Legislative Alert: February, 2002
by Louise Browning, CAE
Executive Director and Lobbyist
102nd General Assembly
The second session of the 102nd General Assembly convened in Nashville January 8 at 12:00 noon. There are still many “live” bills that will be carried over from last year, and around 1500-2500 new ones will be introduced. A huge number of those will be relative to health care delivery and payment systems for health care delivery, including many that will try to “fix” TennCare. It promises, as usual, to be an interesting year.
Advanced Practice Bill
TNA has introduced a new bill on advanced practice (SB 2488 by Cooper/HB 2429 by Odom) rather than try to resurrect the one that was stuck in the Health Access Subcommittee at the end of the 2001 session. This new bill clarifies the process of grandfathering certified nurse midwives and certified registered nurse anesthetists, gives sole ownership of prescriptions to prescription writers, and provides for legal protection of the title “advanced practice nurse (APN).” It lists the four categories of APNs (nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and clinical specialists) in the law for the first time.
The bill sets up an initial fee for a certificate to practice as an APN and a biennial renewal fee set by the Board of Nursing. APNs may apply for a certificate to practice with or without prescriptive privileges.
The Senate bill has been referred to the Senate General Welfare Committee and the House bill to the House Health and Human Resources Committee. House Health Committee Chair Joe Armstrong will refer the bill to a subcommittee. Last year’s bill went to Health Access. To read the bill, go to www.legislature.state.tn.us and select Bills, then Filed Bills Index. Talk to your Legislators now about the importance of this bill.
Medical Technicians
A bill has been introduced to create a new “medical technician” in Tennessee (SB 2132 by Haun/HB 2107 by Whitson). The language in the bill is convoluted. It amends the nurse practice act and creates a new diploma nursing program in section 63-7-104, yet further down in the bill prevents the medical technician from practicing as an RN or an LPN. It requires the medical technician to receive a 12-18 month education in a diploma nursing program and authorizes annual state appropriations to provide a subsidy payment for these education programs.
The medical technician would be licensed to administer medications and assist in activities of daily living. It is not clear if their services would be limited to long-term care settings, but the curriculum must include a clinical component in a long-term care setting, and that seems to be the intent of the bill. A similar bill was introduced a few years ago for medication technicians, but TNA was successful in killing that bill in short order. We hope to do the same with this one. Call your legislators now and discuss this bill with them. Nurses in Greene and Unicoi counties need to talk with the sponsors and ask them to withdraw the bills.
Glucagon Administration
A bill has been introduced that will allow qualified school personnel to administer glucagon in emergency situations to either students or other school personnel (HB 2105 by Black). Personnel may be qualified to administer the drug through a volunteer training program arranged through the Tennessee Department of Health and coordinated by the Tennessee Department of Education. TNA’s Committee on School Health will be taking a critical look at this bill at their meeting in January. The Senate bill number is not available as we go to press.
Tobacco Tax
The Campaign for a Healthy and Responsible Tennessee (CHART) has initiated legislation to increase the tax on cigarettes from 13 cents to 43 cents (SB 2136). This would bring an additional $162 million in excise tax into the state coffers and $5 million in sales tax. Tennessee has not increased the excise tax since before man first walked on the moon in 1969 according to the American Lung Association. That statement puts it into perspective. We are woefully beneath the national average of 42 cents a pack. A survey released by The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says higher cigarette prices significantly reduce smoking in this age group. Tennessee has a real teen smoking problem. CHART comprises the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Association along with 30 other organizations including TNA. We will actively lobby for passage of this bill. Visit the CHART website at www.tennesseechart.org where you will find more information and an opportunity to draft a letter to your legislators. The House bill number is not available as we go to press.
Spend time now in the state legislative website at www.legislature.state.tn.us Search for the words “nurse, nurses, nursing” to read many of the bills that affect your practice.
