Jackie Speier

Prompted by a series of dog attacks, lawmakers Wednesday sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would allow local governments to require spaying and neutering of specific breeds. The Senate voted 22 to 15 to approve Assembly amendments to the bill by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough). Speier said spaying or neutering would reduce the animals' aggressiveness. But state Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) said the state instead should crack down on irresponsible dog owners.

As thousands of California children ate their first lunch of the school year, the Legislature declared that schools should use foods low in fat and cholesterol. The Assembly sent to the governor a bill that would require state school officials to write nutrition guidelines that would encourage low levels of fat, saturated fat and cholesterol in school breakfasts and lunches. The bill, AB 2109 by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco) was approved on a 50-2 vote.

After a short hearing, a Senate committee Tuesday decided to wait two weeks before taking action on a bill that would charge waterfront property owners, including some Huntington Harbour residents, annual rent for private piers in public waters. The measure, by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-S. San Francisco), would repeal an obscure law excusing more than 1,000 private pier owners from paying annual rent, like commercial uses of public waters. There are 102 such piers in Huntington Harbour.

McDonald's will recall about 12 million "Shrek" drinking glasses because federal regulators found they contain the toxic metal cadmium, which poses health risks. The glasses have been sold for $2 apiece at McDonald's restaurants across the country as a promotional tie-in with the movie "Shrek Forever After." Purchasers will be advised to keep them away from children and to return them to McDonald's for a refund. The recall, which will be officially announced Friday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, was set in motion by an anonymous tip to Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough)

Emergency legislation to regulate the nonprofit, mobile operations that draw blood for cholesterol tests was passed by the Assembly and sent to Gov. George Deukmejian. The bill, approved on a 55-0 vote, would require programs for cholesterol and other blood tests to register with county health departments, which would charge a fee to administer their oversight of the testing centers.

Re "Davis Backs Privacy Measure," June 4: Gov. Gray Davis has decided to support SB 1 by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough). The legislation limits companies' ability to sell client information to each other. What Davis does not tell us is that there is a state law on the books that allows the state to sell our private information (including tax returns) obtained by any means to anyone it wants. What the government is doing is trying to pass a law to stop private industry from doing what the state continues to do. The legislation should not be passed until a provision is included to impose the same requirements on the state that it seeks to put on private industry.

Re "Drug Prices: Reform Still Waiting," editorial, Dec. 28: On Feb. 1, 2000, an important new California law went into effect that allowed Medicare beneficiaries to walk into a local pharmacy and purchase their prescription medications at the lower rates negotiated by the state for the Medi-Cal program. This bill was authored by state Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) and signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis. To receive the reduced rate, people covered by Medicare simply show their card and prescription to a pharmacy that accepts Medi-Cal patients.