California Governor Signs New Gun Control Measures Into Law

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Signs Gun-Control Laws After Two Mass Shootings
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several gun control measures Tuesday, including a bill that tightens the state’s concealed-carry rules and another that imposes a new tax on firearm and ammunition sales. During a signing ceremony in Sacramento alongside lawmakers and gun control advocates, Newsom said California would resist legal efforts to dismantle its firearms laws and maintain its position as a national gun control leader, but called for greater federal action. (Wiley, 9/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: It Serves 50,000 Patients A Year. It Just Avoided A Massive Strike
A last-minute labor deal has averted a workers strike at a nonprofit health care provider that serves tens of thousands of mostly lower-income immigrant and refugee patients in Alameda County. The deal struck Friday between the employees and managers of Asian Health Services, a nonprofit organization with 14 community health care centers, is expected to relieve a staffing crisis that created massive wait lists for dental care and basic checkups, and difficult working conditions for staff, say health care workers involved in the negotiation process. (Li, 9/26)

In news on illegal drugs —

Politico: San Francisco’s Mayor Wants Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients
Recipients of public assistance — in a city once known for its embrace of counterculture drugs — would have to submit to tests for substance use under a proposal announced Tuesday by Mayor London Breed as she faces mounting pressure to address San Francisco’s fentanyl epidemic. Breed, who is running for reelection in 2024, outlined the plan the same day that an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune launched his own mayoral bid, arguing that his incumbent opponent had let the drug and homelessness crises fester under her watch. (Gardiner, 9/26)

The Boston Globe: State Backing Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline
The Healey administration on Tuesday announced a partnership with Boston Medical Center and the nonprofit RIZE Massachusetts to “fund and expand” the Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the state’s become the first in the nation to fund an overdose prevention helpline with a $350,000 investment that’ll support the hiring of paid staff for the undertaking, which has been a volunteer effort since it launched in 2020. (Andersen, 9/26)

AP: Oregon Gov. Kotek Directs State Police To Crack Down On Fentanyl Distribution
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she has directed state police to launch new strategies aimed at disrupting the fentanyl supply chain and holding sellers of the frequently deadly drug accountable. Kotek said in a statement that she made the announcement at a Tuesday meeting of her task force created to revitalize downtown Portland. (9/26)

In other health news from across the states —

KCUR: Kids Were Half Of All Missourians Kicked Off Medicaid In 2023 To Date 
Another 12,833 children were removed from the state’s Medicaid program in August — more than three-quarters of whom were terminated because of paperwork issues rather than being determined ineligible. August was the third month of the state reassessing the eligibility of every Medicaid participant, after a three year COVID-era pause on the practice. The process will take place over a year. (Bates, 9/27)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Tick And Mosquito-Borne Viruses Reported By NH Health Officials
New Hampshire health officials are reporting this year’s first case of mosquito-borne Jamestown Canyon Virus, and two other cases of a virus transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. The mosquito-borne illness was detected in an adult from Hillsborough County. (9/26)

AP: Louisiana's Struggle With Influx Of Salt Water Prompts A Request For Biden To Declare An Emergency
A mass inflow of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico creeping up the drought-stricken Mississippi River is threatening drinking water supplies in Louisiana, prompting Gov. John Bel Edwards to ask President Joe Biden for federal help. Edwards sent a letter Monday evening saying the issue “is of such severity and magnitude” that state and local authorities can no longer manage it on their own. Federal assistance is “necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster,” Edwards wrote. (Cline, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Boston Children’s, T-Mobile To Build 5G Network Ahead Of Epic Switch
Boston Children’s Hospital is installing a private hybrid 5G network from cell phone carrier T-Mobile, in part to prepare for its upcoming switch to Epic's electronic health record system. The 5G network also will enable the hospital to run its virtual health programs more effectively and improve communications between clinicians, said Heather Nelson, Boston Children's chief information officer. (Perna, 9/26)

AP: Missouri's GOP Attorney General Sues School For Closed-Door Debate On Transgender Bathroom Use
Missouri’s Republican attorney general on Tuesday sued a school district for allegedly secretly discussing transgender students’ bathroom access, in violation of the state’s open-meeting law. The lawsuit by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is campaigning to keep his seat in 2024, claimed a suburban St. Louis school board went into a closed session to talk about a student’s request to use a different bathroom. (Ballentine, 9/26)

Also —

KFF Health News: Florida Foster Kids Are Given Powerful Medications, But Feds Find State Oversight Lacking 
The powerful anti-seizure drug the 5-year-old boy had been taking for more than a year made him “almost catatonic,” his new foster mom from Florida’s Pinellas County worried. And there was no paperwork showing that the boy’s biological mother or a judge had authorized the psychotropic medication, Keppra, as required by state law. “I was caught between a rock and a hard spot,” she said. “You can’t just stop that cold turkey.” (O'Donnell, 9/27)