This Friday is the deadline for bills to be heard in their body of origin, so we’re beginning to get a clearer picture of what is likely to move forward in this year’s legislative session. It also means that the committee agendas this week are absolutely packed.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee has a couple dozen of complex bills, five of which we’ve taken positions on. One of those bills would move the Arizona State Hospital to AHCCCS. We took a neutral position on that. While that bill rightly tries to solve the conflict that has existed for decades in which the ADHS both runs and regulates ASH, we don’t think giving it to AHCCCS is the best solution. A better solution would be to spin ASH off as its own agency.
Over in House Health there is a good tobacco control bill being heard on Monday afternoon.
The most bizarre bill of the session – one that would break Maricopa County into 4 pieces is being heard Wednesday in the House Government and Elections Committee.
Perhaps the most exciting development is the progress of SB1272 which would expand AHCCCS coverage to post-partum women for one year post pregnancy.
In additional good news, most of the bad bills that would have jeopardized immunization rates seem to be dying off. On the other hand, a barrage of bills that further marginalize LGBTQ+ communities continue to advance their way through the legislative process.
Committee Hearings this Week
House Health & Human Services 2pm Monday
HB2144 health insurance coverage; biomarker testing SUPPORT
HB2125 electronic smoking devices; retail licensing SUPPORT
HB2394 monitoring program for developmental disability homes SUPPORT
Senate Health & Human Services 8:30am Wednesday
SB1044 contracts; grants; exclusions; sex education OPPOSED
SB1641 health care institutions; civil penalties SUPPORT
SB1391 state hospital; transfer; AHCCCS NEUTRAL
SB1210 mentally ill; transportation; evaluation; treatment SUPPORT
SB1203 health care institutions; architectural plans SUPPORT
House Appropriations Committee 1:30pm Wednesday
HB2111 appropriation; healthy families program SUPPORT
House Education Committee 2pm Tuesday
HB2086 ADHS; school immunizations; exclusions OPPOSED
House Commerce Committee 2pm Tuesday
HB2484 forcible entry; detainer; filing fee SUPPORT
House Government and Elections Committee 8am Wednesday
HB2787 Maricopa county; division; new counties OPPOSED
Bill Summary & AzPHA Positions
Public Health Emergency
SB1009– state of emergency; executive powers OPPOSED
Passed Senate 16-13. Transmitted to House. Beginning on Ducey’s last day, caps the length of a Governor’s public health emergency declaration at 30 days but allows the Governor to extend the state of emergency for up to 120 days in 30-day increments. Terminates a state of emergency after 120 days, unless extended by the Legislature. Allows the Legislature to extend the state of emergency as many times as necessary in up to 30-day increments.
HB2022 health emergencies; treatment; vaccinations; repeal OPPOSED
No action yet. Still not assigned- probably dead. This bill eliminates public health emergency authority that currently allows the ADHS Director to mandate vaccinations in exposed persons in some circumstances
Vaccines
HB2029 vaccinations; evidence of immunity; prohibitions OPPOSED
No action yet. Still not assigned- probably dead. Prohibits government entities from requiring a COVID vaccine as a condition of employment. Also prohibits them from contracting with any private business that requires vaccination. Has a conditional exemption for healthcare institutions.
HB2043 employer liability; COVID-19 vaccine requirement OPPOSED
Passed Senate Judiciary 6-4. Passed Rules. Heading to Senate Floor this Week. Makes employers liable for damages if the employer denies a religious exemption and requires a person to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and significant injury results from receiving the vaccine.
HB2064 ADHS; school immunizations; exclusions. OPPOSED
Double assigned to HHS and ED Committees. Hasn’t been heard. Probably dead. Prevents ADHS Director from ever adding COVID19 or HPV vaccines to the list required for school attendance
HB2065 school immunizations; nonattendance; outbreak OPPOSED
Double assigned to HHS and ED Committees. Hasn’t been heard. Probably dead. Removes the ability to exclude unvaccinated students from school during a school outbreak
HB2086 ADHS; school immunizations; exclusions OPPOSED
Passed House Health 5-4. Being heard in House Education 2/15. Prevents ADHS Director from ever adding COVID19 or HPV vaccines to the list required for school attendance
HB2191– school immunizations; DHS; exclusions OPPOSED
Double assigned to HHS and ED Committees. Hasn’t been heard. Probably dead. Prohibits ADHS from adding HPV, COVID-19 or any vaccine that is just emergency use authorized to list of vaccines required for school attendance.
