ATTENTION: ASSEMBLY CONSIDERING FUTURE LAWS

The Editorial Board:

The Kentucky General Assembly will sort through a mountain of
prefiled bills over the next two months, while the elected officials
we have chosen to represent us select the ones they deem appropriate
for bringing about positive change. A motivating factor for one of
these bills, BR 16, which relates to fetal homicide, was witnessed in
neighboring Pike County in 2002 when an intoxicated driver struck a
man and his pregnant wife while he was taking her to the hospital to
deliver their child. The child and the mother died, but because the
baby was not yet outside of the womb, the charge against the
intoxicated driver was a mere one count of vehicular manslaughter.
This bill, which did not pass in 2003, would ensure an incident such
as the one mentioned would result in criminal homicide charges. Rising
to the ongoing problem of drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky,
representatives and senators have filed several bills to address that
particular issue. BR 178 would allow family members of adults
afflicted with alchohol and other drug abuse and mental illness to
commit them to get the help they need. The Matthew Casey Wethington
Act for Substance Abuse Intervention would allow parents, relatives,
and/or friends to petition the court for involuntary treatment for
their substance abuse impaired loved one who is 18 or older, as
Kentucky law only allows intervention for minors at this time. The act
is named after a 23-year-old man from Morning View, who died in 2002
from his third heroin overdose. His parents spoke out because they
didn't have a right to force him to stay in treatment. Two bills aimed
at drug control are BR 337 and BR 346. The first would require doctors
and pharmacists to report data about controlled substances to the
Cabinet for Health Services through the all-schedule prescription
electronic reporting system, which would help law enforcement spot
those receiving multiple prescriptions from various doctors and/or
abusing Medicaid and Medicare. BR 346 would require the Board of
Medical Licensure to establish a pain management committee to
recommend policy guidelines for prescribing, administering, and
dispensing controlled substances. Other bills address marriage laws,
expanding gambling, the abolishment of the death penalty, eliminating
unsolicited e-mail, and limiting the damages in malpractice suits. It
might be in our best interest to keep a watchful eye on the progress
of this legislation, as our elected officials need to know that we are
indeed paying attention.