News & Announcements 2021 Legislative Report 3 - February 5, 2021
Posted over 4 years ago by Regina Sanders
Keep up to date on Legislative Reports
RE: 2021 Legislative Report
DATE: February 5, 2021
THIS WEEK IN REVIEW:
Week three of committee weeks ended and we are halfway to the start of the 2021 Legislative Session. The House appropriations project deadline was Tuesday, February 2. Bills and appropriations projects are popping out with bill numbers every day and committees are starting to hear substantive bills along with continuing presentations by agencies. The Governor’s Office presented the 2021 Governor’s Budget recommendations to the Appropriations committees and subcommittees as well.
Both the Senate and House Appropriations committees met this week and listened to Chris Spencer, Policy and Budget Director for the Governor’s Office, present the Governor’s Recommendations for the 2021-22 budget. It included a $96.6 billion state budget along with $78.8 billion in federal relief for COVID 19. There were many questions that arose, such as school budgets in the age of virtual school during the pandemic. The Governor’s budget kept funding levels the same as if students were still physically in school. House Approps Chair Jay Trumbull noted that the proposal outspent the General Revenue predictions by $800 million.
CFO Jimmy Patronis has come out against a bill that would replace the “no-fault” insurance system with a bodily injury type system. Senator Danny Burgess filed SB 54 that would change the system. The CFO says that it would have the effect of raising rate on “those who can least afford it.” While acknowledging that there are issues with the current PIP system, Patronis feels that relacing it might be a step in the wrong direction. SB 54 passed its first committee this week.
On Thursday, the House Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee passed through a bill that would eliminate the need to publicly advertise local bills that and notices in the local newspaper. The bill changes the requirement to once a year having to inform the local citizens that they can receive notifications via email or traditional mail. Lobbyists representing newspaper and press organizations were against the bill, arguing that it limits access to only people who had internet access. The bill sponsor, Rep. Randy Fine, says that this bill would eliminate the need to pay for a paper, and therefore pay for access to, the information. It passed 11-6 along party lines and will move on to the next committee.
The next committee week will be starting on Monday, February 8. The 2021 Legislative Session will begin Tuesday, March 2, 2021.
FNPN SPECIFIC ISSUES On the following pages you will find a list of the bills we are tracking for you and their current status. Each of these will be updated weekly during session.
Ordered by Bill Number
HB 0111 Autonomous Practice by an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse by Maggard
Autonomous Practice by an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse: Revises practice requirements for autonomous advanced practice registered nurse. Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Actions 01/20/2021 HOUSE Now in Professions & Public Health Subcommitte
HB 0247 Telehealth Practice Standards by Fabricio Telehealth Practice Standards: Revises definition of "telehealth"; deletes prohibition on prescribing controlled substances through telehealth. Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Actions 01/22/2021 HOUSE Now in Professions & Public Health Subcommittee
HB 0361 Consent for Pelvic Examinations by Jenne Consent for Pelvic Examinations: Revises circumstances under which pelvic examination may be performed without written consent; authorizes written consent for pelvic examination to be obtained as part of a general consent form & to allow multiple health care practitioners or students to perform the examination. Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Actions 02/03/2021 HOUSE Now in Professions & Public Health Subcommittee
SB 0362 Pediatric Cardiac Care by Harrell Pediatric Cardiac Care; Revising requirements for members of the pediatric cardiac technical advisory panel; extending sovereign immunity to apply to all individuals who are members of a site visit review team; requiring pediatric cardiac programs to include certain cases in the program’s required surgical volume; providing that pediatric cardiac surgical centers that are deemed by the panel to be noncompliant with certain standards must come into compliance with those standards within a specified timeframe, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 01/11/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules
HB 0405 Mental Health and Substance Abuse by Maney Mental Health and Substance Abuse: Revises & provides terminology & requirements relating to petitions & procedures for voluntary & involuntary admissions, examinations, & treatment under Baker Act & Marchman Act. Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Actions 01/25/2021 HOUSE Filed
HB 0407 Pediatric Cardiac Care by Salzman Pediatric Cardiac Care: Revises requirements relating to membership of pediatric cardiac technical advisory panel; revises frequency of meetings; extends sovereign immunity to site visit review team members; provides requirements for cardiac surgical case volume; authorizes use of virtual site inspections; authorizes panel to make certain recommendation to secretary; authorizes secretary to accept or modify recommendation & enforce compliance with certain standards; requires that data comply with specified guidelines & suggestions. Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Actions 01/25/2021 HOUSE Filed
SB 0424 Autonomous Practice by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses by Brandes Autonomous Practice by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses; Revising practices an advanced practice registered nurse may engage in autonomously, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 01/15/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Banking and Insurance; Rules
