Key Bills Still in Play with Roughly Three Weeks Left in This Year’s Legislative Session

Two bills supported by CANP remain in play when legislators return August 6 from their one-month summer recess. Upon their return, lawmakers will have until August 31 to act on remaining bills before concluding this year’s session.

The recess follows a turbulent spring, as legislators rushed to hear bills before the June 1 house of origin deadline, the date by which all bills had to pass out of their original houses in order to remain alive. Although policy committee hearings resumed through the first week of July to hear the remaining legislation, the main focus in Sacramento leading up to the recess was the primary election and the state budget.

CANP-supported bills that have advanced are Assembly Bill 2965 (Arambula) and Senate Bill 974 (Lara), which will make undocumented adults under the age of 26 and over the age of 65, respectively, eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits who would otherwise be eligible for those benefits, notwithstanding their immigration status.

Both bills passed out of their houses of origin, and both were subsequently passed by the Health Committees in the other house. Next up for both are hearings in the respective Appropriations Committees, traditionally the last stop before a full floor vote.

Assembly Bill 2682 (Burke), supported by CANP, will not advance this year. It sought to remove physician supervision of certified nurse midwives while preserving physician collaboration, thereby increasing access to women’s healthcare. The bill moved through the Assembly with little opposition. However, following amendments taken in the Senate, CNMA decided not to pursue the bill. This issue will likely resurface in the near future via another bill.

State Budget Update

The Legislature passed the 2018-19 State Budget by the June 15 constitutional deadline in what has become a timely occurrence over the past eight years, and the Governor signed the budget on June 27.

The $199.6 billion budget was signed on a high note for Jerry Brown given the state’s $8.8 billion surplus. Although revenue projections were optimistic, the Governor carried his usual tone of caution and fiscal prudence when he released his revised budget in May ahead of budget passage, warning that a recession is inevitable. To prepare for a future downturn, the passed-and-signed budget sets aside a health amount in the state’s Rainy-Day Fund, bringing the fund’s total up to nearly $14 billion.

Although the Governor clearly laid out his priorities, emphasizing the importance of protecting against future cuts and shoring up the state’s reserves, legislators and advocates lobbied to dedicate funding to additional programs and issues. Assembly Democrats proposed a $1 billion healthcare spending package in May, which sought to implement various reforms that were introduced as part of the legislative healthcare reform package introduced over the past few months by the Assembly. In Budget Conference Committee, the proposal was largely scrapped because it lacked the Governor’s support.

The main component the Conference Committee did adopt, and which was passed by the Legislature prior to the recess, was the funding for an All Payer Claims Database (APCD), as well as funding to establish a task force to study what it would take to accomplish universal coverage.

Primary Election Impact on the Legislature

The most immediate impact on the Legislature from the June 5 election results was Democrats’ loss of a supermajority in the State Senate, at least through the end of this session. That’s due to the successful recall of Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton). Nearly 60 percent of voters in the 29th Senate District supported the recall.

The election also resulted in Republican Ling Ling Chang being named to fill the vacant seat. Newman had defeated Chang in 2016 in what has historically been a Republican-held district.

Organizers of the recall targeted Newman because of his 2017 vote in favor of Senate Bill 1, the $54 billion transportation infrastructure package that included the state’s first gas tax increase in 23 years. A measure to repeal Senate Bill 1 will appear on the November ballot as Proposition 6.

Three special elections also took place June 5 to fill vacancies created by sexual harassment-related resignations. All three seats had been held by Democrats, In Assembly District 39, vacated by the resignation of Raul Bocanegra, Democrat Luz Maria Rivas prevailed with nearly 70 percent of the vote. She was subsequently sworn into office on June 11. In Assembly District 45, previously held by Matt Dababneh, Democrat Jesse Gabriel garnered more than 65 percent of the vote and was also sworn in on June 11.

Final results in the race for Senate District 32 are pending an August runoff. The seat became vacant with the resignation of Tony Mendoza (who then filed as a candidate for the election to replace him). Mendoza finished third behind Republican Rita Topalian and Democrat Vanessa Delgado, who face a runoff election on August 7. Delgado is widely expected to prevail, given that 65.7 percent of the vote was divided among nine Democratic candidates in the primary.

Grassroots Opportunities

With lawmakers primarily spending their off time back in their districts, the summer recess is an ideal time for direct grassroots outreach to build the important relationships that will help promote the nurse practitioner profession and lay the foundation for future successes in the legislative arena.

Aside from scheduling visits in legislators’ local district offices, there are a number of great ways to make connections, such as inviting your legislator to a local CANP chapter meeting, inviting your legislator to spend some time with you in your practice setting to provide a first-hand look at NPs in action, or attending (or volunteering at) a legislator’s local community events.

In addition, with it being an election year and with several new legislators primed to take office, volunteering for campaigns is an excellent way to establish relationships.

Extensive grassroots efforts by CANP members and allies have made tremendous inroads by educating lawmakers about just what a nurse practitioner is and the vital role that NPs play. Due in no small part to those efforts, CANP has become one of the truly influential voices in the field of health care policy. CANP members should contact their local chapter’s legislative representative to learn how to help build on this critical momentum.