Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Cars and Parts Swap Meet
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2011 > May > 18
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Pill mill bill heads to Kasich’s desk
Lawmakers put the finishing touches on a bill designed to crack down on clinics that act as “pill mills,” dispensing powerful pain killers with little in the way medical records or examinations.
The House voted to accept Senate changes to House Bill 93 and the measure now moves to Gov. John Kasich’s desk for his consideration. The governor, who has made prescription drug abuse a high profile issue in his administration, applauded lawmakers for their work.
“Pill mills have fueled the prescription drug abuse that has devastated families and communities across the state. House Bill 93 makes it clear that Ohio will not tolerate unethical doctors and their crooked operations, and we’ll do everything in our power to shut them down,” Kasich said in a written statement. “Today we take a crucial step in our coordinated effort toward ridding Ohio of this demoralizing epidemic and restoring some hope in these shattered communities.”
The bill calls for beefing up use of the Ohio Automated Rx Review System, a database to help health care providers flag drug-seekers. It also will limit prescribers’ ability to provide certain controlled substances without going through a pharmacy and improve licensing requirements for pain management clinics.
Prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing substance abuse problem in the country and second most common form of drug abuse by teens, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
More Ohioans die of unintentional drug overdoses than car crashes or suicide.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
TweetUPDATED with reaction - Poll: Voters favor bargaining bill repeal, cool to Gov. Kasich
A majority of Ohio registered voters want to repeal Senate Bill 5, legislation restricting public employee collective bargaining rights, and they’re not warming up very much to the performance of Republican Gov. John Kasich, a key backer of that bill.
Those are two key findings from an independent Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
In the poll, 54 percent favored repeal of the collective bargaining law, while 36 percent opposed repeal. Unions and Democrat are leading a petition drive to gather signatures to put the repeal on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Twp., sponsor of Senate Bill 5, said in a press release that in 2005 Ohioans initially showed early support for the “Reform Ohio Now” proposals on overhauling elections, but rejected them at the polls.
“Public opinion on statewide ballot issues is notoriously unpredictable,” said Jones.
Joe Rugola, executive director of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, one of the unions backing repeal, said the poll numbers were consistent with what he’s been seeing, but cautioned against over confidence.
“This is going to be a very difficult and bitter fight once we get through the signature gathering process,” said Rugola.
Rob Nichols, Kasich’s spokesman, responded to the findings in an email: “We’ve never commented on public polls. The governor’s drive to restore Ohio has never been about politics but about helping to create jobs and restore our state.”
By a 49-38 percent spread in the poll, voters disapproved Kasich’s performance. That’s slightly better approval for Kasich than May poll results when just 30 percent approved, compared to 46 percent who disapproved.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnpiac University Polling Institute, said that the debate over Senate Bill 5 has become a “referendum on John Kasich and John Kasich’s approach to reforming state government.”
“They’re still pretty negative about it,” said Brown.
That could change if the proposed repeal makes the ballot and TV ad campaigns are launched to sway public opinion, said Brown.
The poll also found that by a 53-36 percent spread voters said that Kasich’s state budget proposals are unfair to people like them, the same as a March finding.
Half those in the poll were asked this question about balancing the budget: should only spending cuts be considered or should tax hikes also be considered?
Sixty-four percent said spending cuts only, while 30 percent said taxes also should be raised.
The other half was asked a different question: should just spending cuts be considered or should tax hikes on the wealthy also be part of the plan?
This time, 50 percent favored cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy, while 42 percent backed only cuts.
The poll found a partisan split on key issues, including the proposed repeal of the bargaining law, with independents playing a key role.
Seventy-two percent of Democrats favored the repeal, more than double the 33 percent of Republicans who took this position. Among independents, 56 percent favored repeal.
The poll also found that voters opposed some specific parts of Senate Bill 5, while supporting others.
In the poll, voters:
*Opposed banning strikes by public employees, 58-35 percent.
*Supported requiring public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums, 59-34 percent.
*Opposed prohibiting public employee unions from bargaining over health care plans, 54-38 percent.
*Supported requiring public employees to pay at least 10 percent of wages for pensions, 58-34 percent.
*Opposed eliminating seniority as the sole factor in layoffs, 50-45 percent.
*Backed replacing automatic pay increases based on length of service with merit-based raises, 57-35 percent.
*Disapproved of Kasich’s handling of the state budget, 53-35 percent.
The poll used live interviewers to question 1,379 registered voters over land lines and cell phones from Tuesday, May 10, to Monday, May 16. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
Permalink | Comments (198) | Post your comment |
Tweet
