Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee- House
Video
Transcript
1 document
Bills discussed (65)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
SB117
· 8 mentions in transcript, chapter, agenda
Matched: “Senate Bill 117, and if a cheer will allow I've got Mamie Burris, uh, that…”
|
TO CREATE THE NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIAN PRACTICE ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR LICENSURE OF NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIANS IN … | C. Penzo | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1079
Act 860
· 4 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1079 F. Allen TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR GENETIC TESTING FOR AN INH…”
|
TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR GENETIC TESTING FOR AN INHERITED GENE MUTATION FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS; AND … | F. Allen | Notification that HB1079 is now Act 860 |
|
HB1255
Act 857
· 4 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…FOR EVIDENCE-BASED CANCER IMAGING FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS. HB1255 Wooldridge TO AMEND THE COVERAGE OF A CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MO…”
|
TO AMEND THE COVERAGE OF A CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM. | Wooldridge | Notification that HB1255 is now Act 857 |
|
SB560
Act 740
· 4 mentions in chapter, transcript, agenda
Matched: “SB560 J. English TO DECREASE THE BASE CONTRIBUTION RATE; TO INCRE…”
|
TO DECREASE THE BASE CONTRIBUTION RATE; TO INCREASE THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSESSMENT RATE; TO INCREASE FUNDING … | J. English | Notification that SB560 is now Act 740 |
|
SB632
Act 964
· 4 mentions in transcript, agenda, chapter
Matched: “…sor. Good morning, committee. This is a pretty simple bill, Senate Bill 632 is an act to amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and to…”
|
TO AMEND THE FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT; AND TO REQUIRE WARNING LABELS FOR HAIR … | F. Love | Notification that SB632 is now Act 964 |
|
HB1429
Act 854
· 3 mentions in agenda, transcript, chapter
Matched: “…ONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM. HB1429 M. Shepherd TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY WHILE ENSURING QUALIT…”
|
TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY WHILE ENSURING QUALITY FOR CERTAIN FACILITIES PERFORMING MAMMOGRAPHY SERVICES; AND TO AMEND … | M. Shepherd | Notification that HB1429 is now Act 854 |
|
HB1679
Act 861
· 3 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITATION OF FACILITIES FOR MAMMOGRAPHY. HB1679 M. Brown TO AMEND THE REVISED ARKANSAS ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT;…”
|
TO AMEND THE REVISED ARKANSAS ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT; TO ALLOW CERTAIN CLASSES OF PERSONS TO … | M. Brown | Notification that HB1679 is now Act 861 |
|
HB1734
Act 862
· 3 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1734 Childress TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DEATH CERTIFICATES; A…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DEATH CERTIFICATES; AND TO CLARIFY THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WHO MAY … | Childress | Notification that HB1734 is now Act 862 |
|
HB1008
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1008 A. Collins TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTH…”
|
TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1010
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1010 A. Collins TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS ME…”
|
TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1011
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES. HB1011 A. Collins TO CREATE THE RESTORE ROE ACT; AND TO RESTORE A…”
|
TO CREATE THE RESTORE ROE ACT; AND TO RESTORE A WOMAN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION SERVICES. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1012
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ACT; AND TO RESTORE A WOMAN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION SERVICES. HB1012 A. Collins TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO EXTE…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO EXTEND ELIGIBILITY TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR FAMILY PLANNING … | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1013
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1013 Hudson TO PROTECT FERTILITY TREATMENT RIGHTS IN THIS STATE.”
|
TO PROTECT FERTILITY TREATMENT RIGHTS IN THIS STATE. | Hudson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1029
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1029 D. Garner TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MED…”
|
TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND … | D. Garner | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1032
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…R MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND SERVICES RELATED TO ADDICTION. HB1032 A. Collins TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY. HB1132 Pilkington TO…”
|
TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY. | A. Collins | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1132
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TO ADDICTION. HB1032 A. Collins TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY. HB1132 Pilkington TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVID…”
|
TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDED BY ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES; AND TO AMEND … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1224
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RIPTIVE AUTHORITY OF AN ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE. HB1224 Nazarenko TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR…”
|
TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; AND TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC … | Nazarenko | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1244
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1244 K. Brown TO AMEND THE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE…”
|
TO AMEND THE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE OF FULL INDEPENDENT PRACTICE AUTHORITY BY A … | K. Brown | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1270
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1270 Pilkington TO ESTABLISH A PRESCRIBED PEDIATRIC EXTENDED CAR…”
|
TO ESTABLISH A PRESCRIBED PEDIATRIC EXTENDED CARE PILOT PROGRAM THROUGH A SECTION 1115 MEDICAID DEMONSTRATION … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1302
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…MEDICAID DEMONSTRATION WAIVER; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. HB1302 L. Johnson TO ADD DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY TO THE UNIVER…”
|
TO ADD DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY TO THE UNIVERSAL NEWBORN SCREENING ACT. | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1532
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1532 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS RARE DISEASE ADVISORY COU…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS RARE DISEASE ADVISORY COUNCIL. | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1566
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1566 McClure TO REQUIRE ADOPTION OF A STATEWIDE PRACTICAL NURSIN…”
|
TO REQUIRE ADOPTION OF A STATEWIDE PRACTICAL NURSING PROGRAM CORE CURRICULUM TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY IN … | McClure | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1588
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1588 McAlindon TO REQUIRE APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFOR…”
|
TO REQUIRE APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SEEKS OR … | McAlindon | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1592
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…LUM TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY IN PRACTICAL NURSING EDUCATION. HB1592 J. Mayberry TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA PUBLIC HEALTH ACT. | J. Mayberry | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1723
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1723 Pilkington TO AMEND INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000, ALSO KNOWN AS…”
|
TO AMEND INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000, ALSO KNOWN AS THE TOBACCO SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS ACT; … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1776
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…AN EXPANSION OF COVERAGE FOR THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM. HB1776 Lundstrum TO AMEND THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED REQUIRED TO OBTA…”
|
TO AMEND THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A SOLID WASTE LANDFILL OR TRANSFER … | Lundstrum | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1781
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…ADMINISTER A GRANT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS. HB1781 Crawford TO AUTHORIZE THE LICENSURE OF CLINICS, HEALTH CENT…”
|
TO AUTHORIZE THE LICENSURE OF CLINICS, HEALTH CENTERS, OR OTHER FACILITIES IN WHICH A PREGNANCY … | Crawford | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1791
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1791 C. Cooper TO CLARIFY THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND…”
|
TO CLARIFY THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED NATIONS DO NOT HAVE JURISDICTION … | C. Cooper | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1795
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1795 A. Brown TO CREATE THE FERTILITY CLINIC LICENSURE ACT.”
|
TO CREATE THE FERTILITY CLINIC LICENSURE ACT. | A. Brown | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1818
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1818 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED CARE TRANSPA…”
|
TO CREATE THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED CARE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1880
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1880 Hudson TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HUMAN LIFE PROTECTION ACT AND…”
|
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HUMAN LIFE PROTECTION ACT AND THE ARKANSAS UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION ACT … | Hudson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1882
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RS FOR SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE DURING THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD. HB1882 Pilkington TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF ENROLLABLE MEDICAID B…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF ENROLLABLE MEDICAID BENEFICIARY POPULATION AND ALLOW THE GOVERNOR TO DESIGNATE … | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1890
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1890 J. Mayberry TO ALLOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BILL FOR HEALTHCAR…”
|
TO ALLOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BILL FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES; AND TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID … | J. Mayberry | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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HB1906
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1906 Lundstrum TO REQUIRE WRITTEN CONSENT OF A PARENT OR LEGAL G…”
|
TO REQUIRE WRITTEN CONSENT OF A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN WHEN PRESCRIBING LONG-ACTING REVERSIBLE CONTRACEPTION … | Lundstrum | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1908
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1908 Long TO CREATE THE PROOF OF RESIDENCY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE…”
|
TO CREATE THE PROOF OF RESIDENCY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING … | Long | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1909
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…QUIRE PROOF OF RESIDENCY FOR ADULT APPLICANTS. Page 4 of 5 HB1909 Long TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SERVICES ONLY FOR CITIZENS ACT; A…”
|
TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SERVICES ONLY FOR CITIZENS ACT; AND TO REQUIRE VERIFICATION OF CITIZENSHIP … | Long | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1996
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “HB1996 Gramlich TO AMEND THE CHILD LABOR LAWS ENACTED BY INITIATED…”
|
TO AMEND THE CHILD LABOR LAWS ENACTED BY INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1914; TO ESTABLISH … | Gramlich | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
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HB1998
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…AND TO CREATE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS RELATED TO CHILD LABOR. HB1998 Torres TO CREATE THE JAMES MCFERRON MENTAL HEALTH, WELLNESS…”
|
TO CREATE THE JAMES MCFERRON MENTAL HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND RESILIENCY ACT; AND TO IMPROVE ACCESS … | Torres | Recommended for study in the Interim by the … |
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SB120
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB120 C. Penzo TO REQUIRE LICENSURE FOR ALL PRIVATE CARE AGENCIES…”
|
TO REQUIRE LICENSURE FOR ALL PRIVATE CARE AGENCIES IN THIS STATE; AND TO ENSURE CONSUMER … | C. Penzo | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB121
Act 968
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB121 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR…”
|
TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL … | C. Penzo | Notification that SB121 is now Act 968 |
|
SB122
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…URE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT TO PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS. SB122 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR…”
|
TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL … | C. Penzo | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB187
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB187 Irvin TO AMEND THE COMPOSITION OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID DRU…”
|
TO AMEND THE COMPOSITION OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID DRUG UTILIZATION REVIEW BOARD TO INCLUDE PHYSICIAN … | Irvin | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SB2
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB2 C. Penzo TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION PROGRAM; AND…”
|
TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION PROGRAM; AND TO REMOVE THE MANDATE FOR WATER SYSTEMS TO … | C. Penzo | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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SB217
Act 969
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB217 C. Penzo TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO REQ…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO REQUEST A WAIVER TO EXCLUDE CANDY AND … | C. Penzo | Notification that SB217 is now Act 969 |
|
SB238
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB238 J. Payton TO AMEND THE USED TIRE RECYCLING AND ACCOUNTABILI…”
|
TO AMEND THE USED TIRE RECYCLING AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. | J. Payton | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB255
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…FOODS UNDER THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. SB255 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "DRUG" WITHIN THE FOOD,…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "DRUG" WITHIN THE FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT; AND TO … | C. Penzo | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB262
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. SB262 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE CORPORATE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE DOCTRI…”
|
TO AMEND THE CORPORATE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE DOCTRINE; AND TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL … | C. Penzo | Died on House Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB311
Act 772
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB311 C. Penzo TO CREATE THE END ORGAN AND GENOMIC HARVESTING ACT…”
|
TO CREATE THE END ORGAN AND GENOMIC HARVESTING ACT; TO PROHIBIT COVERAGE OF CERTAIN HUMAN … | C. Penzo | Notification that SB311 is now Act 772 |
|
SB347
Act 1025
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…TO ENSURE CONSUMER PROTECTION FOR VULNERABLE AGING ADULTS. SB347 C. Penzo TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO INCREA…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO INCREASE REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR CERTAIN DENTAL SERVICES AND … | C. Penzo | Notification that SB347 is now Act 1025 |
|
SB444
Act 970
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB444 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT.”
