Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee - Senate

Order thank you everybody for being here and braving the weather and we're gonna go ahead and just get started as quickly as possible but from the outset just going to let everyone know we're any bill that has a Medicaid impacts we're gonna hold those bills are going to get that fiscal impact of what that might determine to Kate's system I think that's the most prudent way to approach you know and big picture so that we can have those conversations in conjunction with everything that we have going on in our state government and and I think that just needs to be a a conversation that we we all have as a legislator together and considering the different reforms that are happening in corrections or in tax policy or also in education so any bill that has a direct impact to Medicaid spend we're going to hold those and DHS is working on fiscal impact for those bills all right Senator Solomon SP forty two we're just going to go down our list and get through these as quickly as we can. If you will just Introduce yourself for the record you may proceed. Senator Dan Sullivan madam chair would you mind if the distribution Matt Gilmore sat down beside me to. Find at all I know you haven't seen us sit beside each other in the table much. Private first on the mat explained if you live in a fight yourself for the record Mister Gilmore. Magill or Department health thank you Senator Solomon. I'll go ahead and speak to the bill this is a bill for the Arkansas department health board of of counseling and examiners and the American family therapy what this bill does a couple things it reduces the amount of supervision where a licensee as they're seeking supervision can do that part time so full time makes that easier but then also it also allows for previously a licensee's seeking licensure if they want to change a specialty or add an additional additional specialty their license the board had to review that approve that there are numerous specialties out there and this allows the a licensee them to submit that information to the board the board files it with their intent in their file and it has it doesn't delay the process for those seeking licensure so it's a clean up bill but also tries to reduce some regulations. I think what I understood is for Matt now there's just a checklist when you go down that checklist and fulfill all the obligations did you submit that to the board and it's kind of a done deal but it doesn't much more discussion there's no it's not arbitrary it is factual what they do yeah and H. decide to add a specialty to their license they would just submit this to the board Board would look at review and put it in the file it would require action by the board to delay that or to bring the men before the board and an approval that. And with that. I'm closed okay thank you are there any questions from members of the committee anyone wish to speak for or against this bill. C. nine you're recognized to close for your bill hi I'm close and I would appreciate make a motion for or do pass motion do pass second by Senator Wallace all those in favor say aye opposed Is haven't bill passes congratulations senator making. Thank you. We're moving to HB ten fifteen. Thank you share of an. Okay with you in the committee like ring Kelly Hale here he's the CEO of hot springs village yes appeal to certify yourself record thank you my name is Kelly Hale I am the general manager for hot springs village Arkansas. Please proceed. So in twenty nineteen Excuse me a law was passed the required PO ways to contribute to a fund for per for the purpose of cleaning up water and sewer plants that were abandoned by them. this bill simply removes communities are exempt communities over five thousand inhabitants from paying into that fund. Michael GrabPay from AD EQ has done extensive work on this and basically signed off he wanted to be here this morning but the inclement weather has hampered his arrival and that's okay he did a lot of work on this worked extensively with the village to make sure they were doing their due diligence and doing the required maintenance and making the investments that were necessary this would just exempt them from making that five thousand dollar per their deposit into that fund but it would also exempt them from future state funding in the case that they had any issues and I'd be happy to take any questions okay are there any questions yes Senator love you're recognized for a question. Thank you madam chair in the in looking at this bill because I guess we we also pass the water law. In regards to the deferred maintenance and different things like that so talk to me in regards to hot springs village deferred maintenance funds different things like that so first office this is really in conjunction with we've been around for fifty two years we have been given municipality status on all or water permits in two thousand nineteen the changed over there trying to have unintended consequences here by pulling a stand and calling us appeal H. away for actually like a city we do everything to provide energies for self contained we don't to for anything we have funds that are set up we put the investment and I have a complete organization that's on or chart that as a separate department to take care of our water wastewater treatments like any other city so eighty Q. recommended that we work with getting the language change to recognize us as a true municipality and ninety nine municipality which is what the bill out there now would do which is an actual a few ways in many regards of many of which what we live in would meet the criteria we don't as a community we're actually when this palette would like to keep that status on our water and wastewater permits so we would be treated like Monticello was example of that was used if they had a failure that you would be responsible just like we had been in the past we just got pulled into this new bill and unattended consequences. So we put money we have reserve funds are set up we have money that we put in its budget out we have a seven year old M. that we work off of the board of directors we have revenue in which worlds within our community to be able to put into this where the committees have that and I was the true intent of the bill when it was brought up before okay. All right thank you. Thank you any other questions for members of the committee. All right. C. nine is there anyone here to speak for or against this bill. C. nine you're recognized