Last week was pretty busy with lots of floor votes on many of the public health bills- the highlights were full chamber approvals of HB2324 (voluntary certification of community health workers), HB2389 (syringe access), and SB1083 (recess in schools).
Unfortunately the community health worker bill got assigned to both the Health and Human Services and the Commerce & Public Safety Committees in the Senate this week. That’s a tough break- especially the PS/Commerce assignment. The syringe access bill got a Government Committee assignment- which is encouraging I think.
Yesterday the House Education Committee voted 9-0 to give SB 1083 Schools; recess periods a Do Pass Recommendation. The Bill passed through the Senate a couple of weeks ago. It would require public and charter schools to provide at least 2 recess periods during the school day in grades K-5. There was a lot of community support at the hearing yesterday, which is encouraging.
The following public health related bills passed their committee of origin and have gone over to the other chamber. Some have been assigned to committees in the new chamber, but some haven’t yet. Where available, I’ve listed the committee assignments in the detail section below. Hearings will begin next week.
HB 2038 Drug overdose review teams; records
HB 2071 Rear-facing car seats
HB 2084 Indoor tanning; minors; restricted use
HB 2127 Children’s health insurance program
HB 2208 Prohibition, photo enforcement (we’re against this one)
HB 2228 Annual waiver, applicability (tribes)
HB 2324 Community health workers; voluntary certification
HB 2389 Syringe access programs; authorization
SB 1022 ADHS; homemade food products
SB 1083 Schools; recess periods
SB 1377 Dental therapy, licensure, regulation
SB 1394 Abortion reporting
This week is light in terms of committee hearings. That’ll pick up a lot next week.
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House Bills
HB 2038 Drug overdose review teams; records
Passed the House 57-0-2
Assigned to Senate Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee
Under this proposed Bill, law enforcement agencies would be required to provide unredacted reports to the chairperson of a local Drug Overdose Fatality Review Team on request. All information and records acquired by a Team are confidential and not subject to subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in a civil or criminal proceeding or disciplinary action. We’re signed up in support of this one of course.
HB 2071 Rear-facing car seats
Passed House 33-25-1
Assigned to HHS & Commerce and Public Safety Committees
This Bill would require kids under 2 years old to be in a rear-facing restraint system unless the child weights at least 40 pounds or is at least 40 inches tall. We’ve signed up in support of this bill. Dual assigned in the Senate.
HB 2084 Indoor tanning; minors; restricted use
Passed House 45 – 15
Assigned to HHS and Commerce & Public Safety Committees
Under this proposal, tanning facility operators would be prohibited from allowing a person under 18 years of age to use a “tanning device”. Tanning facilities are prohibited from advertising or distributing promotional materials that claim that using a tanning device is free from risk or will result in medical or health benefits. We’ve signed on in support of this of course. Bummer that it’s dual assigned in the Senate.
HB 2127 Children’s health insurance program
Passed House 46-12-1
Assigned to HHS & Appropriations Committees
This Bill removes the trigger that automatically freezes the KidsCare program if FMAP (the federal contribution) drops below 100%. It allows the state to freeze it if costs are more than the state or federal allotment. The bill does not require the state to appropriate any money for a state share. We’ve signed up in support of this bill because it provides a pathway to keep KidsCare if the federal government drops its contribution level.
HB 2197 Health professions, workforce data
Passed House 60 – 0
Assigned to HHS and Commerce & Public Safety Committees
This Bill would require AZ health licensing boards to collect certain data from applicants (beginning January 2020) to get better data about health professions workforce distribution and needs. The data would be confidential.
HB 2208 Prohibition, photo enforcement
Passed the House 31-27-1
Assigned to the Senate Transit Committee
This Bill would prohibit cities and other jurisdictions from having photo enforcement of red light and speeding violations. While nobody likes getting a ticket in the mail, the data suggest that photo enforcement saves lives and prevents injuries (especially red-light photo enforcement). We’ve signed up in opposition to the bill. This bill passed the House 31-27 last week and is moving on to the Senate Transportation Committee.
HB 2228 Annual waiver, applicability
Passed the House 58-0-1
Assigned to Senate HHS Committee
This Bill would direct AHCCCS to exempt tribes from their directed waiver requests to CMS asking permission to implement work requirements for some Medicaid members. The recently submitted Waiver request includes an exemption for American Indians, however, this would place the exemption into statute.
