State Highlights: Proposed Utah Gun Bill Would Ban Those Who Haven’t Paid Child Support; Virginia Tensions Show Stress Of A State Flipping From Red To Blue

CNN: This Proposed Law Would Prevent People Who Haven't Paid Child Support From Getting A Hunting Permit
A lawmaker in Utah has introduced a bill that would prevent people who haven't paid their child support from obtaining permits for hunting and fishing. House Bill 197 was introduced Monday at the request of the state's Office of Recovery Services as an enforcement tool to tackle the $404,160,838 in past due child support in the state, the bill's sponsor Rep. Karianne Lisbonee told CNN in an email. (Silverman, 1/28)

The Washington Post: Virginia's Democratic Takeover: This Is What A Blue State Looks Like
One Republican delegate warns that Virginia is splitting in two. Another would support returning liberal Arlington and Alexandria to the District of Columbia. Lawmakers in West Virginia have offered to annex rural Frederick County, outside Winchester, to liberate it from its rapidly urbanizing home. The change that Democrats promised in last fall’s election campaigns is hitting Richmond with full force, casting new light on political and cultural divisions that have simmered for years. As leaders quickly advance gun control, women’s rights and LGBTQ protections, many Republicans charge that they’re trampling on the interests of a new minority: rural conservatives who long held sway in the Capitol. (Schneider, 1/27)

The Associated Press: Kentucky Bill Requires Care For Infants Surviving Abortion
A bill that would require doctors and other health workers to provide life-sustaining care for an infant born alive after a failed abortion attempt was approved by the Kentucky Senate on Monday. The measure sailed through the Senate on a 32-0 vote and heads to the House next. It's the latest in a series of abortion-related bills to surface in the Republican-dominated legislature in recent years. (1/27)

The Associated Press: Medical Board Complaint Filed Against Ohio State President 
Complaints against Ohio State University's president and one of its former student health directors were filed Monday with the State Medical Board of Ohio in relation to alleged sexual abuse by now-deceased team doctor Richard Strauss, one of his lead accusers said. Because of legal requirements about confidentiality, the medical board won't confirm or comment on such complaints or potential investigations unless they result in disciplinary action. (1/27)

Boston Globe: Baker Health Bill Pushes New Focus On Primary Care
At the heart of his biggest health care initiative as governor, Charlie Baker is proposing a fundamental shift in how Massachusetts delivers care. Baker has called for new mandates to increase the amount of money health care providers and insurers spend in two critical areas: primary care and mental health care. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/28)

State House News Service: Committee Bill Gives Cannabis Commission Express Authority Over Host Community Agreements
Lawmakers on the Massachusetts Legislature’s Cannabis Policy Committee on Friday advanced a redrafted bill that would give the Cannabis Control Commission express authority to review and regulate the mandatory agreements and payments between host communities and marijuana businesses. In addition to having the CCC regulate host community agreements (HCAs), the committee said its bill (S 1126/H 3536) would allow a municipality to waive the requirement to have an HCA, make clear that an HCA may not require any financial obligations beyond the maximum 3 percent of gross sales fee, and clarify that the five-year term of an HCA begins on the day the business opens to customers. (Young, 1/27)

CNN: Mississippi's Governor Is Shutting Down A Unit Inside The Prison Where 9 Inmates Have Died
Mississippi's newly sworn-in governor vowed Monday to help "turn the page" for the state's prison system following the deaths of multiple inmates within the past month and a lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates over prison conditions. "All Mississippians must be able to trust that the people in charge of the system are acting with competence to keep them safe," Gov. Tate Reeves said during his state of the state speech. (Maxouris, 1/28)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Won The Soda Tax Battle. Big Soda Might Win The War.
When Philadelphia became the first big U.S. city to pass a soda tax in 2016, the rest of the country was watching. Mayor Jim Kenney basked in a national spotlight, appearing on CNN as even presidential candidates weighed in on the issue. And public health advocates predicted many others would follow in Philadelphia’s footsteps. Now, as Kenney starts a second term following a 2019 reelection campaign that saw the beverage industry spend about $1.5 million fighting the tax, it seems likely to survive as his signature achievement. But Kenney is still one of relatively few mayors whose city taxes sweetened beverages. (McCrystal, 1/28)

