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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration on Saturday defended his proposal requiring drug companies to give discounts to up to five million uninsured, low-income residents within five years or face state sanctions. California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe said the Republican governor's election-year plan was better than Democratic bills he has vetoed the last two years. Schwarzenegger has unsuccessfully pushed a voluntary plan since taking office, and the one he formally announced Saturday gives drug companies five years to comply on their own terms - with a stick at the end if they don't, Belshe said at a Capitol news...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California voters are increasingly leaning toward rejecting two dueling prescription drug initiatives, as well as an abortion measure requiring parental notification, according to a new statewide poll. The Field Poll released Wednesday also showed that a pharmaceutical-backed ad blitz is influencing how voters view rival measures addressing drug discounts for the poor, which are both trailing for the first time. The drug industry has raised $80 million to defeat Proposition 79, which would force companies to discount drugs for uninsured Californians. The industry, led by its lobbying outfit, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, is...

In the home stretch of the Nov. 8 special election in California, opposing camps are pushing voters to say yes to one or the other of two competing prescription drug initiatives. But at least one San Diego party is encouraging people to vote down both proposals. The San Diego Libertarian Party doesn't like either measure, both of which are designed to regulate the price of prescription drugs. "These measures would no more reduce the cost of medical care than gasoline price controls would reduce the cost of driving," a party news release said last week. Consistent with the Libertarian Party's...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) - Defending his special election before an audience of voters, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday said his "year of reform" ballot initiatives are crucial to continue the changes he started after taking office two years ago. He cast the Nov. 8 election as the next step of the 2003 recall election that propelled him to office. Voters, he said, sent him to Sacramento to rebuild the state's economy and fix a moribund political system. After 400,000 new jobs and billions in new revenue, it was time for him to enter Act II, he said. "Now is...

The mechanisms to get the price breaks are roughly the same -- the state Department of Health Services would negotiate drug discounts from the industry and pharmacies on behalf of uninsured Californians. Each proposition is expected to cost the state roughly equivalent amounts of money to administer. But there the similarities stop. For one, Prop. 79 is backed by labor and consumer groups, while the pharmaceutical industry sponsored Prop. 78. Prop. 78 relies on the voluntary cooperation of drugmakers to negotiate discounts. In contrast, Prop. 79 threatens to ban manufacturers from selling drugs to the state's $4 billion Medi-Cal program...

California voters will be in dire need of medicine after trying to sort through the conflicting claims about prescription drug discounts in Props. 78 and 79. When these competing measures call one another flawed, both are right. Neither initiative deserves to pass. Prop. 79 proposes a prescription drug program that would use the state's health-care plan for the poor and disabled to leverage lower drug prices. The state would negotiate price reductions from drug makers by requiring them to give discounts or face a loss of access to the state's lucrative Medi-Cal market. The discounts would be available to Californians...

It's not even October yet, and already the barrage of advertising for two competing drug discount measures on the Nov. 8 ballot has begun. In a widely screened television commercial, a white-haired "Marcus Welby" hands out pieces of paper -- presumably prescriptions approved for a discount -- with a kindly smile. This is supposed to be life under Proposition 78, a drug discount plan backed by the pharmaceutical industry and endorsed Friday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cut to: Snarling bureaucrat stamping REJECT on prescription-size pieces of paper. This, according to the same ad, would be life under Proposition 79, a...

SAN FRANCISCO - The influential senior citizen lobby AARP urged its 3.1 million California members and other voters Wednesday to oppose Proposition 78, which would create a voluntary prescription drug discount program for poor, uninsured state residents. AARP opposes the drug industry-sponsored measure because it would make pharmaceutical industry participation voluntary, but supports an opposing measure that would make discounts mandatory if the companies wanted to fully participate in the state's Medicaid program. "There is a danger if Proposition 78 passes that we will see little or no real benefit," said AARP state director Tom Porter. "Discounts will be provided...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday sided with drug companies and energy producers on three initiatives on the Nov. 8 ballot, and formally backed another requiring parental notification on abortions for minors. Of the two competing measures on the Nov. 8 ballot regarding prescription drugs, the Republican governor backed Proposition 78, which is supported by the pharmaceutical industry. It would seek voluntary cooperation from drug companies to participate in a state plan discounting drugs for the poor. A short release from his campaign office said he opposes a rival discount measure, Proposition 79, which is backed by health and consumer advocates....