HB 2324 Community health workers; voluntary certification
Passed House 56 – 1 – 3
Assigned to HHS and Commerce & Public Safety Committees
This Bill is a top priority for us. It would charge the ADHS with developing a voluntary certification program for community health workers. The Department rulemaking would include certification standards including qualifications, core competencies, and continuing education requirements. We’ve signed up in support of this bill. Tough break this week because it’s assigned to both the HHS and Commerce and Public Safety Committees.
HB 2389 Syringe access programs; authorization
Passed House 56 – 0 – 4
Assigned to the Senate Government Committee
Under this Bill, organizations in Arizona may establish and operate a needle exchange program. Persons, employees and volunteers operating within the scope of the law may not be charged or prosecuted for their activities. It’s currently a felony to distribute needles to illegal drug users. While many people thought that this should be included in the Opioid Special Session, it was not.
We’ve signed up in support of this bill because this type of program is evidence-based and reduces the spread of bloodborne diseases as well as engaging in intravenous drug users into treatment.
Senate Bills
SB 1022 DHS; homemade food products
Passed Senate 30-0
Assigned to House Health Committee
Under this Bill, ADHS would be required to establish an online registry of food preparers that are authorized to prepare “cottage food products” for commercial purposes. Registered food preparers would be required to renew the registration every three years. This is a sensible addition to the current cottage industry food law and we’ve signed up in support.
SB 1083 Schools; recess periods
Passed Senate 26-3-1
Assigned to and Passed House Education Committee 9-0 on Monday
District and charter schools would be required to provide at least 2 recess periods during the school day for pupils in grades K-5. We’ve signed in support of this bill because there is good evidence that opportunities for physical activity at school are associated with improved health, behavior, and academic achievement of students. Here is a good evidence review from the CDC entitled The Association Between School-based Physical Activity and Academic Performance. Great couple of weeks for this bill.
SB 1245 Snap Benefit Match
Ready for a Floor Vote in the Senate
This Bill would appropriate $400K to ADES to develop the infrastructure for a produce incentive program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for members to buy Arizona-grown fruits and vegetables. It would also provide matching funds to SNAP-authorized vendors as an incentive to participate in the fruits and vegetable program. It passed the Health and Human Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee. We’ve signed up in support of this Bill. Still needs a Senate floor vote.
SB 1261 Texting while driving
Passed Transportation Committee- Ready for a Senate Floor Vote
This bill would prohibit drivers from “using a portable wireless communication device to read, write, or send an electronic message while driving” (unless the car is stopped). The first violation would be a petty offense with a fine between $25 and $99. It has passed its committees and is ready for a floor vote, hopefully that happens this week.
SB 1377 Dental therapy, licensure, regulation
Passed Senate 22 – 8
Not yet assigned to House Committees
This Bill was introduced last week and would set up a new licensed class of dental professionals called a Dental Therapist. Their scope of practice would be somewhat less than a DDS, but they could do some procedures like filling cavities. This has been a somewhat controversial bill as there are stakeholders of both sides that are quite passionate about their position on this Bill.
SB 1394 Abortion reporting
Passed Senate 17 – 13
Not yet assigned to House Committees
This Bill would require the ADHS to collect and report additional data regarding abortions that are performed in AZ. The data would be collected and reported by providers and would include the reason for the abortion (economic, emotional health, physical health, whether the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or relationship issues etc.).
SB 1420 medical marijuana; inspection; testing; appropriation
Passed Senate 27 – 3
Not yet assigned to House Committees
This Bill would require the ADHS to set up testing standards for medical marijuana and begin enforcing the standards beginning in 2019. We’re supporting this legislation. It passed the full Senate last week.
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Public Health Bills that Failed to Thrive
HB 2064 Medical marijuana; packaging; labeling
Dead for now
This Bill proposes that medical marijuana dispensaries be prohibited from selling a marijuana product that’s packaged or labeled in a manner that’s “attractive to minors”. Due to voter protection, this legislation requires the affirmative vote of at least 3/4 of the members of each house of the Legislature for passage. Dead for now.
HB 2109 Tobacco possession; sale; age; signage
Sadly, dead for now
This Bill would prohibit furnishing a tobacco product to a person who is under 21 years of age. The definition of “tobacco product” is expanded to include “electronic smoking devices”. We’ve signed up in support. It received a Do Pass recommendation from the House Health Committee three weeks ago but the Commerce chair hasn’t put it on the agenda, so it’s effectively dead for now. Kudos to Rep. Boyer for sponsoring this.
