State Highlights: Calif. Mayor Proposes Insurance Mandate For Gun Owners; Texas Health Officials Wary Of Vaccine Exemptions
A selection of stories from around the country, including news from Texas, Tennesseee, California, Georgia and Missouri.
KQED:
Gun Insurance? San Jose Mayor Proposes First-In-Nation Ordinance Requiring It
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on Monday introduced a "first-of-its-kind" measure to curb gun violence in the city by requiring firearm owners to take out insurance policies or alternatively pay a fee to help cover the public cost of emergency services. The proposed ordinance was announced just weeks after two children from San Jose were killed in a mass shooting in nearby Gilroy. (Green and Shuler, 8/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Jose Mayor Responds To Gun Violence — Wants To Require Owners To Carry Liability Insurance
The insurance, required of all gun owners except law enforcement officers, would cover the costs of harm caused by accidental gunshots, or by intentional shootings by nonowners who borrow or steal the gun. It would not cover injuries or deaths caused deliberately by the gun owner. (Egelko, 8/12)
Texas Tribune:
Texas Vaccine Exemption Rates: Look Up Your District Or Private School
Health officials are watching pockets of Texas closely because of the number of parents requesting exemptions under Texas’s broad vaccine exemption law. Texas is one of 16 states that allow parents to bypass vaccine requirements for enrolling their kids in school by claiming a conscientious exemption, along with citing medical or religious concerns. ... In Texas, school districts, private schools and charter schools are required to report their vaccine exemption rates. The data collection is done through a survey administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services, but some schools don’t report consistently, leaving gaps in the data. Data for the 2019-20 school year won't be available until the summer of 2020. (Cheng and Byrne, 8/13)
Nashville Tennessean:
Nashville Families Rush To Get Kids Immunizations Before MNPS Deadline
With school back in session, families not only have to hurry to get notebooks, pencils and erasers — they also have to get immunization shots for their children. But some clinics are finding it more difficult this year to serve all the patients coming their way. Metro Nashville Public Schools requires children entering kindergarten, seventh grade or those enrolling for the first time to have an updated Tennessee Certificate of Immunizations by Aug. 14. This means students must have all of the necessary immunizations. (Ryan, 8/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Left $126 Million In Mental Health Funds Unspent
Sacramento County has yet to spend $126.1 million in allocated state money meant to invest in mental health services, even as the region wrestles with a growing crisis in hospital emergency rooms, in police calls and on city streets. In light of the significant cache amassed through the state’s Mental Health Services Act, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal last week to spend more money, more quickly. (Yoon-Hendricks, 8/12)
San Jose Mercury News:
Best States To Have A Baby: California Rates 21st, Study Says
A new study by financial advice and credit information company WalletHub ranks California in 21st place out the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of best U.S. states to have a baby. The study includes data from organizations such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Crum, 8/12)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Worst States To Have Baby: Georgia Ranks Sixth Worst In America
Based on metrics such as average annual cost of early child care, health insurance premium cost, infant mortality rate, parental-leave policies and several more, the best state to have a baby is Vermont, followed by Massachusetts and North Dakota.At the bottom of the pack: Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.Georgia ranked No. 46 (or sixth worst). (Pirani, 8/12)
KCUR:
Slow Start For Missouri's Medical Marijuana Program
After taking in $4.2 million in early application fees, Missouri’s medical marijuana program is off to a slow start since it began accepting full applications on Saturday. Roughly 600 applicants chose to pay their required fees in advance, but so far only 27 full applications have been submitted. The application process is extensive, and the deadline isn’t until Aug. 17. Still, Lyndall Fraker, the director of the state’s medical marijuana program, said he was surprised by the low numbers. (Driscoll, 8/12)