Los Angeles Times: As California's Homeless People Camp Out On Railroad Tracks, Train-Related Deaths Are Rising
Just after 8 on a warm evening in September, Janae Bell was shooting the breeze with two friends at the Hearst Avenue railroad crossing, sharing some pastries and talking bikes. Over the clanging bells of a Union Pacific freight train rumbling past on the opposite track, they didn’t hear the Amtrak barreling toward them. With seconds to spare, Bell, 41, looked up, screamed “Train!” and dove off the tracks. But when he turned to look for his friends, he said, “They were gone.” (Scheier, 1/27)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘We Were All Shocked’: UMMS Board Members Deny Knowledge Of Insider Contracts As State Senators Pose Tough Questions
A Maryland Senate committee had tough questions Monday night as its members vetted more than two dozen nominees to the University of Maryland Medical System board ― part of the fallout over a self-dealing scandal that rocked the hospital network last year. Members of the Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee are considering 18 appointees to the board, most of whom were nominated by Gov. Larry Hogan after the General Assembly last year passed sweeping reform legislation that forced all the board members to resign and reapply for their posts. (Broadwater, 1/27)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Children's Wisconsin Gets $15 Million Pledge For Behavioral Health
Children’s Wisconsin has received a pledge of $15 million, the largest gift in its history, from an anonymous donor to help fund its five-year plan to improve access to behavioral health care for children and adolescents. The plan, announced in November, is projected to cost $150 million and includes an array of initiatives, such as doubling the number of professionals who provide behavioral health care within Children’s system. (Boulton, 1/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: SIUE Gets Millions From Illinois To Fund New Health Sciences Building
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker released the first 10% of $105 million in funding for a new health sciences building on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus Thursday. The initial $10.5 million pays for the planning and design of the new building, which will house nursing, pharmacy, public health, social work and the many other health science programs at the university. (Schmid, 1/27)

The Baltimore Sun: Carroll Hospital Names Seventh President, Garrett Hoover, From Corning Hospital In New York
The seventh president of Carroll Hospital currently serves in the same capacity at a hospital in Corning, N.Y., and is described as having a “passion for quality.” Garrett Hoover has been named president and chief operating officer of Carroll Hospital and will take over his duties on March 30, according to a Monday news release from LifeBridge Health. (Carroll County Times, 1/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Californians Have Until Friday To Sign Up For Health Insurance Or Pay Penalty
Californians who do not receive health insurance through their jobs or public insurance programs have until Friday to sign up for health coverage for 2020 — or face a tax penalty. About 318,000 people have newly enrolled in health insurance through Covered California, the state marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, since open enrollment began Oct. 15. (Ho, 1/27)

California Healthline: California Reopens The Single-Payer Debate
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a single-payer candidate.The Democrat campaigned hard for the creation of one public insurance program for all Californians. And within hours of taking office last year, he called on the federal government to allow California and other states to create single-payer programs. On Monday, some of the biggest names in California health care policy are convening in Sacramento to fulfill that promise. (Bluth, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: Bill Could Force Utilities To Pay Customers For Power Outages 
California utilities could be banned from charging for electricity during power shut-offs and required to reimburse their customers for spoiled food or other financial losses under legislation that cleared the state Senate on Monday. Senate Bill 378, opposed by Pacific Gas & Electric and the state’s two other largest utilities, is a response to the power shut-offs that left millions in the dark last year, a tool the companies began using to reduce the risk of their electrical equipment starting wildfires. (Luna, 1/27)

