By Kristy Wiese
Legislative Advocate

Lawmakers have been busy this month negotiating the budget, wrapping up fiscal committee hearings and holding weeks of floor sessions to pass house of origin bills. While the Legislature officially passed the 2021-22 State Budget on June 14, which Governor Newsom signed just before the June 30 constitutional deadline, negotiations continue between the Newsom Administration and legislative leaders on the more nuanced details of the budget.

Over the next three months, budget trailer bills, so named because they “trail” the main budget bill, will be introduced and negotiated. An additional “main” budget bill (“budget bill jr.”) will likely surface sometime in mid-August that incorporates additional aspects of the spending plan as-yet-to-be agreed upon by the Governor and Legislature. Trailer bills have until the end of session (Sept. 10) to be passed.

AB 890 Implementation Advocacy Efforts Continue

CANP continues to be active before the Legislature and Newsom Administration. CANP’s high-priority AB 852 (Wood), the “clean-up” bill for AB 890 that addresses some of the unresolved issues, as well as makes some general corrections to the Business and Professions Code to reflect the change to NP practice, has been made a two-year bill. CANP released the following statement to members on June 24 about the decision:

“As you know, there are ongoing discussions occurring in the California Legislature and the Board of Registered Nursing regarding the implementation of AB 890 (Wood), the bill signed into law in 2020 that allows nurse practitioners to practice without physician supervision. One of the avenues for ensuring that AB 890 is implemented as intended is a follow-up bill, AB 852, also authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood.
 
Assemblymember Wood has decided to make AB 852 a two-year bill, meaning that the bill can still move forward in 2022. The extended timeline gives advocates and legislators additional time for key conversations around AB 890 implementation.
 
There are ongoing discussions regarding AB 890 implementation occurring as part of the Joint Legislative Sunset Review of the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN), as well as at the BRN's Nurse Practitioner Advisory Committee, which was established by AB 890. 
 
CANP is closely watching both processes and engaging in the conversations surrounding nurse practitioner practice in both venues. We will continue the work we have been doing to ensure the successful implementation of AB 890 and keep CANP members apprised of when and how to best advocate for the profession.”

CANP continues to work with the BRN on the implementation of AB 890. The BRN’s Nurse Practitioner Advisory Committee (NPAC) will meet four times per year and will 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 in the process of drafting the AB 890 regulations, prioritizing transition to practice. The NPAC is also beginning work on the AB 890 transition to practice regulations.

The NPAC will host a meeting for AB 890 Interested Parties on July 13 at 12:00 pm. We encourage CANP members to participate and voice their support of AB 890 implementation and NP interests during the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting. Please use this link to view the agenda for the Interested Parties meeting and access information on attending the meeting. Prior to the meeting, CANP President Patti Gurney submitted public comment letter on behalf of CANP supporting full implementation of the bill. 

CANP Supported Legislation

Bills supported by CANP that have now passed out of their house of origin include:

• AB 369 (Kamlager) which will require the State Department of Health Care Services to implement a program of presumptive Medi-Cal eligibility for persons experiencing homelessness and require the department to authorize an enrolled Medi-Cal provider to issue a temporary Medi-Cal benefits identification. 
• 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. 

Big Picture

On a broader scale, California’s “grand reopening” from COVID-19 has been at the forefront in Sacramento. On June 15, California lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions as part of a grand reopening in which the state ended capacity limits, physical distancing and mask requirements for those vaccinated. The new health order allows vaccinated people to go without a face covering in most situations. Masks are still required on public transportation, in hospitals and jails, as well as at schools and childcare centers, pending updated guidance from the CDC. Additionally, California stopped limiting capacity and enforcing physical distancing at all venues, and the color-coded tier system for each county was retired. Public health measures remain only for mega-events with 5,000 or more people indoors or 10,000 attendees outdoors, with vaccine verification required or at least recommended.

Also on June 15, public access to the Capitol was extended beyond attending legislative proceedings to allow 500 members of the public inside the building. Capacity was expected to increase to 1000 members of the public by the end of June, but a recent COVID-19 outbreak at the Capitol (including 2 breakthrough cases) placed those plans on hold.  

The legislature will adjourn for summer recess on July 16 and will return Aug. 16. CANP continues to advocate for NPs and their patients and remains actively engaged on prioritized legislation and focused on the successful implementation of AB 890.