the Fund itself is already projected to incur a deficit for FY 2014-15.

If approved, the City would need to terminate its agreement with Los Angeles County Public Health and start its own department within 120 days. The new City department would be prohibited from contracting with LA County Public Health for any service or surveillance work thereby creating duplicative services.

Los Angeles City Council members agreed to place a measure in the June 2014 ballot asking voters to determine whether the city should create the independent health agency. At the same time, council members also agreed to file a lawsuit challenging the validity of such a measure.

Contact: Jaime Garcia
(213) 538-0702, jgarcia@hasc.org