URGENT Call to Action: APRN Compact Related Legislation

Requests

• Urge Senate House and Human Services Committee Members to Vote NO on SB1295, the APRN Compact
• Urge Representatives on the House Health and Human Services Committee to Vote YES on HB2494, expedited licensure.

Current Legislation Status

The APRN compact bill (SB1295) is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, Feb 6.

AzNA worked in tandem with AANP to introduce a bill (HB2494) that would expand the existing universal licensing in Arizona by expediting the license by endorsement of RNs and APRNs who have licenses in good standing in other states.

The bill provides:

• Tthe Board of Nursing must approve a license within 5 working days for nurses who meet the bill’s requirements – are in good standing in other states where they are licensed.
• Those who do not meet the bill’s requirements would be processed with the further investigation that is necessary as is the current practice.
• Waives the endorsement license fees for spouses of active-duty military and veterans.

This bill meets the needs of Arizona to allow APRNs to more efficiently and quickly began to work in Arizona and expand access to care for Arizonans.

The expedited license bill (HB2494), which is scheduled to be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Monday, February 5, is a solution for Arizona’s health care needs, while the flawed Compact should be revised by NCSBN as has been urged by many state and national nursing organizations.

As a reminder, the voiced concerns regarding the Compact which have not been addressed:

• This compact FAILS to include the lessons we learned through the pandemic.
• The 2080 hours needed to hold a multistate license remain in the compact language.
• There is no provision to ensure there will be APRN representation in the administration and oversight in the advisory committee.
• The amount of the assessment of states to participate in the Compact is uncertain and who pays for that assessment and what fees may be charged to APRNs is absent.

If passed in Arizona this does not mean the APRN compact goes into effect. There need to be 7 states that agree to the language in the compact. Currently, there are only 4 and many states stand in opposition. This could take years. The best approach would be to solve the licensing delays as set forth in HB2494 while the compact is being designed to fit an APRN scope and role.

Easy Ways to Use Your Voice

Contact Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee - Vote NO on SB1295, the APRN compact

Reach out via email to the members of the Senate HHS to let them know how you feel about the APRN compact and how it would impact the APRNs of Arizona. Sample language and contact information is provided below.

Contact Members of the House Health and Human Services Committee - Vote YES on HB2494, expedited nursing licensure.

Reach out via email to the Representatives on House HHS to let them know how you feel about expedited licensure and how it would impact the nurses of Arizona. Sample language and contact information is provided below.

Sign in to the Arizona RTS System

One of the easiest ways to communicate your position on legislation is via the Request to Speak (RTS) system. Comments and positions logged in RTS are transmitted to each legislator and become part of the record for each bill.

Legislators carefully review who has signed in supporting or opposing bills and it is crucial that your name and that you are a nurse be added to the lists for these two bills.

Please note that while the name “Request to Speak” suggests otherwise, using the RTS system does not mean you actually have to speak in support or opposition for a bill in committee hearing or attend the hearing (although, you may, if you would like).

The system is designed to collect public input electronically, so that all can provide support or opposition to bills – regardless of whether they are physically at the State Capitol or not.

• If you already have an Arizona RTS system account, you can sign in to the system as an Arizona citizen to use your voice. Select Support, Neutral, or Oppose and provide a brief statement on how you believe this legislation impacts Arizona advanced practice nurses.
• If you do not already have an Arizona RTS Account, you must log into a dedicated kiosk prior to the first time you use the system from home in order to activate your account. We feel it is critical that you weigh in on these bills before they are heard in committee - in order to facilitate this process, AANP's local representative, Alexis Susdorf, will take your information and enter it into a kiosk at the Capitol. She must have this information before Monday, February 5, at 10am.
  
  Create your account in the system (make sure to use a password you are ok to share publicly) and then submit the following to Alexis at state48publicaffairs@gmail.com
  Name on your account you created -
  Password on your account you created -

How to Contact House HHS - Support HB2494

**If you receive a response from any submitted correspondence, forward to info@aznurse.org so AzNA can follow up and track the impact of your email.

Deadline: 8am, Monday, February 5

Ask: Vote YES on HB2494 so that APRNs from other states may be licensed quickly and smoothly in Arizona and begin to work in Arizona.

Who to Contact:

• Members of the House Health and Human Services Committee:
  Steve Montenegro - Chair - smontenegro@azleg.gov
  Barbara Parker - Vice-Chair - bparker@azleg.gov
  Selina Bliss - sbliss@azleg.gov
  Patricia Contreras - pcontreras@azleg.gov
  Matt Gress - mgress@azleg.gov
  Alma Hernandez - ahernandez@azleg.gov
  Christopher Mathis - cmathis@azleg.gov
  Beverly Pingerelli - bpingerelli@azleg.gov
  Julie Willoughby -jwilloughby@azleg.gov

How to Contact Senate HHS - Oppose SB1295

**If you receive a response from any submitted correspondence, forward to info@aznurse.org so AzNA can follow up and track the impact of your email.

Deadline: 8am, Tuesday, February 6

Ask: Vote NO on SB1295 so that the legislature can adopt the Arizona solution (HB2494) that builds on what Arizona already does well. Arizonans should not depend on other states and top-down one-size-fits-all legislation to meet APRN workforce nor access needs in Arizona.

Who to Contact:

• Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee:
  Thomas "T.J." Shope - Chair - tshope@azleg.gov
  Janae Shamp - Vice-Chairman - jshamp@azleg.gov
  Sonny Borrelli - sborrelli@azleg.gov
  Eva Burch - eburch@azleg.gov
  Sally Ann Gonzales - sgonzales@azleg.gov
  Theresa Hatathlie - thatathlie@azleg.gov
  Justine Wadsack - jwadsack@azleg.gov
  
• Find Your Senator and Representative Contact Info

Suggested Content of your email

• Introduce yourself! Introduce yourself as a nurse in Arizona and explain where you work and your position. You may also wish to let them know you are a member of AzNA and the Arizona Nurse Practitioner Council.
• Use the key points above to explain how these pieces of legislation impact Arizona advanced practice nurses, in your own words.
• If you have a personal story that supports your position, go ahead and share it!

Example for House HHS:

As an APRN in Arizona, HB2494 would impact Arizona APRNs by...

I urge you to support this legislation because...

Example for Senate HHS:

As an APRN in Arizona, SB1295 would impact Arizona APRNs by...

I urge you to oppose this legislation because...