ADDENDUM TO THE WEEK #18 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - CLARIFICATION ON SB 1078

We’ve received some questions regarding the referral of SB 1078 in the Week #18 legislative update. We wanted to clarify what that means and we’re happy to answer any additional questions you may have about this or any other legislative matter.

SB 1078, filed by Sen. Bob Onder, is the bill that licenses APRN’s under the Board of Healing Arts rather than the current practice of being recognized through a document of recognition under the Board of Nursing. As has been the position of AMNP since inception, we strongly OPPOSE this bill or any other attempt to regulate APRN’s by the Board of Healing Arts.

Procedurally in the legislature, all bills filed must be referred to committee before the legislature adjourns (which is Friday, May 15th). That is, any bill that is filed in either the House or Senate, regardless of what party it is filed by, unless it is withdrawn by the bill sponsor, will receive an assignment. Common practice for both chambers is for those bills to be referred in the final week or two of the legislative session. Delaying the referral of the bill until then essentially guarantees that the bill will not pass since it takes weeks for a bill to go through the entire legislative process.

As mentioned in the legislative update, due to the circumstances of the truncated legislative session, both the House and Senate have significantly reduced the number of committees that are meeting to move bills. In the final weeks of session, committees were not hearing new bills but instead bills that originated in the opposite chamber that could potentially be debated and passed in the final two weeks. Additionally, the Senate Professional Registration Committee (to which SB 1078 was referred) is not scheduled to meet this final week of session. As such, SB 1078 will not be heard in committee this year, which procedurally means that it is dead.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Please know that if this bill were to begin to move in any way, we would immediately take steps to kill it. Protecting APRN’s against additional regulations and working to remove barriers to access is our highest priority. If you have any questions about this or any other pending legislation, please don’t hesitate to let us know.