Call to Action..Georgia RNs and APRNs need to Celebrate and Advocate Today: Legislative Update
Posted about 7 years ago by Molly Bachtel
APRN Legislative Updates….
On Valentine’s Day, APRNs have two more bill to be excited about and advocate for! Here is a summary of Four Bills you need to contact your Legislators about supporting. First, You Need to Know who your STATE LEGISLATORS ARE! https://openstates.org/
Please consider coming to the Capital and meeting your legislators face to face with our Free CE Program. On Tuesdays and Thursdays you can earn extra CE hours by attending HHS meetings. You will have an amazing day! It is much easier than you think to connect and have a BIG impact for APRNs and Georgian’s Health! More details at this link:
APRN of the DAY L.E.A.D. Program Details and Sign Up:
SB 166: Nurse Licensure Compact Bill was dropped by Sen. Renee Unterman.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20172018/SB/166
This is a bill that GNA is taking the lead on, so if your legislators have questions that you are unsure about, refer then to the GNA lobbyists.
Key talking points:
- The This bill does not expand RN scope of practice, as RNs coming into the state under the Compact would practice under Georgia Nursing Laws.
- Military RN Spouses would benefit greatly from the compact, as it would decrease the time it takes to get working in GA after a relocation.
- In a case of any type of Disaster, it will help prevent delays in getting extra RNs into the state to help Georgians.
SR 188: Senate Study Committee on Barriers to Georgians' Access to Adequate Healthcare (Barriers to APRN practice in Georgia will be examined).
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20172018/SR/188
Key talking points:
- Georgia has poor rankings nationally on many health outcome measures
(Worst in Maternal Mortality for example)
- Rural and underserved communities across Georgia are lacking access to care
- Workforce solutions to improving access to care in Georgia need to be examined
SB 106: Pain Management Clinics (CRNA Bill)
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20172018/SB/106
This bill passed out of Senate HHS Committee on Valentines Day. This bill fixes some language in a previous bill so CRNAs can function in this setting. The Georgia Society of Anesthesiologists tried unsuccessfully to proposed new language to the CRNA bill which not only would have affected CRNA's, but also other APRNS. Senator Unterman said they did not give adequate notice to the Chair or the author of the bill with a copy of their proposed amendment with time for them to review and analyze and to prior to the meeting so, Senator Unterman did not allow the amendment to be considered.
HB 301: Preceptor Tax Incentive Program (PTIP)
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20172018/HB/301
The authors are: Representatives Jodi Lott (Evans), Chairman Jay Powell (Camilla), Representative Geoff Duncan (Cummings), Representative Debbie Buckner (Columbus), and Representative Dominic LaRiccia (Douglas).
Many are aware that we have a shortage of preceptors for our APRN students. This bill would help both Georgia APRN and PA preceptors receive a tax incentive as MDs in primary care currently receive for taking Georgia APRN, PA, and Medical Students for clinical rotations.
The bill does four things:
- Converts the current deductions to tax credits
- Adds APRN and PA preceptors as recipients (meeting the same eligibility requirements as physicians)
- Has an effective date retroactive to January 1, 2017 so that all tax letters for 2017 will be for credits
- Implements an incentive structure to provide higher amounts of credits for rotations 4-10.
Questions?
Contact Molly Bachtel
molly.bachtel@gmail.com