Several Health-Related Laws Take Effect in Calif. With Start of New Year
Of the hundreds of new laws approved by the Legislature and passed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) last year, several health-related measures are set to take effect this year, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/30/11).
New Health-Related Laws
The new health-related laws include:
- AB 25, by Assembly member Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward), which requires school athletic programs to bar a student suspected of sustaining a concussion from participating in athletic activity until the student has received written permission from a health care provider to return to the activity (Central Valley Business Times, 12/28/11);
- AB 210, by Assembly member Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), and SB 222, by Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), which require individual and small group health insurance policies to offer maternity care coverage (Gardner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12/30/11);
- AB 313, by Assembly member Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which requires nursing homes to inform patients and their relatives within 10 days if the state Department of Social Services determines that a serious health or safety violation has happened (Herdt, Ventura County Star, 12/31/11);
- AB 499, by Assembly member Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), which lets children ages 12 and older seek without parental consent medical services to prevent sexually transmitted infections, including vaccinations against the human papillomavirus (Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 1/1);
- AB 604, by Assembly member Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), which gives state public health officials the authority to establish needle-exchange programs in communities that are at risk for the spread of bloodborne infections;
- AB 688, by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Natomas), which prohibits retailers from selling expired infant food and formula, as well as old over-the-counter medicine, that has lost pharmaceutical or nutritional benefits;
- SB 39, by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles), which prohibits the production, distribution and sale of beer that contains caffeine added as a separate ingredient;
- SB 41, by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), which allows pharmacists to sell up to 30 sterile syringes to California adults without a prescription (Central Valley Business Times, 12/28/11);
- SB 161, by Sen. Robert Huff (R-Diamond Bar), which allows school districts to permit nonmedical employees to receive training to administer medication to students who experience a seizure while on campus grounds (Sacramento Bee, 1/1);
- SB 299, by Evans, which requires employers with at least five employees to maintain group health insurance coverage for women who take maternity leave for up to four months (Central Valley Business Times, 12/28/11);
- SB 332, by Padilla, which grants landlords the authority to ban smoking in or near rental units (Glover, Sacramento Bee, 1/2).
- SB 420, by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), which makes it a misdemeanor to sell or distribute the synthetic cannabinoid compound commonly known as "spice" or "K2" (Central Valley Business Times, 12/28/11);
- SB 514, by Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), which prohibits the sale of over-the-counter products containing the cough suppressant ingredient dextromethorphan to children younger than age 18 (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/28/11);
- SB 746, by Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), which prohibits children younger than age 18 from using tanning beds (Central Valley Business Times, 12/28); and
- SB 929, by Evans, which requires children to use car booster seats until they reach age 8 or grow taller than 4 feet 9 inches (Locke/Bizjak, Sacramento Bee, 12/27/11); and
- SB 946, by Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), which requires insurers to cover behavioral treatment for autism (San Diego Union-Tribune, 12/30/11).
Broadcast Coverage
On Monday, KQEDâs âThe California Reportâ reported on some of the new health-related laws that are taking effect this year in California (Varney, âThe California Report,â KQED, 1/2).
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