SACRAMENTO-The nation's first nurse staffing ratio law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, may be delayed under an executive order issued by California's new governor.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was sworn into office Nov. 17, immediately put on hold the implementation of all pending regulations until they are reviewed by his administration.

Executive Order S-2-03 calls in part for "the immediate return of any proposed regulation, including emergency regulations, for final adoption, amendment, or repeal or other processing by the Office of Administrative Law for further review for a period not to exceed 180 days."

Former Gov. Gray Davis signed the staffing ratio legislation in 1999. The California Department of Health Services was responsible for formulating regulations regarding implementation of the law. Those regulations were to go into effect Jan. 1-three years behind the legislation's original timetable.

According to the executive order, the intent of delaying all pending regulations is to gauge their economic impact and "minimize the economic impact to the regulated communities."

A spokesperson in Schwarzenegger's office was unable to say whether the nursing ratios would be subject to this review. "All the agencies had five days to submit their pending regulations for review," said the spokesperson, who asked not to be identified. "We do not know at this point whether the nursing ratios will be affected."

A DHS spokeswoman declined to comment.

Charles Idelson, spokesman for the California Nurses Association, which sponsored the original staffing ratio legislation, believes implementing the regulations will not be affected. "The [ratios] are not an administrative regulation, but one that is required by statute," he said, adding that because the staffing ratios are already law, they aren't covered by Schwarzenegger's executive order.

But Dorel Harms, vice president of professional services for the California Healthcare Association hospital lobby, was less certain. "The regulations are under intense legal review at this point," she said.

Despite the uncertainty, some hospitals say they intend to move forward with compliance by Jan. 1. "We're going to do our very best to implement the ratios," said Shelly Schlenker, vice president for public policy and advocacy at Catholic Healthcare West, which operates 41 hospitals throughout California.

Contact Ron Shinkman at rshinkman@earthlink.net

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