From the Public Health Law Program, Office of the Chief of Public Health Practice, CDC
http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/

*** Corporate Good Samaritan Act. The Corporate Good Samaritan Act of 2008 (Georgia Senate Bill 305) has been signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue. The new law gives Georgia businesses and non-profit organizations additional liability protection when performing “good Samaritan” acts in a time of emergency or crisis. To learn more about the law, visit http://nciph.sph.unc.edu/law/ud_051908.htm.

*** Obesity Series. The Washington Post has published four of a five-part series entitled Young Lives at Risk: Our Overweight Children. To read the articles, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/health/childhoodobesity/index.html.

*** Quarantine Report. The Congressional Research Service report Quarantine and Isolation: Selected Legal Issues Relating to Employment, is now available at http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33609_20080430.pdf.

*** Bisphenol A Report. The Congressional Research Service recently released Bisphenol A (BPA) in Plastics and Possible Human Health Effects, available at http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22869_20080505.pdf.

*** Traffic Injury Report. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently released “Trends in Non-Fatal Traffic Injuries: 1996-2005,” at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810944.PDF.

*** Mass Gatherings Health Report. The majority staff of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security has released a report entitled, “Public Health, Safety, and Security for Mass Gatherings,” available at http://homeland.house.gov/SiteDocuments/20080513105623-98169.pdf.

*** Tribal Environmental Health Conference (6/24-6/26). The Eighth Annual National Tribal Conference on Environmental Management will take place June 24-26, 2008, in Billings, Montana. For more information, see http://www.ntcem8.org/.

*** Global Work Health and Safety Congress (6/29-7/2). The XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from June 29 to July 2, 2008. For more information, see http://www.safety2008korea.org/eng/invitation/inv_kos.jsp.

*** NALBOH Public Health Conference (7/22-7/24). The annual conference for the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) will take place in Madison, Wisconsin, from July 22-24, 2008. For more information about the conference, entitled “Step Forward Together: The 2008 Public Health Partners Conference,” see http://www.nalboh.org/NALBOH_Conference.htm.

Top Story

1. Texas: 35-year sentence for HIV-positive spitter worries some

States and Localities

2. Kansas: Sebelius vetoes third bill allowing coal-fired plants

3. Nevada: Desai, colleagues may take the Fifth, stalling lawsuits for years

4. Pennsylvania: Penn State to require course on alcohol abuse

5. Rhode Island: High-stakes lead paint case to R.I. Supreme Court

6. Virginia: Va. offers tax break for hurricane preparedness

National

7. Wal-Mart raises bar on toy-safety standards

International

8. Canada: Divisive essential services bill passes

Briefly Noted

California patient dumping · Rhode Island asbestos ruling · Texas immigration and evacuation · West Virginia hospital worker protection · National Farm Bill · New Zealand children’s advertising · Nigeria health system bill · South Africa XDR TB arrests · South Korea cloning regulation · Poultry smuggling · Taiwan TB patient · United Kingdom roadside health and safety · Asbestos compensation · International tobacco company spinoff

Quotation of the Week

David S. Ludwig, Children’s Hospital Boston obesity expert

This Week’s Feature

Law Behind the News. This week, we feature the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, also known as the Farm Bill. See below for details.

_____________________________1_____________________________

“35-year sentence for HIV-positive spitter worries some”

Dallas Morning News     (05/17/08)     Tiara M. Ellis

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/051708dnmethivsaliva.
3a699bb.html

Last week, a Dallas County jury convicted an HIV-positive man of harassment of a public servant using a deadly weapon for spitting into the mouth and eye of a police officer. The man was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and must serve half before he is eligible for parole. AIDS advocacy groups and others have protested the sentence as excessive, because the risk of HIV transmission from saliva is extremely low. Advocates are also concerned that the case could further misconceptions about HIV and its transmission. “It’s been 25 years since the virus was identified, but there are still lots of fears,” said Bebe Anderson of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. But according to Jenni Morse, the Dallas County prosecutor who handled the case, any amount of risk is sufficient to justify a deadly weapon charge under the circumstances. “No matter how miniscule, there is some risk,” she said. “That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death,” which is the legal definition of a deadly weapon. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins agreed. “If you look at the facts of this case, it was clear that the defendant intended to cause serious bodily injury. There’s an intent factor,” Watkins said. The officer was spit on while arresting the infected man for public intoxication in 2006, and has not been found to be infected with HIV.