|
TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT. | K. Hammer | Notification that SB444 is now Act 970 |
|
SB507
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…estrictions designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. SB507 G. Leding TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO COVER…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO COVER APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS SERVICES FOR CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES. | G. Leding | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB534
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB534 G. Leding TO ESTABLISH THE ARKANSAS KRATOM CONSUMER PROTECT…”
|
TO ESTABLISH THE ARKANSAS KRATOM CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT; AND TO REMOVE MITRAGYNINE AND 7-HYDROXYMITRAGYNINE, ALSO … | G. Leding | Died in House at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB554
Act 1022
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB554 C. Tucker TO CREATE THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LOAN FORGIVENESS…”
|
TO CREATE THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. | C. Tucker | Notification that SB554 is now Act 1022 |
|
SB576
Act 623
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…AS KRATOM, FROM THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES LIST IN ARKANSAS. SB576 B. Davis TO AMEND THE COVERAGE OF CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITO…”
|
TO AMEND THE COVERAGE OF CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORS WITHIN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM. | B. Davis | Notification that SB576 is now Act 623 |
|
SB598
Act 743
· 2 mentions in agenda, chapter
Matched: “…RTAIN GENETIC SEQUENCERS AND GENETIC ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGIES. SB598 J. English TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS RELATED TO THE DIVISION OF…”
|
TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS RELATED TO THE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES; AND TO AMEND THE … | J. English | Notification that SB598 is now Act 743 |
|
SB601
Act 971
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB601 Hester TO CREATE A PATHWAY FOR A GRADUATE OF A FOREIGN MEDI…”
|
TO CREATE A PATHWAY FOR A GRADUATE OF A FOREIGN MEDICAL SCHOOL TO BE LICENSED … | Hester | Notification that SB601 is now Act 971 |
|
SB603
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB603 C. Tucker TO REQUIRE AN AIR AMBULANCE TO CONTACT THE ARKANS…”
|
TO CREATE EMMA'S LAW; AND TO REQUIRE AN AIR AMBULANCE TO CONTACT THE ARKANSAS TRAUMA … | C. Tucker | Died in House at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB627
Act 746
· 2 mentions in chapter, agenda
Matched: “SB627 Irvin TO ASSIST THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT…”
|
TO ASSIST THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND … | Irvin | Notification that SB627 is now Act 746 |
|
HB1401
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1401 Pilkington TO INCLUDE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY SERVICES WIT…”
|
TO INCLUDE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY SERVICES WITHIN THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CARE ACT. | Pilkington | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1463
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1463 Hudson TO PROHIBIT DISCLOSURE OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL OR PSYC…”
|
TO PROHIBIT DISCLOSURE OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST MATERIALS OR TEST DATA. | Hudson | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1718
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1718 Gramlich TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATI…”
|
TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATION IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES LICENSED IN THIS STATE. | Gramlich | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1816
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1816 L. Johnson TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTHCARE…”
|
TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE DELIVERY OF … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1819
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1819 L. Johnson TO REQUIRE THE STATE REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS…”
|
TO REQUIRE THE STATE REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS TO COORDINATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS … | L. Johnson | WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR |
|
HB1888
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1888 Steele TO AMEND THE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES LAW; AND…”
|
TO AMEND THE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES LAW; AND TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT RECORDS … | Steele | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB473
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “SB473 Stone TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE ARKANSAS FIRE PROTECTION S…”
|
TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE ARKANSAS FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES BOARD; AND TO PROVIDE FOR … | Stone | Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
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Obviously, you couldn't hear it the first time. Members, will you grab your seat? We'll go
We're getting close. Fred Allen, Representative Fred Allen, if you would go to the table, HB 1079.
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
0:30
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members. Fred Allen, District 77. This is a Senate concurrent amendment. I appreciate a good vote. It's right in front of you.
Do I have a motion? A motion for concurrence. All those in favor, say aye. All opposed. Ayes
have it. Representative Woolridge, House Bill 1255.
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
1:02
You're supposed to be down there ready. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Jeremy
Woolridge, State Representative, District 1. 1255 amendment changes three words. It's a Senate amendment. We'd appreciate a good vote. Motion to
adopt. A motion to adopt the amendment. Any discussion? Hear none. All those in favor say aye.
Aye. All opposed? Congratulations. Your amendment has been concurred. Representative Matthew Shepard, House Bill
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
1:45
1429. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members of the committee, you'll recall this is a bill I brought several weeks ago on diagnostic mammograms. And on the synonym, we've added just some language that a patient will sign a waiver acknowledging that the limitations of this remote evaluation
and that the results of the evaluation should be provided to the patient before they leave the facility. This is just to try to, you know, provide a greater level of care. But, again, this is going to greatly improve access across the state of Arkansas. And so I'd appreciate a good vote. I have a motion to concur.
Any discussion on motion? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.
Aye. All opposed? Ayes have it. Representative Matt Brown. Thank you, members. House Bill 1679. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Matt Brown, District
Speaker 27
2:47
55. Colleagues, this is a Senate commitment. Shrank down the scope of a little bit of the bill. It was in agreement with the stakeholders while still protecting the rights of the family postmortem. Appreciate a good vote. So we're going
to take one amendment at a time. But do I have a motion on the First Amendment?
I have a motion. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? The ayes have it. amendment concurred second amendment thank you chair
Speaker 27
3:18
i forgot there were two minutes on that matt brown 55 second amendment made a technical correction appreciate a good vote
have a motion i have a motion to concur any discussion all those in favor say aye all opposed i just have it thank you chair thank you
amendments are being concurred representative childers House Bill 1734
Representative Paul Childress
Unverified
3:41
Thank you Mr. Chair Paul Childress State Representative District 83 This amendment was amended on the Senate end and it was brought to us by the Medical Society and it just added two lines to the current bill I have a motion to concur Any discussion?
See you none. All those in favor say aye All opposed? Ayes have it. Thank you, Mr. Chair,
and committee. All right, members, regular agenda, Representative Tosh.
Can you remind me of that number, Representative Tosh? 598. 560. Whenever you're
sure about it, we'll clock it in. Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
4:33
Senate Bill 560. You're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. If you want to introduce yourself for the record.
I'm Representative Dwight Tosh, District 38. You're good. Committee members, I bring to you today a bill from the Department of Commerce is to resolve a problem, which I might add is a good problem. Around the state, we have 31 of our workforce training facilities, 28 of those are in our high schools where students have the opportunity to be able to train and to be specialized in a special skill such as plumbing, heat and air, whatever.
The funding for those training facilities has, you know, it's kind of remained the same, but the problem has been, and like I said, it's a good problem, the enrollment in those schools around the state has increased to the point that the funding for those facilities now can just not meet the number of students that are wanting to enroll. And like I said, this is, like in Jonesboro, that school there has like 950 students in it, but they also serve all the other high schools in that area.
So it's really a good thing occurring across our state. But like I said, the funding has become an issue. So the Department of Commerce to address this, And we visited, Senator English and I did, with the Department of Commerce. And the solution they came up with is that what they will do is the unemployment insurance trust fund, they're going to decrease that amount by 0.1%.
And then they're going to increase the funding for the training trust fund. And that amounts to a zero-net change in the budget or any type of funding. It's just a redistribution of the funds from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Money.
Can you hear me? We've got a little secret in public health. You cannot touch the
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
6:59
mic, and you cannot spit on the mic. I didn't touch it, Mr. Chairman. It touched me. Just don't touch it and don't spit on it, and you'll be all right. All right. Okay. Well, I pretty well think that explains the bill. Like I said, it's zero net change. This bill is strongly supported by the Arkansas State Chamber. And with that, I would take any questions. Any questions from committee?
Seeing none, anyone in the audience speak for or against the bill? Seeing none, I take it you're closed. Mr. Chairman, I'm
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
7:34
closed, and I appreciate a good vote. We've got
a motion from Representative Ladyman and Representative Allen. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. All opposed? Ayes have it. I'm going to touch the mic and turn it off, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Love, just remember the rules. Do not touch the mic and don't spit
on it. It don't matter. It don't matter which one you got. Don't touch it.
Senator Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
8:08
632, correct? Yes, sir. You're recognized. Good morning, Mr. Chair, and I have Representative Shepard join me since she is my House sponsor. Good morning, committee. This is a pretty simple bill. So Senate Bill 632 is an act to amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and to require warning labels for hair relaxers that contain certain chemicals. Basically what we're trying to do, and I'll draw your attention to exactly what we're trying to do in the bill. If you turn to page 2, lines 11 through 13, a hair relaxer being offered for sale in the state that contains a carcinogenic or a reproductive toxicant
shall provide a clear and conspicuous warning label displayed on the packaging or the product itself. And then it goes into section two will go into what will be in the warning labels. Basically what it is is that there are some hair relaxing products that may cause cancer or may cause birth effects. And what we're trying to do is provide warning labels to the persons that use these hair products so that they are fully aware that these products could cause cancer
or could lead to birth defects. And with that, I'm open
Speaker 42
9:27
for questions. Representative Allen, you got a question? Please
Speaker 58
9:30
don't touch that mic. Or spit on it. You got your hand
Speaker 62
9:36
on that mic. Okay. Yeah, just whatever you do. Thanks for you in service. Thank
Speaker 64
9:41
you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Love, I like what you're trying to do. However, who?
You see what you're doing when you're touching that mic? You've got to turn it back on. You're messing it up. I'm trying to help you. They've got a
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
9:58
short in them. Okay. So who's going to place the warning labor on the product? Is that the manufacturer? And I didn't touch it,
Senator Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
10:07
but we were requiring the manufacturer to do that. Okay. All right. Thank you. Yes,
sir. Any other questions? Seeing none, anyone in the audience speak for or against the bill?
You close for your bill? Yes, sir, and I appreciate a good vote. We
have a motion for Representative Fred Allen and Representative Ladyman. Any discussion on the motion? All those in favor
say aye. Aye. All opposed? Ayes have it. Congratulations. The bill has passed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
All right, Senator Penzo, you're recognized. I don't know where you want to start, but hit your old ballgame now.
Speaker 46
10:53
Did you pack a lunch? Okay. Yeah. That's their problem. Sure.
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
11:03
We can start with Senate Bill 117. If Chair will allow, I've got Mamie Burris that
I'd like to bring to the table with us. That's fine. And this bill has a
physical impact, so if you'll give just a second, staff will pass it out.
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
11:38
Would you like me to start while they're passing that out? Give them just a second. Okay.
all right senator you're recognized okay so i'm gonna start with a quick story i won't i'll do the abbreviated version but Clint Penzo, Senate District 31. Wayne Long, House District 39.
Speaker 92
12:40
You want to go ahead and introduce yourself? Mamie Barris, I live here in Little Rock.
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
12:48
I'm a naturopathic doctor and a licensed acupuncturist. All right. So kind of how I stumbled onto naturopathic physicians.
Ever since I was a kid, I kind of had stomach issues. And as I got older, I started having more and more health issues. So fast forward into adulthood, one year I gave up fast food and alcohol for Lent.
And so after Lent was over, I went out and had a couple of, you know, triple cheeseburgers, a couple beverages, woke up the next morning with a fully distended abdomen. It was miserable. Like I said, I'd had all kinds of other health issues, but that's kind of the catalyst that triggered me to seek medical advice. So I go to my PCP, you know, he recommended I go to an internist and then went to a GI specialist and ended up, you know, I'd been seeing a dermatologist for a while because I had all kinds of issues like joint pain, rashes.
