 | The Voice of Nursing Leadership in Pennsylvania |
Ponl legislation and advocacy
Recent Activity Read the notes submitted by Mary O'Connor here and see the update for the Nurse Licensure Compact below: PONL Update - ACT 68 Nurse Licensure Compact Two bills need to pass both chambers & be signed into law by Gov Shapiro before the SBN can implement Act 68: SB1165 Allowing Pennsylvania to Fully Implement Interstate Licensure Compacts Sponsors: BOSCOLA, FONTANA, LAUGHLIN and J. WARD Printer's No.(PN): 1534* Short Title: An Act amending Title 63 (Professions and Occupations (State Licensed)) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in powers and duties, providing for criminal history background checks. Actions:
Senate Calendar-BILLS ON THIRD CONSIDERATION Senate Session Days Scheduled Session Days 2024 June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, Bipartisan sponsorship: Lisa BOSCOLA (Dem Lehigh Valley) Minority Chair Cons. Prot. & Prof. Licensure Wayne D. Fontana (Dem -Pgh) Daniel Laughlin (Rep- Erie) Majority Policy Committee Chair & J. WARD (Rep-Blair, etc)Committee —————- HB 2200 FBI-Approved Language to Implement Licensure Compacts An Act amending Title 63 (Professions and Occupations (State Licensed) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in powers and duties, providing for criminal history background checks.
Scheduled Session Days 2024 Session Days remaining- June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Meeting with your legislator? See some talking points from our original PONL Position Statement in support of PA becoming part of the nurse licensure compact. |
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As you now know, the House passed the Nurse Ratio Bill, by a vote of 119-84. Now the bill will go to the Senate and discussions could potentially begin in September. Some states that had similar deiscussions regarding ratios came away without a Ratio Bill, but rather an agreement that staffing committees would be established in their hospitals. Read the PONL Legislative Visit talking points here. We need some information from YOU! Using this link, please tell us if your hospital has a staffing committee or not - it will take you less than two minutes and will help us know how to best serve you. We welcome any additional detail you can provide us, too! During the summer I urge all of us to contact our State Senators since they could be more available at their home offices. If you do not know who your legislators are, please use this handy link to find out: Find Your Legislators. Thank you for your advocacy on this very critical issue. Please make use of the talking points supporting our stance that can be found on the Legislative page of the PONL website. If you have additional questions, please contact Rosa Hickey by email or phone at 717-487-0911. Rosa Hickey, MSN, RN, NEA-BC | PONL Legislative Committee Chair |
House HEALTH Committee Vote meeting June 6, 2023 HB106 Patient Safety Act of 2023, Sponsored by Mehaffie, Tomlinson, and Kosierowski Regular Session 2023-2024 House Bill 0106 P.N. 1462 (state.pa.us) YouTube video of live-streamed House HEALTH Committee mtg 6/6/2023: https://pahouse.com/live#Health |
Bills in the Pennsylvania Legislature during the 118th Legislative Session |
1. Nurse Staffing Practices & RatiosPONL Opposes HB 106 “The Patient Safety Act” (Mehaffie, Tomlinson & Kosierowski) & SB 247 (Senator Collett) PONL is strongly committed to nurse staffing practices that support the provision of safe patient care. PONL endorses the autonomy of each healthcare organization to establish appropriate strategies to deliver high levels of patient care by providing safe, effective, and collaborative staffing practices. PONL is adamantly opposed to any legislation that would mandate nurse-to-patient ratios for all heath care organizations. Read PONL's Position Statement on Nurse Staffing Practices & Ratios (updated April 2023). | 2. TelemedicinePONL Supports
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3. Full Practice Authority for Nurse PractitionersPONL Supports
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Workplace Violence Bills Introduced to U.S. Congress
PONL Supports
- H.R.2584 Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act. Dean [D-PA-4] | Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, April 13, 2023
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S.2768 Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act. Manchin [D-WV] & Marco [R-FL] | Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, Sept. 12, 2023
- S.1176 Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act Baldwin [D-WI] | Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, April 18, 2023
- H.R. 2663 Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act Courtney [D-CT-2] | Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, April 18, 2023
(*RATIONALE for non-support: The OSHA Mandate duplicates The Joint Commission’s Workplace Violence Prevention standard effective January 2022. These two Workplace Violence bills duplicate that which is already required. Therefore, PONL Supports the SAVE Acts.)
PONL Monitoring
Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) Act 68 of 2021 Partially implemented Sept. 5, 2023 - see update above
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PONL Legislative Committee Members |
Rosa Hickey, Chair
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