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“Kan. governor vetoes third bill allowing coal-fired plants”

Associated Press     (05/16/08)     John Hanna

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/may/17/sebelius_vetoes_third_bill_allowing_coalfired_plan/

 Governor Kathleen Sebelius has again vetoed a bill that would have allowed the construction of two coal-fired plants in southwestern Kansas while restricting authority of the state’s Secretary of Health and Environment. The two plants proposed by Sunflower Electric Power Corporation stalled in October 2007, when Secretary Rod Bremby rejected their air-quality permit, citing potential carbon dioxide emissions. Bremby said the state could not ignore the dangers of global warming, which has been linked to man-made greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. In addition to allowing construction of the plants, the bills would have limited the secretary of health and environment’s power to impose new air-quality standards without legislative approval. The bills also would have prevented Bremby and his successors from denying permits based on his emergency power to protect public health and the environment. Sunflower’s project has received bipartisan support largely because it is viewed by many as an economy booster, but Sebelius criticized the most recent version of the vetoed bill for being tied to economic development projects in other parts of the state. Supporters will have a final chance to override the Governor’s veto at a brief adjournment session next week, something they have thus far been unable to do. Bremby’s 2007 decision has generated six separate legal challenges, three of which are pending before the Kansas Supreme Court.

[Editor’s note: To read the most recent coal-fired plant legislation vetoed by Governor Sebelius, see Kansas House Bill 2412, An Act Enacting the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, at http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2008/2412.pdf. Prior versions of the coal-fired plant legislation (Senate Bill 148 and Senate Bill 327), are available at http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-bills/vetoedBills.do.]

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“Desai, colleagues may take the Fifth, stalling lawsuits for years”

Las Vegas Sun     (05/14/08)     Jeff German

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/14/desai-colleagues-may-take-fifth-stalling-lawsuits-/

The first lawsuits against the owner of a Nevada medical clinic where hundreds of patients contracted or were at risk of contracting hepatitis C are facing procedural obstacles. Clark County District Judge Allan Earl is coordinating the early phase of litigation, and will soon decide whether owner Dr. Dipak Desai and other defendants can avoid giving early depositions in the civil cases since they are also facing potential criminal charges. The defendants are threatening to assert their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if forced to give depositions in the civil case that might assist prosecutors in a criminal trial. Plaintiffs lawyers say such an action could prevent alleged victims, many of them senior citizens, from ever obtaining information vital to their lawsuits. “If this thing drags out for years the way defendants would like to see it drag out, many of these victims won’t be around. I’ve got clients who’ve been told they have months to live,” said attorney Robert Eglet. At last count, 93 attorneys from 34 law firms are representing the eight people confirmed to have contracted hepatitis C while undergoing procedures at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada or its affiliates. Thousands of other plaintiffs were not infected but are bringing suit against the clinic for putting them at risk of infection. The suits accuse the Endoscopy Center, Desai, and his colleagues, of infecting patients by reusing vials and syringes.

[Editor’s note: To track the latest information about the civil and criminal trials, visit http://www.clarkcountycourts.us/.]

_____________________________4_____________________________

“Penn State to require course on alcohol abuse”