I had to have special shampoo, special creams for my face. I was on all kinds of medications for antihistamines and all kinds of things. Well, nobody could figure out what exactly was wrong. They just kept prescribing drugs to try to fix it. Well, one day I was thinking about this girl I went to college with. She had told me she was going to go to medical school. So I reached out to her for advice, and she ended up telling me that she ended up going to naturopathic physician school in Arizona. And so she kind of described to me what naturopathic physicians were because I'd never really heard of them.
She diagnosed me over the phone. She was like, Clint, you've got food allergies. come in we'll do some blood work get you taken care of i come in and she has to work under a chiropractor in arkansas because she's a doctor in arizona with prescriptive authority can do surgical procedures um their training's different than mds but it's it there's a little bit of overlap on some things there's some overlap with chiropractic and um other other professions because it's more of a holistic health care profession.
So she can't do the blood work, so I have to go down to Quest or one of those clinics and get my blood drawn. They send it off, comes back, and she puts me on a four-day rotation diet. Within a month, I'm feeling significantly better. Within six months, all my joint pain was gone. I'd lost 70 pounds. I was off all the medications. Everything, my blood pressure went down. my cholesterol went down my testosterone was up all my numbers were great and all it took was
just me changing some lifestyle and diet and you know to to see that kind of an impact just from advice from a naturopathic physician totally changed my world I'm a different man now so it's made a huge impact on my life I've sent many friends and family to naturopathic physicians uh kids with you know whatever it is add different disorders you know and finding natural solutions to it instead of drugs our society has become so dependent on surgical procedures and medications
and the reality is most most illnesses can be fixed with diet and exercise you know there's there's always a need for for medications there was a a young man here the other day that was he's on daily medication, anti-rejection drugs for liver transplant. We'll always need medicine in this country. But if we can get people off of it, there'll be huge financial savings for the state, better quality of life for our constituents. And that's why I think we need to last in this
profession in Arkansas. They're here, but their scope is suppressed. You know, there's a fiscal impact here, which I personally, and there's a reason it's a grade, if there is a fiscal impact, that's because there's increased access to care, okay? If there's just a shift from medical allopathic medicine to naturopathic medicine, there will be no fiscal impact. If there is a fiscal impact, it's due to increased access for our constituents, so I want you all to keep that
in mind. I'll go ahead and let Mamie kind
of tell you about what a naturopathic position is. Thank
Speaker 92
17:22
you, Chairman Woodall, Vice Chairman, I'm sorry, Wardlaw, Vice Chairman Woldridge and members serving on this committee for the opportunity to speak in favor of SB 117 to license naturopathic doctors in Arkansas. And special thanks to Senator Penzo and Representative long for sponsoring this bill. Like many Arkansans, I've dealt with chronic health
issues. My gut issues started when I was about six years old, and I dealt with symptoms almost daily. My doctors meant well, but the medications they recommended were focused on managing my symptoms, so the underlying root causes were not being addressed. Over the years, I continued to accumulate health issues, including chronic fatigue, hormone imbalances, eczema, and autoimmune hypothyroidism. I remember asking my doctors if my diet was causing my symptoms and if there was more I could do. Each time I was told that food was not
causing my health problems and I would probably always have symptoms. This couldn't have been further from the truth. I earned a pre-medical microbiology degree from UA Fayetteville with every intention of going to medical school. During my senior year I had an epiphany that I didn't want to be the kind of doctor I had always had access to. I wanted to learn how to use food as medicine and I was interested in natural therapies like herbs and vitamins. Shortly after I discovered naturopathic medicine, I moved to Portland, Oregon and began training at National University of Natural Medicine,
a four-year doctoral level naturopathic medical program that is recognized by the US Department of Education. Over 1900 hours of my training, almost half of the program focused on Western biomedicine and included basic and clinical sciences, diagnostic techniques like physical exams, labs and imaging, prescribing pharmaceuticals and drug herb nutrient interactions, and minor medical procedures such as IV and injection therapies and minor surgery. I
also received over 1,000 hours in naturopathic modalities including clinical nutrition, lifestyle counseling, herbal medicine, physical medicine, homeopathy, and more. During my second, third, and fourth years, I completed over 1,250 hours of clinical rotations, supervised by naturopathic doctors, medical doctors, osteopathic doctors, and chiropractors. By implementing what I was learning and working with naturopathic doctors as a patient, I was
able to completely change my health. After 20 years of suffering unnecessarily, I I finally knew what it was like to go days, then weeks, then months, without experiencing the chronic symptoms that had plagued me for so long. I also had the pleasure and honor of witnessing the power of naturopathic medicine at the student clinics and in my own practice after graduating in 2012. After passing a four-day national board exam, I practiced in California as a licensed naturopathic doctor.
During that time, I reflected on my health journey and how I had to move to Oregon and study naturopathic medicine in order to finally get answers and relief for my chronic health issues. I realized there were others in Arkansas who were also suffering with chronic symptoms, and they deserved access to naturopathic medicine. So in 2014, I started traveling to Arkansas every few months to offer health consultations. I quickly realized that many Arkansans were desperate for this type of care.
So in 2015, I moved back to Arkansas to offer my services full-time, even though the licensure status meant that I would have to sacrifice the ability to use several of the skills and tools I'd spent so much time, energy, and money to learn. This is how badly I wanted to help Arkansans, and it's a testament to the incredible power of diet, lifestyle, and natural therapies like herbs and nutraceuticals. It's such a blessing to be in a position to empower others to regain control of their health.
Over the years, I've helped hundreds of clients and patients normalize their blood sugar, lower their cholesterol and blood pressure, lose weight, heal anxiety and depression, eradicate fatigue and insomnia, balance their hormones, address gut symptoms like constipation and reflux, halt their chronic pain, and so much more. Many have been able to safely discontinue pharmaceuticals they no longer needed and to reverse diagnoses they were given, including pre-diabetes and diabetes, which collectively
affect roughly 46% of Arkansans. I've also worked with Arkansans who have fallen through the cracks and helped them to get answers so they could receive appropriate care, which has included referrals to physicians when medications are indicated, such as for hypothyroidism that was only discovered when I ran more extensive thyroid testing than the standard of care. Arkansas spends billions of dollars on health care each year and much of that is spent on chronic conditions that are both preventable and reversible. This should come as no surprise given that Arkansas sadly ranks 48th
of 50 in overall health, 49th in children's health, and 50th in women's health. Arkansas is also facing a growing health care provider shortage, approximately 68% of Arkansas's counties are designated as health professional shortage areas. Licensing qualified naturopathic doctors in Arkansas will increase access to this safe, effective form of care and provide Arkansans with another option, help to improve population health, reduce health care spending,
combat the growing provider shortage we face, and protect Arkansans by prohibiting unqualified practitioners from using protected titles. Naturopathic medicine has been such a gift in my life and in the lives of so many others. Please don't stand in the way of this gift. There is no shortage of chronically ill people in Arkansas, and naturopathic doctors bring a different perspective and approach that is very effective for chronic health conditions. We want to work alongside conventional doctors
and other health care professionals to ensure Arkansans have access to the best care possible. Please vote in favor of SB 117 to license qualified naturopathic doctors in Arkansas. We are, after all, the natural state, so shouldn't this powerful form of natural medicine be part of our health care system? Thank you so much for your time and attention. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
24:09
Representative Ferguson, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Two quick questions, and then I get back in the queue. Currently, you
have to function under another MD or another chiropractor. Is that what I heard? So
Speaker 92
24:25
naturopathic doctors in this state have to act more like health coaches. I personally went back to school and got a master's in Chinese medicine and acupuncture so that I could practice under those credentials and have that license and that scope
because that was actually a faster route than waiting for the licensure status to change here. But the naturopathic doctors that do work here have to limit their services to more of a health
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
24:51
coach. And the other question, most of
the medicine that you prescribe, are they covered under most insurances or? Nothing that we do can be covered by
Speaker 92
25:01
insurance if we're not licensed. Okay. All right. I'll get back
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
25:05
in the queue, Mr. Chair. Representative Bennett.
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
25:10
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What is the Arkansas Department of Health's stance on this? Is there a
Speaker 111
25:20
representative here from there? Don't touch it.
Speaker 118
25:44
I'm just kidding. Matt Gilmore, Horton Health. I think I heard the...
Speaker 120
25:53
Be careful with that mic. Yes, sir. I think I
Speaker 122
25:59
heard the question asking for our position on the bill. We're neutral.
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
26:12
Thank you. Representative Allen, you recognize. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Senator Penzo.
As you all know, I go to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America every month. I've been going now for approximately 13 years. And one of the key components that they have up there is integrated health care. And as a naturopath, they have naturopath doctors at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. And naturopath doctors are so important, especially when you're taking chemotherapy, because of the side effects. And many of the side effects that the cancer cause, you can go to your naturopath, and she can tell you what drug you can use to counter the side effects.
One of the side effects of chemotherapy is tingling of the feet, tingling of the hands. You can go to them and talk to them about that, and they will actually give you a product, a right, a prescription for a product. Of course, it's over-the-counter, but most of the products that they tell you to use, they're products that can be bought over-the-counter. And so I see what you're doing here. I like what you're doing. And people should not look at what it's going to cost if it's going to help improve the lives of those that really need it.
Speaker 78
27:33
So I'll be voting for your bill today. Thank you
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
27:45
for that. Can I expand on that? I'm still trying to find a question in that, Representative Allen. Oh, wouldn't you agree? You
know, I would agree. When I was in the House and I ran this bill years ago, Senator Ballinger was my Senate sponsor. His wife was getting chemo treatments in Arizona. At Cancer Treatment Centers of America? At Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and they were very integral in his wife's treatment as well.
So that's why he was very interested in it. And I will argue the fiscal impact because I think if we're looking at more of a holistic approach to treatment, pharmaceutical is not going to be in the equation. So I think there's going to be a reduction in cost to the state with naturopathic physicians. So I fully disagree with the fiscal
impact because I think it's going to be a lot less expensive to treat someone to a naturopathic physician. So thanks for the question. You're more than
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
28:36
welcome. Well, let me keep talking since I have the mic.
back in the key. The impatient Representative Richardson. Wow.
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
29:03
So I'm going to push back a little bit from what Representative Allen said, which when we talk about pricing, how much is it for an individual to see you on a visit?
Speaker 93
29:15
That's based on the provider. There's a range.
Speaker 92
29:18
I don't have an answer for that that's across the board. Right now it's out of pocket. And I ask
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
29:24
that because we know if you don't take insurance and, you know, we don't have a wealthy state. So in order for them to come see you, I can imagine that being expensive over a period of time for people who may not be able to afford that. And you talked about your experience. You went to school in Portland. Where did you do your residency?
Speaker 92
29:47
There's not a residency that's required for naturopathic doctors. We do our clinical training within the four-year program, much like chiropractors, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants. The amount of training that we have is over 1,200 hours, which is comparable to chiropractic physicians. It's more than what acupuncturists get. It's pretty close to what nurse practitioners get. It's actually a little bit over that. So we do have sufficient clinical training to
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
30:15
be safe and effective providers. And since you're not identified as a medical doctor or an ND in Arkansas,
I heard you say you operate under a chiropractor? I'm a licensed acupuncturist. Licensed acupuncturist. So you can still provide service to people who come in
Speaker 92
30:32
to see you for acupuncture. Correct. That gave me a defined scope that expanded what I was able to do for people. So that's
Speaker 74
30:40
why I got the additional training. Okay. Thank you.
