Mental health parity law, other laws take effect Jan. 1

CARSON CITY - Key sections of Nevada's new mental health parity law take effect on New Year's Day, along with a batch of other measures from the 1999 Legislature.

Jan. 1 also is the effective date for all or part of laws that deal with a new date for Nevada Day, privatization of the state's industrial insurance program, and safety of workers who handle explosives.

Here's a summary of the major measures, among 22 that have sections going into law:

MENTAL HEALTH - SB557 requires insurers to cover schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Copayments and deductibles paid for mental health-related services can't be greater than 150 percent of the out-of-pocket expenses for other medical benefits.

The law doesn't apply to businesses with less than 25 employees. Insurers are exempted if they can prove that mental health coverage would raise premiums by more than 2 percent.

INJURED WORKERS - Under SB37, the Employers' Insurance Company of Nevada turns into into a private company Jan. 1. Other provisions restored workers' benefits to early 1990 levels, created a cabinet-level health care consumer advocate, and sold off the state's $600 million insurance liability to a private company.

The Guinn administration says the idea is to enable EICON to better compete with existing private insurers..

NEVADA DAY - SB31 moves the official state holiday to the last Friday in October, instead of celebrating it on Oct. 31. To satisfy historical purists, the original bill was amended to clarify that Oct. 31 remains Nevada Day, but that it can be officially celebrated on whatever day is the final Friday in October.

Advocates argued the event now can fall on any day of the week, and it's tough for some entrants - such as school marching bands from distant cities like Elko, Ely or Las Vegas - to get to Carson City for a midweek parade.

EXPLOSIVES - AB536 upgrades permit requirements and inspections, and requires standards and procedures in factories where explosives are made.

The measure was one of several stemming from a 1998 blast that killed four workers at an explosives plant near Reno. Sierra Chemical Co. later agreed to pay $228,500 for dozens of alleged safety violations.

CIGARETTES - SB244 prohibits sale of "gray-market" cigarettes. Health officials and tobacco representatives had joined in a rare alliance to fight sales of cigarettes manufactured for foreign countries but sold in the United States at big discounts.

LICENSE PHOTOS - AB678 authorizes use of digital photos on drivers licenses.

BIZ-REGULATORS - AB12 is aimed at ensuring agencies don't make up rules as they go along. The Nevada Taxpayers Association pushed the measure to ensure government agencies clearly explain the basis in law or regulations for actions that can lead to audits, fines or other penalties. Also taking effect is AB486, which requires certain governmental entities to consider impact of rules and regulations on small businesses.

GROUP HOMES, HALFWAY HOUSES - SB161 regulates halfway houses for alcohol and drug abuse treatment. AB373 requires homes for individual residential care for the mentally ill to be licensed.

PLANNING - SB436 creates in Nevada law a Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition to continue with the work begun by the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority in 1997.

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