Senate

Drink, Drugs and Disclosure Day For Doctors

Monday is Drink, Drugs and Disclosure Day for doctors in Sacramento when three major patient safety bills are scheduled to be heard in the Senate Business & Professions committee.

The common theme is oversight and transparency for doctors. Will the Senate require openness and accountability from the medical community, especially when drugs and alcohol are involved?

Capitol Watchdog: Upcoming Meetings to Watch

A few hearings next week might spark some interest. Assembly Health will be taking up Assemblyman David Chiu's timely AB 463, the Pharmaceutical Cost Transparency Act, which would require drug companies to reveal operational costs in order to better understand pricing for ultra-high-priced drugs.

Capitol Watchdog: Upcoming Meetings to Watch

The state's political money watchdog has been aggressive in giving the public the ability to find out who and how much donors spend to sway lawmakers. So why is it considering removing behested contributions solicited by politicians from its website after seven years? Find that and other meetings that have statewide impact below for the week of Nov. 9 - 13.

Capitol Watchdog: Upcoming Meetings to Watch

Inadequate physician networks and out-of-network billing have cast an ugly shadow over the expanding healthcare market as more people have access to healthcare. Next Monday, the Department of Insurance will hold a hearing on new proposed regulations covering network adequacy and out-of-network billing in emergency services. 

Big Privacy Victory As Gov. Brown Signs CalECPA

Californians won a major privacy victory today that catches protections up with modern technology.  Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 178, the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA), into law.

It will require that law enforcement get a warrant before poking around in our digital records.  If the cops want to search your desk for letters and files, they need a warrant.  But who relies on paper files and letters these days?

No Vote, No Pay

There’s no more basic job description for being a lawmaker than evaluating and voting on bills. But an analysis released this week by Jim Miller at the Sacramento Bee says everyone in California’s Legislature doesn’t have the same work ethic.

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