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
30:42
And if I can clarify the confusion with the chiropractor, working under the chiropractor, that was the naturopathic physician I was working with back years ago. She's recently left the state because of the inability to serve her clients.
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
30:54
So we've lost her. Representative McGee, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Get this thing close enough or I won't have to touch it. So in your presentation earlier, you talked about, can you hear this okay? Okay. You talked about prescriptive authority and minor surgical procedures. I'm a physician. The only minor surgical procedure I know of is one that I'm doing on somebody else.
Anything that's being done on me is pretty major. So what are you talking about in terms of minor surgery? You've got to
Speaker 92
31:48
be careful with that thing. So minor surgery is going to be defined as anything that does not penetrate the muscle layer. So it's the skin or just below the skin. We are not going for, we're not including minor surgery or injection therapies or prescriptions in the scope of this bill.
So even though that's part of our training and does allow us to contribute to conversations with patients, we're not performing those procedures here. I thought that was in this bill.
Speaker 70
32:12
It is not. I'll come back. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Bentley,
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
32:28
you recognize? Thank you, Chairman. Can you tell me how many states right now we're licensed that we can get this service with?
Speaker 115
32:40
Just leave it on. Currently, there are
Speaker 92
32:43
23 states and three U.S. territories. Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. So 26 jurisdictions that license naturopathic doctors. Awesome. Will this allow, and I'm not sure, so I'm asking you
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
32:54
the question, will this allow insurance for you to receive insurance so those patients that right now cannot afford it out of pocket will actually be able
Speaker 159
33:03
to get the services that you provide? It opens up that possibility, yes, for insurance to be involved.
So do you think, you know, we're 48th
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
33:13
in the nation, this will actually make an impact in Arkansas, that we can
Speaker 92
33:17
actually see better health? we have now? Absolutely, absolutely. I've seen incredible turnarounds in the people that I've worked with, so I think that this is only going to be a value add to our state. We do have so much of our spending is on chronic health conditions, and this is really an area where naturopathic doctors shine and can offer a lot, and so I think that we can bring something to the table that's not here and help our health care
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
33:41
system to be more well-rounded and integrated. So would you
agree that this will actually decrease the cost of health care in our state if we can get rid of some of the chronic disease
Speaker 92
33:50
that we're facing across the board? I believe it will, and in states where we do regulate naturopathic doctors, that's what the data shows. Great. Can I
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
33:55
have DHS up to the table, please? You can, but while
I still have questions for the sponsors and the initial presenter, I won't finish those. Okay, I can wait until they come up to the table. Everybody can ask us. We'll
get them to the table at some point. Representative Pilketon, you're recognized.
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
34:12
Thank you. You know, Clint, we've talked about this quite a bit.
I sometimes jokingly refer to your bill as the witch doctor bill. And I don't mean that in disrespect. We're just, we've been friends for a long time, and we like to joke with each other. But actually something I thought was interesting when I was discussing this was.
Representative Pilkington, I think it's because you're playing with the microphone, but they really have a short answer. All
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
34:38
right, all right, all right. My understanding, though, is like right now I could go in. I could hang a shingle and say I'm a naturopath and there's nothing anyone could do about it because they're unlicensed.
But if this passes, I could not do that because suddenly it would be illegal for me to go and call myself a naturopath without doing this training and having this license. So we're getting kind of, essence, you know, these, I don't know how to say it, these charlatans out of the business and that we're making sure that people who are actually trained are the ones calling
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
35:07
themselves a naturopath. Is that correct? Yeah, I wouldn't say we're, I mean, they can still, this won't prevent them from seeing people,
but it will, they won't be able to call themselves a doctor. Because right now in the state, people that are taking six-week courses can go out and say, hey, I'm a doctor, a naturopathic doctor. There's nothing preventing them from calling themselves a doctor. and they should not be calling themselves a doctor. I know one of the programs has like a 380-hour course. Massage therapists get 500 hours of training, and they're running around calling themselves doctors.
So this bill would prevent them from, they could maybe say they're a naturopathic advisor or coach or whatever they want to say, but they can't call themselves a doctor with this
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
36:09
bill. Gotcha. Thank you. Thank you. Representative Johnson, you're recognized. Not touching it, just getting close, close. So
I'm trying to understand a little better. Did you do a naturopathic, are you a naturopathic doctor,
Speaker 164
36:20
or were you before you came to the state of Arkansas?
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
36:25
I am a naturopathic doctor, yeah.
Speaker 92
36:29
That was my first training that I did. And would you say that you practice medicine? No. I mean, I practice under my acupuncture scope, So I'm in that field of Chinese medicine
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
36:39
and natural medicine, but I can't practice naturopathic medicine
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
36:45
doctors practice medicine? I would say they practice naturopathic medicine. Okay. And is there a cost involved? You said that they prescribe vitamins, supplements, different.
Is there a cost involved in those prescriptions?
Speaker 97
36:57
So those are, I guess I wouldn't refer to
Speaker 92
37:01
them as prescriptions because they're not required to actually buy the product. These are over-the-counter, you know, available products. You don't have to have a doctor's prescription to get them. I'm sorry, I lost your question. I thought you used the
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
37:15
word prescribe, and I'm just trying to clarify.
Speaker 92
37:20
We do learn pharmacology is a big part of our training,
and so we do have prescribing rights in other states. That's not something that we're going for here with this bill. we would be focusing on natural therapies
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
37:34
that we're suggesting. Excuse me for follow-ups. So naturopathic doctors do prescribe medicine? We have
Speaker 92
37:39
prescribing rights, yes, in several states. We're trained to act as primary care providers. And
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
37:44
they treat both chronic and acute illnesses? Correct. Through prescribing medicine?
Speaker 92
37:50
That with a combination of natural therapies, yes.
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
37:53
How is what they're doing different than what an allopathic or osteopathic doctor would do?
Speaker 92
37:58
So an allopathic and osteopathic doctor doesn't have the same level of nutrition, lifestyle, herbal medicine, physical medicine. That's not part of their, that's not really a big part of their curriculum. The average medical doctor gets about 19 hours of nutrition training. We're getting over 140 hours of nutrition training. So the naturopathic training that we get, those modalities that we have at our disposal, really set us apart from other providers and what we're able to offer from the natural medicine standpoint. How much, if I may ask,
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
38:29
how much training do you get in chronic illnesses like
diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, lemia? How much training do you get on an hour? Over 1,900 hours was Western biomedicine. Compared to allopathic and osteopathic doctors, you said you get more training in herbal medicine. How much more do you get the similar training? Because I think as a physician, my training was much more time-consuming than my understanding of a naturopathic doctor. I treat chronic illnesses. I treat acute illnesses. I
prescribe medicine. Sounds like a lot of what the naturopaths are doing. If you're saying that you got more training in herbal medicines, I would say that allopathic and osteopathic doctors get more training in acute illnesses, in chronic illnesses? Is
Speaker 92
39:20
that a fair statement? The focus for us is on treating, I mean, both acute but mostly chronic conditions, utilizing natural therapies whenever possible, but recognizing that there's a place for pharmaceuticals and being trained in that so that we can better identify those cases
and facilitate integrative care. Okay. I'll step out of
Speaker 174
39:40
the queue if there's another question. will
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
39:53
this bill create a degree of naturopathy here in Arkansas no okay and I
have another question how many active neuro I'm sorry naturopathic physicians do we have here in
Speaker 92
40:06
Arkansas so there are dozens that are referring to themselves as naturopathic doctors that I'm aware of, there are eight naturopathic doctors here in the state. There are several that have left and there are several that would like to be here if the licensure status would change, so I know that
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
40:31
number would grow. Thank you. Representative Ferguson. Senator Penzo, just to be clear, this bill does not
allow prescriptive authority. Correct. Other states, they're trained
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
40:42
in it. In other states, the license allows for it, but we're not asking for that
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
40:48
in Arkansas. Okay. And then a question for the witness.
Representative Richardson asked you a question about the cost. Now, I've got high blood pressure. I've got
a cholesterol problem. I've got joint pain. So I want to come see you Friday.
So what's going to be the cost of an office visit?
Speaker 92
41:15
can you answer that question? So my office visits are $300 an hour. I'm combining naturopathic medicine, Chinese medicine, and acupuncture. But there's a lot that, you know, I can't, a lot of that could be billed to insurance and could be offset by insurance, and that's not an option right now.
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
41:34
So if this bill passes, can I just follow up, Mr. Chair? So if this bill
passes from hearing is some of this could be billed after insurance. Yes. But right now, if I want you to help me with my blood pressure and my joint pains, it would be $300 an hour for a visitation. Correct. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Vice Chair, what would you recognize? Thank
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
42:02
you, Mr. Chairman, Senator. So I know the intent of this is to
create the act to where you can practice in the state of Arkansas. So with that,
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
42:12
you're having to create a licensure, correct? Yeah, we're creating a licensure, but instead of on the
Senate side, they didn't want to create another board. So what we did was take the acupuncture board and merge it with the naturopathic physicians and create a natural medicine board. So instead of creating a new board, we've just consolidated boards. If there was more time, I would probably try to consolidate others. I know there's a move in the state to do that, maybe add massage therapists to it.
But, I mean, that's for another legislative session. So is there an amendment with this bill? Well, we amended it on the Senate side. It's engrossed as it is. And the bill I'm looking at right now, it creates a board for? Yes, and it eliminates a board and creates a board. So there is no other board. There's an existing acupuncture board, and so we're just renaming the acupuncture board and adding the naturopathic physicians to it, so we are not creating a new
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
43:13
board. Okay, so this naturopath board that is in this building is already an existing board that's just being renamed?
Yes, it's the acupuncture board right now. Okay. Does this outline licensure fees or anything? How will all that be determined? I guess that
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
43:29
would probably be up to the – I'm not sure who would establish that, whether it would be the board or the board would come up with their own licensure rates. Okay. And it would probably be comparable to what the acupuncture licensure is right now. Okay. Thank you for clarification.
Representative Glenn Barnes
Unverified
43:52
Representative Barnes. Thank you, Chair. And one question, who will these naturopathic doctors answer to? This board you're talking about? Yes. That's
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
44:06
who they will answer to? Yeah, just like the other professions, health care professions, answer to their
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
44:16
board. Thank you. Representative Rose, you recognize? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Senator Penzo, I've seen a few times this committee and other committees
where there's been some disagreement in the numbers that the fiscal impact statement has come back with, and you alluded to that. I just wanted to kind of give you an opportunity, if you felt so inclined, to explain why you kind of
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
44:41
feel like it's an overstatement of what you guys anticipate it to be. Well, I mean,
okay, I guess I would start with the primary of if, okay. The whole, my goal this session was to increase access to health care, lower costs, and give people choices.
And with that, I think the choices would be, do I want to go see an allopathic physician or a naturopathic physician? I think there's a potential shift, not necessarily an increase in cost. I think, I don't know what an office visit costs to go see a doctor, but, you know, the time you actually spend with the doctor versus the actual cost of the visit, you know, it's different than spending an hour with somebody for $300.
