Budget Amendment ID: FY2012-S3-433

EHS 433

Lyme Disease Study Commission

Ms. Fargo and Messrs. Michael O. Moore, Wolf and Rodrigues and Ms. Candaras moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after Section 152, the following new Section:-

"SECTION 153. Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, a special commission hereafter referred to as the commission, is hereby established for the purpose of investigating and studying the incidence and impacts in the commonwealth of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, including but not limited to anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, and ehrlichiosis.

Said study shall include, but not be limited to, a cost-benefit analysis of: (i) conducting a Lyme disease public health clinical screening study in high risk regions; (ii) developing education materials and training resources for detecting signs and symptoms of tick-borne illnesses in school-aged populations, to be used by clinical providers and school health personnel (iii) statewide surveillance and testing for tick-borne diseases in both Ixodes scapularis (black-legged deer tick) and Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star) ticks, and (iv) educating the medical community about research on all aspects of Lyme, both acute and chronic. The commission shall also investigate the availability of grants and federal funds for the study of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases to determine if future action is feasible and warranted to support Lyme and tick-borne diseases research in the Commonwealth. (v) The Commission shall review mandatory reporting procedures to promote improved compliance both for CDC-positive and clinically diagnosed cases of Lyme disease and associated tick-borne co-infections.

Said commission shall consist of: 3 members of the Senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; 3 members of the House of Representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the House Minority Leader; the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health or a designee; the Commissioner of the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy or a designee, 3 members of local boards of health from different Lyme endemic areas of the state; the Director of the State Laboratory Institute or a designee; the State Epidemiologist or a designee; and 4 members to be appointed by the Governor, 1 of whom shall be a physician specialized in infectious disease, 1 of whom shall be a professional member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, and 2 members who shall be considered experts in the treatment or research of Lyme disease. Additionally, there shall be 4 public members, 2 of whom shall be patients or family members of patients; and 2 shall be members of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases organizations representing diverse regions across the state. One patient shall be appointed by the Senate, one patient by the House of Representatives and the 2 members of Lyme & other tick-borne diseases organizations shall be appointed by the Governor.

Said commission shall report to the Senate and House of Representatives the results of its investigation and study, together with drafts of legislation, if any, necessary to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives, who shall forward the same to the Joint Committee on Public Health and the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means by April 1, 2012."