DAVIS MAY DEFY POLL, VETO NEEDLE EXCHANGE

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Davis appears ready to veto a measure legalizing needle
exchange programs in California, despite a new poll showing strong public
support for giving clean needles to intravenous drug addicts.

Although Davis hasn't made a public statement about the measure, the
politically cautious governor is signaling to lawmakers that he doesn't like
the bill. Davis must sign or veto the measure, which the Legislature sent to
him this week, within the next 12 days.

Davis' spokesman Michael Bustamante said the governor has "already
communicated serious concerns" about the measure. Bustamante refused to say
Davis would veto the bill, but he came close.

"The thing we wanted to impress upon the author is that the governor
believes there are other ways to address AIDS transmission and drug use
without sending a mixed message to California youth with state-sanctioned
needle exchanges," Bustamante said.

The bill allows cities and counties to start their own locally funded needle
exchange programs, but does not require them. For San Francisco, Berkeley,
Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and Marin County, the measure allows health
officials to continue current programs without having to go through legal
hoops by declaring a state of emergency over the AIDS epidemic every two weeks.

The signals from the governor's office brought an angry response from San
Francisco Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano.

"As a teacher, as a parent and as a (former) AIDS educator, I think it is
the governor who is putting out the double message," Ammiano said. "I am
appalled by the lack of conviction and the ignorance in the (possible) veto.
Needle exchange has proven to work as a deterrent in the transmission of AIDS."

Although it was never asked by Davis for advice on the bill, the San
Francisco AIDS Foundation is lobbying the governor by rolling out something
he pays attention to: a poll.

Commissioned by the AIDS foundation and conducted by the Field Institute,
the survey of 1,010 adult Californians found 79 percent of Democrats, 75
percent of independents and 54 percent of Republicans support needle
exchange programs.

Needle exchange programs got the highest support in the Bay Area, with 83
percent, and the lowest support from the Central Valley, with 65 percent
saying they approve of using exchange programs to stop the spread of HIV and
blood-borne hepatitis.

The poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage
points, also found that 75 percent of people who described themselves as
politically "middle of the road" also supported needle exchange programs.

That question was clearly targeted toward Davis, a self-described moderate
who feels most comfortable when polling shows the majority of Californians
on his side of an issue. The foundation believes Davis can sign the bill
without facing a political backlash.

"There is enough political cover in this poll for any elected official to do
the right thing by signing it," said Regina Aragon, public policy director
for the S.F. AIDS Foundation.

When asked about the poll, Davis spokeswoman Hilary McLean said: "The
governor is going to base his decision on the correct public policy."

Former Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed three similar needle exchange measures,
saying he believed they lead to increased drug addiction. One Democratic
lawmaker who opposed the measure in the Legislature said the state would be
sanctioning "the implements of death" in approving such programs.

But AIDS groups and the bill's author, Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni, D-San
Rafael, point to six federally funded studies showing that needle exchange
programs reduce HIV transmission without increasing drug use.

"This is really a no-brainer," Aragon said. "The governor has all the
evidence he needs to sign this life-saving legislation."

San Francisco distributes about 2 million clean needles every year, working
with a local budget of about $580,000. That money also buys educational
materials and referrals to drug-abuse treatment programs for anyone willing
to listen at the exchange sites.

AIDS rates among drug users in The City have remained relatively steady
while cities without needle programs have seen their rates rise
dramatically, city health officials have said.

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown weighed in on the bill Thursday, saying "in
a time when the AIDS epidemic ravages communities of color throughout
California, needle exchange programs provide the most potent strategy to
prevent new HIV infections. I trust Governor Davis will act in the best
interest of the men, women and children of California."

(c)1999 San Francisco Examiner Page A 1