Scott bills move through

Several bills introduced by state Sen. Jack Scott are on their way to

the governor’s desk after being passed by the state Assembly this

week. A bill aimed at keeping drunk drivers off the streets was

passed by the state Assembly Friday by a vote of 55 to 13. Under the

bill, if a driver is convicted of driving under the influence in the

prior 10 years and is found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.10%

or refuses to take a chemical test, police can impound the driver’s

vehicle for either five or 15 days.

“I introduced this bill because the Department of Motor Vehicles

has concluded that for many drunk drivers, confiscating their

vehicles may be the only way to get their attention,” Scott said in a

statement. “If you take away their driver’s licenses, they’ll

continue to drive. But, if you take away their car, it’s going to be

a more effective punishment.”

Another bill, which passed with a bipartisan vote of 50 to 24, is

aimed at keeping ammunition out of the hands of minors. The bill

calls age limits at 18 and 21, respectively, to be set on buying

ammunition and would require vendors to check identification to make

sure the buyer is of legal age.

A third Scott bill that was approved in the state Assembly this

week would allow the California State University system to offer

doctoral degrees in education. The bill reflects an agreement made

between the California State and the University of California systems

and the Schwarzenegger administration. Currently, only the University

of California has been permitted to grant doctorate degrees. The bill

has to make its way through the state Senate before it canmove to the

governor for his approval.

Besides the bills that have passed muster in the Legislature, the

governor signed a fourth bill this week that was introduced by Scott

to remove a Jan. 1, 2008, sunset provision from current law that

exempted nonprofit clinics from licensure requirements. The law, SB

47, will require nonprofit clinics to satisfy requirements regarding

medical research and the receipt of charitable contributions and

bequests made on or before Jan. 1, 2005.

It will also make reports to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2007, and

every five years after. Current law exempts certain types of clinics

from meeting licensing requirements, including those operated

federally, by a federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal

organization, those operated as an outpatient department of a

hospital, those operated by a primary care community or free clinic,

student health centers and nonprofit speech and hearing centers.

The new law will require these clinics to make reports to the

Legislature that will include an evaluation of how the clinic

affected competition in the health care market and a detailed

description of the clinic’s research results. The reports will also

include a description of procedures performed in both the nonprofit

clinics and those performed in other settings, and the cost of the

reports will be paid for by the clinics.

Supervisor tough on timecard fraud

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich called for the

county to crack down on timecard fraud and abuse by county doctors

this week.

Antonovich made a motion Tuesday to direct the director of the

Department of Health Services to implement recommendations made by

the Auditor-Controller’s Office, which would establish a

department-wide policy requiring timecards to be fully completed to

include hours worked as well as arrival and departure times. The

report also recommended the Department of Health Services should

develop a standard doctor sign-in and sign-out sheets and work

schedule forms and hold supervisors accountable for ensuring that

their doctors use them. Other recommendations include a formal

mechanism to verify the hours worked by contracted physicians,

because members of the facility’s management who are not always

present when the contractors claim to be working usually certify

hours billed to the county. The auditor also recommended

centralization of human resources to monitor outside employment of

its physicians.

Board accepts security grants

The Board of Supervisors also accepted nearly $25 million in grant

funds from the Department of Homeland Security for terrorism

preparedness, Supervisor Mike Antonovich announced this week. About

$11 million will be distributed to the county’s district attorney,

health services, mental health, sheriff, personnel, public works,

Office of Public safety, fire department and coroner. Cities are to

receive the remaining $14 million.

Mountjoy resolution on way to state Senate

A resolution penned by Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy to honor the

United States Constitution was unanimously passed this week,

declaring the third week in September as Constitution Week and Sept.

17 as Constitution Day.

“The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are the two

most important documents in our nation’s history,” Mountjoy said in a

statement. “We celebrate the Declaration of Independence on the

Fourth of July. It is only right that we celebrate our Constitution

as well.”

The Constitution was written during the summer of 1787 during the

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The delegates to the

convention ratified the Constitution and sent it to the states for

approval on Sept. 17, 1787.

The resolution must next be approved by the state Senate before it

can be signed into law by the governor.