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LEGISLATIVE CONNECTION
Connecting with Nurses on Health Issues The halls of the State Capitol were filled with 150 registered nurses and nursing students who attended the INA Nurse Lobby Day. Contacts were made with legislators about nursing issues. National Public Radio and WHO-Radio interviewed INA members about nursing issues. Nursing specialty organizations: Iowa School Nurse Organization, Iowa Nurses in Long Term Care, Iowa Chapter of American College of Nurse Midwives, Iowa Association of Nursing Students, Iowa Nurse Practitioner Society and the Iowa Nurses Association all had information tables. Blood pressures were taken and health information materials were distributed. Lt. Governor Sally Pederson addressed the attendees of the continuing education program held in the State Historical Building. The program focused on Delegation, Critical Decisions in Nursing Practice and the Disciplinary Process. If you missed this event, please make sure your legislators are hearing from you by attending a weekend meeting with legislators to discuss nursing issues or email or write them with your issues. Limitations on Mandatory Overtime Senator Mary Lundby (R-Marion) has introduced SF 174 which would prohibit requiring health care workers to work more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period or more than 80 hours in a consecutive 14 day period. It would allow workers to voluntarily accept overtime. Please give your thanks to Senator Lundby for introducing this INA initiative that is comparable to six other states' language. Start telling your story to legislators.
Governor Signs Supplemental/Budgeting The Legislature still needs to look at dealing with the expected shortfall in Medicaid spending. Vilsack has already proposed appropriating an additional $41 million. Senator Kramer, who has taken the lead on the issue, said that legislators are still working on a solution. Kramer said legislators still need to get a sense of how much of a supplemental is needed. She said that looking at the costs in February and January would give legislators a good idea of the eventual FY 2003 costs. Kramer said that the Legislature could delay a supplemental until the end of the session, but is likely to have recommendations ready in March. Speaker Rants said that it is unlikely that the Medicaid supplemental appropriation will be handled as a separate bill. He said that the appropriation will probably be rolled into the same bill as the 2004 appropriation.
Bills STATUS OF 2003 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 1. FUNDING THE BOARD OF NURSING: Appropriate funds to reflect funding of the Board of Nursing with 100% of license and renewal fees collected. (Conversations with legislators; Appropriations history available) 2. TOBACCO REDUCTION INITIATIVE: Pass an increase of the cigarette excise tax by $1.00 per package to reduce tobacco use by Iowa's youth and strengthen the state tobacco use prevention and control program. (SF 144 only taxes cigarettes, not all tobacco products) 3. FUNDING OF NURSE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT PROGRAM: Appropriate funding for the College Aid Commission to support registered nurses increasing their education to become nursing faculty and to support recruitment. (Requesting $100,000 be appropriated) 4. MANDATORY OVERTIME: Pass legislation similar to that passed in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas and Washington State which bans or severely limits the use of mandatory overtime as a staffing measure and which is defined as being compelled or forced to work hours beyond agreed upon assignments by threat of discrimination, dismissal, licensure discipline and/or other sanctions. (SF 174 by Lundby introduced) 5. MENTAL HEALTH PARITY: Pass legislation providing for parity in health insurance for mental health to be no different than physical health coverage, with recognition for children and adolescents including services for chemically dependent and appropriate housing for individuals with persistent mental illness. ( HF 63, HSB 48; SF 58 ) 6. ASSISTED LIVING. Pass legislation that assures that registered nurses are available and utilized to provide services at their level of education to assess and evaluate residents and participate in policy-making discussion about the tenant's choice to stay in assisted living as long as they meet the criteria for the level of care; not forcing tenants to a higher level of care by unduly restrictive state regulations. (HSB 152 and SSB 1073)
Public Policy Priorities 2. Recognize ARNPs as Medicaid Primary Care Providers. Pass legislation that recognizes advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs) as primary care providers under the Medicaid Managed Care Program which covers 85% of the Medicaid enrollees. (HF 60 and SF 166) 3. Medical Privacy: Pass legislation that modifies Iowa Code Section 622.10 to prohibit the release of medical records as "evidence". (Bill draft circulating)
Bills signed by the Governor
House Committee Action HSB 18 MASSAGE THERAPY - Directs the DPH and the Board of Massage Therapy Examiners, in conjunction with licensed and unlicensed practitioners, to study the various forms of massage therapy, including forms currently not licensed. Requires a report to the General Assembly on what should be included in the practice of massage, including a recommendation on reflexology. Floor Manager: Hutter AMENDED & PASSED 21-0
House Transportation: Voted Out:
Senate Committee Action
Senate Human Resources: Rereferred:
Senate Transportation: Voted Out:
Joint Committees Committee Assignments-House
House Human Resources: Assigned to Subcommittee:
House Transportation: Assigned to Subcommittee: Commmittee Assignments-Senate
