California Healthline Highlights Recent Legislative Activity
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday and Saturday acted on legislation addressing health care providers, emergency preparedness and workers' compensation insurance. Summaries appear below.
Gov. Schwarzenegger on Friday signed:
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AB 2280 by Assembly member Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), which will allow physicians or nurse practitioners to prescribe or provide medication to treat gonorrhea or other sexually transmitted infections to patients' sexual partners without examining the partners (Bill text, 8/30).
- AB 2408 by Assembly member Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair), which will permit the California Board of Pharmacy to report to other state or federal agencies violations of laws or regulations by pharmacies not based in California but registered to do business in California (Bill text, 8/31).
Schwarzenegger on Friday vetoed SB 1204 by Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland), which would have required hospitals to develop patient lifting policies to prevent back injuries among employees (Bill text, 8/31).
The governor on Friday signed AB 586 by Negrete McLeod, which will permit county health officers in conjunction with local emergency medical services administrators to coordinate local emergency services and lead development of medical and health disaster plans (Bill text, 8/28).
SB 1430 by Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) would specify the duties of state and local organizations if a local health official declares a state of emergency (Bill text, 8/31). Schwarzenegger signed the bill on Saturday.
The governor on Friday vetoed AB 2584 by Assembly member Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), which would have required the Department of Health Services to establish a program to track steps taken to correct deficiencies identified in disaster preparedness exercises (Bill text, 8/17).
Schwarzenegger on Saturday signed AB 2068 by Assembly members Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) and Sally Lieber (D-San Jose), which will extend until Dec. 31, 2009, a provision that guarantees workers' compensation claimants the right to be treated by their personal physicians (Bill text, 8/30).
The governor on Friday vetoed AB 1862 by Assembly member Juan Vargas (D-Chula Vista), which would have required the administrative director of the Division of Workers' Compensation to prepare a report to the Legislature on first aid treatment provided to injured workers (Bill text, 8/30).
Schwarzenegger on Saturday also vetoed:
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AB 1883 by De La Torre, which would have created a program to enforce regulations that require employers to maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage (Bill text, 8/29).
- AB 2287 by Assembly member Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), which would have adopted treatment guidelines developed by the Council of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Association and the Foundation for Acupuncture Research as treatment guidelines for acupuncture benefits under the state workers' compensation insurance system (Bill text, 8/29).
KPBS' "KPBS News" on Tuesday reported on Schwarzenegger's recent approval of several health care measures. The segment includes comments from Anthony Wright, executive director of advocacy group Health Access California (Goldberg, "KPBS News," KPBS, 10/3).
The complete transcript is available online. The complete segment is available online in Windows Media.