I think the rates are cheaper. I think the not prescribing pharmaceuticals is cheaper. You know, they're just sending people out. You know, I've seen a Chinese medicine acupuncturist before, and she just gives me a sheet of supplements she thinks I should take. So I go to the natural grocers and I get my supplements. So, I mean, there's a lot of this that is going to lower the cost of health care in this state.
But the most important thing, I think, is it gives people choices. I see my chiropractor and my physical therapist, and I pay out of pocket to see my physical therapist, Now, I've got a background in physical therapy, but they've got certain equipment that I want to use. So I pay them like a gym membership to go see my PT. I go see my chiropractor at least once to four times a month. I mean, I decide which health care provider I want to go see for what my needs are. I go see my PCP, my allopathic doctor, once a year, whether I need it or not, just to have my blood work done.
I utilize him because that's where I've got insurance for. So I think that this will decrease the cost of health care. I do not see an increase, and they're looking at maybe a potential. They're just looking at the numbers if we go see, if it's on top of seeing doctors, I think is what they're measuring. They're not factoring in decreased usage of pharmaceuticals. They're not looking at the decreased cost of seeing a naturopathic doctor instead of an allopathic doctor.
So I really think there's a decrease in cost instead of an
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
47:17
increase. Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I did have a couple of follow-up questions to that. So currently they're able to see a natural path, Dr. Correct, but this bill would just create
Speaker 92
47:30
a pathway to get that doctor reimbursed by insurance? We're able to coach people on nutrition and lifestyle therapies that might be helpful for them, but that's a much more limited scope for natural
Speaker 106
47:40
therapies than what we're actually trained in
and what we could actually be doing for
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
47:48
people to help them. Okay, and I'm sorry, go ahead. Yeah, her scope's capped at her acupuncture license. Okay. That gives her more latitude, but that's capped away under what potentially
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
47:58
she could do. Okay, and then one more follow-up. The comment that you had made earlier, I think Dr. Johnson was visiting with you about, how many patients have to have a dual treatment so the services that you offer along with a prescribed medication type treatment and my reason for that question would be we're kind of operating
under the theory that if people go to you they won't go to their PCP thus there won't be an increase in care but it sounded to me like earlier that that this is a dual type benefit service a lot of times so in fact it wouldn't be really a washer reduction there may be it may be a better quality of care. I agree with that. They may be receiving additional services, but I don't know that
Speaker 92
48:41
there's going to be a reduction in services. So many, many people that I see are already on pharmaceuticals, and so we're working on mitigating side effects from those pharmaceuticals, addressing underlying
imbalances, so that if their goal is to be able to discontinue medication, they can move towards that. Of course, the prescribing doctor is managing all of that, and I'm just kind of helping the patient have more informed conversations with the prescribing doctor. I do want to quote on the cost a 2006 University of Washington study where naturopathic doctors have been licensed for about 30 years found that naturopathic care in Washington state costs insurers nine dollars per enrollee versus six hundred eighty six for those who received conventional care. So it sounds like
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
49:24
to me or my understanding from what you said is a lot of the patients are seeing a doctor they are being prescribed pharmaceutical meds. They're seeing you in addition to.
Speaker 92
49:33
Correct. I'm not, I don't see myself as a replacement for allopathic doctors or osteopathic doctors. I think there's a place for all of us. Right. So I just want to join
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
49:42
the team. Understood. And I will say I see both, but it's one of those situations to where it depends what my issue is, which one I choose to go to. I'm not going to go to both of them for the same issue. I mean, if it's, you know,
and at this point in my life, I kind of understand a little better about which one I need. You know, I believe in chiropractic and physical therapy, and that's not usually a position of someone who comes out of that world. But, I mean, it's not, I'm going to see one or the other at a time. I'm not going to duplicate. It just depends what my issue is and which one I think can help me better with the situation. I was in a bad car wreck, and so there was a need for both, but it was supplemental, not additive, I guess I should say.
so members here's where we are we still got five members signed up for questions we're going to exit out of here at noon okay house bills that are left on the agenda right now are dead we did not suspend the rules yesterday they're dead any other senate bills the one out of here that have amendments have to get out today. I'm going to come back after
session but I'm not going to come back and call staff that to be here all night. So ask your questions. Let's get to the point and let's move on to other bills. I just want you to know we are going to adjourn at noon and we are going to come back. These are requests the speaker had made. Y'all heard his request yesterday on the floor. We have to be considerate of a staff and
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
51:25
time. So Representative Johnson, you're recognized. Yeah, just one brief question just for clarification. So my understanding is you practice naturopathic medicine, you treat acute and chronic illnesses,
and you recommend or prescribe supplements, but you're going to be practicing under the acupuncture board? Is that correct? No, we're creating a natural medicine board. But the natural
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
51:45
medicine board, I believe if I understood
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
51:47
your testimony right, You're just renaming the acupuncture board as the natural medicine board? I believe that was the comment. But there will be naturopathic
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
51:56
physicians on the natural medicine board. How many allopathic or osteopathic
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
52:00
physicians will be on that board? There are no
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
52:04
allopathic or osteopathic people covered by the board, so there won't be any.
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
52:08
How many acupuncturists are on that board? Three. So the board would be consisting of three acupuncturists and who else? Three naturopathic physicians. And they'd be
overseeing the practice of medicine and the acute treatment of chronic illness and acute illness? Within their scope, yes.
Speaker 209
52:23
Okay. Just making sure I understand. Thank you. Yep. Representative Allen. Mr. Chairman,
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
52:35
let me pass because I want to have a conversation offline, if that's okay.
Representative Dolly Henley
Unverified
52:39
That's fine. Representative Henley. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ma'am, I've just Googled your profession to see where I could see a person like you in my area, southwest Arkansas. There's not a one. So are you, your profession, are they mainly in metropolitan areas in Arkansas? Because I don't think that my people will be able to travel to central Arkansas, northwest Arkansas, northeast Arkansas, to see someone of your quality.
Speaker 92
53:12
Can you help me with that? That's a fair point. We do have naturopathic doctors peppered throughout northwest Arkansas. We have a naturopathic doctor who's in the Mountain Home area. I am here in Little Rock. I do offer virtual consultation services to try to make myself available to more Arkansans. You're recognized, Representative Bidley. Real quick question.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
53:42
So would you say that the purpose of this bill is that we can bring more naturopathic doctors here? Because I
have constituents that travel all the way to Texas to see there. It's because the one that was here left because we weren't licensed. Representative. I'll not touch the mic. All right. So the whole purpose of this bill is that we'll have more naturopathic doctors come to Arkansas because it'll actually financially be profitable and not have to leave. Because many have left because they can't function like they would in other states where they can make money. So the whole purpose of the bill is that we can get more of these physicians throughout the whole state.
Would you not agree? Yes, that's one purpose. All right, members, we do have a few people signed up to speak for the bill, I think. We have no one to sign up to speak against. Is there anyone in the audience to speak against before
I go to four? Seeing no one, we have a Laurel Matthews.
if you would introduce yourself for the record and you're
Speaker 221
54:53
recognized speak for the bill i'm laurel matthews i'm a naturopathic doctor i live in mountain home good morning mr chairman and members of the committee my name is laurel matthews i was born in heber springs arkansas i've lived for over 30 years in arkansas and i am deeply invested in the health and well-being of the people of my state, I earned my bachelor's degree
in biochemistry from University of Kansas and went on to get my doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle in 2010. Naturopathic medicine is rooted in a tradition of wisdom concerning herbs and health that has now been merged with a modern scientific and medical understanding. As Arkansas faces increased health challenges, it makes sense to embrace a model of care that prioritizes prevention, education, and natural solutions. My education at Bastyr
University was an intensive four-year full-time doctoral program requiring up to 25 credit hours per quarter where I was in classroom time for up to 30 hours per week. In the first year, I learned how the body functions when it's working properly, studying anatomy, including dissecting cadavers, physiology, and biochemistry. The second year focused on what happens when things go wrong, pathology, clinical diagnosis, and disease processes. The third and fourth
years include clinical training and interventions covering nutrition, herbal medicine, dietary supplements, lifestyle counseling, as well as pharmaceuticals, IV therapy, and minor surgery. I completed over 1,200 hours of supervised clinical training, diagnosing and treating patients under the guidance of expert medical professionals. However, because Arkansas does not licensed naturopathic doctors, I currently work remotely for a dietary supplement company
in Iowa, instead of primarily seeing patients here. Licensure would allow me and other naturopathic doctors to serve Arkansans directly and collaborate more effectively with the broader medical community. Naturopathic doctors offer in-depth care, often spending over an hour with patients, helping them understand and address the root cause of their health concerns, I want to share two examples of how integrative medicine can make a difference. First, my brother has schizophrenia, which is well-managed with clozaril, a medication
that unfortunately lowers platelets. Using my naturopathic training, I recommended astragalus, an herb that has helped keep his platelet levels in the safe range, allowing him to continue the only medication out of many, many that he has tried that is truly helping him. Second, a patient I was supporting for digestive issues had undergone a CT scan. While reviewing the report, I noticed a note about an
aortic aneurysm, a life-threatening dilation of the largest artery in the body. When I asked her her other doctors had mentioned this, she said no. I urged her to see a cardiologist immediately. That led to a life-saving surgery. These cases illustrate how naturopathic doctors take a whole person approach and can catch critical issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. Licensing naturopathic doctors in Arkansas is not about just giving people access to more
healthcare options, it's consumer protection. Right now, without regulations, there's no way for Arkansans to distinguish between people like me who have had a rigorous naturopathic medical education or someone with little formal training. Many people are seeking natural solutions, often without expert guidance. For example, I frequently see people who are asking about getting off drugs like omeprazole, also known as Prilosec, because they've read the studies
showing that long-term use is linked to dementia. So I use my expertise, and instead of just suppressing symptoms, I help them transition safely using natural options like marshmallow root to soothe their symptoms while addressing underlying causes. Nearly half the states already licensed naturopathic doctors, recognizing the valuable role we can play in preventive and integrative care. Passing this bill will not only allow Arkansans to gain
safe and effective naturopathic care, but to ensure the public can distinguish between trained professionals and unregulated practitioners. Arkansans face significant health challenges, particularly chronic conditions. As a naturopathic doctor, I want to fully use my degree to serve the people of this state and address this growing health concern. I do read, spend a lot of time reading medical research for my job as in the dietary supplement company, and there are many
studies showing that when people are choosing certain natural modalities, that it can reduce the number of doctor visits they need or the amount of medication they need to take. So there are numerous studies showing that there can be a cost-benefit to our type of medicine and especially to a preventive care approach. Naturopathic doctors are uniquely positioned to help because we spend one-on-one time with clients teaching them to improve their nutrition, lifestyle, and
overall health. This is particularly important to me because the root of the word doctor means teacher. And I want the right to use the term doctor for my profession because I want to teach Arkansans how to live healthier and be healthier. I ask you to support for your support in this bill so naturopathic doctors can legally practice and help improve health care in Arkansas. Thank you for your time. I'm happy to answer any questions.
Speaker 30
1:01:05
All right, any questions for the witness? See you, none. Thank
you for your testimony. Members, I'm reminded that DHS was requested to come to the table, so at this point I'll bring DHS to the table for the member to ask those questions. Representative Ennett, you'll be recognized after they introduce theirself for the record. Wasn't you the one wanting them? Mary. Mary, okay. I've got
my question. Okay, so you're good? Yep. Representative Richardson, did you need them there? We're on time.
