Pharmacists Must Tell Elderly of Hazards of Mixing Drugs

Pharmacists will be required to warn senior citizens of possible health hazards resulting from mixing prescription drugs under legislation signed into law by Gov. George Deukmejian.

The new law is the outgrowth of a measure (AB 3276) authored by Assemblyman Bruce Bronzan (D-Fresno) at the request of his father, Nick, who is a member of the unofficial Senior Legislature. This group meets annually to discuss and provide guidance on issues of concern to seniors that often turn into bills introduced by actual lawmakers.

Druggists will be required to affix labels to prescription drugs advising seniors to provide them with a list of other medications they are taking and to ask questions about possible adverse reactions.

GOVERNOR

Bills Signed

Income Taxes: AB 3045 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco) to make it a misdemeanor to forge a spouse’s signature without her or his consent on a state income tax form.

Baby Thefts: AB 4071 by Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly (D-Sacramento) to require hospitals to increase security procedures to help reduce baby thefts from maternity wards.

Earthquakes: SB 1835 by Sen. Alfred Alquist (D-San Jose) to require the state Seismic Safety Commission to develop a coordinated five-year earthquake research plan.

School Bus Drivers: AB 3636 by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) to allow the state to temporarily suspend or withhold issuance of a school bus driver’s license if the holder or applicant is charged with or arrested for a sex offense.

Mammograms: AB 3117 by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) to require health insurance plans to pay for mammograms used to detect breast cancer in patients referred by nurse practitioners or midwives.

Spousal Abuse: AB 2632 by Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) to require people convicted of injuring their spouses and given probation to participate in a batterers’ treatment program.

Cordless Telephones: AB 3457 by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) to make it a crime to intercept calls made over cordless telephones as it already is for regular and cellular telephones.

Juvenile Records: AB 3466 by Assemblyman Robert Frazee (R-Carlsbad) to require the destruction of juvenile court records for some minor non-criminal offenses, such as curfew violation or truancy, when the offender reaches the age of 21.

Hospitals: SB 1840 by Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco) to require hospital emergency wards to provide interpreters or bilingual professional staff for patients with limited English proficiency or who are deaf.

Assault Weapons: SB 2480 by Sen. Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield) to permit the manufacture of assault weapons for sale to law enforcement and military personnel entitled to possess them if the manufacturer is licensed by the state Department of Justice.

Bills Vetoed

Mental Health Workers: AB 1693 by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) to require Los Angeles County to develop a security plan for its mental health workers to help prevent them from suffering possible injury or death. The bill was prompted by the murder of a social worker by a mentally ill homeless person last year at a Santa Monica outpatient clinic. The governor said the bill was unnecessary because the county already is working to improve security at all of its mental health facilities and has increased staff training to handle assaultive client behavior.