BayBio Bills Move Out of Committee

Several bills that BayBio has monitored throughout the 2010 California Legislative Session passed out of the Appropriations Committee on Thursday, August 12 and will move to a floor vote in the coming weeks. The final day to pass legislation is August 31.
Priority bills that BayBio supports have  moved to the floor and they are:

• SB 220 (Yee) would provide coverage for tobacco cessation services that include specified courses of treatment and medication, and would prohibit the imposition of copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles for the receipt of those benefits.
• SB 961 (Wright) require health insurance policies care that provide coverage for  orally cancer chemotherapy treatment to provide coverage for a prescribed, orally administered, nongeneric cancer medication.
• AB 1640 (Evans) would fund a program that requires the State Department of Public Health to provide breast cancer and cervical cancer screening services to eligible low-income individuals.
• AB 354 (Arambula) would require 7th grade pertussis booster. BayBio supports.
• AB 2734 (J. Perez) would create the Office of Economic Development and serve under the Office of the Governor.
• AB 1931 (Torrico) would better fund the Roman Reed Spinal  Cord Injury Research Fund.

Only one priority bill opposed by BayBio moved to the floor. SB 1064 (Alquist) would make fundamental changes to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s intellectual property standards.

BOE Considers Definition of Section 33

The San Francisco Business Times, on August 13, reported that the Board of Equalization, with pressure from BayBio, is rescinding its interpretation of a key piece of the tax code intended to promote life sciences R&D. 

Historically, Section 33 provided companies with an exemption for in-state purchases of “human body parts.” However, over the last four years the Board of Equalization has levied a use-tax on private firms conducting R&D.  With pressure from BayBio and a reporter’s inquiry, the Board of Equalization is returning to its previous definition of the tax exemption.

Legislators Connect with BayBio Members

BayBio’s political activities are ramping for the upcoming November election. We met with Assembly District 21 candidate Rich Gordon at OncoMed Pharmaceuticals in mid-July. Gordon currently sits on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. District 21 represents the communities of Redwood City, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos and San Jose.

BayBio members have an opportunity to meet the Speaker of the Assembly September 24. John Perez represents the 46th Assembly District in Los Angeles and will be meeting with BayBio at a South San Francisco location. Please contact Jeremy Leffler (jleffler@baybio.org) if you would like the opportunity to meet with Speaker Perez. Elected in 2008, Perez’s assembly colleagues elected him Speaker of the Assembly in 2010.  Prior to the Assembly, Perez spent seven years handling political matters for the United Food and Commercial Workers, a union representing supermarket workers, and also has served as political director of the California Labor Federation.

Assembly District 20 candidate Bob Wieckowski will be meeting with BayBio and interested members on August 27 in the East Bay.  District 20 communities are Fremont, Newark, Union City and parts of Pleasanton, Castro Valley, Hayward, Milpitas and San Jose. Please contact Jeremy Leffler (jleffler@baybio.org) if you would like more information.