NLAC Update: APRIL 2021 A is for April and Advocacy! - Texas Nurses Association

NLAC Update: APRIL 2021

                         A is for April and Advocacy!

While the session got off to an unusually slow start, the Texas Legislature is now conducting
the state’s business in earnest. The regular legislative session is more than half over. Now is

the time to reach out to your state legislators, as well as members of key Senate and House
Committees, hearing bills of interest to nursing.

Several bills on the 2021 Nursing Legislative Agenda have had committee hearings, including
HB 326 (work place violence), HB 2029 (removes barriers to APRN practice) and HB 396
(COVID-19 Workers Compensation Presumption Bill). We've reached out to nurse constituents
of the House Committees considering those bills, and the request for nurses to reach out to
Texas legislators on behalf of important legislation will increase as the session proceeds.

You can find general resources, developed by seasoned nurse advocates to help you
effectively engage with state lawmakers as well as specific bill-related resources to share with
legislators and peers alike on TNA's website. Please keep your eyes open for Action Alerts that
ask Texas nurses to contact their state senators and representatives to support (or oppose)
legislation that will affect the profession and health care in Texas.

*NLAC organizations - Don't forget to send important resources for your legislation, such as
                      1-pagers, to Cathy White as soon as possible.

NLAC welcomes newest member Texas DNP, who joined the Coalition at the end of March.
We're excited to have your voice and perspective!

NLAC is currently receiving weekly legislative updates through the end of session (May 31).
Membership is still open for any organization interested in joining the Nursing Legislative
Agenda Coalition. Contact Cathy White (cwhite@texasnurses.org) to learn more.

            Join NLAC and help us make a difference at a time that it really matters!

** Follow us on Twitter at @TXNursesLege, the twitter handle for Nursewatch.

                               Capitol Brief Update
                                      by Kevin C. Stewart, II

The legislature is definitely working at full speed now. A lot (but certainly not all) of the issues
and disagreements caused by the storm have been hammered out, so legislators are getting
focused on more substantive discussions. Things are moving fast — I’d say even faster than they
would be in a normal session. It’s almost like we’re trying to squeeze a full 140-day session into
the 60 or so days we have left.

I’m happy to report that these past couple of weeks have been great for nursing! On March 24,
both HB 326, the work place violence bill, and HB 2029, the APRN full practice authority bill,
were heard in the House Public Health Committee. HB 326 was a quick hearing, and the Texas
Hospital Association even came out to testify in support! HB 2029 was a much longer hearing,
but the coalition members who spoke in favor of full practice did a fantastic job.

On March 30, HB 396, the nursing COVID presumption bill, was heard in the House Business &
Industry Committee. TNA’s Practice Director, Serena Bumpus, did a fantastic job testifying. The
Texas Hospital Association and various Mutual Insurance representatives testified in
opposition, but the committee members were skeptical of their testimony, to say the least.
We’re hoping to get a vote this week.

Finally, on March 31, HB 326 was voted out of House Public Health. We hope the level of
support we received in committee will continue as we get onto the floor. Also on March 31, SB
437 was heard in Senate Health & Human Services. That bill would create a state reserve of
PPE. Cindy Zolnierek, TNA’s Executive Director, was asked by the bill author to serve as invited
testimony, and she did a great job.

All that to say, we have had an extremely productive couple of weeks. We’ve gotten to make
our case for a few of our major priority items. Now it’s a matter of moving these items through
the rest of the process. We will continue relying on you all to submit written comments and

contact            legislators,           so            please             stay           tuned!

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                Texas Register: Rules and Regulations
March 12, 2021

Texas Board of Nursing
217.24 Licensure, Peer Assistance and Practice (EMERGENCY) The Texas Board of Nursing
(Board) adopts emergency amendments to §217.24, relating to Telemedicine Medical Service
Prescriptions. Adoption of emergency amendments to §217.24(e)(1) is immediately necessary
to allow APRNs to continue to provide necessary treatment to established patients with
chronic pain while mitigating the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Under the emergency
amendments, an APRN may treat chronic pain with scheduled drugs through use of
telemedicine medical services if a patient is an established chronic pain patient of the APRN, is
seeking a telephone refill of an existing prescription, and the APRN determines that the
telemedicine treatment is needed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remember ... You can find the Texas Register on the Texas Secretary of State website, where
ALL the rule proposals and adoptions from the Texas BON and other state regulatory agencies
are updated weekly on Fridays and published. Nursewatch will print some of the more
pertinent updates to nursing rules and regulations but you can delve deeper into current and
past issues of the Texas Register at your leisure on the S.O.S. website.

                                  Upcoming Events

•   Post-Traumatic Stress and the Impact on Nursing (TNA Nurse Talks Empowerment
       Series), 6 p.m. CST April 9 via Zoom. Learn more about post-traumatic stress, including
       how to recognize signs and strategies to cope. Participants can earn free CNE.

   •   Legislative Session Virtual Capitol Update 2, 12:30-2 p.m. CST April 9. Attendees will
       be provided with current session updates for all TNP’s/APRN Alliance bills on the
       Legislative agenda along with other health care-related bills. Additionally, members
       will get an overview of how to take action and contact their legislators. This event is
       open to TNP Members.

   •   2021 Policy Summit — Building Nursing Influence through Policy Capacity, 9 a.m.
       CST June 11, 2021 via Zoom. Learn from statewide experts how nurses can affect
       policy development and implementation — from analyzing policy to establishing
       relationships with policymakers to running for office — and how to develop action
       plans for expanding individual capacity for policy influence.

If your NLAC organization/association is having an open event or you know of a relevant
activity/event, please send the information to TNA Government Affairs
Coordinator Catherine White for inclusion in upcoming issues of Nursewatch.

Now is the time to contribute to the Texas Nurse PAC! Support nursing's efforts to engage and
inform Texas legislators on issues and concerns of the profession. Invest in your profession.
Invest in your peers. Invest in the Texas Nurse PAC today!

Donations to Texas NURSE PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal
income tax purposes.