Seattle Times: Swedish Medical Center Prepares For Possible Strike By Thousands Of Nurses And Health Care Workers
Swedish Medical Center, preparing for a Tuesday strike of 7,800 registered nurses, nursing assistants and technical and service caregivers, has rescheduled all elective surgeries, patient classes and some other procedures for much of next week. But instead of keeping all urgent and emergent cases the same, the hospital will close two of its seven emergency departments – Ballard and Redmond – as early as Monday evening. Swedish plans to reopen them by Friday morning, according to a news release sent Saturday. (Takahama, 1/25)

Dallas Morning News: After Her Young Teen’s Death By Suicide On A Plano ISD Campus, This Mom Fights For Change
Late last year, Melanie Uriegas vowed to take action against a problem that was invisible to her until it swamped her young son. Armed with research, she has lobbied Plano ISD to bring the student-to-student Hope Squad initiative to its campuses. Her message never changes: “I can’t save my son but, in the name of my son, I want to help others.” Like many North Texas districts, Plano has seen an increase in suicide victims in the past four to five years. Just eight months after Jesse’s death, another PISD student, 16-year-old Jaedon Mills, a sophomore at Shepton High School, died by suicide Oct. 6. (Grigsby, 1/27)

North Carolina Health News: Monitor For Hospital Merger Goes Public
Gibbins Advisors, the independent monitor charged with validating HCA Healthcare’s compliance with the promises it made when it acquired Asheville-based Mission Health nearly a year ago, is taking its efforts public in a big way. From Jan. 28 to Feb. 13, the Nashville, Tenn.-based firm has scheduled seven 90-minute meetings open to the public at locations across Western North Carolina to provide information on its “role and scope” as independent monitor and to get feedback on HCA’s performance. (Cotiaux, 1/28)

Pioneer Press: Survey Finds Thousands Of Minnesota Students Have Been Sexually Exploited
At least 5,000 Minnesota high school students have traded sex acts for food, shelter, money, drugs or alcohol, according to the state’s first estimate of youth sexual exploitation. Numbers released Monday by the state Department of Health show about 1.5 percent of the 80,000 high school students who took a recent Minnesota Student Survey answered “yes” when asked if they ever traded sex for something of value. (Magan, 1/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Another Patient Files Suit Amid SF’s Laguna Honda Hospital Abuse Scandal
Another patient at Laguna Honda Hospital has filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco facility in the wake of a widespread patient abuse scandal, alleging misconduct by hospital staffers. The suit, filed last week in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleges that employees took photos of the plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, while she was naked, and used the photos for non-medical purposes, distributing them among one another, “exposing (her) to intentional embarrassment and ridicule.” (Cassidy, 1/27)

The CT Mirror: 'Right To Housing' Gains Traction Among Top Legislators Heading Into The Session
“Right to Housing” is not a new concept worldwide – France, Scotland and South Africa have such protections in place, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. But Connecticut, which has some of the most expensive housing stock in the nation, is one of the first states to consider such a push. (Rabe Thomas and Carlesso, 1/27)

The Baltimore Sun: Democratic Del. Terri Hill Of Howard County Seeks To Bring Health Care Lens To Examine Issues In Congress
During last year’s session, the Harvard University and Columbia University -trained physician shepherded a bill to expand HIV prevention efforts for minors. And her legislation aimed at reducing youth sports injuries, although ultimately unsuccessful, sparked an ongoing conversation in Annapolis about the dangers of contact sports for children. Now, Hill, 60, hopes to put that experience to work on Capitol Hill. The Howard County Democrat is among those vying to replace the late Elijah Cummings, who represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District. (Opilo, 1/28)

Texas Tribune: Texas Marijuana Laws 2020: What You Need To Know
Since Texas lawmakers in 2019 legalized some forms of the cannabis plant but not others, marijuana prosecution cases around the state have been thrown into disarray, and enforcement can vary greatly depending on where you live. A new Texas law sought to bring the state in line with a 2018 federal law that legalized hemp while keeping marijuana illegal. The result: widespread confusion.Here’s what the new laws mean for Texans. (Menchaca, 1/28)