Texas School Safety Bill Requires Armed Person At Each Campus
News outlets cover what the Texas Tribune called a "sweeping" school safety bill, which is now on the governor's desk one year after the mass shooting in Uvalde. The bill requires arming personnel and mental health training for some employees. Other news is from California, New York, and elsewhere.
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Passes Bill That Would Require Armed Person On Every School Campus
Texas lawmakers sent a sweeping school safety measure to Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday, including in their response to last year’s Uvalde massacre a requirement to post an armed security officer at every school and provide mental health training for certain district employees. The measure also gives the state more power to compel school districts to create active-shooter plans. (Lopez, 5/28)
The Hill:
Texas Lawmakers Send School Safety Bill To Gov. Abbott’s Desk A Year After Uvalde Shooting
State lawmakers in Texas on Sunday approved a school safety bill, sending the proposal to the governor’s desk one year after the mass shooting massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Texas House Bill 3 would require mental health training for school district employees who regularly interact with students and require at least one armed security officer at all campuses during regular school hours, among other provisions. (Mueller, 5/29)
In other news from Texas —
Houston Chronicle:
Air Quality Houston: What To Know About Ozone Season, Pollutants
When vehicle and industrial emissions meet heat and sunlight, ozone pollution forms — and with sunny skies in the outlook for Houston, ozone season is in full swing and may prove harmful for sensitive groups, Air Alliance Houston reported. Ozone season, lasting March through November in Houston, signifies higher levels of the pollutant, which has the potential to cause health issues for vulnerable populations. When at ground level, ozone can cause throat irritation, breathing difficulties, coughing and chest pain, Air Alliance Houston posted. (Fonstein, 5/26)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Could Lose Billions In Medicaid Funding Under Biden Policy Shift
Texas could lose billions of dollars in federal health care funding as the Biden administration looks to crack down on the practice of hospitals pooling their Medicaid funds for the benefit of hospitals without as many qualifying patients. (Osborne, 5/29)
Houston Chronicle:
Radioactive Camera Missing In Houston Found, FBI Investigating
A radiographic camera reported missing more than two months ago was found intact with its radioactive material still sealed in its protective shielding, Texas Department of State Health Services officials announced Friday. The 53-pound SPEC-150 radiographic camera was reported stolen by Statewide Maintenance Company and was last seen near a Taco Cabana in North Houston. The FBI is now investigating how the camera went missing, a Department of State Health Services spokesperson said. (Vidales, 5/26)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Health News Florida:
Medical Boards Are Set To Revisit Rules On Transgender Care In Florida
Carrying out a new law, a joint panel of the Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine is slated next week to discuss rules about treatments for transgender minors and adults. The Joint Rules and Legislative Committee of the medical boards will meet Thursday in Tampa. (5/28)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Placed Abused Youth In Hotels. Violence Followed
A woman stumbled into the palatial lobby of downtown Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel earlier this year, pleading for someone to call the police. Deep bruises were starting to form around her eyes. Blood crusted around her nostrils and mouth. She was so dazed that she didn’t notice a telephone cord wrapped around her neck. (Hurd and Ellis, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
FBI, EPA Investigating Release Of Toxic Dust From Martinez Refinery
The FBI and Environmental Protection Agency are investigating the release of more than 20 tons of toxic dust from a malfunctioning oil refinery over Martinez neighborhoods last Thanksgiving, a Contra Costa County supervisor and the FBI confirmed Saturday. (Moench, 5/27)
Politico:
Minnesota Wanted To Curb Health Spending. Mayo Clinic Had Other Ideas
Mayo Clinic issued an ultimatum to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic lawmakers earlier this month: Kill a proposed health affordability bill, or say goodbye to $4 billion in new hospital investments. Minnesota lawmakers responded quickly — by watering down an ambitious proposal in the final days of the legislative session, which ended last week. (Messerly, 5/30)
AP:
New York City Makes It Illegal To Discriminate Against Weight And Height
New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation Friday that will ban discrimination based on body size by adding weight and height to the list of protected categories such as race, sex and religion. “We all deserve the same access to employment, housing and public accommodation, regardless of our appearance, and it shouldn’t matter how tall you are or how much you weigh,” said the mayor, who joined other elected officials as well as fat-acceptance advocates at a City Hall bill-signing ceremony. (Matthews, 5/27)
AP:
Oregon, Awash In Treatment Funds After Decriminalizing Drugs, Now Must Follow The Money
Funding for drug treatment centers in Oregon, financed by the state’s pioneering drug decriminalization policy, stood at over a quarter-billion dollars Friday as officials called for closer monitoring of where the money goes. That need for oversight was demonstrated Wednesday when state officials terminated a $1.5 million grant agreement with a drug recovery nonprofit in Klamath Falls accused of failing to submit completed expenditure and data reports and buying a building for more than double the authorized amount. (Selsky, 5/26)
Also —
KFF Health News:
California Governor And Democratic Lawmakers At Odds Over Billions In Health Care Funds
When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office four years ago, the Democrat went after Republicans on the national stage as they sought to gut the Affordable Care Act. Key to his ambitious health care agenda: reinstating the fine on Californians who don’t have health coverage, which had been eliminated at the federal level. (Hart, 5/30)
KFF Health News:
Many People Living In The ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt
Delores Lowery remembers vividly the day in 2016 when she was working in a weaving plant near her home in Bennettsville, South Carolina, and the world around her seemed to go dim. She turned to her co-workers. “And I asked, I said, ‘Why y’all got it so dark in here? They said, ‘Delores, it’s not dark in here.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is. It’s so dark in here.'” (Benincasa and McMillan, 5/30)
