California Healthline Rounds Up Governor’s Recent Legislative Actions
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) recently acted upon several health-related bills. Summaries appear below.
Signed
Schwarzenegger signed the following legislation:
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AB 1077, sponsored by Assembly member Herb Wesson (D-Los Angeles) (Office of the Governor release, 9/28). The law will authorize the use of an additional $100 million in lease-revenue bonds to complete the construction of veterans homes in West Los Angeles, Lancaster, Ventura, Fresno and Redding (Lawrence, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 9/29).
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AB 2943, sponsored by Assembly member Fran Pavley (D-Woodland Hills), will ban pregnant women and children younger than age three from receiving vaccines that contain more than trace amounts of thimerosal (Talev et al., Sacramento Bee, 9/29). The bill also includes a provision that will allow state officials to waive the ban on thimerosal -- a preservative made with ethyl mercury -- during a public health emergency, such as a flu vaccine shortage. The law will take effect in July 2006 (California Healthline, 8/27).
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AB 3023, sponsored by Assembly member Barbara Matthews (D-Stockton), will require the California Medical Board to report the revocation of a doctor's license to the Department of Health Services within 10 days.
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AB 3029, also sponsored by Matthews, will require Medi-Cal beneficiaries seeking payment to provide beneficiary numbers, rather than just social security numbers (Brewer, Stockton Record, 9/28).
- SB 1456, sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) (Office of the Governor release, 9/28). The law will provide certain self-governance rights for hospital staff, including physicians and surgeons (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 9/29).
Vetoed
Schwarzenegger vetoed the following bills:
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AB 750, sponsored by Matthews, would have required companies that provide Medi-Cal beneficiaries with custom rehabilitation medical devices to contract with or hire qualified staff members to assure patients' medical needs before issuing equipment. Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that he rejected the bill, which passed by wide margins in the Assembly and Senate, because it would have permitted companies to hire speech language pathologists for diagnostic procedures that they are not qualified to perform, undermining efforts to contain Medi-Cal costs (Stockton Record, 9/28).
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AB 857, sponsored by Assembly member Dario Frommer (D-Los Angeles), would have established a state autism information center to provide support and services for parents of autistic children. Schwarzenegger in his veto message said that the state's 21 regional autism centers provide parents with adequate aid (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 9/29).
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AB 1399, sponsored by Assembly member John Longville (D-San Bernardino), would have required correctional facility officers to evaluate the psychosocial needs of inmates within three months of their incarceration.
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AB 1946, sponsored by Assembly member Darrel Steinberg (D-Sacramento), would have allowed physically incapacitated inmates to be released from prison early if a judge ruled that they would not threaten public safety (Rau, Los Angeles Times, 9/25). The bill would have required more aggressive notification of prisoners about a program that allows the state to release terminally ill prisoners who have six months or less to live. The bill could have saved the state an estimated $750,000 annually in prison costs (California Healthline, 5/25). Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill because he said it did not include a provision to return inmates to prison if they became a threat after their release.
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AB 2742, sponsored by Assembly member Dennis Mountjoy (R-Monrovia), would have required prisons to give inmates examined by outside physicians all the medical treatments prescribed to them. The governor rejected the bill because he said it would have increased prison costs (Los Angeles Times, 9/25).
- SB 1365, sponsored by Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Santa Rosa), would have expanded efforts to move state residents with disabilities out of institutions and nursing homes. Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that the state has no need for the law. Patricia Yeager, director of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, said the state "needs to do more" to comply with federal mandates that encourage people with disabilities to live independently in their communities (Sacramento Bee, 9/29).