Legislation Update for this week...
(This update is specifically related to bills I am
sponsoring)
HB 1366 "BioSim Bill"--this bill will
provide a means for a pharmacist to substitute a BioSimiliar medication for a
Biologic medication much in the same manner as a generic medication is
substituted for a trade or brand name medication. This bill is in the
Senate, I am expecting it to be heard in committee in the next few
weeks. The bill has good bipartisan support and will hopefully make it
through the Senate without any issues.
HB 1558 -- this bill deals with the laws regarding
the inspections of certain nursing facilities. There are situations in
which while a facility is being built or remodeled there are duplicative
inspections being conducted and not always do the regulations to pass each
inspection match. This bill will remove and clarify this situation.
This will result in less building costs and less red tape while ensuring safety
of the patient is where the attention is at. This bill will receive a
hearing next week. I am excited about this hearing and hope it will go
without difficulty. This bill is filed from last year which has made it
much easier this year, I think we worked all the "kinks" out then!
HB 2665 -- I filed this bill just this
week! The bill will clarify an issue for EMS while respecting local
control. We are very excited about this bill as a group of constituents,
including Darlene Shelton from Dexter, worked with the EMS community to draft
the language for this bill. I will be adding it as an amendment to at
least one bill to help this issue be addressed as quickly as possible.
The EMS community has taken all the action they can without this language so we
will work to get this language through the process as quickly as possible!
HCR 67 -- This resolution deals with encouraging
Congress to give States more flexibility in Early Childhood federal
funding. Hopefully this will be just another document reinforcing to
Congress that we, as a State, understand best how to allocate resources and
emphasize it is much easier for the People to go to and contact the State
Agencies compared to reaching a Federal Agency. It has been referred to
committee this week. I will be speaking with the chair to request a hearing as
soon as a time is available.
HCR 66 -- This resolution deals with information
regarding meningococcal disease and available vaccines. It was voted out
of the first level of committee this week and is on its way to the second
committee level! I should know more next week as to the next hearing
date.
Other topics of interest....
I am working with a group of other legislators to review our
current policies in place regarding our State's Infrastructure. I have
been meeting with our local and state transportation individuals including
those who work with MODOT, rail and ports. My intern, Mary, is spending
quite a bit of time assisting me with researching what other states do to
support and encourage infrastructure maintenance and development. We are
discussing many ideas but I think it is going to take a variety of actions to
address our current infrastructure challenges and they certainly won't be
addressed overnight. I will continue to update you from time to time on
our progress.
I am also working closely with a group of nursing schools,
industry stakeholders and the Department of Health and Senior Services to
review the current training program for Certified Nursing Assistants
(CNAs). The training program is very out of date in many areas which in
turn has a negative impact on those living in nursing facilities because the CNAs
are not receiving the best training possible. We are close to getting
this remedied, I am hopeful to see a significant change in this area by the end
of the year!
