Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1520212
13-Year Fight to Win California's Staffing Ratios 1993 First ratios legislation, A.B. 1445. 1996 Proposition 216: ballot initiative, cosponsored by CNA. Ratios were a core component of this HMO reform. More than three million Californians vote for Prop. 216. 1998 Staffing ratios bill, A.B. 695, wins approval in the Legislature for the first time. California Gov. Pete Wilson vetoes A.B. 695 after extensive lobbying by the hospital industry. 1999 A.B. 394 introduced by then-Assemblymember Sheila Kuehl. CNA gathers more than 14,000 letters in sup- port and commissions public opinion poll showing 80 percent public support for bill. A.B. 394 passed by Legislature after CNA mobilizes 1,500 RNs for rally on steps of the Capitol on the day Senate votes on bill. Gov. Gray Davis signs the bill, making California the first in the nation to require RN staffing ratios. 2001 CNA mobilizes more than 2,000 RNs for a rally in Sacramento demanding adoption of CNA's proposed ratios. The hospital industry proposes 1:10 for medi- cal-surgical, telemetry, and oncology units. 2002 Gov. Davis and the Department of Health Services (DHS) announce specific unit ratios. Hospital indus- try's proposed ratios are soundly rejected. 2003 The hospital industry continues its failed campaign to defeat the ratios with an 11th-hour lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court seeking exemption from compliance during all breaks and mealtimes. 2004 January — RN staffing ratios become law in all Cal- ifornia acute-care hospitals. Statewide campaign to monitor and enforce the ratios is launched. CNA mobi- lizes 500 RNs in a courthouse rally to protest hospital lobby lawsuit. Superior Court soundly rejects lawsuit and issues sweeping ruling upholding the law that ratios must be adhered to at all times. November — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg- ger issues emergency regulation suspending portions of ratios law in medical-surgical units and emergency departments. CNA begins immediate protest campaign that includes radio and TV ads, nurses' letters to the editor, and extensive media coverage from around the world. December — More than 2,500 RNs rally on the Capi- tol steps in Sacramento, Calif. in major protest against ratios suspension. Capitol steps covered by a sea of red CNA signs with slogans like "Patients Are Our Special Interest" and "Protect Our Patients, Let the Ratio Law Stand!" About 300 RNs protest Gov. Schwarzenegger at his Conference on Women in Long Beach, Calif. Inside, RNs display a banner reading, "Hands Off Patient Ratios." Schwarzenegger retorts "Pay no attention. They're just the special interests who don't like me because I am always kicking their butt," a remark that gains national notoriety. Associated Press reports on CNA challenge: "Picking a fight with nurses is another matter, ranking up there with badmouthing mom and apple pie. A national Gal- lup poll showed that Americans for the third year in a row rated nurses as 'the most ethical and honest pro- fessionals' in the country." Deborah Burger commentary in San Francisco Chron- icle: "By using an executive order, one not based on facts, to rescind patient protections, the governor has set a dangerous precedent. If the decision is not reversed, the governor can vacate any health and safety regulations corporations do not like through emergency decrees without legislative or public sup- port. If this governor will not stand up to the hospital corporations, be assured that nurses will." CNA files lawsuit against Schwarzenegger to throw out emergency regulation, charging the governor exceeded his authority to overturn a legislative mandate to pro- tect patient safety and violated the requirements for an emergency order. Patient Advocacy— Our Guiding Principle RN Safe Staffing Ratios 24 RNs in Motion