Legislative Briefs: Abortion clinic standards approved in Senate; dogfighting restrictions pass

Abortion clinic operators wanting to open new facilities in Kentucky would have to meet higher operating standards under a bill that passed the state Senate by a 32-5 vote Wednesday.

Senate Bill 212 would require abortion clinics to have full operating suites with oxygen, crash carts and other medical supplies in addition to having a physician on staff with admitting privileges at a hospital within 50 miles of the clinic. The legislation seeks to “protect women’s health,” said Sen. Albert Robinson, R-London, who sponsors the legislation along with Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville.

Robinson said it’s reasonable that abortion clinics should abide by the same safety protocols as surgery centers. Settings for less evasive surgical procedures, such as inserting ear tubes in a child, are required to meet certain standards and abortion clinics should do the same, he added.

“The requirement will not cause existing clinics to be shut down,” Robinson said. “If an existing clinic is properly licensed as of July 1, 2016, it will be grandfathered through the process.”

Sen. Reginald Thomas, R-Lexington, voted against the measure because he said it would raise barriers to a lawful medical procedure.

“This bill is our abortion bill of the week,” Thomas said in reference to of several abortion-related bills working their way through the General Assembly. “I would submit that if you are a young woman in Kentucky of child bearing years, it has been a very rough session for you.”

SB 212 now goes to the state House of Representatives for consideration. A similar measure in the House, House Bill 492, was introduced last month and has been assigned to the House Health & Welfare Committee.

House panel approves bill to crack down on dogfighting

A bill that would outlaw the possession, training, breeding, and selling of dogs for the purpose of dog fighting has passed the House Judiciary Committee.

House Bill 428, which advanced out of committee on Wednesday, would make it a Class D felony in the first degree to knowingly own, possess, keep, breed, train, sell or otherwise transfer a canine for the purpose of dog fighting.

A Class D felony is punishable with a fine and a sentence of one to five years in prison.

Rep. Wilson Stone, D-Scottsville, the bill’s primary sponsor, cited Kentucky’s stature as the last remaining state to not pass this type of legislation.

“You hate for Kentucky to be last in any particular thing but this is certainly an area where we don’t want to be last,” he said.

Testifying in support of the bill, Louisville Metro Police Officer Lisa Nagle, a nine-year veteran of the force, said that in her experience those involved in the bloodsport also tend to be involved in drug trafficking and other illicit activities.

It’s also more prevalent than we’d like to think, she added, calling dogfighting “a huge problem” and “an epidemic in Kentucky.”

After passing today with 13 yes-votes, HB428 heads to a vote in front of the full chamber.

HB 428 is similar, but not identical, to a bill the Senate passed in February that would make the owning, possessing, breeding, training, selling or transferring of dogs intended for use in fighting a felony.

Concussion bill clears House, heads to Senate

A bill that would clarify under what circumstances a high school athlete suspected of having a concussion may return to play has cleared the House. House Bill 217, sponsored by Rep. Mike Denham, D-Maysville, was amended and passed by the House by a vote of 96-0 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Should HB 217 become law, high school coaches would not be able to play student athletes who are diagnosed with a concussion, said Denham. Any athlete suspected of having a concussion would be prohibited from returning to play if no physician or other licensed medical provider is present at the practice or competition to evaluate them.

Athletes who aren’t evaluated would not be able to play in any future practice or game unless they have written clearance from a physician, Denham said.

Current law prohibits student athletes suspected of having a concussion from returning to play on the day of the suspected injury until they are medically evaluated. Athletes found to have a concussion cannot return to practice or play on the same day as the injury, nor are they allowed to participate in future practices or games without medical clearance. Athletes are allowed to return to play no concussion is determined.

Bill restricting youth use of tanning beds passes

Tanning bed salons would be off limits for Kentucky’s youngsters under a bill that passed the state Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

Senate Bill 108 would prohibit anyone under 18 from using a commercial tanning bed. An exemption would be given for physician-prescribed phototherapy, the use of light in the treatment of physical or mental illness. Tanning beds for home use would also be exempt from the ban.

“I don’t know if there is a bill that we will hear this session that has the potential to save so many lives with so few words,” said Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, who introduced legislation.

Currently state law requires teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 to have a signed parental consent form before they can use a tanning bed.

State Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester, cosponsored SB 108.

“As a physician, I know the risks of using a tanning bed,” he said.

Dr. Laura Klein, a dermatologist in Louisville, testified that there were three reasons Kentucky needed SB 108. She said minors are not old enough to make an informed decision on using tanning beds, multiple scientific studies document the “unequivocal increase risk of cancer” from tanning beds and that the cost of treating skin cancer has risen 126 percent in recent years.

“I recently diagnosed a basal cell carcinoma on a beautiful UK student’s face,” Klein said. “She had been using tanning beds throughout high school and college. And unfortunately, she now has an unsightly scare on her face despite plastic-surgery reconstruction.”

She acknowledged that there is a proposed Food and Drug Administration ban on anyone under 18 using tanning beds, but said Kentucky couldn’t afford to wait.

From LRC Public Information