All right, never mind. We'll go to the next witness.
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
1:01:57
Claire, Ms. Claire Liff, we'll let you fix that last name for us. My name is Claire Liff, and I'm a physician in Arkansas. I graduated from UAMS in 1998.
I just want to say one or two points. One is, as a physician, I wholly am ecstatically excited about having homeopathic and physicians come to the state of Arkansas and be licensed. What I have seen has been a problem has been that too many people have claimed to be naturopathic physicians,
and they're not trained like these ladies have presented, that they have been trained. And it's just like a medical doctor. You don't want to go to a medical doctor who has not been through all the credentials they need to go through. to become a medical doctor. You want to be sure as a citizen of the state that you're going to someone who's actually credentialed in their field.
And that's my main point. So I'm totally for this.
Bill. Representative Ferguson, you recognize. Ma'am. One quick
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
1:03:25
question. Ma'am, are you a primary care physician, or what's your specialty? I specialized in psychiatry. Okay,
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
1:03:33
thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Speaker 239
1:03:43
Staris Beavers. I'm going to let y'all just vote on it. I just want to tell you that I am for this, and
Speaker 240
1:03:52
I have a personal story, but the time constraints. If you have any questions, you can ask. Thank
you, ma'am. All right, members, anyone else in the audience speak for or against the bill? Representative Long and Senator Penzo, you recognize, close for your
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
1:04:11
bill. We'll make this quick. I can read the room here. So I just want to touch on the board stuff.
We tried to create an onboard for
the naturopathic physicians. Medical society did not want us to do that. The members didn't want us to do that. They wanted us to consolidate boards. We tried to put it under the medical board. They didn't want us to put it under the medical board because they don't want naturopathic physicians to be in Arkansas. So we came up with the solution to put it with the acupuncture board. It's not a perfect scenario, but it was also offered to put it with the chiropractic board.
Half the chiropractors wanted us to do it, half of them didn't. So I didn't want to start a fight with the chiropractors. So here we are. The acupuncturists are kind of in the same world, and they were very happy to allow us to merge because the senators did not want a new board created. Like I said, this will increase access to care for Arkansans. I just hope that, you know, The political environment doesn't stop us from giving access to alternative medicine in Arkansas.
I think we need chiropractic. We need osteopathic. We need allopathic. We need naturopathic. We need holistic health care in this state. And I would, unless Long's got something quick to say, I would ask for a good vote. I
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
1:05:47
do have something quick to say. And basically, the reason I was excited to try to help and co-sponsor this bill was quite a few years ago, I came down with what is kind of like an Arkansas version of Lyme disease. I sought help from normal-type doctors.
They helped me with the acute part of the problem. I was on antibiotics for quite some time. But the chronic part, I just couldn't get that taken care of. I ended up going out of state to a physician such as this lady that could help with that. As far as savings, you know, I did pay all that out of pocket because insurance wasn't going to pay for it. But my friends and family were telling me, it's like, just give up and go on disability. And I was determined not to. I paid the money, went out of state many, many times, and was able to get help, long-term help.
There's a cost savings for me not going on disability. I'm still working, still paying taxes. There's a cost savings to the insurance business because basically it got healed. And I think a lot of that was because these type of doctors spend a lot of time with you. It's not in and out in five minutes type deal. You know, they'll spend an hour or two with you if you need to. And I think one of the philosophers said that if you listen to the patient, they'll tell you what's wrong with them. They take the time to listen, and they helped me tremendously.
And I'd like to see other people in Arkansas not have to travel out of state, spend the night, all those type of things to try to get the help that they need for chronic illnesses. Because chronic illnesses are really the ones that are probably the most costly to our country. Thank you. Oh, and I make a motion to do pass. I was just going to ask you
if you're going to do that. That's a proper motion. Any discussion on the motion? Everybody don't run at once. Representative Bentley. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Committee.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:07:43
I could not more wholeheartedly approve this or say yes on this bill. Our state is 48th in the nation. We have a massive expansion of chronic illness across the state. There's one way that we can fix it. I know our new Secretary of Health is very much in support of what we're doing here with this naturopathic medicine. Arkansans deserve it. We have people leaving the state to see these doctors. We have people that are practicing that we don't know who they are. This is a bill to fix all of that, and I wholeheartedly support this bill. I hope you'll join me to help Arkansas get off of 48th and move higher into health care. Thanks. Representative McGee, you recognize.
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:08:15
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I still have some
concerns with this. I've learned a lot this morning about naturopathic medicine and have a greater appreciation for what they may be able to to provide to patients. But you have to understand in other states where there's nothing in the law now that keeps infraction. If I'm a physician, I want to hire one to work in my office. If I have a cancer treatment center and I value their services. There's nothing that would prevent me from hiring one to work in my office under my supervision and with me paying them for their services. And that's how these work in a
lot of the other states. They're hired by other facilities. I think this bill, by creating a board and calling them a naturopathic physician and calling them a doctor, maybe that's okay by their education, but I think that can lead to patient confusion. And, you know, we're not, you know, you talk about people with chronic illnesses. There may be a lot they can do for some people, but those patients can easily be misled or go down the wrong path.
I don't believe that they have the training that a physician or a medical doctor, allopathic physician or an osteopathic physician has to recognize chronic disease, to treat chronic disease. What are they going to do with somebody that's come in and having a heart issue or other issues that really do need something? So I think it could lead to delay in diagnosis. I worry about the cost. Not a lot was said about the fiscal impact, but I've never seen anything in medicine where when you expand services
that it decreases the overall cost to everyone involved. So there's still a lot of questions in my mind about the entire bill and how it's set up, and I'm just going to, respectfully, I'm going to have to be a no on this bill at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Johnson, do you have a discussion? Yeah, I don't know that I can
add much to that. I agree with everything Dr. McGee said. And, you know, I have the utmost respect for natural paths and
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
1:10:32
what they do. I just have concerns around how this bill is constructed.
And for those reasons, I'll be voting no. Thank you. Any
further discussion from the committee? Seeing none, all those in favor
say aye. Aye. All opposed? No. I'm going to rule the no's habit. I see two hands, so we'll call the roll. Ms. Davis, if you would, call the roll.
Speaker 248
1:11:09
Representative Henley? No. Representative Henley? No. Representative Barnes? Yes. Representative Barnes? Yes. Representative Gramley? Representative Gramley? Yes. Representative Gramlich, yes. Representative Rose? Yes. Representative Rose? Yes. Representative Moore?
No. Representative Moore? No. Representative Schultz? No. Representative Schultz? No. Representative Schultz? No. Representative Long? Yes. Representative Long? Yes. - Representative Long? - Yes. - Representative Long? Yes. Representative Ennett? - No. - Representative Ennett? No. Representative Richardson? - No. - Representative Richardson?
No. Representative Cooper? Representative Cooper? Representative Johnson? - No. - Representative Johnson? No. Representative Perry, Representative Perry, Representative Pilkington, Representative Pilkington, yes.
Representative Allen, Representative Allen, yes. Representative Ferguson, Representative Ferguson, yes. Representative Bentley? Yes. Representative Bentley? Yes. Representative Ladyman? Yes. Representative Ladyman? Yes. Representative McGee? No. Representative McGee? No. Representative McGee? No. Representative Wardridge? No. Representative Wardridge? No.
Representative Wardlow? No. Representative Wardlow? No. Representative Wardlow?
No. With nine votes, it fell short of the 11 needed to pass. So, members, we're going to move on to Senator Letting. Before we come back, Senator Penzo, who will be here for the remainder of
the meeting. Representative Letting, I think you're going to run Senate Bill 354 first?
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:13:50
534, yes, sir. 34, I'm sorry. That's so many numbers here on this thing. You're recognized. Greg Letting, former state representative Ford, former two-term member of House Public Health, House District 92. Committee, good morning. I appreciate Representative Eubanks for letting me get one last good kick in the teeth here. This issue was brought to Representative Eubanks, my House sponsor, on this bill.
some years ago by Republican State Senator Kurt Bramble out in Utah. We got to know him through our work in NCSL. He helped pass this bill out there. So we've been talking about doing this here in Arkansas for about the last four years. In 2023, Senator Justin Boyd, who was one of 24 senators to vote for this bill, ran an interim study. And we are here now with Senate Bill 534 to legalize kratom. Because I know that's a question on all your minds, kratom is the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa. It is an evergreen tree, a cedar native to Southeast Asia. Its leaves have been used to relieve pain.
Pick up a collection so we can get y'all some better mics. Did you miss the memo?
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:15:05
Do not touch or spit on the mic. I did not. Okay. I'll kind of speak to the side a little bit. So the sleeves have been used for hundreds of years to help relieve pain. In 2015, under the Obama administration, the FDA told a handful of states that it was going to schedule kratom as a narcotic, and the states could get ahead of the curve if they went on ahead and took action. So our Department of Health held a seven-hour public comment window before taking action on this substance. In 2016, still under the Obama administration,
the FDA moved forward with its plan to schedule this, but pulled back immediately in the face of intense public opposition. Hundreds of thousands of people wrote letters to the White House. Of the members of the U.S. House that opposed the FDA's plan, a majority of them were Republicans. Among the U.S. Senators who opposed the FDA's plan was Republican Senator Orrin Hatch. And I will note that even the DEA at the time rejected the FDA's plan. Trump's first term, the FDA reversed course and completely withdrew its plan to schedule
Kratom. So we were given that advice in 2015 under one administration. That administration backed off its plan, even though we were one of just six states to move forward, and the FDA completely withdrew its plan. Only six states currently ban Kratom. Among those, five are currently considering repealing that ban. Fourteen states, I'm sorry, yeah, fourteen states have currently passed legislation in front of you. Florida, South Dakota, and West Virginia, and just
three weeks ago, our neighbors to the north in Missouri. It's interesting
what you're doing to that poor microphone. Yeah, I'm doing my best
not to touch anything here. And so that's where we are. We just feel that Arkansas was given some bad advice back in 2015, and we're just trying to correct
that mistake. Any questions for committee? Representative
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
1:17:02
Long. Please be careful. I appreciate you bringing this bill. I've got a
friend that lives up in northern Arkansas and had tried medical marijuana for chronic pain, didn't help. Ended up trying to create them. It worked great. Unfortunately for her, in Arkansas it's illegal to use it. So this lady, once a week, or I guess probably once a month or whatever, when she needs it, she goes to Missouri, buys it, and when she crosses that state line, I believe she becomes a felon. Is that correct? That's correct. And you shouldn't be that way. If you've got something that helps you and people aren't dying all over the country
in these states that have made it legal, I'd say that we've erred on the side of liberty rather than let people try it. If we have a problem, we can always come back and re-regulate it, but I don't foresee a problem. Only housing is an amazing help for this lady. Thank you. Any
other questions, committee? Seeing none, we do have some people signed up to speak against the bill. Really?
We do. We have a Kevin Claghorn speak against the bill.
If I messed your last name up, I apologize. I'm just a
Kevin Cleghorn
Unverified
1:18:12
dirt farmer. I'm sorry. No, sir, you did quite well. So, Kevin Claghorn, I am the Selene County Coroner and president of the Arkansas Coroners Association. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman and committee, for allowing me to speak today. History tends to repeat itself, And we are here to speak against Kratom being legalized. We are the ones that's boots on the ground in all of the residents and all of the deaths and investigating the medical legal side of these deaths.
