Angry leader of Ohio Senate says, 'Go home'

[maxrandb]

I'm taking my ball and going home. Part of the entire impasse were campaign finance provisions that were made necessary by the shady fund-raising of the house leader. Kind of like the "fox guarding the hen-house". Additionally, the corporations wanted to push through legislation that limited jury awards for people that had been injured. Why is it that IN ALL CASES, Republicans side with corporations over INJURED PEOPLE?

You know? As an Ohioan living out of state while in the Military, I am embarrassed. Perhaps this is the type of thing that may eventually end the "one party" rule of my great state. In any event, it is nice to watch the Repukes "eat their young". This is a long article, but the corruption in the OH Republican Party permeates throughout this story.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1102588206123862.xml

Columbus - Fed up by the House speaker's tactics, the usually genial Senate president abruptly announced plans to go home for the year Wednesday, saying he hoped the next General Assembly would pass laws this one could not.

President Doug White's stunning announcement to adjourn the Senate after Wednesday's lame-duck session left once-powerful House Speaker Larry Householder scrambling to complete three major pieces of legislation that lawmakers had singled out for passage before the session ended. Just one of those bills - a major overhaul of the civil justice system - had any chance of passing as lawmakers worked late into the night.



The Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, a business and industry organization pushing this legislation, promoted the bill as a way to stabilize Ohio's shaky economy. The Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers and consumer groups that oppose the bill say it will shield those who cause harm and unfairly punish injured consumers. The House Judiciary Committee last week eliminated all the caps on jury awards that had been included in a Senate-passed bill last year.

[liberalnurse]

1. Ohio Nurses won this battle yesterday....for our elderly and disabled.

This is not the end of the issue by far....but they did not get away with a lame duck session scheme either.

COLUMBUS-The Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) applauds the grassroots lobbying efforts from its membership and the general nursing and patient communities to stop a proposed amendment to Senate Bill 196, sponsored by Sen. Lynn Wachtmann (R, Napoleon). The amendment, said to give authority for unlicensed persons to administer medication to patients in nursing homes and residential care facilities, was scheduled to be introduced this morning in the House Commerce and Labor Committee. It was not.

ONA, the Licensed Practical Nurses Association of Ohio (LPNAO) and other stakeholders fought vigorously this past week to alert members of the Ohio General Assembly of the grave risks to patient safety, especially for the elderly and disabled, the amendment implied. While termed a "pilot program" by its supporters in the long-term care industry, in reality the proposed language allowed for a two-year phase-in of statewide medication aides with few statutorily imposed directions or constraints.

"We applaud the Ohio General Assembly for refusing to rush through such a complex issue," said Jan Lanier, director of health policy for ONA. "Unlicensed persons administering medication affects all of us. We need systems in place, directed by a legislative body, to ensure that patient safety and quality of care is not compromised."

ONA was committed to an open dialogue with representatives from the long-term care industry earlier this year. According to ONA, points for discussion include the training, education and regulation of unlicensed persons passing drugs. Because of the complexity of the issue, ONA has requested continuously for a stand-alone bill as a vehicle of discussion.

"We're grateful to the nurses and patients who stood with us in our effort to oppose this last-minute amendment," said Lanier. "This is their victory. While ONA understands this issue needs discussion in the future, we're convinced that it must be open to public debate. Parties interested in this issue need to come together with members of the Ohio General Assembly in an effort of compromise and open dialogue."

ONA is the recognized advocate for nurses and nursing issues in the state, representing the over 140,000 registered nurses in Ohio. As the 4th largest state association of its kind in the country, ONA's mission is to advance the nursing profession in the service of quality healthcare to Ohioans.

[Razorback_Democrat]

2. Thanks for standing up for the elderly!

What a crock of doo doo that bill sounds like

our legislature meets every 2 years and it has become a nightmare of wondering what safety, or health provisions they will try to undo at the whim of their constituents. I think here, in Arkansas it has become so much worse since term limits were enacted.

Plus, there just isn't enough money anymore without raising taxes here and that is sooooo popular don't you know.

But unlicensed healthcare providers dispensing meds? I'd think the Feds would have something to say about that!

[liberalnurse]

4. You would think that the Fed's would care....

but there is no such Federal legislation to do so.....It is a State issue. To my surprise, back in March 04, when I became aware of this issue coming to Ohio, I had absolutely no idea it is a common practice in 11 other states! I wanted to review their stats....but the information of patient harm, drug diversion etc....all burried somewhere!

At least I have time to dig in a bit more on the research since we stopped the scheme yesterday.

[maxrandb]

5. This is the proverbial tip of the iceberg

I have believed for as long as I can remember, that the ultimate goal of the "corporatist" is to remove all labor laws, safety regulations, environmental control, wage laws, child labor laws, anti-discrimination regulations, pension protection, etc, so that they can go back to the good old days of the 80 hour work week and the poor house.

They wrap it all up in a neat little package and give it cute names like "right to work", or "union dues protection", "reverse discrimination" or "deregulation". Then they identify an evil straw-man like "liberal labor union", "fat cat labor union bosses", or "ambulance chasing trial lawyers", or "environmental whackos". Then they pass legislation to remove power from the people they are suppose to protect. We're ultimately left to rely on the benevolence of the employer.

I think the biggest problem with this country is that there are not enough people alive today, who can give us first hand accounts of what employment was like before FDR and the sweeping changes he implemented. One day people are going to wake up and find they've been bamboozled, and then the shit is really going to hit the fan.

[goodboy]

3. screw you guys, i'm goin' home....(cartman style)