The California Legislature is considering several bills that will have major consequences throughout the state and on the Hill.

 

Assistance with dying

The Senate approved a bill that would permit a terminally ill and medically competent patient to receive a prescription for a drug to aid in their death.

There are several requirements, such as two oral requests, a minimum of 15 days apart, for this assistance. Others include a signed, written request, witnessed by two individuals, to the patient’s attending physician. Also, the individual’s attending physician may refer the patient to an independent, consulting physician to confirm diagnosis and capacity of the patient to make medical decisions.

Senate Bill 128 was approved 23-15. Local Sen. Jeff Stone opposed the bill for several reasons. He urged patients not to give up hope for a miracle.

But also, as a pharmacist, he cited a physician’s mission to save lives.  Stone referred to the bill as promoting “death tourism.” “Come play, live and die in California,” he said.

 

Legal smoking age

On Tuesday, the Senate approved a bill to raise the legal age to purchase and consume cigarettes from 18 to 21. Stone was one of the 26 aye votes. Eight senators opposed Senate Bill 151, which Sen. Dr. Ed Hernandez, O.D. (D–West Covina) introduced in January. The Assembly will now consider the bill.

“We will not sit on the sidelines while big tobacco markets to our kids and gets another generation of young people hooked on a product that will ultimately kill them,” said Hernandez. “Tobacco companies know that people are more likely to become addicted to smoking if they start at a young age.”

The state Department of Public Health estimates that 64 percent of smokers in California start before age 18, according to the Senate analysis.

Hernandez offered research from the Institute of Medicine, which, in March, released a study that concluded increasing the age to 21 would result in 200,000 fewer premature deaths for those born between the years 2000 and 2019, and cause a more rapid decline in tobacco prevalence.

The California Board of Equalization estimated that total excise tax and sales tax revenues on tobacco products would decline by $68 million per year in the near term if SB 151 were enacted.

Hawaii passed a similar measure in April of this year that is still awaiting Gov. Ige’s signature. Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah currently have an age restriction of 19 for tobacco.

SB 151 would make California either the first or second state in the nation, depending on the fate of the bill in Hawaii, to raise the legal smoking age to 21.

In the absence of federal and state action, tobacco control has been undertaken at a local level. New York City, a number of municipalities in Massachusetts and Healdsburg, California, have raised their tobacco purchase age to 21.

 

Voter registration

The Assembly passed two bills, which would employ the Department of Motor Vehicles to increase voter registration.

Assembly Bill 786 requires the DMV to automatically send voter registration information to the Secretary of State whenever a motorist gets a new California driver’s license and certifies that s/he is eligible to vote in California. This bill will bring California into full compliance with related provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, otherwise known as “Motor Voter.”

This bill, which Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) introduced, passed 60-17, although local Assemblyman Brian Jones opposed it.

AB 1461, which California Secretary of State Alex Padilla strongly supported, would register every eligible citizen who goes to a DMV office to get a driver’s license or renew one. Voters would retain their right to opt out or cancel their voter registration at any time. The proposed law would continue to protect those covered by existing confidentiality policies, such as victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, registration has been a barrier to voting for millions of Californians. About 6.6-million California citizens are eligible but not registered to vote. On election day last year, more than 40,000 people logged on to the Secretary of State website trying to register to vote. Unfortunately, it was too late.