Davis Signs, Vetoes a Number of Health-Related Bills
Gov. Gray Davis (D) in the past week has signed a number of health-related bills into law. Summaries of the laws appear below:
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AB 925: Sponsored by Assembly member Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley), the law requires state agencies to partner to address "certain institutional barriers" against individuals with disabilities and mandates that the state cover the cost of "personal-care" services for the disabled in the workplace (Office of the Governor release, 9/29).
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AB 982: Sponsored by Assembly member Marco Firebaugh (D-East Los Angeles), the law establishes loan repayment programs for physicians and dentists administered by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the Medical Board of California and the Dental Board of California. The two boards will reimburse loans with funds collected from license fees (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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AB 1140: Sponsored by Assembly member Helen Thomson (D-Davis), the law requires the Board of Registered Nursing to "collect, analyze and report on" workforce information collected from licensees (AP/Fresno Bee, 9/30).
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AB 1793: Sponsored by Assembly member Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), the law requires the state to recommend and adopt "model content standards" in physical education curricula at public schools and to monitor the number of hours of physical education available to students in kindergarten through grade 12 (Office of the Governor release, 9/28).
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AB 1825: Sponsored by Assembly member George Nakano (D-Torrance), the law provides 30 days of additional sick leave for state employees who donate an organ and five days of additional leave for employees who donate bone marrow. Under the bill, employees must use their current sick days before they can qualify for the additional leave (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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AB 1847: Sponsored by Assembly member Lou Correa (D-Anaheim), the law makes peace officers and firefighters, or their families, eligible for benefits when they develop a disease as a result of work-related biochemical exposure. Diseases that qualify individuals for benefits include heart problems, pneumonia, hernia, tuberculosis, low back impairment, cancer or a blood-borne pathogen (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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AB 1908: Sponsored by Assembly member Rebecca Cohn (D-Saratoga), the law eliminates a rule that requires employees enrolled in CalPERS to cover the full cost of long-term care premiums and allows employers to assist with the payments (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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AB 2006: Sponsored by Assembly member Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), the law mandates that Los Angeles County cannot withhold health benefits from unionized doctors. The law applies retroactively to July 1, 2001 (Office of the Governor release, 9/29).
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AB 2131: Sponsored by Assembly member Russ Bogh (R-Cherry Valley), the law requires employees to reimburse local governments for advance disability payments when their applications for the payments are later denied.
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AB 2149: Sponsored by Assembly member Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), the law allows state and California State University employees to receive coverage under the state's disability insurance through union negotiation and agreement (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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AB 2235: Sponsored by Assembly member Juan Vargas (D-San Diego), the law requires counties to provide the Department of Social Services with documentation to prove their compliance with a Jan. 1, 2003, deadline to establish an In-home Supportive Services employer of record for the purposes of collective bargaining with IHSS providers. The law also allows the state to impose sanctions against counties that fail to comply, such as wage deductions for county IHSS employees (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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AB 2817: Sponsored by Assembly member Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove), the law requires student sex education classes to include information about a state law that allows mothers to anonymously surrender an infant not older than 72 hours at an emergency room or "other designated location" (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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AB 2994: Sponsored by Assembly member Roderick Wright (D-South Central Los Angeles), the law requires the Department of Health Services to determine by Dec. 31, 2005, whether the state's new code-based system to track HIV cases has met standards mandated by the CDC (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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AB 3040: Sponsored by the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee, the law enacts "minor and technical changes" to CalPERS. In addition, the law revises the conditions for certain employee contributions and the procedures to inform prospective retirees about benefits (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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SB 398: Sponsored by Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), the law requires health insurers to meet with the Department of Managed Health Care at least 10 business days before they file for bankruptcy, except in "extraordinary circumstances" in which they could meet with the department 24 hours before they file for bankruptcy. The law also requires health plans that plan to withdraw from rural areas to hold public hearings in those areas and directs the DMHC to draft regulations to establish an extended geographic accessibility standard for health plans that serve rural areas.
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SB 1135: Sponsored by Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), the law requires DHS to establish regulations by July 1, 2004, that set licensing standards for tissue banks in the state (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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SB 1298: Sponsored by Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), the law codifies practices used by local health agencies to protect against intentional and unintentional outbreaks of diseases. In addition, the law reallocates funds to local health departments for disease control and surveillance activities (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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SB 1423: Sponsored by Chesbro, the law expands the scope of mental health services for "derivative victims" and "indefinitely" extends regulations that allow reimbursement for certain mental health services (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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SB 1464: Sponsored by Sen. Nell Soto (D-Pomona), the law requires local governments that participate in the CalPERS Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act program to increase their minimum payments for health insurance from $16 per month per employee or retiree to $97 per month per employee or retiree.
