Assembly Committee Designates AB 890 as a Two-Year Bill
While action taken by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations has halted the progress of Assembly Bill 890 for this year, the committee's decision also means the bill remains eligible for consideration in 2020.
Authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood, AB 890 would remove antiquated practice barriers and allow nurse practitioners in California to work without physician supervision.
Thursday, May 17 was the deadline for bills identified as having a state cost associated with them to pass out of the Appropriations Committees in their respective houses of the Legislature. All bills that have a cost over a certain threshold – $50,000 in the State Senate and $150,000 in the State Assembly – are moved to what is called the “suspense file,” where all of these bills are considered at once. Bills are either passed through to the floor, held on the suspense file (meaning they are dead for the two-year session) or declared as two-year bills.
The chairs of the respective Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees wield great power in the Legislature, deciding the fate of hundreds of bills nearly singlehandedly. The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved 472 of 721 bills with a projected cost of $12 billion. The Senate Appropriations Committee considered 355 bills.
Both committees decided, unlike any other year, to hold bills in their committees as two-year bills. The Assembly held 40 bills over as two-year bills this year. This is a significantly different process than both committees have used in the past; bills were previously either held, meaning killed, or passed to the floor. This is significant because the Legislature’s rules prohibit identical bills from being reintroduced within the same two-year session.
Despite the legislature’s focus on expanding access to health care, the one bill that sought to address the looming shortage of primary care providers won’t be granted a full vote this year.
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AB 890 was one of the bills the Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee decided to hold as a two-year bill. Because the bill was not held on suspense, but remains in the committee, the opportunity remains for AB 890 to continue to move through the legislative process.
The bill was the focus of intense opposition from the California Medical Association (CMA), a factor which largely contributed to the Appropriations Committee’s action. Oddly, despite the legislature’s focus this year on expanding access to health care, the one bill that sought to address the looming shortage of primary care providers won’t be granted a full vote this year.
Meanwhile, support for AB 890 continues to grow, with the Los Angeles Times editorial board writing in support of the bill on May 16, while the California Primary Care Association (CPCA) and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) joined more than 50 other organizations in support of the bill.
While disappointed that the bill did not advance this year, CANP is encouraged by the opportunity to keep the bill moving, and that Assemblymember Wood has vowed his continued commitment to the effort. Conversations and debate will continue through the rest of this year and the bill will be eligible to be heard in January 2020. Grassroots advocacy by CANP members at the local level remains critical as the work continues to educate legislators and policymakers about the benefit of allowing nurse practitioners to work to the full extent of their education and training in California. Consult our online Assembly Bill 890 Toolkit for resources to help make the case for AB 890.
Lobby Day NP Advocates Make the Case For Priority Bills
More than 170 NP advocates gathered in Sacramento May 13 for CANP Lobby Day 19, one of the largest turnouts on record for the annual event.
Attendees were enticed by the chance to make the case for Assembly Bill 890 during the 80 legislative office visits they conducted on the day. The day’s program was highlighted by Assemblymember Jim Wood, author of the measure that would remove practice barriers for California nurse practitioners. In his remarks to Lobby Day attendees, Wood vowed his commitment to the effort in the face of formidable opposition, debunking a common criticism lobbed by opponents by stating “We already have two tiers of care: those who receive care and those who do not. Our goal is to bring those tiers closer together.”
While AB 890 commanded the spotlight, Lobby Day participants also had the opportunity to make the case for several other bills currently making their way through the legislative process. Among those is Assembly Bill 1514 (Patterson), a CANP-sponsored measure that would add NPs to the list of providers who can certify patients with hearing disabilities to utilize specialized telecommunications equipment through the California Public Utilities Commission’s Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program.
AB 1514 passed out of the Assembly May 2 on a 76-0 vote. Now under consideration in the Senate, the bill has been referred to both the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, and the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development.
Also on the radar this year are Assembly Bill 414 (Bonta) and Senate Bill 175 (Pan). Virtually identical bills, the proposals would require California residents to assure that they and their dependents maintain minimum essential health care coverage, and would impose a penalty for the failure to maintain minimum essential coverage.
AB 414 has been passed by both the Assembly Health and Appropriations committees, and is now eligible for a full Assembly vote. SB 175 has likewise passed out of multiple committees and is now eligible to be taken up by the full Senate. Both the Assembly and the Senate face a May 31 deadline for acting on bills that originated this year in their respective houses of the Legislature.