AB 371: Health Facilities/Safe Patient Handling (Huffman – D)

This bill would have required every general acute care hospital that applies for tax-exempt bonds to specify how the hospital plans to implement or has implemented a program with a safe patient handling policy.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 44 – 29, 8/30/2008, Pass
SENATE: 22- 16, 8/29/2008, Pass
GOVERNOR: Vetoed

AB 638 Student financial aid: California Physician Assistant Loan Assumption Program (Bass – D)

This bill establishes scholarships for physician assistant students and educational loan repayments for physician assistants who provide services in medically underserved areas.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 74 – 0, 08/14/2008, Pass
SENATE: 36 -1, 08/13/2008, Pass
GOVERNOR: Signed Into Law

AB 1436 Nurse practitioners (Hernandez – D)

The bill would have provided a nurse practitioner authorization to perform comprehensive health care services, admit and discharge patients, change a treatment regimen, or initiate an emergency procedure.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 76-0, 1/29/2008, Pass
SENATE: Died In Senate

AB 2716 Employment: Paid Sick Days (Ma-D)

This bill would have provided that an employee who works in California for 7 or more days in a calendar year is entitled to paid sick days, which accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 45 – 33, 5/28/08, Pass
SENATE: Held in Senate Appropriations Committee

SB 840 Single-payer Health Care Coverage (Kuehl – D)

The bill would have made all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits under the newly established California Healthcare System, which would, on a single-payer basis, have negotiated for or set fees for health care services provided through the system and paid claims for those services.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 44 – 32, 8/29/08, Pass
SENATE: 22 – 14, 8/31/08, Pass
GOVERNOR: Vetoed

SB 1151 Hospitals/Lift Teams (Perata – D)

This legislation would have required a general acute care hospital, as defined, to establish a patient protection and health care worker back injury prevention plan.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 45-29, 8/14/08, Pass
SENATE: 22-16, 5/27/08, Pass
GOVERNOR: Vetoed

SB 1406 Optometry (Correa -D)

This bill allows optometrists certified to use therapeutic pharmaceutical agents to diagnose/treat the eye, any part of the visual system, for any of the conditions that he or she is trained and authorized by the Board of Optometry.

UNAC/UHCP Position: Yes – Support
ASSEMBLY: 74 – 0, 8/21/08, Pass
SENATE: 38 – 0, 8/29/08, Pass
GOVERNOR: Signed Into Law