Senate Human Resources: Assigned to Subcommittee:
Senate State Government: Assigned to Subcommittee:
Bills Introduced of Interest to Nurses House Files HF 190 UNIVERSAL INFANT HEARING TEST (Foege & B Hansen) Requires birthing hospitals to test newborns for hearing loss using either ABR or OAE methods or other method approved by the DPH and report the results to the parents and to DPH. Requires testing within 3 months if the birth takes place other than a birthing center. Allows for exemption on religious grounds. Effective January 1, 2004. (Human Resources) HF 191 CHILD PROTECTION CHECK-OFF (Jacobs) Allows a individual income tax payers to designate $1 or more to the Child Protection Center Grant Program. (Ways & Means) HF 193 UNATTENDED KIDS IN CARS (Foege) Makes leaving a child under the age of eight unsupervised in a car a simple misdemeanor. Allows exceptions for persons who keep the child in sight or under the supervision of a person who is 14 years or older. (Judiciary) HF 206 CHILD ABUSE REPORTING ( Human Resources; Successor to HF 133) Requires mandatory reporters who are not caretakers of a child to report suspected abuse for children under the age of 16 instead of 12. HF 211 PROGRAM ELIMINATIONS (Government Oversight; Successor to HSB 139) Implements recommendations from the Program Elimination Commission. (State Government) HF 212 SALES TAX INCREASE (Tymeson & Hoffman) Increases the state sales tax to 6% and dedicates the money from the increase for school infrastructure or property tax relief. Authorizes schools receiving money from a local option tax to continue to receive money at that rate. Distributes the remaining money on a per-pupil basis. Repeals: Repeals the regular PPE levy and the local option school tax. Sunsets the sales tax increase in 2023. (Education) HF 221 MH/DD SERVICE REPORT (Heaton; Companion to SF 138) Directs the MH/DD commission to make recommendations for redesigning the MH/DD services system. Requires recommendations to the Legislature and Governor on standardizing clinical and financial eligibility, identifying a minimum set of core services, developing a funding formula that follows the individual, and on improved coordination of funding by 12/31/03. (Human Resources) HF 229 DEPENDENT ELDER ABUSE (Foege; Companion to SF 132) Establishes emergency shelter and support services demonstration projects for dependent adults at risk of abuse. Makes changes to changes in definitions related to elder abuse, and in reports and other related matters. (Human Resources) HF 239 CHILD PROTECTION GRANT (Foege) Appropriates $2 million from the General Fund to the DPH for the Child Protection Center Grant Program. (Appropriations) HF 245 BIRTH DEFECTS INSTITUTE (Heddens) Changes the names of the Birth Defects Institute to the Children's Special Needs Institute. (Human Resources) HF 256 OFFICE SURGERIES (Alons, et al.) Requires Office Based Surgical Sites to obtain a license if opened after October 1, 2003. Defines such Sites a place where as invasive surgical procedures are performed and who known possible medical complications may require emergency medical transport or life-support measures. (State Government)
House Study Bills HSB 143 ELDER AFFAIRS ACT (Human Resources) Conforms the Elder Iowans Act with federal legislation by amending definitions. Reduces the number of meeting times for the Commission on Elder Affairs to four. Strikes obsolete or outdated provisions. (DEA) Upmeyer (C), Boddicker, Miller HSB 144 DEPENDENT ADULTS (Human Resources) Authorizes the DHS to designate other agencies as being under confidentiality provisions in order to allow the DHS to refer at-risk adults to those agencies. Abuse: Strikes language limiting adult abuse to that done by a caretaker. Includes psychological and emotional abuse in the abuse definitions. Creates separate training for mandatory adult abuse reporters. Makes changes to the initiation of charges and penalties for dependent adult abuse to align with the criminal charges with other parts of the Code. (DEA) Boddicker (C), Hutter, Wendt HSB 147 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DISASTER DIVISION (Human Resources) Creates the Division of Epidemiology, Emergency Medical Services, and Disaster Operations in the DPH. Authorizes the DPH to create disaster medical assistance teams during times of disaster, and to carry out additional duties during a public health disaster. Authorizes the DPH to investigate diseases that may be a potential cause of a public health disaster. Tymeson (C), Granzow, Foege HSB 148 CONTROLLED & PRECURSOR SUBSTANCES (Human Resources) Makes technical changes to conform the Iowa Code to the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act and to the precursor chemical federal amendments. Allows the suspension or restriction of the authority of a health care professional to prescribe controlled substances if the professional has been the subject disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing board. (Board of Pharmacy Examiners) Upmeyer (C), Boddicker, Murphy HSB 149 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND HEALTH DUTIES (Human Resources) Environmental Health: Establishes a voluntary certification program for environmental health practitioners in the DPH. Establishes an advisory committee to make recommendations on the necessary educational and experience requirements for practitioners. Immunizations: Includes chickenpox on the list of required childhood immunizations, and authorizes nurse practitioners and physician assistants to sign immunization waivers. Other: Requires a prescription drug order to indicate the reason for prescribing the drug. Requires licensee review committees to monitor licensees who are reported for an impairment relating to