Post-Gazette     (05/17/08)     Bill Schackner

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08138/882665-85.stm

Beginning this fall, Penn State University will require all freshmen to take an online course aimed at combating high-risk drinking. Despite having implemented various initiatives to curb alcohol misuse, Penn State has seen an increase in alcohol-related problems -- reflecting a nationwide trend. Data for the 2007-2008 school year are not yet available, but students’ alcohol-related trips to Mount Nittany Medical Center were up from 199 in the 1999 school year to 444 in the 2006 school year. The average age of students treated during those visits was 20, and the average blood alcohol content level was 0.235, nearly three times the state’s legal limit for drunken driving. Penn State will implement AlcoholEdu for College, a program developed by Boston-based Outside the Classroom that is currently in use by about 500 other schools. The program uses research including student attitude surveys to tackle topics such as blood alcohol concentration, alcohol’s effect on memory, and learning the link between alcohol misuse and high-risk behavior. AlcoholEdu has had some measure of success in locations where it has been implemented. At the University of Iowa, first-year students reported 15 percent fewer hangovers and 10 percent fewer blackouts, according to Penn State Assistant Dean for Advising Linda Higginson. Penn State expects the program to reach about 17,000 students at its campuses this year. “No other school that is working with [Outside the Classroom] is implementing it across multiple campuses like we are,” said Linda LaSalle, coordinator of educational services for Penn State’s University Health Services. “It’s the largest implementation in the country.”

_____________________________5_____________________________

“High-stakes lead paint case to R.I. Supreme Court”

Associated Press     (05/13/08)     Eric Tucker

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2008/05/13/high_stakes_lead_paint_case
_to_ri_supreme_court/

More than two years after a Rhode Island jury found three paint companies liable for creating a public nuisance interfering with the public’s health, safety, and peace, the companies have challenged the verdict in the state’s Supreme Court. Decades ago, the companies -- Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries Inc., and Millennium Holdings LLC -- manufactured lead pigment that was used to increase paint durability. Lead-based paint was banned from residential use in 1978 after it was found to cause serious health problems in children. While the jury verdict did not levy damages against the companies, it gave the go-ahead for an estimated $2.4 billion state plan to inspect, clean, and remodel about 240,000 homes contaminated with lead-based paint. The companies have challenged the jury verdict, arguing that the public nuisance theory is flawed because it does not account for how much of each company’s paint remains present in Rhode Island dwellings. According to the companies, lead-based paint is now confined to poorly maintained properties. In 1999, Rhode Island became the first state to sue paint companies for their respective roles in contaminating homes under the legal theory of nuisance. Other states, including New Jersey and Wisconsin, have not been able to  successfully use the theory. The Rhode Island Supreme Court is expected to decide the case this summer.

_____________________________6_____________________________

“Va. offers tax break for hurricane preparedness”

Associated Press     (05/18/08)     Larry O’Dell

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/4ccaa748d9a24f81932aa91fbdd044ba.htm

Next week, Virginia residents will receive a tax break on hurricane supplies as part of the state’s efforts to prepare citizens for the June 1 start of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Virginia’s first-ever Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs May 25 through May 31, 2008, exempting items such as generators costing $1,000 or less, batteries, bottled water, duct tape, flashlights, and cell phone chargers. Virginia legislators approved the tax break in 2007, hoping that the 5 percent savings would encourage citizens to purchase items that they will need if the state is hit by another storm like Hurricane Isabel, which left 1.8 million Virginians without power -- some for weeks -- in 2003. The Virginia General Assembly modeled the holiday on a similar initiative that existed in Florida for three years. “[R]etailers can’t really respond the way consumers want them to in the three days before a hurricane hits,” said Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation. This year, however, Virginia and Louisiana will be the only states with hurricane preparedness tax breaks, because Florida legislators -- facing a $5 billion budget shortfall -- did not reauthorize the tax holiday for 2008. Florida estimated an annual loss of $12 million in revenue from the tax break. Tax officials in Virginia, which is less vulnerable to severe hurricanes, expect the initiative to cost around $2 million this year with costs climbing to $2.75 million by fiscal year 2013.

[Editor’s note: For more information on Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday, including a list of exempt products, see http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=HurricanePreparednessEquipmentHoliday.]

