By Kristy Wiese
Legislative Advocate
The legislative session continues to progress and the Governor’s 2021-22 May Revision to the Budget was released last week, which contained significantly more spending than the 2020-21 Budget. The Governor’s office recently reported that California expects record revenues in 2021 with General Fund revenues currently running over $14.3 billion above January’s revenue forecast.
April 30th marked the last day for policy committees to meet and report to fiscal committees on fiscal bills introduced in their house. In order to reduce the high volume of bills introduced this year, many bills have been held in policy committees and deemed two-year bills. CANP remains engaged on several bills continuing through the legislative process, including AB 852, also written by AB 890 bill author Assemblymember Jim Wood. This follow-up bill seeks to solidify “clean-up” language to expand on last year’s enacted AB 890, which allows nurse practitioners to practice independently without physician supervision. CANP has been working diligently with the author on AB 852 and the bill continues to move through the legislative process, having passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Business and Professions Committee on May 5.
In addition to AB 852, CANP is supporting a number of bills this session, including:
- AB 925 (Dahle), which will authorize law enforcement agencies to seek reimbursement from the state for providers to offset to cost of sexual assault examinations.
- SB 65 (Skinner), which will require comprehensive investigations into maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, improve data collection and research on socio-economic factors that contribute to negative birth outcomes, expand postpartum health care for parents and babies, and improve access to health options like doulas and midwives.
- SB 306 (Pan), which names the prescribing of antibiotics to the sexual partner of a patient diagnosed with an STD as “expedited partner therapy” or “EPT” and requires health care providers to include EPT on a prescription if they are unable to obtain the name of the patient’s sexual partner. It also allows pharmacists to dispense the prescription without a name on the label if the prescription includes “EPT.”
- SB 365 (Caballero), which mandates Medi-Cal reimbursement for e-consult services provided by Medi-Cal providers.
- SB 380 (Eggman), which reduces certain administrative barriers under the End-of-Life Option Act and deletes the Act’s sunset date.
These bills have all passed out of policy committees and must pass out of Appropriations Committees by the May 21 fiscal deadline.
Beyond legislation, the second Sunset Review Oversight Hearing has been scheduled for the California Board of Registered Nursing on May 19. This hearing has been scheduled to follow up on many of the issues raised during the first hearing to discuss the BRN, which took place on March 12. CANP continues to monitor and engage in the sunset review process for any potential impacts on implementation of AB 890.
The BRN’s Nurse Practitioner Advisory Committee (NPAC) held its first meeting on April 21. Nurse practitioner Samantha Gables Farr was elected Chair of the committee, and Dr. Edward Ray (an MD) was named Vice Chair. The NPAC will meet four times per year and create subcommittees of two or three people to work on AB 890 implementation. The NPAC will report to the BRN Practice Committee, which will then report to the full Board. BRN staff are beginning to draft the AB 890 regulations, prioritizing transition to practice.
CANP’s advocacy efforts on priority legislation and the implementation of AB 890 outlined above will be front-and-center at our annual Lobby Day 2021 this Monday, May 19. Lobby Day is a benefit of CANP membership and available at no cost to members. There's still time to register!
On a broader scale, COVID-19, the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom and the appointment of former Assemblymember Rob Bonta as California’s new Attorney General have been at the forefront in Sacramento. The Governor has stated that he plans to lift most remaining restrictions by June 15.
As COVID-19 cases decrease throughout the state, efforts to recall Governor Gavin Newsom continue to advance. The California Secretary of State has confirmed that recall proponents collected enough valid signatures for a special gubernatorial contest this year. The election still has not formally qualified for the ballot because additional review steps including voter petition withdrawals and the state’s analysis of the election’s fiscal effects are still pending. With the recall election becoming more realistic, opposing candidates from a variety of backgrounds have filed paperwork to run.
As the legislative session carries on, CANP will continue to actively engage on prioritized legislation and remain focused on the successful implementation of AB 890.