Voters OK Bonds for Kids’ Hospitals, Reject Parental Notification
Final results in Tuesday's election indicate that Californians approved selling nearly $1 billion in bonds for children's hospitals, but rejected -- for the third time -- a measure that would require minors to notify a parent before an abortion, the Los Angeles Times reports (Bailey/Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times, 11/6).
Children's Hospitals
Proposition 3, the children's hospital measure, passed with 55% of the vote (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/6).
The proposition will issue $980 million in state bonds to fund renovation, expansion, or the purchase of new furnishings and equipment at California's eight not-for-profit children's hospitals.
Twenty percent of the funds will be reserved for facilities operated by the University of California (California Healthline, 11/5).
The bond funds will be paid to hospitals over a 30-year period (Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/5).
Parental Notification
Proposition 4, the parental notification measure, was rejected by 52% of voters (Nieves, AP/Ventura County Star, 11/6).
The measure would have required physicians to notify a parent at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor.
The measure included exemptions that would permit another adult family member to be notified in some cases and a juvenile court judge to waive the requirement in some situations (California Healthline, 11/5).
Voters rejected similar measures in 2005 and 2006 (AP/Ventura County Star, 11/6). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.