Pubdate: Sun, 10 Oct 1999
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Examiner
Contact:  http://www.examiner.com/
Forum: http://examiner.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author: Robert Salladay

DAVIS OKS WATERED-DOWN NEEDLE LAW

SACRAMENTO - San Francisco, Berkeley, Marin County and other communities
can legally continue their needle-exchange programs for intravenous drug
addicts, under a measure signed Saturday by Gov. Davis.

The measure was one of dozens the Democratic governor acted upon as he
worked through the weekend, facing a midnight Sunday deadline. He also
signed bills outlawing the use of laser pointers in a threatening manner,
expanding the state's recycling program, and expanding Medi-Cal benefits
for AIDS patients and the disabled. The needle exchange bill is
significantly weaker than the version originally sent to him by the
Legislature. Davis had said he would veto that bill because he believed it
sent a mixed message to children and teenagers about illegal drug use.

The original bill would have sanctioned needle exchange programs in any
California community that wanted one and made sweeping statments about the
effectiveness of needle exchange programs.

The new law simply exempts cities like San Francisco and its employees from
criminal prosecution if they distribute hypodermic needles or syringes -
under emergency orders approved by local officials.

The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, isn't as bold as some Bay Area
leaders had hoped.

"It's half a loaf," said San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Tom
Ammiano. "It's less comprehensive and a lot more cumbersome. I get
frustrated because there is this preponderance of evidence that
needle-exchange programs work. There are lives at stake. . . . This is an
important first step, but basically let's just say it's bittersweet."

Under the new law, San Francisco must continue to declare a state of
emergency over the AIDS epidemic every 14 days, a legal hoop other cities
haven't been willing to take because their lawyers fear prosecution from
the state.

Berkeley, Marin County, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles also run programs under
emergency orders. The new law would free more timid communities in
California to start their own programs. Officials in Contra Costa and
Sacramento counties have said they would start needle-exchange programs if
they had legal cover, and now they do.

But Ammiano said he feared other communities would not be as supportive as
San Francisco, which could mean long political debates every two weeks that
a city council or board of supervisors is forced to declare a state of
emergency.

San Francisco distributes about 2 million clean needles every year working
with a local budget of about $580,000. That money also buys educational
materials and referrals to drug-abuse treatment programs for anyone willing
to listen at the exchange sites.

Other programs run illegally but with the tacit consent of local law
enforcement. Whether a city has a program depends greatly on the views of
local political authorities and the local district attorney.

The new law was written by Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni, D-Novato, who said
she was willing to accept Davis' amendments because they showed progress
after 16 years of Republican governors who consistently vetoed
needle-exchange legalization.

Six federally funded studies have shown needle programs reduce HIV
transmission without increasing drug use. But Barry McCaffrey, director of
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has been an
outspoken opponent to the programs, which operate in about 100 U.S. cities.

Among other measures the governor signed:

* A bill making it a misdemeanor - punishable by up to 30 days in jail -
for directing a laser scope or laser pointer at anyone in a threatening
manner.

The bill also makes it an infraction - with a fine of $50 or four hours of
community service - to aim laser pointers at another person's eyes, at a
dog's eyes, or into a moving vehicle. The law also forbids selling laser
pointers to minors. Elementary and junior high school students also could
not take the pointers to school.

The law was written after a 34-year-old San Jose man was arrested last year
for racing down a foggy stretch of U.S. 101 at up to 100 mph, zigzagging
through traffic and flashing a laser light at other drivers before causing
a five-car pileup that left four teenagers dead.

* A bill allowing AIDS patients and others considered disabled under
federal law to return to work without losing Medi-Cal benefits because
their income has increased.

The bill, written by Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, requires
the state Department of Health Services to increase, by April 2000, the
income eligibility for working disabled people. The new eligibility would
be 250 percent of the poverty level.

Migden has said new AIDS treatments, such as protease inhibitors, have
improved the health of people. many of whom may want to return to work. But
the fear of losing Medi-Cal health benefits or not being able to access
these drug treatments because their jobs may not provide health insurance
prevents many people from actually seeking work.

Davis said his goal is "to enable people with disabilities to return to
work and become fully engaged and productive citizens." Former Gov. Pete
Wilson vetoed a similar bill by Migden last year.

* A bill expanding California's beverage container recycling program to
include all plastic containers, including those for water, sports drinks,
juice, teas and coffee.

Recycling proponents have said the original law needed to be modified to
accommodate the changing habits of consumers. The expanded program, which
also takes effect in January, is expected to add about 2 billion new
containers a year to the 12 billion currently eligible.

* A measure to pay $620,000 in restitution - tax free - to Kevin Lee Green,
who was wrongfully accused of second-degree murder for killing his unborn
child and attempted murder of his wife. He served nearly 17 years in
maximum-security prisons until DNA tests confirmed he was not the killer.
Another man subsequently confessed to the crime, was convicted and now sits
on death row.

* A measure attempting to slow down the proliferation of area codes. Davis
said he wanted to avoid "the costly and confusing area code overlays" that
have drawn criticism from consumers.

The bill requires the state Public Utilities Commission to allocate phone
numbers to carriers more efficiently, a move the governor said would hold
down the number of new area codes.

The governor also asked the PUC to reverse its plans for overlays and
11-digit dialing in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and other communities
pending further studies.

Davis vetoed a bill that would have allowed fines to be levied against
public agencies that break California's open records law. Under the bill, a
judge would have decided whether $100-per-day penalties would be imposed.
The bill also called for the state attorney general's office to issue
advisories on the validity of open-records complaints.

In Davis's explanation for the veto issued Saturday, the governor said he
had signed a separate bill that made it impossible for him to sign the
public records bill without creating conflicts of interest.

First Amendment advocates had hoped the bill would go a long way toward
winning compliance from agencies that ignore California's open records law.

The California Public Records Act makes all state and local government
records available to the public and press, with some exceptions.
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