HB2452 – antidiscrimination; employment; vaccination status OPPOSED
Still not assigned to committee. Probably dead. Prevents ‘discrimination’ against anybody because of the vaccination status.
SB1567– vaccinations; prohibitions; evidence of immunity OPPOSED
Passed Senate Health 5-4. Rules Committee then floor next. Prohibits businesses from requiring vaccinations of any kind and includes enforcement provisions including preventing the state from contracting with any entity that does so. Includes exemptions for certain healthcare facilities.
SB1052– medical procedures; prohibitions OPPOSED
Held by Senate Health last week. Government entities and even schools would be unable to require vaccination if there is any threat of an adverse reaction that can result in death, even if the odds of that are for example 10,000,000 to one.
Family Planning
SB1044 contracts; grants; exclusions; sex education OPPOSED
Being heard in Senate Health 2/16. Prohibits ADHS from contracting with any entity that ‘provides or promotes abortion’ on their Personal Responsibility Education Program or the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Grant Program grants. Adds Title X (if ADHS ever applies for that again).
Criminal Justice
HB2033 juvenile offenders; monetary sanctions; repeal SUPPORT
Passed Judiciary and Appropriations 10-3. Rules then Floor vote. Removes statute relating to court-ordered fees and fines for juveniles, except for victim restitution and specific driving under the influence offenses. Appropriates $2,531,000 from the state General Fund for costs relating to juvenile treatment services and court services.
HB2021 Drug Offenses, homicide, sentencing OPPOSE
Passed House Judiciary 10-0. Floor next. Increases penalties for homicides that happen when there is also a drug offense.
Food Insecurity
HB2060– supplemental nutrition assistance program; eligibility SUPPORT
Passed House Judiciary and Rules 8-0. Floor next week. Expands Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility to individuals with felony drug convictions but still requires certain people to comply with probation conditions.
Housing
HB2606 – school districts; housing facilities; teachers SUPPORT
Assigned to House Ways and Means, no action yet. Permits all school districts to leverage district-owned property and facilities toward the development of housing for staff. Current statute limits these “teacherages” to rural and tribal communities. This bill would expand these abilities to urban and suburban districts. It’s a technical change to existing statute, but should have promising health, educational and economic impacts.
HB2674 municipal zoning; by right housing OPPOSED
Being heard in House Commerce 2/15. Would prevent cities from implementing unreasonable zoning barriers that limit the production of affordable housing. Makes cities commit to policies that encourage affordable housing.
HB2484 forcible entry; detainer; filing fee SUPPORT
Being heard in House Commerce 2/15. Removes the answer fee or the requirement to file a fee deferral/waiver, which removes barriers for tenants and reduces work for the court.
HB2485 eviction dismissal; sealed records SUPPORT
Assigned to Commerce Committee. No action yet. Would seal the eviction records for tenants whose cases are dismissed before an entry of judgment, or if a judgment is entered in favor of the tenant. Essentially, in any case where there was no longer any legal merit to the landlord’s case, the eviction record would be sealed.
Maternal and Child Health
HB2111 appropriation; healthy families program SUPPORT
Passed House Health 7-2, being heard in House Approps 2/15. Appropriates $10 million from the state General Fund in FY 2023 to the Department of Child Safety for the Healthy Families Program.
HB2113 developmental disabilities; Down syndrome SUPPORT
Passed House Health 9-0. Needs Rules, then Floor. Automatically qualifies persons with Down Syndrome for AHCCCS’ Long Term Care program (they currently need to go through a qualification process).
HB2311– school health program; appropriation SUPPORT
Assigned to House Education, no action yet. Requires school districts (and charters) to have evidence-based school health programs. Provides funding for such programs.