Medical Technician Bill
SB 2132 by Haun/HB 2107 by Whitson
SB 2132 by Haun was scheduled to be heard in the Senate General Welfare Committee on Wednesday, February 5. After receiving many emails, letters and phone calls from TNA members and others opposing the bill, Senator Haun notified the committee chair prior to the meeting to take if off the calendar and place the bill in the General Subcommittee. He will have to take action and write a letter to the chairman to bring the bill back up in the future, which usually does not happen. Senate bills are often seen as dead when they go to the “general sub” (which only Senate committees have). However, we never assume that a bill is totally dead until the end of a two-year session, so we will continue to watch this bill until they adjourn this year. In the House Rep. Whitson is not going to take action to put HB 2107 on the calendar in the House Health Committee at this time. Grassroots efforts do make a difference!
Most nursing and health care bills are generally referred to the following committees and subcommittees:
Senate General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee
· John Ford, Chairman
· Roy Herron, Vice-Chairman
· Marsha Blackburn, Secretary
Rusty Crowe, Doug Jackson, Rosalind Kurita, Douglas Henry, David Fowler, Curtis S. Person, Jr.
House Health and Human Resources Committee/Subcommittees
- Joe Armstrong, Chairman
- Mary Pruitt, Vice-Chairman
- Dennis Ferguson, Secretary
John Arriola, Diane Black, Gene Caldwell, John J. DeBerry, Jr., Lois DeBerry, Doug Overbey, Tre´ Hargett, David Shepard, Sherry Jones, Russell Johnson, Gary Odom, Robert D. Patton, Brenda Turner, Jason Mumpower, Mark Maddox, Chris Clem, Glen Casada
Health Subcommittee
- Mary Pruitt, Chairman
Gene Caldwell, Diane Black, Lois Deberry, John DeBerry, Tré Hargett, Jason Mumpower, Gary Odom, Robert Patton, David Shepard
Health Access Subcommittee
- John Arriola, Chairman
Sherry Jones, Brenda Turner, Gene Caldwell, Diane Black, Mary Pruitt, Lois DeBerry
Human Services & Mental Health
- Dennis Ferguson, Chairman
John Arriola, Chris Clem, Russell Johnson, Sherri Jones, Mark Maddox, Lois DeBerry, Doug Overbey, Brenda Turner
Advanced Practice Bill
SB 2488 by Cooper/HB 2429 by Odom
HB 2429 by Odom has been referred to the Health Subcommittee of the House Health and Human Resources Committee. It is time now to send letters/emails on the merits of this bill to these subcommittee members listed above.
Click here to access Talking Points.
Surgical Technologist Bill
SB 2173 by Harper/HB 2273 by B. Cooper, Henri
The surgical technologists have a 12-page “Surgical Technologist Licensure Act,” which creates a regulatory committee under the Board of Medical Examiners. Surgical technologists are currently supervised in the Operating Room by perioperative RN supervisors. This bill changes that arrangement to functioning under the supervision of a surgeon. Read HB 2273 on the Legislative Website, as it is on the House Government Operations Committee calendar Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 9:00 am. TNA is opposed to this bill. Contact the members of the House Government Operations Committee before Tuesday.
House Government Operations Committee
- Mike Kernell, Chairman
- Henri E. Brooks, Vice-Chairman
- Barbara Cooper, Secretary
Lois DeBerry, Curry Todd, Randy Rinks, Eugene Davidson, David Davis, Jim Boyer, Steve McDaniel, Keith Westmoreland
Resolution for Nurses Week
Sen. Randy McNally has sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 490 designating the second week of May 2002 as Nurses Week in Tennessee.
The Resolution begins by stating, “Whereas, Tennessee’s nurses make invaluable contributions to the quality of our lives and provide us with the finest of medical care, thus bringing to bear in each instance their knowledge, skills, training, and compassion, and bringing healing and hope to those in their expert care; followed by other Whereas statements including information about the American Nurses Association’s five core issues. Write a note to Senator McNally for introducing this thoughtful resolution.