Governor Scheduled public hearings Feb. 15 and...

Governor Scheduled public hearings Feb. 15 and 22 in Sacramento on his plan to create a new Department of Waste Management, which would consolidate efforts of 12 state agencies now dealing with disposal and cleanup of wastes.

Assembly Bills Introduced:

Health Insurance: AB 600 by Assemblyman Alister McAlister (D-Fremont) would establish a health insurance association to provide coverage to those people who are unable to obtain insurance from other sources.

Plant Closures: AB 598 by Assemblyman Robert J. Campbell (D-Richmond) would require employers with an average of 50 employees to give 90 days’ notice when planning a full or partial plant closure or face a possible penalty of $1,000 per employee.

Sales Tax on Candy: AB 576 by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) would remove a sales tax exemption on candy and use the proceeds to help offset state and federal funding of child nutrition and dental care programs.

Missing Children: AB 606 by Assemblyman Gray Davis (D-Los Angeles) would increase criminal penalties for kidnaping a child under the age of 14 and set up a fund to offer rewards for information leading to the recovery of missing children.

Senate Bills Introduced:

Senior Citizen Housing: SB 338 by Sen. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) would authorize a $600-million bond issue to provide rental housing for the elderly and handicapped.

Museum: SB 337 by Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) would appropriate $5 million to the Simon Wiesenthal Center For Holocaust Studies in West Los Angeles to build a museum of tolerance and acquire exhibits relating to man’s inhumanity to man.

Family Reunion Month: SCR 15 by Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-Gardena) would designate the period between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day as Family Reunion Month in California.

Miscellany Lobbyists Reelect President: Donald Carlton Burns, president of OMI Governmental Relations, has been reelected to a second one-year term as president of the Institute of Governmental Advocates--or lobbyists for short. The institute includes more than 200 Capitol lobbyists representing a variety of special interests.

California Legislators Beware: An amendment to the Arizona Constitution has been proposed that would require candidates for the Legislature to take reading and intelligence examinations and have the results posted next to their names on primary and general election ballots.