HB2616 mask mandates; minors; parental consent OPPOSED
Passed House Government Committee 7-6. Rules then Floor next. Prohibits this state from requiring a person under 18 years of age to wear a face covering or mask without the express consent of the person’s parent or guardian.
SB1298 government mask mandate; prohibition OPPOSED
Passed Government committee 4-3. Rules then Floor next. Prohibits the state or any political subdivision, including the judiciary, that receives or uses tax revenue from imposing any requirement to wear a mask or face covering on any Arizona resident, except where long-standing workplace safety and infection control measures that are unrelated to COVID-19 may be required.
Tobacco
HB2125 electronic smoking devices; retail licensing SUPPORT
Assigned to House HHS, no action yet. This is the ‘good’ tobacco control bill. Has a host of evidence based interventions including retail licensing with proper enforcement.
SB1245 tobacco; vapor; alternative nicotine; regulation OPPOSED
Passed Senate Approps, held in Commerce Committee. Regulates tobacco products but in a bad way that isn’t evidence based. It preempts local jurisdictions from doing more than state law. Includes a tobacco license though, with weak enforcement. Would be managed by the LLC.
HB2125 electronic smoking devices; retail licensing SUPPORT
Being heard in House Health 2/14. Conforms the minimum legal age for the sale of tobacco products or electronic smoking devices to the federal minimum age of sale for tobacco products. Makes, to a petty offence and a maximum fine of $100 an underage person who uses an ID to misrepresent the person’s age with the intent to induce the other person to sell, give or furnish a tobacco product or electronic smoking device.
Access to Care
HB2144– health insurance coverage; biomarker testing SUPPORT
Being heard in House Health 2/14. Requires health insurance plans to begin covering biomarker testing. Important bill as emerging therapies rely on biomarker testing to target therapies. Medicaid is included!
HB2155 – health information organizations; research; disclosures SUPPORT
Assigned to House HHS. No action yet. Makes deidentified health information more available for research.
HB2100 health information organizations; confidentiality; data. SUPPORT
Assigned to House HHS, Held. This emergency measure would allow Health Current to receive, use and redisclose confidential information received for any purpose allowed by HIPPA. Ducey’s Executive Orders and Enhanced Surveillance Advisories currently address this privacy protection, but it needs to be codified in statute to ensure there are no gaps in the protection of this data or in healthcare information.
HB2161 parental rights; schools; educational records OPPOSED
Passed House Education 6-4. Passed Rules. Floor next. Expands statutory parental rights regarding the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of a parent’s minor child.
Special Needs & Disabilities
HB2382– appropriation; health programs; disabilities SUPPORT
Passed House HHS 9-0. Passed Approps 13-0. Floor next. Appropriates $1 million to ADHS for grants to statewide organizations dedicated to “promoting evidence based, inclusive health programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities”.
HB2394 monitoring program for developmental disability homes SUPPORT
Being heard in House Health 2/14. Creates review committee for developmental disability group homes.
HB2157 supplemental appropriations; community-based services SUPPORT
Passed House Appropriations 11-1. Rules then Floor. Appropriates $1.4B of expenditure authority and $30M from Kids Care in FY 2022 for home and community-based services and funding formula requirements. This will leverage $1.5B in mostly American Rescue Plan Act funds over the next 2 years to improve Home and Community Based Services for folks in their Long-Term Care Program. $1B will go for badly needed investments to promote and stabilize access to supportive services, and workforce retention/ consistency to improve member outcomes ($1B)
Clean Energy & Climate/Environmental Health
SB1132– municipal bonds; environmental sustainability; prohibition OPPOSED
Assigned to Senate Nat. Resources, no action yet. Probably dead. Prohibits the use of municipal bonds for any project that is “green”. Defines anything green as basically anything to do with climate change, carbon emissions, or clean energy. Excludes other pollutants regulated by ADEQ.
HB2403– appropriation; ADE; electric school buses SUPPORT
Assigned to House Education, no action yet. Appropriates $1.5M for a pilot program for electric school buses
SB1150 electric vehicles; pilot program; appropriation SUPPORT
Passed Senate Transportation 6-3. Still needs Approps vote. Appropriates $500K from the General Fund to the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) for the Electric Vehicle-Ready Homes Pilot Program.
