Doctors and Nurses

AB 253 by Assembly member Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) would reduce the membership of the Medical Board of California from 21 to 15 and also would eliminate the two divisions of the board -- licensing and medical quality. Instead, the board as a whole would handle both functions (Bill Text, 8/30). The measure is before the governor (Bill Status, 9/19).

The Legislature approved a measure (AB 1559) by Assembly member Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) that would require community college nursing programs that do not exclusively use a lottery system for admissions to take into account applicants' academic performance, work or volunteer experience, and other criteria (Bill Text, 8/29). Schwarzenegger is considering the bill (Bill Status, 9/21).