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SB 1536: Sponsored by Soto, the law provides the CalPERS Board of Administration with increased flexibility to administer an "effective" health benefits program for enrollees.
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SB 1911: Sponsored by Ortiz, the law allows the state Department of Mental Health to contract with a not-for-profit organization to develop an analysis of "increased federal funding and savings" to the General Fund and the county mental health system (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
- SB 2065: Sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), the law requires producers of low-level radioactive waste to provide DHS with "detailed" information about waste sent to disposal facilities or stored for future disposal or decay (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
Davis Vetoes
Davis in the past week also has vetoed a number of health-related bills. Summaries of the legislation appear below:
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AB 481: Sponsored by Firebaugh, the bill would have required school nurses or other trained school staff to administer insulin or glucagons and test and monitor the blood glucose levels of students at the request of their physicians. Davis said that the bill would have established a "costly new state reimbursable mandate" when current state law allows school staff to treat students with a written statement from their physicians and a written request from their parents (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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AB 523: Sponsored by Vargas, the bill would have restored Medi-Cal pharmacy reimbursement rates to the levels set before the 2002 Budget Act. Davis said that the bill would have raised expenses to levels not allowed under the Budget Act (Office of the Governor release, 9/29).
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AB 687: Sponsored by Thomson, the bill would have required local emergency medical authorities to establish a trauma care system by July 1, 2005. Davis said that the bill would have "significantly increased" costs for the state.
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AB 1905: Sponsored by Assembly member John Longville (D-Rialto), the bill would have established a diabetes screening pilot program operated by the Department of Education. Davis said that the bill would have increased costs for the state and that local officials should have authority over school health programs.
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AB 2124: Sponsored by Assembly member Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley), the bill would have allowed entities licensed as skilled nursing facilities that met certain criteria to remain licensed under certain conditions after the suspension of their licenses. Davis said that the bill would have benefited only one facility and set a "precedent that safety standards that a facility would otherwise be required to meet can be avoided."
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AB 2136: Sponsored by Assembly member Dean Florez (D-Shafter), the bill would have required the Superintendent of Public Instruction to appoint an advisory committee to identify and make recommendations to the state about model school health services programs and practices. Davis said that the state currently funds several student health programs and could not afford to fund future programs that the committee would recommend (Office of the Governor release, 9/29).
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AB 2529: Sponsored by Assembly member Gloria Negrette-McLeod (D-Chino), the bill would have expanded Department of Corrections programs established to prevent the spread of hepatitis C within the prison system. Davis said that the bill would have increased costs for the state and that the department could use current programs to address the problem (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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AB 2833: Sponsored by Assembly member Anthony Pescetti (R-Rancho Cordova), the bill would have required an increase in the Industrial Disability Retirement allowance that local agencies receive. Davis said that the bill would have increased costs for the state.
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AB 2930: Sponsored by Wright, the bill would have required physicians to inform pregnant women of their plans to perform an HIV test until the time of delivery except in cases where patients did not provide consent. Davis said the bill would have led to shift from a voluntary to a mandatory HIV test system, which could "reduce an at-risk woman's willingness to receive prenatal care."
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SB 1395: Sponsored by Sen. Michael Machado (D-Linden), the bill would have allowed employees to file workers' compensation claims for some non-work-related illnesses. Davis said that employees should only receive workers' compensation benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses (Office of the Governor release, 9/29).
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SB 1609: Sponsored by Soto, the bill would have extended "rebuttable presumption" for blood-borne diseases to licensed health care professionals for disability and workers' compensation claims. The bill would have required employers to prove that the illnesses were not the result of work-related injuries. Davis said the state has found no evidence that "employees are being denied service-related benefits for illnesses that are work-related" (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).
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SB 1767: Sponsored by Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda), the bill would have authorized DHS to seek federal waivers and state plan amendments that would allow Medi-Cal beneficiaries with a share of cost to enroll in managed care plans. Davis said that the bill would have required "significant staff resources" and increased costs for the state (Office of the Governor release, 9/27).
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SB 1785: Sponsored by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), the bill would have allowed licensed pharmacies to sell as many as 30 hypodermic needles to adults without a prescription. Davis said that the bill would not have required a "one-on-one needle exchange," which he said could lead to an increase in number of contaminated needles in public areas (Associated Press, 10/1).
- SB 2008: Sponsored by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), the bill would have established a loan repayment program for registered nursing students that would cover as much as $11,000 for qualified students. Davis said the bill would increase costs for the state and that current state programs and regulations "should assist California in making real progress in making nursing a more attractive career option" (Office of the Governor release, 9/30).