HB 0431 Practice of Physician Assistants by Rommel Practice of Physician Assistants: Authorizes licensed physician assistant to provide signature, certification, stamp, verification, affidavit, or endorsement for specified reasons, with exception; deletes provision relating to performance of medical services by trainee; revises accreditation requirements; authorizes trainee to perform medical services within scope of approved program; revises physician assistant licensure requirements; revises & provides requirements for temporary licensure & license renewal; provides requirements for physician assistant to engage in autonomous practice. Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Actions 01/26/2021 HOUSE Filed
HB 0485 Personal Care Attendants by Garrison Personal Care Attendants: Authorizes nursing home facilities to employ personal care attendants if certain training requirement is met; requires AHCA, in consultation with Board of Nursing, to develop certain training program; provides minimum requirements for such program; authorizes certain persons to be employed by nursing home facility as personal care attendants for specified period if certain training requirement is met; provides definition for term "personal care attendants." Effective Date: upon becoming a law
Actions 01/27/2021 HOUSE Filed
SB 0528 Health Insurance Prior Authorization by Harrell. Health Insurance Prior Authorization; Prohibiting health maintenance organizations from excluding coverage for certain cancer treatment drugs; specifying requirements for, and restrictions on, health insurers and pharmacy benefits managers relating to prior authorization information, requirements, restrictions, and changes; requiring health insurers to provide and disclose procedures for insureds to request exceptions to step-therapy protocols; prohibiting health maintenance organizations from imposing an additional prior authorization requirement with respect to certain surgical or invasive procedures or certain items, etc. Effective Date: 1/1/2022
Actions 01/21/2021 SENATE Referred to Banking and Insurance; Health Policy; Appropriations
SB 0660 Telehealth by Diaz Telehealth; Deleting a prohibition on prescribing controlled substances through telehealth, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 01/28/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services; Appropriations SB 0700 Telehealth by Rodriguez (A) Telehealth; Requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to reimburse the use of telehealth services under certain circumstances and subject to certain limitations; authorizing telehealth providers to prescribe specified controlled substances through telehealth under certain circumstances; authorizing out-of-state physician telehealth providers to engage in formal supervisory relationships with certain nonphysician health care practitioners in this state; authorizing registered pharmacy technicians to compound and dispense medicinal drugs under certain circumstances; exempting certain registered pharmacy technicians from specified prohibitions, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 01/28/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services; Appropriations
SB 0716 Consent for Pelvic Examinations by Book Consent for Pelvic Examinations; Revising the definition of the term “pelvic examination”; revising the circumstances under which a pelvic examination may be performed without written consent; authorizing written consent for a pelvic examination to be obtained as a part of a general consent form and to allow multiple health care practitioners or students to perform the examination, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 01/28/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules
HB 0721 Prohibited Acts by Health Care Practitioners by Massullo, Jr. Prohibited Acts by Health Care Practitioners: Prohibits specified acts by health care practitioners relating to specialty designations; authorizes DOH to enforce compliance with the act; authorizes department to take specified disciplinary action against health care practitioners in violation of act. Effective Date: upon becoming a law
Actions 02/03/2021 HOUSE Filed
SB 0828 Mental Health and Substance Abuse by Book Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Requiring facilities to inform respondents with a serious mental illness of the essential elements of recovery and provide them assistance in accessing a continuum of care regimen; authorizing the state to establish that a transfer evaluation was performed by providing the court with a copy of the evaluation before the close of the state’s case in chief; revising the requirements for when a person may be taken to a receiving facility for involuntary examination; revising the requirements for when a person may be ordered for involuntary inpatient placement; requiring the clerk of the court to notify the state attorney’s office upon the receipt of a petition filed for involuntary treatment services, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 02/04/2021 SENATE Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Judiciary; Appropriations
SB 0864 Telehealth by Brodeur Telehealth; Revising the definition of the term “telehealth”; revising an exemption from telehealth registration requirements, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 02/04/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services; Appropriations
SB 0894 Physician Assistants by Diaz Physician Assistants; Deleting a limitation on the number of physician assistants a physician may supervise at one time; revising physician assistant continuing education requirements related to prescribing controlled substance medications; requiring the Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine to register physician assistants as autonomous physician assistants if they meet specified criteria; authorizing physician assistants to directly bill and receive payment from public and private insurance companies, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2021
Actions 02/04/2021 SENATE Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services; Appropriations
SB 7000 OGSR/Nurse Licensure Compact by Health Policy OGSR/Nurse Licensure Compact; Amending a provision which provides an exemption from public record requirements for certain personal identifying information of nurses in the Nurse Licensure Compact and from public record and meeting requirements for certain meetings or portions of meetings and certain records held by the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators; removing the scheduled repeal of the exemptions, etc. Effective Date: 10/1/2021
Actions 02/04/2021 SENATE Referred to Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Rules