alcohol or drug abuse, or any mental or physical disorder. Makes corrections regarding the exemption provisions for nursing and what nurses fall under the state jurisdiction. (DPH) Boddicker (C), Upmeyer, Murphy HSB 152 ASSISTED LIVING AND ADULT DAY CARE REGULATION (Human Resources) Creates a new division to regulate adult day care and assisted living programs under the Department of Elder Affairs. Directs the DEA to establish a compliance program with the cooperation of the Department of Inspections and Appeals. Requires the DEA to certify and monitor adult day care programs. Affects certifications done after July, 2003. Contains provisions related to the scope of the authority and duty of the DEA. (DEA) Upmeyer (C), Boddicker, Murphy See SSB 1073 HSB 154 PUBLIC HEALTH OMNIBUS (Human Resources) Transfers from the DNR grant authority of funds for county health departments to test and monitor wells. Lets an audiologist be licensed if they hold a doctorate. Makes other changes. (Department of Public Health) (Subcommittee not available) HSB 168 ANESTHESIA BY PODIATRISTS (Human Resources) Prohibits podiatrists from giving general anesthesia. Boddicker (C), Granzow Smith
Senate Files SF 139 CERTIFICATE OF NEED (Schuerer) Eliminates the certificate need program used to authorize the building of hospitals or other health facilities. (Human Resources) SF 144 CIGARETTE TAX INCREASE (McCoy) Raises the tax on cigarettes by a $1 per pack. (W & M) SF 150 PEC RECOMMENDATIONS (Government Oversight; Successor to SSB 1059) Implements recommendations from the Program Elimination Commission. (State Government) SF 166 MEDICAID PROVIDERS (Schuerer) Makes advanced registered nurse practitioners licensed approved health care providers for purposes of managed care or prepaid services contracts under Medicaid. (Human Resources) SF 173 PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION (TEACHER) DUES (Education; Successor to SF 5) Creates a new section which allows school districts to make a deduction for dues payments to professional organizations for teachers and administrators upon the written request of the teacher or administrator. Requires the school to grant all written requests if the school grants one. Supersedes current collective bargaining provisions. (Calendar) FM: Rehberg SF 174 HEALTH WORKER OT (Lundby) Prohibits requiring health care workers to work more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period or more than 80 hours in a consecutive 14 day period. Allows workers to voluntarily accept overtime. Excludes emergencies or scheduled on-call work. Establishes civil penalties. (Human Resources) SF 175 OBESITY MEASUREMENT (Bolkcom) Requires the Department of Public health to maintain records on the height, weight and body mass index of students from K-12 schools in an obesity measurement program. Does not require schools to be in the program, or for students to participate. Requires the DPH to develop ways to record and share the data while protecting the identify of students. (Human Resources)
Senate Study Bills SSB 1077 NONPROFIT MODEL CODE (Judiciary) Repeals Code sections regarding operation of nonprofit corporation and replaces it with the Revised Model Nonprofit Corporation Act. Requires the Secretary of State to promulgate rules and forms for such corporations. Defines the duties of the organization's board and officers, legal powers, duties, obligations, and ultra vires action. Allows for personal liability limitations against misdistribution of funds by the board and officers. Applies to new nonprofit organizations formed after July 1, 2004. Requires nonprofits to declare themselves as a public benefit, mutual benefit, or religious corporation by April 1, 2005. Contains many other related provisions. Miller (C), Holveck, Larson See HSB 132 SSB 1080 GOVERNMENT BACKGROUND CHECKS (Judiciary) Directs the DIT to work with DPS, DOP, or other necessary state agency to identify various job classifications of state employees who place government information on state computer networks. Requires pre-hire and 5 year criminal background checks of state employees working in certain identified classifications.. Requires an employee to report his or her arrest within 72 hours in most cases. Larson (C), Quirmbach, Tinsman (DIT) See HSB 171 SSB 1083 CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS (State Government) Includes the Boards of Behavioral Science Examiners, the Board of Dietetic Examiners and the Board of Social Work Examiners under the regulatory provisions which allow them to make criminal history checks on applicants. (Board of Medical Examiners) Tinsman (C), Black, Johnson See HSB 124 SSB 1085 PHYSICAL THERAPY ADVERTISING (State Government) Prohibits the use of titles that indicate that services from a person or business is from licensed physical therapist unless the services are performed by or under the supervision of a therapist. Makes violations a simple misdemeanor. Makes language corrections. Sievers(C). Ragan, Veenstra See HSB 130 SSB 1089 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS (Appropriations) FY 2003: Increases the machinery & equipment tax replacement appropriation by $530,000 for FY 2003 and strikes the authorization of local governments to make impose additional tax due to the original appropriation. Appropriates an additional $355,000 to counties for the elderly property tax credit. Requires any excess funds in the appropriation to be used for carryover credits. Bond Use: Allows the issuing agency the use of refunding bonds under the tobacco settlement for capital infrastructure improvements. Sievers (C), Dotzler, Lamberti © 2008 The American Nurses Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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