2008 State Session: Legislation & Budget Issues Championed by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Updated News - April 24, 2008 View bills under consideration in Springfield Drug Overdose Prevention Bill Advances

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The new state legislative session began in earnest on February 15, 2008. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is spearheading or collaborating on three key bills that will impact the lives of people living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS. The three bills—combatting sexually transmitted diseases, protecting the privacy of students with HIV, and reducing drug overdoses—are described below. These bills are informed by our Policy Priorities, which were developed by service providers and people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS around the state.

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SB 2155 Prevent Drug Overdose Deaths Among Drug Injectors
Sponsor: Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago
Illinois lawmakers should enact legislation to expand drug overdose prevention services statewide. HIV infection and drug overdose are among the myriad health concerns affecting people who inject drugs. Services for users should include strategies to help them stay alive, safe, and free from HIV and hepatitis infection while supporting those who are ready to accept substance abuse treatment services. Fortunately, a safe and inexpensive medication, naloxone, can reverse opiate overdoses and keep drug users alive. A Chicago program, Chicago Recovery Alliance, has trained drug users to reverse overdoses and saved more than 750 lives since 2001. This bill would establish a drug overdose prevention program through the Department of Human Services and remove barriers to naloxone distribution by protecting health care providers from lawsuits.

Update (April 24, 2008) — The Senate Public Health Committee convened the week of April 14 and approved an amendment to SB 2155 that would:

• Require health care professionals to provide information to patients about how to revese drug overdoses and administer naloxone before prescribing the medication;
• Protect health care professionals from being disciplined by medical licencing boards for prescribing naloxone; and
• Protect individuals from being prosecuted for practing medicine without a license if they administer naloxone in an emergency.

With these changes, the bill is supported by the Illinois State Medical Society; Illinois Nurses Association; Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association; Illinois Department of Human Services - Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA). There are no known opponents. The bill will be called for a vote shortly in the full Senate.

UPDATE (March 14, 2008) — In a move that could prevent drug overdoses throughout Illinois, the Senate Public Health Committee approved SB 2155, sponsored by Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago). Injection drug users are at high risk for many health problems, including HIV and Hepatitis C infection.  Sterile syringe availability, expansion of substance abuse treatment services, and this bill are critical interventions to improve the lives of people addicted to injection drugs.  AFC thanks Senator Trotter for his leadership on this bill, which will be heard in committee again in April for consideration of technical amendments.
  
Fact sheet (PDF - updated April 24)
Bill text
Bill status and co-sponsor list
Learn about sterile syringe access in Illinois
Learn about the Illinois syringe purchase law

Media
"Legislative changes could cut overdose deaths," Albany NY Times-Union (4/8/08)
View a New York Times feature and article (PDF) highlighting the life-saving effects of Naloxone (4/2/08)
Listen to a Chicago Public Radio broadcast highlighting the benefits of Naloxone (4/10/08)
Read a New York Times Science section feature on naloxone (12/19/07)

Watch a video about reversing overdoses with naloxone on the Chicago Recovery Alliance's website:

SB 2150 Combat High STD Rates by Permitting and Funding Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT)
Sponsor: Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria
To stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, Illinois should follow other jurisdictions and allow physicians to provide antibiotics to the partners of people newly diagnosed with STDs. Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), would allow doctors to treat the partners of individuals diagnosed with Chlamydia or gonorrhea without a physical examination. Given ample evidence that STDs fuel HIV transmission, expedited partner therapy is a safe and effective strategy to reduce untreated STDs and prevent HIV.

Update (March 14, 2008) — The EPT bill lost a key vote in the Senate Public Health committee on March 11, and is unlikely to advance this year.  AFC is deeply appreciative of sponsor Sen. David Koehler's (D-Peoria) sponsorship of the bill.  AFC is committed to advancing proven-effective strategies to reduce STDs, which are fueling the HIV epidemic throughout Illinois.  We will be meeting with partners to consider next steps.

AFC Fact Sheet
Bill text
Bill status and co-sponsor list
American Medical Association statement
California EPT guidelines for providers (PDF)
"Battling a Silent Enemy," State News, March 2007 (PDF)

CDC Resources
CDC EPT website
CDC white paper (PDF)
CDC chlamydia fact sheet
CDC gonorrhea fact sheet

Other pending state legislation
Missouri EPT bill
Minnesota EPT bill
Arizona EPT bill
NY EPT Bill (2007, 2008)

Media
Local Officials Agree... The Southern, Carbondale (2/28/08)
State Bill Aims to Slow Spread... The Daily Egyptian, Carbondale (3/7/08)
Video: Bill Aimed at Stopping Spread of STDs, WSIL TV, Jackson County (3/7/08)
New Bill Could Flare Up Fight Against STDS... Peoria Journal Star (3/9/08)
STD Legislation falls short with Senate Panel... Springfield Journal-Register (3/11/08) (PDF)
A new front in the STD war... Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette (3/16/08) (PDF)

HB 4314 Establish Privacy Protections for Students with HIV
Sponsor: Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago
A law passed 20 years ago is deterring students from being tested for HIV and hampering HIV prevention efforts. Illinois law requires school principals to be notified when a child attending their school tests positive for HIV. The principal may notify the classroom teacher, school nurse, and other school personnel.

In 1987, when the law was passed, fear—not medical science—drove the school principal notification law. Proponents feared routine school activities could trigger HIV transmission; today, we know that is not the case. Now, medical science arms school personnel to take universal precautions to prevent the spread of communicable diseases among students, precautions sufficient to prevent HIV transmission. This legislation is championed by AFC in coalition with ACLU of Illinois, AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Children's Place Association, and FCAN, the Families and Children's AIDS Network.

UPDATE (March 4, 2008) — Ignoring the scientific evidence that HIV is not transmitted through bloody noses or sports accidents, the Illinois House on March 4 defeated HB 4314.  Opponents Reps. David Reis (R-Willow Hill), Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) and Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville) spoke against the bill.  AFC and partners are consulting with Rep. Feigenholtz to determine next steps.  The group is committed to ending this policy, which results in daily stigma and shame for hundreds of children with HIV and their families around Illinois. 

Click here to listen to the debate from the Illinois House floor (12 minutes)
View a list of members who voted "no" on HB 4314 (PDF)
Springfield State Journal-Register article on bill's defeat (3/5/08)

Background
Bill Fact sheet (PDF)
Bill text
Bill status and co-sponsor list

HIV/AIDS cases increase 30% among Illinois teens
Letter from HIV-positive teens supporting HB 4313
Children's Place Assn. Press Release: Committee Faces Vote
Testimony of Linda Coon, Families and Children's AIDS Network

Media
Chicago Sun-Times editorial (1/15/08) (PDF)
Springfield State Journal-Register article (2/21/08)
Quad Cities Dispatch/Argus article (2/21/08)
Springfield State Journal-Register article (3/5/08)

BUDGET UPDATE

SPRINGFIELD, IL (February 20, 2008) — Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich released today his fiscal year 2008 budget proposal.

Read AFC's press release
Fact sheet detailing AFC request for $2 million to expand HIV testing in medical settings
Chart: Fiscal year 2006-2008 state HIV/AIDS funding