March 5, 2019

Our Patience was Tested...and Nurses Have Lots of Patience

Last week was a “wait and watch” week as members of the House and Senate met for hours each day to vote on all bills that made it through the committees. Although it seems straight forward, it is not. Here is why...

COW Keeps Bills Moooving

During the Committee of the Whole or COW (whole house or senate), legislators may offer amendments to bills from the floor. Floor amendments are proposed and voted on. If passed, the bill moves to the 'Third Read' Calendar.

Third Read's a Charm

Third Read Calendars are the last step for passage of a bill out of that chamber. Legislators make their final vote. A majority vote sends the bill to the opposite chamber. The bill dies without the majority vote.

How HB2068, the CNS bill, Rolled Out Last Week:

2/27 COW

A floor amendment was introduced by bill sponsor Representative Nancy Barto then was approved by the House. This moved the bill forward onto the Third Read Calendar.

Third Read

On Monday, March 4th, HB2068 got it’s Third Read and a subsequent vote – HB2068 passed out of the House with a 47-10 majority vote.

Next Up...

The bill will now be sent to the Senate where it will wait for the Senate President to assign it a committee (probably Health & Human Services). The work starts all over again in the Senate as the entire process repeats in that chamber: First Read, Committee Assignment, Rules, Second Read, Caucus, COW, Third Read, Floor Vote.

Then What?

If the bill successfully makes it through the Senate and there are no additional amendments, it will move on to the Governor for signing. If there are Senate amendments, it will need to go back to the House for amendment approval prior to being sent forward for the Governor.

Other news...

Vaccinations

The sponsors of the three vaccination bills have not been able to round up the votes needed for passage in the House, so have not yet brought these bills to the floor for a vote. The Governor has also stated that he will veto these bills if they reach his desk. AzNA continues to work to educate legislators on the impact these types of bills would have on community health.

Healthcare Worker Assault Bill

HB2503 successfully passed through COW and Third Read on Monday, March 4. This bill increases the penalty for assaulting a healthcare worker. It moves over to the Senate and will likely be assigned to the Judiciary Committee.

A special thank you to the over 350 nurses who filled out AzNA's Assault Survey! Your stories provide lasting support for the necessary changes needed to protect our nurses and other healthcare workers as they seek to provide proper patient care.

RIP

Many bills which are on the AzNA list for tracking did not receive a hearing in their chamber of origin and are dead. In order to facilitate easier understanding of which bills are still moving, AzNA will use the next few weeks to segregate the list, separating dead bills from bills that are still active this session.