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:
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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);
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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);
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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);
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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);
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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;
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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;
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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;
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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);
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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);
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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);
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SB 332, by Padilla, which grants landlords the authority to ban smoking in or near rental units (Glover, Sacramento Bee, 1/2).
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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);
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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);
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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
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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
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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, KQED’s “The California Report” reported on some of the new health-related laws that are taking effect this year in California (Varney, “The California Report,” KQED, 1/2).