By Kristy Wiese
Legislative Advocate
After the commencement of summer recess on August 16, legislators promptly returned and quickly resumed hearing the remaining bills in policy and fiscal committees prior to adjourning on September 10. While the Capitol is technically open, remote testimony for committee hearings and remote meetings with legislators and staff continue to be encouraged. The Senate and Assembly issued COVID-19 testing requirements for Capitol staff that specified that regardless of their vaccine status, all essential employees who support floor session and committee hearings must test twice per week through the end of session and that all unvaccinated staff working in the Capitol must also test twice per week.
August 27 marked the last day for the Appropriations committees to meet and report bills. Many bills were stalled in these committees, and the remaining bills were heard on the floor of both houses from August 30 - September 10. All bills that were passed off the Assembly and Senate Floor must be signed or vetoed by the Governor by October 10.
CANP's engagement and action on bills identified as priorities by the HPPC were successful before the Legislature. Several bills supported by CANP passed the final votes by their respective floors and head to the Governor's desk for action:
AB 369 (Kamlager), which will require the State Department of Health Care Services to implement a “street medicine” program, allowing presumptive Medi-Cal eligibility for persons experiencing homelessness.
SB 65 (Skinner), the “Momnibus” bill, improves 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.
Beyond the Legislature, CANP continues to work with the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) on the implementation of AB 890. On August 4, the BRN held a full board meeting. The legal overview of AB 890 that was requested during the July 13 Nurse Practitioner Advisory Committee (NPAC) by the California Medical Association to ensure that there is uniformity in the interpretation of the statute was presented to the board at the meeting. The board also addressed the Legislature’s comments during the BRN’s sunset review hearing in March questioning if the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Advisory Committee is still necessary and subsequently voted to continue the APRN Advisory Committee. Additionally, the Board voted to elect Mary Fagan as the new BRN Vice President.
The NPAC met again on August 31 where CANP responded to draft recommendations developed by the NPAC subcommittees. The next board meetings will take place November 17-18, when the NPAC and BRN staff will present draft AB 890 regulations.
On a broader scale, the COVID-19 Delta variant, raging wildfires, and the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom continue to be at the forefront in Sacramento. With the COVID-19 delta variant surging throughout the state and the nation, statewide and local vaccine mandate orders continue to be executed. Statewide vaccine mandates include one requiring California’s roughly 2.2 million health care workers to get vaccinated to keep their jobs and one saying teachers must either be vaccinated or tested weekly. As COVID-19 cases are on the rise, much of California is experiencing an exceptional drought and more than a dozen large wildfires are currently burning throughout the state. The fires have burned nearly 1.5 million acres, or roughly 2,300 square miles and currently are mainly in the northern part of California.
The Legislature adjourned for interim recess on September 10 and will reconvene again on January 3, 2022. CANP continues to advocate for NPs and their patients and remain actively engaged on priority legislation and focused on the successful implementation of AB 890.