Editorial Boards, Advocates Urge Action on Health Bills
As the Oct. 14 deadline for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to sign or veto legislation approaches, editorial boards and commentators are encouraging the governor to act on health care-related bills. Highlights are provided below.
A Times editorial encourages the governor to sign:
- AB 1324, by Assembly member Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), which would bar insurers from retroactively canceling individual insurance policies unless they could prove that members intentionally lied on applications; and
- AB 1334, by Assembly member Sandre Swanson (D-Alameda), which is intended to curb the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in prisons by permitting condoms to be distributed.
Conversely, the Times recommends that Gov. Schwarzenegger veto SB 7, by Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), arguing that its proposed prohibition on smoking in cars with children present is "an example of good intentions gone awry" (Los Angeles Times, 10/10).
Meanwhile, the Union-Tribune calls on Schwarzenegger to sign SB 801, which would place on the ballot a measure that would subject the Chiropractic Board of California to the oversight of the state Department of Consumer Affairs.
Noting the governor's personal friendships with members of the board who oppose the move, the Union-Tribune states that a veto of the bill "would be a betrayal of public interest -- and an act of rank, repellent cronyism" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/10).
In a Bee opinion piece, Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and Lupe Alonzo-Diaz, executive director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, recommend that the governor sign SB 120 by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) and Carole Migden (D-San Francisco). The bill would require chain restaurants to post nutritional information.
Goldstein and Alonzo-Diaz write, "By signing SB 120, the governor would once again lead the nation, putting the welfare and desires of everyday Californians ahead of the clamor of powerful food and beverage lobbies" (Goldstein/Alonzo-Diaz, Sacramento Bee, 10/10).