The package includes proposals to make gang membership grounds for eviction from public housing, require pre-trial drug testing for criminal defendants and subject parents to felony charges for permitting a child to possess a concealable firearm. Senate Democratic spokesperson David Rudd said lawmakers probably will address crime measures early to clear the deck for debate on budget issues such as Medicaid funding. Gov. Jim Edgar proposed a Medicaid funding plan in his budget address earlier this month. Under that plan, health maintenance organizations would provide managed health care coverage for poor people. Both Democrats and Republicans said working out a Medicaid funding solution is the state's top legislative priority.
Legislation regarding riverboat gambling, a hot issue in previous sessions, remains uncertain.
The slight benefits of taking AZT, the commonly used AIDS medicine, are often canceled by the drug's side effects, a study concludes. The report casts even more doubt on the routine use of this medicine, which is often given to people who are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but not yet sick. Studies last year showed that contrary to widespread belief, this use of AZT does not help people live longer, even though it modestly delays the start of AIDS symptoms. The study, based on 1,338 HIV infected people, was published in today's New England Journal of Medicine. The patients had low levels of the variety of white blood cell that is the primary target of HIV, but they were outwardly well.