PRINTER'S NO. 472
No. 455 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, WAUGH, ERICKSON, COSTA, SCHWARTZ, LEMMOND, RAFFERTY, KUKOVICH AND THOMPSON, MARCH 11, 2003
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, MARCH 11, 2003
AN ACT 1 Providing for Lyme disease education, prevention and treatment; 2 and making appropriations. 3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 4 hereby enacts as follows: 5 Section 1. Short title. 6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Lyme Disease 7 Education, Prevention and Treatment Act. 8 Section 2. Purpose. 9 The General Assembly finds that Lyme disease poses a serious 10 threat to the health and welfare of the people of this 11 Commonwealth. It is the intent of this act to provide the public 12 with information and education to create greater public 13 awareness of the dangers of and measures available to prevent 14 Lyme disease. It is also the intent of this act to provide 15 education to health care providers regarding the prevention, 16 diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. 17 Section 3. Reporting.
1 A physician who treats or examines any person who suffers 2 from or who is suspected of having Lyme disease shall make a 3 prompt report of the disease to the local board of health or to 4 the Department of Health. 5 Section 4. Powers and duties. 6 (a) Department of Health.--The Department of Health shall 7 have the following powers and duties: 8 (1) Promulgate regulations to enforce the requirements 9 of this act. 10 (2) Develop a program of general public information and 11 education regarding Lyme disease. 12 (3) Develop a program to educate health care providers 13 to prevent, diagnose and treat Lyme disease. 14 (4) Cooperate with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to 15 disseminate the information required under paragraph (2) to 16 licensees of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the general 17 public. 18 (5) Cooperate with the Department of Conservation and 19 Natural Resources to disseminate the information required 20 under paragraph (2) to the general public and visitors of 21 State parks and lands. 22 (6) Cooperate with the professional associations of 23 health care providers to provide the education program for 24 professionals required under paragraph (3). 25 Section 5. Appropriations. 26 The sum of $125,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary, 27 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Health for the 28 development of the program of public information and education 29 provided for in this act, with no more than $25,000 of the 30 amount to be used to coordinate educational programs with the 20030S0455B0472 - 2 -
1 Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Department of Conservation and 2 Natural Resources and health care provider professional 3 associations. 4 Section 6. Effective date. 5 This act shall take effect immediately. B21L35SFL/20030S0455B0472 - 3 -