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“Wal-Mart raises bar on toy-safety standards”

Wall Street Journal     (05/14/08)     Joseph Pereira and Steve Stecklow

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121072388800090155.html (subscription required)

In response to last year’s recalls and lawsuits related to toys with high levels of lead, Wal-Mart has set children’s-product safety requirements for its suppliers to meet by this fall. The standards are more stringent than state and federal requirements, setting strict limits on eight heavy metals, including lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, which have been linked to medical and developmental problems in children. Plastic-softening phthalates are also restricted under the new policy. Wal-Mart’s action follows the recall of about 25 million lead-contaminated toys last year, as well as toy-related deaths that prompted several states, including Washington and Illinois, to adopt stricter standards than the federal government. The company’s action also comes after California sued Wal-Mart and 19 other toy makers and retailers for allegedly selling toys with lead content levels exceeding federal limits. Products sold in Wal-Mart stores should now be able to meet most state standards, said Melissa O’Brien, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. The new mandates are prompting toy makers to identify new materials, monitor overseas factories more closely, and conduct more frequent independent lab testing. Wal-Mart standards now require the surface coating on most children’s products to contain no more than 90 parts per million of lead; the federal limit is 600. Wal-Mart, in effect, has created new industry standards and superceded government regulations, said Isaac Larian, chief executive of MGA Entertainment, Inc., purportedly the world’s third-largest toy manufacturer. “Most companies have to do business with Wal-Mart,” Larian said.

[Editor’s note: To read more about Wal-Mart’s Toy Safety Net program, visit http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/7945.aspx.]

_____________________________8_____________________________

“Divisive essential services bill passes”

Leader-Post     (05/15/08)     Angela Hall

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=1089594e-96b4-4ca7-aa2b-
683740f01c3a

The Saskatchewan government has passed legislation to minimize the risk posed to public health and safety when workers performing “essential services” go on strike during labor disputes. The law describes essential services as those that are necessary to prevent danger to life, health, or safety; destruction or serious deterioration of machinery, equipment, or premises; serious environmental damage; and disruption of the courts. Under the law, workers and employers must negotiate an essential services agreement that outlines which employees will work during a strike, and the agreement must be reached before the workers’ collective agreement expires. But the requirement may impede the negotiation process for a new collective agreement by creating “disputes where none exist,” according to Larry Hubich, Saskatchewan Federation of Labour president, who added that new collective agreements are usually negotiated without strikes. Under the law, if an essential services agreement is not reached before the collective agreement expires, a list maintained by the employer would dictate essential services and the staffing levels necessary to perform them. Unions feel employers will over-designate who must work during a strike, and may consider legal challenges to the new law, Hubich said. Although a union may appeal to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board to alter the number of necessary staff listed by the employer, it cannot challenge the classifications of jobs that are deemed to provide an essential service.

[Editor’s note: To read Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Bill No. 5, An Act respecting Essential Public Services (as printed May 1, 2008), visit  http://www.legassembly.sk.ca/bills/PDFs/Bill-5.pdf.]

_____________________BRIEFLY NOTED______________________

California: Hospitals could face charges, fines if plan gets final City Council approval

“L.A. City Council gives preliminary approval to fines for patient dumping”

Los Angeles Times     (05/15/08)     Cara Mia DiMassa

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dumping15-2008may15,0,7906833.story

Rhode Island: Court rules to expand doctrine of forum non conveniens

“Court rules R.I. needn’t hear cases on asbestos”

Providence Journal     (05/13/08)     Edward Fitzpatrick

http://www.projo.com/news/content/asbestos_decision_05-13-08_K7A418I_v56.3575b44.html

Texas: Federal plan to conduct immigration checks at evacuation hubs concerns local officials

“Immigration checks, hurricanes don’t mix”

Associated Press     (05/16/08)     Christopher Sherman

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iFR5DqnuIozOjlXQj2lm7rVELoUgD90MVFPO1

West Virginia: Law adds healthcare employees to same ‘protected class’ as police, firefighters

“New law seeks to curb violence against hospital workers”

Charleston Gazette     (05/19/08)     Eric Eyre

http://wvgazette.com/News/200805180335

National: Bill would fund public nutrition programs, school snacks

“Congress says can override Bush farm bill veto”

Reuters     (05/15/08)     Charles Abbott

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051501963_pf.html

New Zealand: New industry guidelines aim to shield children from unhealthy foods

“Healthy rules take fizz out of kids’ TV adverts”

Dominion Post     (05/16/08)     Ben Fawkes

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4550300a11.html

Nigeria: Bill to establish framework for national health system passes Senate

“Senate passes health bill in Iyabo’s absence”