to close for your bill we're close for the bill appreciate a good vote all rights motion do pass center Boyd second Senator Wallace all those in favor say aye and oppose ayes have it bill passes congratulations they can committee appreciate right this. Representive Johnson I'm gonna go do you. And then I will handle HB eleven thirty six. Okay we do have an amendments to Senator Floyd as a cosponsor of the bill. motion to adopt the amendment so move second. Second all those in favor say aye. Oppose ayes have it amendment is adopted you may proceed with your bill as amended thank you madam chair members of the committee this bill is reducing some hours of training for committee paramedics to paramedics are top of paramedic that we recognize to stay back in twenty seventeen twenty eighteen sometime in that range as of twenty nineteen there were only about seventeen states that actually had legislation on the books trying to recognize and move this forward so we were ahead of our time when we started this process we were an early adopter of the concept of committee paramedic thank you paramedic is someone who is an actual paramedic you then receives additional training to do some services are considered traditional for a frontline paramedic things like home health postage charge consoles for the going home make sure people have a medication inspection or their points are sometimes hospice care and and even read more recently some acute mental health responses so these are some provider tops that have been increasingly utilized in our state across the country part of the problem is there's not been into recently there's not been approved reimbursement pathways to DHS but they've worked out some ideas now to try to help reimburse the services for can you paramedics so we anticipate more people being interested when we set the hours of three hundred we really didn't know where the training would land is kind of all over the place to look at other states like there's some states that don't really even have any special training recognition there other states have considerably less training than three hundred hours this is something we worked on with the English association also with the department shall everyone agreed that backing the hours of both incentivize more people to go into the field while at the same time maintaining the standards we need to make sure they're adequately trained that the other change we made we struck you can see we struck emergency department services and replace that with social determinants of health that that really just lines at the training more with what these Committee medics are doing these are not people that are working in the ER these are people that are going into people's homes. Homes and and have to be trained better to recognize some of the challenges that certain patients have been in getting transportation to their appointments and getting money to pay for their prescriptions and so we're trying to change the emphasis of the training from the emergency department to some of these other social issues that can create challenges that we know we need to some of the people they see and I'd be happy to try to answer any questions are there any questions from members of the committee. C. nine anyone wish to speak for against the bill. C. nine your clothes for your bill. Motion to pass second all those in favor say aye. And opposed ayes have it congratulations you've passed your bill thank you let's see Senate bill one thirty two is a simple bill I think it's a health department bills not correct Mr Gilmour. Okay if you'll come to the end of the table. Sir Penzo you around this bill for Senator Flippo if you're comfortable with that it's very simple. I like to get our work done. Senate bill one thirty two if you'll just a. Recognize your identify yourself for the record the Senate bill one thirty two Senator Flippo all that the Mr Gilmour. Thank you senator and the thank you senator and this is a clean up bill for the board of chiropractic examiners what this bill does during COVID we realize that the character board required more time I think it's forty five days before a meeting to receive the information in the licensure for a new applicant and you knew licensee this reduces that down to thirty days that's more in line the states around us and it's fifteen days but it does allow time for the background check process but also allows time for the board to receive that paperwork get it process to move along so it does it's it's it does move things for a little bit quicker and allows more time for the licensee to get the paper submitted to the board and get that moving in the right direction all right any questions from members of the committee. Senator Boyd you're recognized. So this is a just a good citizen friendly bill to reduce government bureaucracy yes Sir are you're correct thank you any other questions from members of the committee. Anyone wish to speak for against the bill. C. nine you've close for your bill. What's the will of the committee motion to pass second all those of favour say aye and oppose ayes have it congratulations you've passed your bill Mr Gilmore feel to stay at the table we got three more bills that are with the Department of Health senator Wallace if you will take the chair. In Senator Irvin you're recognized. Thank you senator Ervin to serve twenty four. Matt Gilmore department health. Members will do house bill eleven thirty six which I'm a co sponsor of. Thank you Sir Irvin this is repealing some language around the terminology good moral character several years back to the legislature in the red tape production and other legislation removed the terminology good moral character from occupational licensing this is the reason behind that it's it's subjective everyone has their own definition of what good moral character is it kind of leaves the the occupations in a in a in a bad situation where you know they could deny that and then it's it's it's objective And this was done like to set by the twenty nineteen because of that I think there was some they overlook this portion and the social work statutes which is clean and that make it match the other occupations so that's kind of where we are and I appreciate shells of attention we were removing that two or three years ago but I think this will make it more in line with other occupations. So and I would just add a touch here the occupational licensing subcommittee through a L. C. and this is one of the topics that we try to go through systematically