Article 4. Population, Public Health, And Environmental Study of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 101. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 4.

The department shall cause special investigations of the sources of morbidity and mortality and the effects of localities, employments, conditions and circumstances on the public health and the department shall perform other duties as may be required in procuring information for state and federal agencies regarding the effects of these conditions on the public health.

All records of interviews, written reports, and statements procured by the department or by any other person, agency, or organization acting jointly with the department, in connection with special morbidity and mortality studies shall be confidential insofar as the identity of the individual patient is concerned and shall be used solely for the purposes of the study. The furnishing of this information to the department or its authorized representative, or to any other co-operating individual, agency or organization in any special study, shall not subject any person, hospital, sanitarium, rest home, nursing home, or other organization furnishing this information to any action for damages. This section shall not apply to general morbidity and mortality studies customarily and continuously conducted by the department that do not involve patient identification. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the publishing by the department of statistical compilations relating to morbidity and mortality studies that do not identify individual cases and sources of information or religious affiliations.

(a) The department shall annually compile and publish the laws relating to the use, handling, transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials, including, but not limited to, hazardous wastes, flammable materials, corrosives, explosives, pesticides, and radioactive materials together with laws relating to administration, enforcement, and emergency response. The compilation shall reflect the amendments, additions, and deletions enacted each year.
  (b) The department may contract with the Legislative Counsel to prepare the compilation of laws required by subdivision (a) and with the Department of General Services to print and distribute the compilation. Copies of the compilation shall be distributed at cost.
  (c) During the 1985-86 fiscal year, the department shall absorb the costs of preparing the compilation from existing appropriations. It is the intent of the Legislature, commencing with the 1986-87 fiscal year, to appropriate revenues received from the distribution of the compilation to the department for carrying out the purposes of this section.

The department may do all of the following activities:
  (1) Make a continuing study of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, in order to provide a continuing analysis of trends to state agencies and to the Legislature.
  (2) Request and receive demographic and population data from the Department of Finance.
  (3) Make any additional collection of data necessary to describe and analyze fertility, family formation and dissolution, abortion practices, and other factors related to population dynamics, public health, and the environment.
  (4) Assess the health, environmental, and related effects of current and projected population.
  (5) Formulate recommendations for programs, consistent with individual rights and the integrity of the environment, to respond to projected trends.