SACRAMENTO - Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, has joined with county health officers from around the state in an effort to make it easier for local governments to use needle-exchange programs as a tool to stop the spread of HIV and Hepatitis-C infection.

Berg introduced Assembly Bill 547 on Wednesday. The bipartisan bill is being jointly authored by Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Northridge.

The measure would eliminate a section of law that requires cities and counties to declare a health emergency every two weeks in order to run a needle-exchange program.

“This is a good, common-sense measure,” said Berg. “AIDS doesn’t go away every two weeks. Intravenous drug use doesn’t go away every two weeks. Needle-exchange programs shouldn’t go away every two weeks.”

In California, more than 1,800 people die of AIDS annually, and 1,500 new infections occur through syringe sharing among intravenous drug users. Another 5,000 people become infected with Hepatitis-C in the same manner.

Providing needle-exchange programs help slow the spread, help to prevent transmission to unborn children, and provide drug users with important information about treatment for their addiction.

“The health officers we trust to protect our communities say it’s a good way to fight some terrible diseases,” Berg said. “They need this tool, and we need to give it to them.”

AB 547 is similar to Assembly Bill 2871, which Berg authored last year. That measure, which was approved overwhelmingly in the Legislature, but vetoed by the governor, had support from the California Medical Association, the California National Organization for Women, the California Nurses Association, and the California Primary Care Association.

Berg’s latest measure already has support from 30 lawmakers, all of whom have agreed to co-author the bill.

There are currently 14 publicly run needle-exchange programs, in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Ventura, as well as the cities of Berkeley and Los Angeles.