to to clean up anything that would be subjective. In his or anybody that would like to speak for against this bill. Seeing none members to have any questions. See no questions Senator Irvin are you ready to close I'll close all make a motion to pass to have a second. I have a second. We were all in favor say aye aye any post. Congratulations your bill passes thank you. And members I'm gonna do Senate bill one. I'm sorry Senate bill one thirty eight. Serving go ahead bill. Senate members Senate bill one thirty eight is is really a technical clean up bill and here's why we need to revise this because it creates a conflict in state code the state of Arkansas cannot license an entity that is performing an illegal activity so under our current laws as they are this requires us to start this language so so that that does not put us in that quandary and I will say all of the licensing requirements remain in the statute and any time you know it is that we need to license an entity to do this this again and then we will act to do that we all want that to happen but technically what this has done is create a conflict in the state code and that's why we bring in this this bill so it really is a technical cleanup bill Mr Gilmore can. Elaborate yeah I would agree with Senator Irvin I think this is just make it consistent with the decision that was through that office decision and just trying to get that cleaned up and not allow the state to move forward so. Okay. Happy to answer any questions thank you senator and his or anyone illnesses that would speak for or against. C. nine do we have any questions Senator love. Thank you ma'am chair Thank you Mr Senator Irvin so when when I'm of course talk with you about this this is the one question that I raised in regards to. The fact that if we were very we were first decisions Supreme Court reverses its decisions regarding school board shin. And so right now that means we would have to come back in and put this language that can correct if if this language is not put back in. I understand the fact that we do like to license all procedures that happened within the state but if this language is not the backing and then what happens. I would think that we would act immediately to put the license back in a minute we all I will say this on the pro life side and all the pro choice that we all agree that this needs to be licensed if this is a legal activity it needs to be regulated it needs to be licensed there are benefits for having a license in place so that we understand and can ensure that things are done safely clean all those things are very very important to the practice of you know any type of procedures that are done in a healthcare setting so we would have to put that right back in place but but right now as it is now we would be licensing an entity that is doing something that is actually illegal in the State of Arkansas that's what it's creating the conflicts but I assure you I'll be the first person to run the bill or to make it through executive order the governor is absolutely supportive of making sure that we have a licensed it back in place if the court did overturn anything. And it and if I may center and consent of get all the other reporting requirements are still in effect and then there are rules through the medical board as well and then I think there's also Criminal code out there as well that would become an impact so the license will go away but there are still checks and balances on those things we're talking about. Thank you for the great question thank you for let me answer that. Members are there any questions. Centerville you closed I'm I'm close from a bill thank you members of a have a do pass. I have a second all in favor say aye by any opposed. And routed past. Thank you. And the last bill Senate bill fifty seven. Yes so this bill actually came through this committee but I took it to the floor and I had some questions and concerns by some folks on the Senate side we amended the bill And so basically this is decreasing of fees for the state medical board they want to reduce our licensing fees and so the amendment what the amendment does is actually just leaves it and the statute that they cannot exceed what's already in the statute the Amendment strikes the language that it could be changed through rules subcommittee or A. L. C. approval and the governor's approval that was just a concern that was expressed to us in the Senate we were happy to oblige that concern I will say however that you know we need to have consistency across all of our boards and commissions and we don't at this point so we need to make a decision is either going to be one or the other but that but I'm happy to oblige the request that was made. I'll be happy to answer any questions. Is there anybody in the audience that is four or opposed this bill. C. nine members do you have any questions. Seeing no questions Senator Irvin are you ready to close and closed per second let your clothes I have a motion to I have a second. I have a second. Yes Sir go ahead yes. Centerman I voted for the bill either way yes Sir I think you did the right thing and I appreciate you thank you in that yes Sir. So I have a motion and a second all in favor say aye hi. It imposed. Say none congratulations your bill passed thank you. All right is there any other business to come before the committee. I don't see any members we are having a meeting at three thirty this afternoon a big mac a it is an informational meeting only or meeting jointly with the House numbers which should be fine and we're getting information from DHS do you want to come to the table just give us a little preview. A tease if you will feel defy yourself for the record and then you can. Thank you madam chair more quiet for reviewing services so yes what we want to talk about is some funding that's going to be available for home committee based services around the state including some opportunities in behavioral health for crosses responses related things this is opportune is created in the America risky plan act that Congress passed you're so ago they provided some additional funding connected to our spend on health home and community based services and so we do offer plan we've got approval from the offense for that plan and so we're starting to implement that but which will walk you through how the money is being spent and some the opportunities that will be used using that money for. All right thank you all right with that we're adjourned everybody be safe going home.