Copyright 2000 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
The
Plain Dealer
May 11, 2000 Thursday, FINAL / ALL
SECTION: METRO; Pg. 5B
LENGTH: 333 words
HEADLINE:
SENATE OKS BILL TO CURB NEEDLE STICKS;
BYLINE: By THOMAS SUDDES; PLAIN DEALER BUREAU
DATELINE: COLUMBUS
BODY:
The Senate yesterday gave final approval
to a bill to protect Ohio's health-care workers from needle
sticks.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dan Brady, a Cleveland
Democrat, will require public hospitals and health-care facilities to use
"safety needles," such as those that retract into a sheath, or no-needle
systems, such as vaccine injectors. About 40,000 Ohio health-care workers a year
are accidentally stuck by needles, Brady said. The bill, passed unanimously, was
sent to Gov. Bob Taft for his signature.
Brady's bill is only the second
Senate Democratic measure to become law this session. In contrast, almost 50
Senate GOP bills are now law. The GOP has a 21-12 majority in the Senate.
The House, meanwhile, sent senators a bill, sponsored by Rep. Edward S.
Jerse, a Euclid Democrat, to extend Ohio's Peeping Tom law to include invasions
of privacy by videotaping under or through clothes to view a person's underwear
or body.
Using tiny cameras, voyeurs capture images of women's
underclothes or cleavage and can post the images on the Internet. The frequency
of the offense is unknown, but analysts estimated there are 111 Ohio
prosecutions a year for "traditional" voyeurism.
The bill would make
such acts first degree misdemeanors punishable by up to 6 months in prison and a
fine of up to $1,000.
Over Democratic objections, the House also
approved a GOP-backed change in workers' compensation law and sent the bill to
the Senate. Legislative budget office analysts said the bill would make it
harder for workers to win some compensation claims.
The GOP proposal
requires injured workers to prove that alcohol or drugs, if found above certain
levels in their blood, didn't contribute to their injuries. Ohio now requires
employers to prove alcohol or drugs caused an injury.
Democrats charged
that yesterday's bill, sponsored by Rep. Gary Cates, a Middletown Republican,
mimics part of a GOP workers' compensation package that Ohio voters rejected in
a 1997 referendum.
LOAD-DATE: May 17, 2000