SACRAMENTO -- Removing any chance of a surprise endorsement in the upcoming special election, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Friday his support for measures restricting teen abortion and creating a voluntary program for drug discounts backed by the pharmaceutical industry. The governor is also opposing an initiative aimed at regulating the energy system. The announcement comes as his campaign team begins rolling out its array of TV ads statewide and on the heels of his announcement last week that he's running for re-election. Observers said Schwarzenegger is looking to rally his Republican base in hopes of getting a big turnout on...

SACRAMENTO – Voters favor the two rival prescription drug discount initiatives on the Nov. 8 special-election ballot, but neither has the majority support needed for approval, according to the latest Field Poll. The survey shows more support for Proposition 78, the one sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, than for Proposition 79, backed by unions and consumer groups. Proposition 78 is favored 49 percent to 31 percent, while Proposition 79 is supported 42 percent to 34 percent. The survey also found that voters are split on another ballot measure, Proposition 73, which would require girls under 18 seeking an abortion to...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Teachers Association, among the most vocal opponents of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives, contributed $21 million this week to groups campaigning against the governor. The high-dollar distribution comes just as the fall campaign is set to begin in earnest, with both sides targeting the Labor Day weekend as the unofficial kickoff. Schwarzenegger helped raise and spend nearly $20 million during the first half of the year to qualify and promote his ballot measures and has raised about $6 million since July. Marty Wilson, the governor's fundraising manager, said he expects Schwarzenegger will reach the...

I've been getting calls about the various ballot propositions for the Special Election. Here's how I see them: Proposition 73: Parental Notification for Abortion. If parental consent is required for a child to use a tanning booth or get her ears pierced, shouldn’t parents at least be notified if she’s getting an abortion? YES. Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, this should be the all-time no-brainer. Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure. Do parents have a right to expect a higher level of competence before a teacher is granted life-time tenure? YES. This modest measure simply increases the teacher probation period from two...

The following initiatives have qualified for California's Nov. 8 special election ballot. Propositions 74, 76 and 77 are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "year of reform" package. PROPOSITION 73, PARENTAL PERMISSION FOR ABORTION: A constitutional amendment promoted by anti-abortion activists that would require girls 17 and younger to get parental permission to receive an abortion. It is opposed by abortion-rights organizations that say many minors live in homes where they risk emotional abuse or physical violence, or where the pregnancy is a result of incest. PROPOSITION 74, TEACHER TENURE: Would increase the time required for public school teachers to gain...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a November special election last month to push several initiatives aimed at reshaping state government. But the fall ballot's costliest political skirmish so far has nothing to do with the governor's "year of reform" political agenda. Two competing prescription drug initiatives - one sponsored by consumer groups, the other by the pharmaceutical industry - already have attracted tens of millions of dollars. The vast majority of that money has flowed in from the nation's major drug companies, who have a multibillion market in the state. They also don't want a successful consumer initiative in trend-setting California...

Proposition 73 would require notifying parents when a minor seeks an abortion, Proposition 74 would extend the probation period for new teachers from two to five years. Proposition 75 would require public employee unions to get annual written permission from members to use dues for campaign contributions. Proposition 76 would limit state spending, alter minimum school funding requirements, require the governor to cut appropriations in certain circumstances and impose prior year appropriations when there's a budget deadlock in the Legislature. Proposition 77 is an attempt to take the power to draw legislative and congressional districts away from the Legislature and...