Vanguard     (05/16/08)     Emmanuel Aziken

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805160364.html

South Africa: XDR TB patients arrested after protest at hospital

“Cops bust killer TB patients”

The Star     (05/16/08)     Matt Radler

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=vn20080516055945562C783504

South Africa: Lawyers say exclusion of HIV+ personnel unjustified, ignores government policy

“South African military AIDS policy faces court challenge”

Agence France Presse     (05/15/08)    

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080515/hl_afp/safricamilitarycourthealthaids_080515183807

South Korea: Cloning research regulations intended to “enhance bioethics”

“New SKorean law tightens rules on cloning”

Agence France Presse     (05/16/08)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080516/sc_afp/healthskoreacloninglaw

South Korea: Smugglers to be fined or jailed for violating avian influenza prevention measure

“Police will step up fight against poultry smugglers”

Korea Times     (05/13/08)     Park Si-soo

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/113_24098.html

Taiwan: Govt issues arrest warrant for man being treated for MDR TB

“Hunt for TB victim who fled Taiwan hospital”

Straits Times     (05/17/08)     Ong Hwee Hwee

http://www.straitstimes.com/Asia/China/Story/STIStory_238124.html (subscription required)

United Kingdom: Rules to protect roadside workers force removal of flowers

“Health and safety legislation kills off blooms”

Northern Echo     (05/16/08)    

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2278173.mostviewed.health_and_safety_legislation
_kills_off_blooms.php

United Kingdom: Thousands fight to overturn House of Lords decision preventing compensation

“Plea for justice over asbestos compensation”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus     (05/18/08)     Paddy McGuffin

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/newsindex/display.var.2278740.0.plea_for_justice_over
_asbestos_compensation.php

International: Author reports on spinoff of Philip Morris International

“Alchemy, the safer cigarette, and Philip Morris”

Lancet     (05/17/08)     Alan Blum

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673608607059/fulltext (subscription required)

__________PHL NEWS QUOTATION OF THE WEEK___________

“A child is not just a little adult.”

-- David S. Ludwig, Children’s Hospital Boston obesity expert, on the effects of obesity on a child’s developing body, and the need to address it early. [See Announcement item, above.]

__________________LAW BEHIND THE NEWS___________________

Last week, the U.S. Congress passed the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, H.R. 2419. If enacted, the Act, better known as the Farm Bill, will allot two-thirds of a $289 billion budget to public nutrition programs. President Bush has pledged to veto the Act, but Congressional leaders say they intend to override the veto.

Among many other provisions, the Farm Bill would increase the ability of the federal government to pre-position food supplies in overseas warehouses in the event of an emergency. It would also improve the federal food stamp program (changing  its name to the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”), and expand the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides free fresh fruits and vegetable to low-income children in schools.

Other provisions would act to strengthen food safety, and authorize the Secretary of Agriculture investigate the issue of salmonella in pet turtles.

To read the text of the Farm Bill, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/HR2419.pdf. Title III -- Trade begins on page 519; Title IV -- Nutrition Programs begins on page 575.

___________________________________________________________

The CDC Public Health Law News is published each Wednesday except holidays, plus special issues when warranted. It is distributed only in electronic form and is free of charge.  News content is selected solely on the basis of newsworthiness and potential interest to readers. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinions expressed by the original authors of items included in the News, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to products, trade names, publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS. Legal cases are presented for educational purposes only, and are not meant to represent the current state of the law. The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of CDC. The News is in the public domain and may be freely forwarded and reproduced without permission. The original news sources and the CDC Public Health Law News should be cited as sources. Readers should contact the cited news sources for the full text of the articles.

For past issues or to subscribe to the weekly CDC Public Health Law News, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/cphln.asp. For help with subscriptions or to make comments or suggestions, send an email to Rachel Weiss at rweiss@cdc.gov.

The News is published by the Public Health Law Program, Office of Strategy and Innovation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Rachel Weiss, J.D., Editor; Christopher Seely, J.D., Associate Editor; Karen L. McKie, J.D., M.L.S., Editorial Advisor.