California Assemblyman Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) visited the Los Angeles County Medical Association's headquarters for a May 16 fundraiser held in his honor by the political action committees of LACMA, the California Medical Association and seven other physician organizations.

These groups consider Eng a key state lawmaker. As chair of the Assembly Business and Professions Committee, he is influential on physicians' issues, particularly scope-of-practice concerns. That fact alone means ophthalmologists and anesthesiologists are keenly interested in explaining their positions to him-both groups face intrusions by nonphysician groups into their respective practice areas. The California Society of Anesthesiologists PAC and the California Academy of Ophthalmology PAC helped to sponsor the fundraiser.

Eng also has a kind of de facto incumbency, an important factor in the California Legislature, which employs term limits. His wife, Board of Equalization Member Judy Chu, previously held Eng's Monterey Park seat. "He's coming into it with easy access to the person who is most familiar with the legislative issues important to the district," says family physician Thomas Horowitz, DO, who is the chair of LACPAC. Dr. Horowitz also credits Eng with a fair amount of legislative sophistication, partly due to the assemblyman's previous experience in elected office and with immigration law.

Also sponsoring the fundraiser were the California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery PAC, the California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians PAC, the California Academy of Family Physicians PAC, the California Orthopaedic Association PAC, and the California Society of Plastic Surgeons PAC.