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Drug Imports Are On California's Agenda
by Chloe Albanesius
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday pledged to create an affordable prescription-drug program, one day after a Democratic assemblyman introduced a package of bills that would legalize drug purchases from other countries.
"I am announcing a prescription-drug discount card with minimal costs to the state," the Republican governor said in his State of the State address. "We will make prescription drugs available to nearly 5 million low-income Californians, at prices competitive with those from Canada."
Assemblyman Dario Frommer, a Democrat, authored several drug-importation measures during last year's legislative session. Lawmakers cleared the bills, but Schwarzenegger vetoed them. Undeterred by that setback, Frommer unveiled similar bills Tuesday that call for Internet sites, databases and programs on drug imports.
One bill, A.B. 71, would create an Office of California Drug Safety Watch to launch a Web site and database with information on adverse drug reactions.
Another bill, A.B. 73, would require the state's Health Services Department to create by July 1, 2006, a Web site with information on available prescription drugs from Canada, England and Ireland. Pharmacies would pay to be listed on the site, with the fees intended to offset the cost of reviewing the legitimacy of the pharmacies, the bill said.
In other news, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty last week expressed concern that Canadian officials are considering a plan to only provide Americans with prescriptions from Canada if the consumers are examined by Canadian doctors.
"The Canadian government should not slam the door on American consumers seeking more affordable prescription medicines from safe Canadian pharmacies," the Republican governor said in a statement. "The proposed change in Canada's prescription-drug policy would have serious effects on the pocketbooks and well-being of the more than 2 million Americans who buy their prescription medicines from Canada."
Minnesota runs a Web site that provides residents with information on cheaper drugs from Canada. Pawlenty pledged to keep the site operational "by facilitating purchases from European countries with safe pharmacy systems" should Canada change its policy.
IBM To Invest $2 Billion In N.Y. Chip Plant
IBM will invest $1.9 billion to build a new computer-chip plant in New York's Hudson Valley, Gov. George Pataki announced Wednesday in his State of the State address.
In conjunction with six technology companies that include Sony, Toshiba and Samsung, IBM will contribute an investment that is "one of the largest of its kind in the world," the Republican governor said. The consortium "will fund an unprecedented $450 million expansion" of the Albany Center of Excellence's research and development capabilities.
Meanwhile, Pataki announced that the chip equipment manufacturer ASML will invest more than $325 million at the state's nano-electronics center of excellence "to create its first-ever R&D center outside of Europe."
"Together these projects will bring a staggering $2.7 billion in new private investment to Tech Valley, bringing jobs and optimism to communities throughout the region," he said.
Pataki also touted new homeland security initiatives. He pledged to create a state preparedness center in the Mohawk Valley, submit a terrorism package to the legislature that will include a focus on cyber terrorism, and ensure that homeland security grants are sent to those areas most at risk for a terrorist attack.
The governor further announced that New York will appoint teams to track the state's 100 most dangerous fugitive felons. The initiative will include a public Web site with fugitive mug shots and a hotline where residents can call in tips.
N.D. Tech Centers Get Governor's Attention
North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven touted his state's centers of excellence in his State of the State address. "We have proposed expanding our centers of excellence initiative as a $50 million program," he said. "Further, we will leverage our state's investment on a 2-to-1 basis, with private sector and federal dollars, to make $150 million available for these dynamic enterprises."
The expansion is part of economic development legislation crafted by House Majority Leader Rick Berg, said Hoeven, a Republican. The measure also would create a procurement Web site that would "make it easier for our business community to know what the state's needs are and how best to compete for contracts," he said.
To more effectively participate in the global economy, North Dakota must invest in education in order to produce a more technologically savvy and productive workforce, he said.
Hoeven proposed increasing elementary and secondary education funding by $75 million over the next four years, part of which would be used for "technical equipment to equip our youth with the increasingly complex skills they will need."
The governor also proposed an additional $29 million for higher education. "To truly build the best business environment, we must link our campuses to the private sector" through the centers of excellence, he said. "These hubs of research and technology commercialize their work into products and services, and they provide a nucleus for business clusters across our state."
New Michigan Laws Target Identity Theft
Michigan's identity theft laws were strengthened last week with the signing of an 11-bill package to update the state's current statute.
"As recently as 2002, Michigan ranked sixth in the nation for identity theft cases," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. "These new laws will ensure more is done at the state level to help law enforcement and prosecutors crack down on identity theft and to help victims recover."
The package makes it a felony to use someone's information to obtain goods or services without consent and makes it illegal for businesses or public utility services to deny service to victims of ID theft. In addition, the package increases the statute of limitations on ID theft to six years, protects the use of Social Security numbers, prohibits sales receipts from showing anything but the last four digits of people's credit cards, and prohibits the unauthorized transfer of information from credit, debit or automatic-teller-machine cards.
The measures are set to take effect March 1.
Granholm also signed legislation allowing the Office of Children's Ombudsman expanded access to computerized information about child welfare cases handled by the Family Independence Agency. The two agencies now can disclose information about certain child death cases but still be in compliance with state confidentiality laws.
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