respective houses by today's deadline.
Robert Chacon
State legislators have been burning the midnight oil in the state
Capitol in an effort to get their bills passed from their respective
houses before today's deadline.
In order to have a chance at becoming law, bills must be approved
by their house of origin.
"This is one of the busiest weeks of the year," said Karen Kim,
press secretary for Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer. "We were
on the floor until 1 a.m. last night and we should be there pretty
late tonight."
By Thursday, local legislators were successful in getting some of
their significant bills passed and were waiting on the fate -- at
least for this year -- of others. The legislators and some of their
major bills that are still alive are as follows.
State Sen. Jack Scott:
* SB 148 Liquor Store Licensing: Requires liquor stores to conform
to city zoning laws.
* SB 163 Pharma Drug Marketing Costs: Pharmaceutical companies
contracting with the state would have to report the percentage spent
on marketing and the percentage spent on research and development.
* SB Seniors/Annuity Abuse: Requires insurers to develop and use
"suitability standards" for the sale of annuities to seniors.
* SB 207 Drunk Driving Impound: Repeat DUI offenders may have
vehicles impounded for up to 15 days if rearrested for drunk driving.
* SB 358 Foster Kids/Baby-sitting: Eliminates bureaucratic red
tape involved in hiring baby-sitters for foster children.
* SB 361 Community College Financing: Measure provides for major
reform of California Community College Financing.
* SB 724 Clinical Doctorates/CSU: Would allow California State
University to award clinical doctorate degrees in such areas as
audiology and education.
* SB 794 Vocational Education: Part of a package of bills to
expand career technical education in kindergarten through 12th grade
and community colleges.
"I am very pleased that my legislative package received bipartisan
support in the Senate and I look forward to moving these bills
through the Assembly," Scott said.
Assemblyman Dario Frommer:
* AB 72, 73, 75 and 76: Prescription Drug Package: Would require
drug makers to publicly register most clinical trials of prescription
drugs and publish the summary results of those bills. Would provide
information to consumers about international pharmacies that meet
state standards for safety and accessibility that sell prescription
drugs for 40% to 70% less. Would establish a state program offering a