SB1151– charging station; pilot program; appropriation SUPPORT
Passed Senate Transportation 7-2. Appropriates $500K from the General Fund to ADOA to establish the Electric Vehicle Charging Station Pilot Program.
SB1152– zero emission vehicles; plans SUPPORT
Passed Senate Transportation 7-2. Still needs Appropriations. Requires ADOT to work in coordination with ADOA and ADEQ to develop a Zero Emission Vehicle Plan.
SB1153 state zero emission vehicle fleet SUPPORT
Assigned to Senate Transportation, still needs Approps, probably dead. Requires state agencies to buy zero emission vehicles when they buy new cars (when feasible).
SB1154 transportation electrification study committee SUPPORT
Passed Senate Transportation 7-2. Establishes the Transportation Electrification Study Committee
HB2226 fireworks use, limitations, prohibition SUPPORT
Passed Public Safety 13-1. Passed Rules. Floor next. Limits fireworks use to before 11pm except for a few holidays when the deadline is 1am.
HB2601 kratom products; definitions NEUTRAL
Passed House Government 9-1. Rules then Floor. Includes Kratom products in the definition of food and regulated under the pure food control statutes. Also specifies that a kratom product is contaminated with a dangerous non-kratom substance if the product contains any controlled substance prescribed by rules adopted pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act.
Women’s Health
HB2534 feminine hygiene; exemption SUPPORT
Assigned to Ways and Means, no action yet. Exempts feminine hygiene products from sales taxes.
SB1164– abortion; gestational age; limit OPPOSE
Passed Senate Judiciary 5-3. Floor next. Except in a medical emergency, prohibits physicians from performing an abortion after 15 weeks gestation as measured starting on the 1st day of the last menstrual period. Punishes the doctor with a felony and unprofessional conduct on her or his license. No exemptions for rape etc.
SB1272 AHCCCS; postpartum care; eligibility; appropriations SUPPORT
Passed Senate 26-2. Transmitted to House. Allows AHCCCS to pursue eligibility for postpartum care for members for 1 year post-delivery up to 161% of federal poverty limit. Expanded eligibility currently ends at delivery.
Violence and Firearms
SB1123 disruption; educational institution; concealed weapon OPPOSED
Passed Senate Judiciary 4-3. Floor next. Prohibits the governing board of any university, college, or community college from prohibiting the possession of a concealed weapon by a concealed weapon permit holder, or the transportation or storage of a firearm.
State Agency Administration
SB1175– noncustodial federal monies; appropriation OPPOSE
Passed Senate 16-13. Transmitted to House. The legislature would need to appropriate federal funds that come through grants- including for example the maternal and child health block grant, WIC, SNAP, and many others.
SB1641 – health care institutions; civil penalties SUPPORT
Being heard in Senate Health 2/16. Raises the limit on ADHS healthcare institutions civil money penalties to $1K from $500.
SB1391 state hospital; transfer; AHCCCS NEUTRAL
Being heard in Senate Health 2/16. NO POSITION YET
This would move responsibility for operating the Arizona State Hospital from ADHS to AHCCCS.
SB1413 pharmacists; prescriptions; refusal; prohibition OPPOSED
Assigned to Senate Health Committee. Requires pharmacists to fill every prescription they receive. It would become unprofessional conduct to not fill a prescription, even if the pharmacist sees in the PMDP that the patient is doctor shopping or identifies a dangerous drug interaction.
HB2787 Maricopa county; division; new counties OPPOSED
Being heard in House Government & Elections Committee on 2/16. Would break Maricopa County into 4 separate counties.
Behavioral Health
SB1210 mentally ill; transportation; evaluation; treatment SUPPORT
Assigned to Senate HHS, no action yet. Stops the current practice of requiring that a police officer attend behavioral health ambulance transports.
SB1162 opioid prescriptions; intractable pain; exceptions SUPPORT
Passed Senate 27-0. Transmitted to House. Exempts patients with perioperative surgical pain, intractable pain or chronic intractable pain from statutory opioid prescription dosage restrictions. Contains good definitions of those words.