We are seeing Kratom being taken out of these residences. You know, when I say history tends to repeat itself, heroin was designed as a medicinal purpose. Methadone, once it began to be, heroin was abused, methadone was created to help people get off of the heroin as a relief. Methadone now is one of the largest over-abused drugs. So we created Suboxone Clinics, now Suboxone.
So what I'm asking is to look at Kratom very closely. In small doses, it mimics methamphetamine. In large doses, it mimics an opioid. It is not created from the opioid plant. So therefore, general toxicologies for years did not handle it, could not detect that. Now our state crime lab and the very others, and they're here to testify on this as well. This is a general drug that is now tested nationally as a drug causing deaths or resulting in deaths.
So just as recent as two or three weeks ago, we took Kratom out of the hands of a 25-year-old. These are synergistic with so many other opioids that we take. And the reality of this, like fentanyl, heroin, morphines, and things, Narcan, the naloxone program that we have in Arkansas, these drugs are reacting to Narcan. Kratom will not. So all we are asking is that this committee take into consideration
and not put another drug on the streets legalized that can be used by itself or in a poly-drug overdose. We are tired of taking drugs, drug addicts, or not necessarily even addicts, but anyone who accidentally overdoses on drugs. And that's the majority of our deaths. They're not doing it to kill themselves. They're doing it to get the high. Sir, will you take questions? Are there any questions from
the committee? Seeing none, thank you for your testimony.
I think the health department signed up to speak against the bill. Don't neither one of y'all look like Matt Gilmore, and that's the name I got on the
Speaker 276
1:21:12
list, but I'm going to let you go with it. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members of the committee, I'm Laura
Speaker 278
1:21:17
Hsu. I'm general counsel for the Department of Health. Shane David, pharmacist, branch chief, health systems licensing and certification
Speaker 276
1:21:22
for the Department of Health. And first, we just wanted to respond to the sponsor's comment that we were given bad advice.
That is not accurate. We have revisited this issue four times in the past six years, and each time we have performed the legally required eight-factor analysis on this drug. And we have come to the same conclusion each time to maintain the status quo. We have asked you all to vote against this bill. I'm authorized to state that the governor's office is against this bill. As you know, the Department of Health administers in Title V the Controlled Substances Act, and we add and delete substances off of the substance list. This bill provides
that the Department of Agriculture will enforce these provisions. We just wanted to note some of the technical problems with this bill. On page four, the definitions have technical errors because the term processor and retailer overlap. Both include selling and distributing, so we're not sure how that's going to work. On pages 4 through 5, the bill purports to have prohibitions for processors. Are these Arkansas processors? How is the Department of Agriculture going to enforce these provisions against out-of-state or out-of-the-country processors? How does the Department
of Ag enforce internet sales? The age limits for processors or retailers for under 18, and how is this going to be enforced? This provides for a $500 fine on page 6 for a billion-dollar industry. just a drop in the bucket to them. On page six, their violations include the fines for the processors. What happens if they don't pay the fine? Retailers do not violate if there's a preponderance of evidence, which is the lowest standard of proof. If there's a good faith reliance on the representations of the processor, what is good faith? What is a representation?
Is a showing of willful ignorance going to be required to prove that a retailer knew that it did not meet the appropriate standards. Who enforces against the retailers? Is the Department of Ag going to be required to go into all these retail shops? I'm going to hand over the rest of our testimony to Shane David. He's got about 20 years of experience as a licensed pharmacist and I hope you listen to what he has to
Speaker 278
1:23:33
say. Thank you. Well thank you committee and Mr. Chairman for the opportunity to speak here today. First
Speaker 281
1:23:39
off the substances that are regulated in
kratom are mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine. Those products are linked together in that mitragynine is actually a metabolite in the human body that converts into 7-hydroxy mitragynine. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine both interact with opiate receptors as partial agonists to the mu opiate receptor. The FDA does not authorize these products as a dietary supplement, food additive or in conventional food, which is also noted in your bill. The reports indicated for
this by the DEA is it still listed as a chemical or drug of concern, even though it is not federally scheduled. The indications for specific issues with growing these products is that there are tendencies to have outbreaks with salmonella. There's been reported outbreaks of salmonella, also with heavy metals. Typically, if these products are grown in Southeast Asia, these products have high volcanic soil content laced with heavy metals. The specific bill identifies a specific USP-467 U.S. pharmacopoeia standard that indicates for solvents. There's no regulation
or opportunity to notate mycotoxins, bacterium, or even a robust kratom or mitragynine profile. There has been a significant shift in the industry over the last year into products that have a higher amount or elevated amounts of 7-hydroxymitragynine, which is a potent interactant with the opiate receptor with a higher affinity in vitro than morphine. These products that are utilized are now being marketed and sold with these elevated concentrations,
specifically, in some instances, marketed it that has the appearance of rock crystals, candy, gummies, and that sort of thing that's clearly attempting to market it to younger people. The concerns with 7-hydroxymitragynine has a larger opiate profile with higher incidence of withdrawal symptoms. There's also subsets of these products that are being converted as well to another metabolite, Mitrogynine-pseudoindoxil, which is also a very potent mu-opioid receptor, which also interacts with the mu-opioid receptors.
So I would also indicate that there's also a significant interaction profile with these products. Into the cytochrome P450 enzyme systems in the body, these interactions can result in alterations in levels of specific medications that individuals may take or may alter the levels of the other products that are being taken. and has potential synergistic effects with other controlled substances potentially. And if these individuals in the subset of the population are using this for opiate withdrawal or opioid pain,
then the concern would also be that this would have any kind of additive effect with any other controlled substances being taken. I would also point out that if removal of these products from the list would be difficult to curtail online sales, especially these more adulterated compounds, creating concerns from a standpoint of a higher potential for abuse. And lastly, the bill also addresses labeling as far as servings and dosing.
The other concern is that it's not referencing a robust chemical profile for drug interaction potential. There have been case reports in individuals and pregnant women who have taken Kratom that have shown, infants have shown signs of neonatal abstinence syndrome. So there's no warning or contraindications noted on the bill and for that I'll wrap
Speaker 282
1:27:32
that up to be brief and be happy to answer any questions. Representative Gramlich?
That's a proper motion. Call the question members just for an explanation is
basically an immediate consideration remark. It's a proper motion, non-debated. All those in favor say aye. All opposed? Ayes have it. What's
your question? I want a motion. Do not pass. That is a proper motion. Don't hear it very often.
That's a motion of do not pass. If we had discussion on a motion, you're recognized. I
Speaker 284
1:28:04
have some discussion. When you enter in Oklahoma from Fort Smith, one of the first things you see is a crate of dispensaries. Please don't touch the mic, please. We have enough problems. Our crate of dispensaries, every vape shop, they sell crate of CBD, all this stuff.
I know right across from one of our high schools in town, they were trying to put a vape shop in. I know across the street, as soon as this bill passes, they're going to be selling Kratom out of that. I'm going to have 18-year-olds going across the street during lunch, picking up Kratom, going back to school, and doing it in school. A few years ago, I had a 7th grader in my school doing Kratom in the bathroom, and then he tried to sell it throughout my school. I'm not going to do anything to make
this any easier for my kids to get access to. And so
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
1:28:43
with that, I appreciate a good vote. Any other? Representative Pilkington. Yes. Well, I took the opposite opinion. I don't think we need to do this motion, and I'm against this motion, because I think in reality we've criminalized Kratom.
I mean, we've heard stories during the interim about people who were getting arrested and thrown in jail because they had Kratom on them when passing through the state. And I think we have an issue with, you know, over-incarceration. And my worry is that we're just basically something that is illegal in other states. We've decided to make it illegal in Arkansas, and it's actually created an undue burden on our law enforcement. And I think there's no reason why we shouldn't allow this. I think it's something that people use to help treat chronic conditions, and I'm against the motion because I think this is something we should do
to make our laws clearer for us and surrounding states. So clearly by the testimony by Representative Gramlich, it's already in the schools. So it's not like by doing this it's going to somehow not already be in schools because it's already there. So I appreciate a no vote on the motion. Any other
discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of the motion, do not pass. Say aye. Aye. All those opposed? No. Eyes have it. Bill is filled. Members, for the record, once that motion passes, the bill doesn't get a second bite at the apple.
It is gone. That is a
Speaker 287
1:29:59
way to kill a bill. Representative Letting, you have a
second Senate bill. Members, let's keep the order. Senate bill 507. Good morning, members.
Speaker 288
1:30:19
Keith Brooks, House of Representatives, District 78. And with
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
1:30:22
your permission, Mr. Chair, I'd like to bring Mr. Ron Cook to the table as well.
If all the witnesses would introduce yourself for a record, even Senator Letting, even though we just got done with him, and then we'll
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:30:38
get started. State Senator Greg Letting, thank you,
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
1:30:41
committee. May I have another? And I'll do my best to not screw
Speaker 291
1:30:46
up the microphone like he did last time. Ron Cook from Maumelle, native of Searcy. Thank
you. Members, if you would hold on one second, there's a financial impact being passed out, and then we'll get started.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:31:06
Representative Bentley, I recognize you. Chairman, I get a motion to limit debate on artless bill for 15 minutes due to our restricted time. is that an inclusive motion for the
day yes for the for each bill for us today okay members last time we did this uh i allowed the sponsors for closing outside of the 15 minutes is that still permissible on your motion representative so members she's made a motion to limit all bills today to 15 minutes closing will not be counted in the 15 minutes all those in favor say aye
All opposed? Ayes have it. All right. Representative Brooks, you're
recognized. You have 15 minutes for you and your witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, committee. This is my first
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
1:31:57
time to ever appear in public health, so I appreciate the latitude to talk about this, and most of the time it's going to be spent with Senator Letting and Mr. Cook discussing this bill, but I just wanted to open up and give you a little bit of context. So you may or may not be familiar with a lot of the different therapy programs that are
out there for children with disabilities. There's a number of things that are very prevalent. There's a therapy called floor time therapy developed by a gentleman named Dr. Stanley Greenspan, who I met many years ago in his living room in Washington, D.C. There's other therapies that are effective for kids and adults with developmental challenges, particularly autism. The one we're here to talk about today is ABA therapy. ABA therapy is known as applied behavior analysis, and just to give a brief definition, it's a scientific approach that uses principles of learning and behavior to help individuals learn new skills and improve behaviors that are socially important, particularly for those with autism and other developmental disorders.
So when we talk about what the gold standard of therapy is for individuals with autism, you generally think about children because that's where hopefully it's identified early so that kids can be helped. However, as people move through the spectrum and move through challenges throughout their life, ABA therapy is not just important, but it's quite frankly vital to the needs of the developing young adults and adults so that they can ultimately live independently. And that's what Senate Bill 507 does. Senate Bill 507 continues our commitment as a state. And I realize as you read that green sheet that the knives are out for this.
However, I think it's important that we have a very strong discussion about the importance of what the opportunity is to prevent additional costs as a child moves into adulthood and as an adult moves into independence and the importance of a therapy such as applied behavioral analysis. With that, I'll turn it over to Senator Letting. Thank you, Representative
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:33:40
Brooks, and thank you, Committee. Mr. Cook first approached me maybe close to two years now. He is a constituent of Senator English, who is a co-sponsor on this bill. His son is a constituent of mine back in Fayetteville. His son has a diagnosis of autism and was receiving ABA therapy,
but when he turned 21, he was told that Medicaid would no longer cover those services. And you've heard how important they are from Representative Brooks. Forty-two states have no such age restriction. We feel it's somewhat arbitrary. And so that's what Senate Bill 507 would do. It would remove that age restriction. I will note, although Mr. Cook will be able to go into far more detail, ABA therapy for children, which we do currently cover, is far more intensive and it's far more regulated. There's a lot more flexibility when it comes to adults. They don't necessarily need the intense therapy that children do. And there are a lot more mechanisms that DHS can use to put guardrails on this to further limit costs.
