ALANIS BILL SUPPORTING THE BLIND COMMUNITY SIGNED INTO LAW
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblymember Alanis announced that his bill supporting Californians who identify as blind or having low-vision has been signed into law by the Governor.
The bill, AB 1902, requires pharmacy dispensers to provide accessible prescription medication labels for these patients upon request. These accessible labels extend from supplemental documentation with large font for those with low-vision to braille or text-to-speech technology for patients who are blind.
“This movement toward accessible prescription medication labels has persisted for more than a decade now,” said the Assemblyman Alanis. “I am ecstatic to see these recommendations become law and to help the blind community move one step closer to receiving accessible healthcare.”
The bill was sponsored by the California Council of the Blind and was based on recommendations published back in 2013 from a United States Access Board Working Group. AB 1902 is a significant step in the right direction toward ensuring that all Californians can receive accommodations within the healthcare space.
“I want to thank the countless stakeholder groups who not only advocated for this bill throughout the entire legislative process, but also provided valuable feedback to ensure that our pharmacies are adequately prepared to implement this policy,” added Alanis.
The law will go into effect on January 1, 2025. It is the tenth bill authored by Assemblymember Alanis to be signed into law during his first term. He still has seven other measures pending for the Governor’s consideration.
Assemblymember Juan Alanis represents the 22nd Assembly District, which includes the communities of Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Denair, Patterson, Gustine, Newman, Hilmar, Ballico, Snelling, Keyes, Grayson, Crows Landing, Diablo Grande, Stevinson, & Empire.