Delegate Bonnie Brown (WV)

Delegate Bonnie Brown served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1982-86, 1990-92, and from 2000 to the present. She is currently a State Director for Women in Government. Delegate Brown attended the 2006 and 2008 HPV and Cervical Cancer Summits.

Delegate Brown introduced several pieces of legislation on a variety of cervical cancer issues. In 2007, Delegate Brown introduced House Bill 2835, requiring HPV vaccination for all girls entering 6th grade. As was the case for the majority of such bills nationwide, the bill was killed in committee. In 2006, Delegate Brown sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 21, recognizing the month of January as Cervical Cancer Month and encouraging women to take advantage of the services available to screen for cervical cancer. This resolution successfully passed both the House of Delegates and the Senate. Delegate Brown also sponsored House Bill 4379, requiring insurance policies and medical benefit plans to include coverage of HPV testing and pap smears, when medically appropriate and consistent with relevant national guidelines. The bill was signed into law in April, 2006.

Representative Phyllis Kahn and Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon (MN)

Representative Phyllis Kahn and Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon are Minnesota state legislators. Both are State Directors for Women in Government. Representative Kahn is currently serving her 19th term in the House of Representatives. She attended the 2007 and 2008 HPV and Cervical Cancer Summits. Senator Prettner Solon was elected in 2002 and attended the 2005 HPV and Cervical Cancer Summit.

Representative Kahn and Senator Prettner Solon have jointly introduced numerous pieces of legislation in their respective chambers. In 2005, they introduced House Bill 158/Senate Bill 24 to establish the Cervical Cancer Elimination Task Force, but neither bill left committee. Both were reintroduced in 2006, without success. In 2007 and again in 2008, the two legislators introduced House Bill 2044/Senate Bill 1796, requesting a study of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine. House Bill 1758/Senate Bill 1533 was introduced in 2009, requesting that educational materials be provided for parents or guardians of preteens on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. Senator Prettner Solon also introduced Senate Bill 243 in 2007 which required HPV vaccination of female children age 12 and older and the development of educational materials on HPV vaccination. Although none of these bills were successfully passed into law, these legislators demonstrate admirable persistence in their legislative efforts.

Senator Connie Lawson (IN)

Senator Connie Lawson was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1996 and has served as Majority Floor Leader for the duration of her time in office. Senator Lawson is a State Director of Women in Government and previously held a variety of posts on the Board of Directors, including Chair in 2007. She attended all four HPV and Cervical Cancer Summits between 2005 and 2008, facilitating discussion and presenting opening remarks at the 2007 and 2008 Summits.

Senator Lawson introduced two pieces of legislation on cervical cancer prevention. The first, Senate Concurrent Resolution 8, advocated for a review of cervical cancer and HPV data by the Legislative Council and encouraged increased awareness on cervical cancer and HPV issues by both the legislature and women in Indiana. This resolution was adopted February 19, 2004. In 2007, Senator Lawson introduced Senate Bill 327, which required schools enrolling grade 6 female students to provide parents with information about cervical cancer, HPV, and the HPV vaccine. The bill also required that parents of 6th grade female students provide a written statement stating that the student received, will receive, or will not receive the HPV vaccine. There is no penalty for not furnishing this information. However, schools must file a statement of the number of female students in grade 6 who are included in each category. This bill was enacted by the general assembly.

Representative Barbara Marumoto-Coons (HI)

Representative Barbara Marumoto-Coons has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1978. She is the Western Regional Director of Women in Government and attended the 2005, 2006, and 2008 HPV and Cervical Cancer Summits. Representative Marumoto-Coons also spoke during a recent HPV/Cervical Cancer conference call about the status of cervical cancer prevention in Hawai’i.

Representative Marumoto-Coons has introduced legislation to create a Cervical Cancer Elimination Task Force (House Bill 249), legislation to recognize January as Cervical Cancer Month (passed in 2006 as Senate Concurrent Resolution 1), and legislation requesting the women’s caucus of the Hawai’i state legislature to form action groups to disseminate information focused on the elimination of cervical cancer in Hawai’i (House Resolution 123, passed in 2005). In 2009, Hawai’i legislators passed House Concurrent Resolution 51, introduced by Representative Marumoto-Coons, requesting that the Department of Health increase educational efforts to prevent and eradicate cervical cancer.