HJBR Sep/Oct 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2022 49 Karen C. Lyon, PhD, MBA, APRN-CNS, NEA Chief Executive Officer Louisiana State Board of Nursing HB 543 & SB 175 By Rep. Joseph Stagni (R-Kenner) and Sen. Regina Barrow (D-Baton Rouge), re- spectively, these bills sought to remove the requirement that advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) practice under a collaborative practice agreement. Both bills failed to advance from their respec- tive committees. HB 555 By Rep. Charles Owen (R-Rosepine), this bill provides requirements to state agencies, including LSBN, relative to occu- pational licensing; to provide definitions; to require certain boards to publish in- formation relative to occupational licens- ing on their website; to require an annual update; to require submission of certain summaries, and to provide for related matters. Most of the requirements in the bill are already provided by LSBN on our website. Action: Signed by the Governor, effective 8/1/2022 (Act 483). HB 639 By Representative Thomas Pressly (R-Shreveport), this bill would allow an individual convicted of a crime to request at any time, including before obtaining any required education or training, that an en- tity issuing licenses to engage in certain fields of work determine whether the in- dividual’s criminal conviction disqualifies the individual from obtaining a license issued or conferred by the licensing enti- ty. The individual making such a request must include any identifying information required by the licensing entity, including details of the individual’s criminal convic- tion. No later than 45 days after receiving a request in accordance with La. R.S. 37:33, the licensing entity must inform the indi- vidual making the request whether, based on the criminal record information sub- mitted, the individual is disqualified from receiving or holding a license. Action: Signed by the Governor, effective 8/1/2022 (Act 486). HB 827 By Rep. Foy Gadberry (R-West Monroe), this bill requires any healthcare provider who performs early and periodic screen- ing, diagnostic, and treatment preventative visits to promote age-appropriate screen- ing for autism spectrum disorder at any well-child visit. The bill becomes effective Aug. 1, 2022 (Act 356). HB 958 By Rep. Dustin Miller (D-Opelousas), this bill sets forth standards that require nurse staffing agencies to be licensed and regulated by LDH. In addition, the bill prohibits these agencies from offering or providing financial incentives to their em- ployees for the purpose of inducing per- manent employees of a healthcare facility to become employed or contracted with their agencies. The legislation is effective Aug. 1, 2022 (Act 577); however, nurse staff- ing agencies will not have to comply with the licensure requirements until the neces- sary rules and regulations are promulgat- ed by LDH. HB 968 By Rep. Tammy Phelps (D-Shreveport), this bill creates a new state registry for individuals diagnosed with sickle cell dis- ease. The goal of the registry is to allow public health professionals to maintain better data on the prevalence of the dis- ease as well as to increase the connec- tion between individuals with sickle cell disease and community partners. The bill becomes effective Aug. 1, 2022 (Act 647), although it will likely take additional time for the Louisiana Department of Health to bring the registry into full operation. SB 183 By Senator Fred Mills (R-Senate 22 Dis- trict), this bill requires each state entity that issues a permit or licenses to prom- inently include on its internet website in- formation including a brief description of each permit or license that the state en- tity issues and links to the full text of the application, a checklist of all information required to be submitted to complete the application process, the name and contact information of the person within the state entity responsible for responding to in- quiries about the status of an application, and the anticipated timeline for review of a completed application. A copy of the agen- cy’s annual report must also be submitted to the legislative oversight committees or subcommittees. This information will be readily available on LSBN’s new website, which will launch in August. The legisla- tion was signed by the Governor and be- comes effective August 1, 2022 (Act 590). In addition to the above legislation, sev- eral House Resolutions and House Con- current Resolutions were passed with im- plications for healthcare in Louisiana. HCR 44 by Rep. Dustin Miller creates the Health Inequities and Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force. HCR 45 by Rep. Larry Bagley requests a comprehensive assessment and report on substance use disorder treat- ment capacity and needs statewide. HR 155 by Rep. Christopher Turner forms a study group to evaluate options and make rec- ommendations for reforming healthcare workforce training and development in this state. RNs and APRNs are encouraged to continue to monitor the LSBN website at www.lsbn.state.la.us for future rulemak- ing related to these legislative actions. n