31.   Pataki did not endorse the bill at the news conference but did so in a later statement, apparently for the first time.

32.   Proponents of the legislation say HIV laws would be exempted from the federal mandate, and they note that the AIDS Action Council in Washington has endorsed the bill.

33.   Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R.-N.J., whose district includes Atlantic City -- the gambling capital of the East Coast -- also endorsed the bill.

34.   Representatives from those organizations stood with Pataki Wednesday to endorse his bill and call for its swift passage in the Legislature.

35.   So far, three Republicans have endorsed the bill.

36.   Smith, who also testified before the House Oversight Committee, said afterward she is disappointed that Gingrich proposed a commission instead of endorsing her bill.

37.   The AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the California Federation of Labor, and the Hollywood Entertainment Labor Council have endorsed the bill.

38.   The American Medical Association blundered badly when it endorsed a Republican bill last year banning so-called partial birth abortion.

39.   The bills have been endorsed by Coretta Scott King, former Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., and several major corporations.

40.   The bill was endorsed Thursday by the Lion and Lamb Project, a Maryland-based parent watchdog group.