Assembly Floor Action:Safety: Passed and sent to...

Assembly Floor Action:

Safety: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 42-29 vote a bill (AB 1701) by Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) to increase from $2,000 to $5,000 the civil fine for violations of state worker safety laws that result in serious injuries, and impose a $20,000 fine for repeat violations that lead to serious injuries or deaths.

Drugs: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 60-3 vote a bill (AB 397) by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) to require employers to reasonably accommodate employees who voluntarily enter a drug rehabilitation program if this does not impose an undue hardship on the employer.

AIDS: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 69-0 vote a bill (AB 1482) by Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Tarzana) to require the Department of Health Services to contract with up to three medical schools or clinics to study techniques on how to reduce the blood transfusion-related spread of AIDS and hepatitis.

Courts: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 57-8 vote a bill (AB 301) by Assemblyman Charles Bader (R-Pomona) to increase the monetary jurisdictional limit of small claims courts from $1,500 to $2,500.

Waste: Granted final approval on a 74-1 vote to a resolution (ACR 49) by Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) to establish a joint legislative oversight committee on radioactive disposal and radioactive waste management. Committee Action:

Sick Children: The Assembly Ways and Means Committee approved a bill (AB 368) by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) to allow parents to take up to four months unpaid leave from work to care for sick children without jeopardizing their jobs. A 13-10 vote sent the bill to the Assembly floor.

Train: The Ways and Means Committee approved a bill (AB 1839) by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda) to set up a commission empowered to build and operate a high-speed train between Southern California and Las Vegas. A 21-2 vote sent the bill to the Assembly floor.

Insurance: The Ways and Means Committee approved a bill (AB 600) by Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento) to set up a state catastrophic health insurance program for persons who have been turned down by private companies. A 12-1 vote sent the bill to the Assembly floor.

Wine Coolers: The Ways and Means Committee rejected a bill (AB 612) by Assemblyman Byron D. Sher (D-Palo Alto) to add wine and hard liquor cooler containers to last year’s bottle and can recycling law designed to help reduce California’s highway litter problem. A 9-12 vote was cast on the bill. The author said he will seek reconsideration and another vote.

Frogs: The Ways and Means Committee approved a bill (AB 2507) by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco) to prohibit high school biology teachers from reducing a pupil’s grade for refusing on moral grounds to dissect a frog. A 12-7 vote sent the bill to the Assembly floor. It was prompted by a Victorville high school student’s protest that her grade was reduced from A to B by an instructor for this reason. Senate Floor Action:

Orozco: The Senate reversed itself and voted 27 to 6 to confirm Gov. George Deukmejian’s nomination of J. William Orozco, a Los Angeles travel agency operator and Republican activist, to the Board of Governors of the community college system. The Senate had refused to confirm him in April but agreed to reconsider its action. Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) complained that Orozco is “an obstructionist who creates acrimony for the sake of it.” Committee Action:

Video Display Terminals: The Senate Industrial Relations Committee approved a bill (AB 348) by Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-El Monte) to require a state study of the need for safety requirements for video display terminals (VDTS) in the workplace. A 5-1 vote sent the bill to the Appropriations Committee.

Textbooks: The Senate Education Committee approved a resolution (ACR 11) by Assemblyman Bill Leonard (R-Redlands) to indicate the Legislature’s intention that school textbooks should not arbitrarily exclude religious references and symbols if they are “essential for an understanding of our history and our society.” A 6-2 vote sent the resolution to the Senate floor.

Alcohol: The Senate Governmental Organization Committee approved a bill (AB 937) by Assemblyman Gary Condit (D-Ceres) to restrict the authority of cities and counties to outlaw the simultaneous sale of alcoholic beverages and gasoline at the same location. A 6-0 vote sent the bill to the Appropriations Committee.