Legislation Would Help Track Drug-Overdose Deaths
SACRAMENTO (AP) — The state Assembly has approved legislation that would require county coroners to report drug overdose deaths to the state medical board.
The bill was drafted in response to a Los Angeles Times investigation regarding deaths from prescription drug overdoses. The newspaper reported that it found a lack of oversight by the medical board regarding overdoses cases.
Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu of Torrance says his bill, SB62, would help the medical board track overdose deaths and assist officials searching for patterns.
The bill cleared the Assembly Monday on a 54-24 vote, returning to the Senate for a final vote.
The Assembly also approved a related bill that would impose a fee on medical providers to fund the state's prescription drug database. SB809 now returns to the Senate for a procedural vote.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