I do know we've got some financial estimates that look a little bit scary. With all love and respect to our friends over at DHS, we filed this bill on March 18th. We ran it in committee the first time on April 2nd. That was the first day that we saw numbers. And they did acknowledge that in committee, that none of us had seen those numbers. And then Senate Public Health didn't seem to be too concerned. We passed that out of the committee. We got it off the Senate floor. We're down here today. Just last night, we got some updated numbers that simply seem much too high. We think that they are calculating them using some maximum considerations in order to
make it easier to vote against this bill. But we do think that this bill, while there will be a cost, it's more of an investment. There are going to be potentially downstream savings. You're going to have fewer ER visits, fewer emergency responder calls. And so we do feel this is an investment worth making. And with that, I'll turn it over
Speaker 288
1:35:19
to Mr. Cook. And I'll make one statement prior to
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
1:35:21
Mr. Cook. So oftentimes when we see an individual come before us who has a story to tell, we're somewhat divorced from that story from a personal standpoint. I will let you know that I've known Mr. Cook for the majority of my life,
and I have actually seen his son, and I've seen the benefits that John McKenzie has had as a result of this type of therapy, and it has been life-changing for him. So know that this is not just a story that happens in a silo. this is an individual that I have witnessed, watch, grow up, and benefit from
Speaker 299
1:35:55
this. So that one, Mr. Cuckham. I appreciate the committee giving me the opportunity to speak for a few minutes about Senate Bill 507, Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy, and its importance to adults with autism here in Arkansas
who currently don't have access to that therapy. I appreciate Representative Brooks mentioning my son, who is, you know, obviously an inspiration, like a handful of other Arkansas adults with autism, behind 507. John is named after my grandfather, his great-grandfather, who is a rice and soybean farmer in Cross County. Our family have long roots here, deep roots in Arkansas.
Got a lot of family in northeast Arkansas. I was born and raised in Searcy, and a lot of family in White County. John lives in Fayetteville now, and so this is important to me, and I think it's important to a small group of families and adults with autism here in Arkansas. I want to tell you just a briefly committee about my son. I'd like then to elaborate on what I think this will mean for Arkansas, if you'll allow me, and then I'll turn it back over to Representative Brooks and Senator Letting.
My son is about to turn 24, and he lives in Fayetteville. And first, he likes to make money. And so he has been able to hold a part-time job. We're approaching five, I think we're at five and a half years that he's held a part-time job at one of the Chick-fil-A's. He's down at the Chick-fil-A at Razorback Road. If you go to Razorback Game, go by the Chick-fil-A, You might see John, and he might help you out at the table.
He has learned the value of hard work, but not without supports and the intervention of therapy. John has been able to develop and grow and mature as a result of ABA therapy to the point that he's able to take part-time classes at Northwest Arkansas Community College. And he would be excited to tell you that he's going to be enrolled at the University of Arkansas Again, he's a part-time student with supports this fall. The most important thing to him is he's going to be a Razorback.
And so none of this would be possible. These good things that I've described for you about John and other adults with autism like him without ABA therapy being involved. He has struggled. Behaviors that come with autism are a struggle. but they can be mitigated and skills can be developed through ABA therapy. Now if you and I were to go to see a counselor and I'm not a counselor I'm just speaking as a lay person I
understand that a lot of the therapy that we might might help us is often broadly called cognitive based therapy but if you're a person like my son who has a cognitive disability traditional forms of therapy, or most common forms of therapy, won't be real effective. ABA therapy has been effective for persons with autism around the nation because it focuses on behaviors and it connects with them. It's been effective for John. Unfortunately, the challenge that Senate Bill 507 tries to overcome is that since John turned 21, he can't access that therapy anymore. Arkansas
Medicaid currently prohibits it. The passes arguably might want to cover it, but they're not allowed to under the current constraints of Arkansas Medicaid. Senate Bill 507 really simply says we're going to lift that age restriction. We're going to allow the standard practices of medical necessity, of prior authorizations, we're going to let that take care of who gets to receive the therapy and who does not. But it's not going to be arbitrarily limited anymore
based on age, and that's what Senate Bill 507 does. If you'll allow me a couple of comments, and then I'll turn it back over to the bill's sponsors. I want to argue from my own experience that this therapy is going to realize downstream cost savings. You're going to see, as the Senator said, and as we've experienced, fewer emergency responder visits, fewer rides to the ER in an ambulance, fewer ER visits, fewer acute care
stays are all possibilities when you allow ABA therapy. Now the services I just listed come at a premium. ABA services don't even compare to the cost of the premium services I just listed. So there will be arguably downstream savings by implementing this as well. And I want to mention just a couple more things. Senate Bill 507 was designed with costs in mind. That's why it's
specific, narrow, and tailored to a very specific population group. Let me emphasize something. For children who receive ABA therapy under the age of 21, those therapies are regulated by federal rules that are different than for over age of 21. EPSDT in particular is very wide and expansive, and it's hard to limit
the cost of ABA services for adolescents and children. Not so with Senate Bill 507. So I hope that you will um hear from your colleagues um you'll take consideration of the fact that um the senate has already overwhelmingly passed this out of their committee and out of the house floor and i hope that you will support uh these services for a small group of adults in arkansas with autism
thank you all right members any questions representative bentley uh time on the clock is four minutes and i do know we have some people signed up to speak
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:42:16
so i'll be i'll be quick i just i'll have dhs to the table real quick to get some
Speaker 302
1:42:32
of these answers thank you good morning melissa weatherton director of medicaid specialty population divisions
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:42:38
Thank you for being with us today. We all want to help this population to get the therapy they need, so can you briefly speak to the costs that are listed here and kind of give us a feedback just real quick on what the costs are and what you see. I know I was just reading your explanation here that it cannot be narrowly defined as
Speaker 305
1:43:00
they would like it to, so can you go over that just real quickly, please? Yes, ma'am. And thank you for the opportunity to talk about the differences in the fiscal impacts. So as Senator Lighting said, yes, it was extremely unfortunate that we had to talk numbers at the table
without the committee seeing the fiscal impact at the Senate side of the House. Senator Lighting was very gracious, and I appreciate that. That number on that fiscal impact was, at the time, a ranged fiscal that could go up possibly to $75 million. That fiscal impact was based on the number of adults currently on the Community Employment Support Waiver, which is referred to as the DD waiver, with a diagnosis of autism.
We took that number, which is like 1,470, and multiplied it times what we spend for ABA for a child, because that's the only baseline we have, right? This is unknown land to us. So that is the number we multiplied. However, at that committee meeting, Senator Payton asked me a question about was I sure that it was being narrowed, and I looked at the bill and said, yeah, we're just doing adults on the CES waiver, and over the past couple of days, the more we have thought this
through, this is a 1915C waiver. There are six ways you qualify for this waiver, six different qualifying diagnoses, and when you put a service in that waiver, if you're on the waiver, you qualify for the service. I cannot restrict the service. I cannot say 21 and up only. I can't say for autism only. So right now, to be on that waiver, you can have epilepsy, Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or just a general intellectual disability diagnosis. It's got over 8,000 clients
on that waiver. This means if I go in to put ABA inside that program, it will be available to every single person on that waiver, which is over 8,000 people, for every single diagnosis. That's how a 1915C waiver operates. That is why last night we re-ran the fiscal impact because we realized we had made a mistake on how we were doing that impact. So we are here today to oppose. For those of
you who know me, I was DD Director for nine years. The last thing I want to do is sit at this table and oppose a service for clients with intellectual disability. But we do not have this in our budget. One minute warning. We
have any questions for the department. Seeing none, Representative Brooks, anyone else in the audience speak for or against the bill? Seeing none, you
guys are recognized and closed for your bill.
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:45:59
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just one thing I want to point out, when we did get that first fiscal impact, I know we just heard the $75 million figure, but that was the total cost. The state share was a range of as low as $3 million to about $23 million. Again, we do agree there could be some cost. We really do see it as investment, and it could lead to downstream savings. The only other thing I'd say about this is that it is my understanding that a lot of these adults with autism are already receiving services through the CES waiver. You can't double bill, obviously, so we're really just talking about the difference in however extra the ABA therapy might cost compared to those they are already receiving.
You have a lot of microphone problems. I
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
1:46:38
talk with my hands. I'm a vibrant personality. Representative Brooks. Thank you, Senator, and again, thank you, committee. Obviously, again, it's pretty clear where this is going, but I just want to verbalize my commitment. My commitment is to the young men and women, and frankly, they may be age 21 or over, but oftentimes, from a developmental standpoint, they're much younger than that. And the goal here is, for the long term, for us to keep our commitment that we've always kept to the kids in the state of Arkansas and to individuals in the state of Arkansas,
that we will support you, especially those who may be the least of these and need our help. And so even if this doesn't go the way that we would like today, my commitment to the public and to this legislature is that we're going to keep biting at this apple until we get this accomplished, because it is that important for these kids. And I would certainly wholeheartedly agree with my colleague here that our downstream savings years from now would far outweigh the perceived cost that we may see there. And just one last thing, Mr. Chair and committee, we
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:47:31
do believe this is the right thing to do. We believe it's an investment worth making.
Speaker 263
1:47:36
It's also my birthday and my little girl's in
the room. So, you know, and with that. I did notice that, but a guy that understands how he lives and breathes would have noticed that his
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
1:47:47
wife. Yes, my wife is also here in the room with me. They drove down last night to surprise me. It was a wonderful surprise.
The only thing that makes all of us great in this room is that our spouses are at home keeping our houses
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
1:47:59
going. That's fair. Mr. Chair, would you allow Mr. Cook to have one final word? I
cannot do that in closing. I'm sorry. I would, but the rules don't allow.
We are closed for Bill, and we'd appreciate a motion due pass. I
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
1:48:16
have a motion due pass. Any discussion on the motion? Representative in it. Real brief.
I, too, have a son that have autism, and ABA therapy has been transformative for him. We got him on ABA therapy around 5, and we just got him back on ABA therapy at 16, and he will probably be the one that would need ABA therapy throughout his life So I am in full support of this bill, and I hope that my committee members will vote yes on this.
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
1:48:42
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee. I, too, agree. I've seen this therapy in action. I think that it's a wonderful cause. It's transformative for the lives of folks. I've worked with Mr. Cook, and I'm sympathetic to why you're here, why you're doing this. I admire what you're doing on behalf of your son. There's no link that I wouldn't go to for my children as well. So thank you for working so hard for this. I'm afraid that we're so late in the session with the impact just now coming out.
I think that it does cause us to have to think differently about what we do with this bill going forward. I'm not sure what the vote will be. What I would like to ask for the bill sponsors to consider or do is to, if this doesn't pass, put in an interim study where we can really work on this through the interim and find a way that is a long-lasting solution. And, you know, I think it's more important that we get this right as opposed to get it right now. And I want to make sure that for your son and for every other person in the state of Arkansas that's facing challenges like this, that we do get this right.
And we work with DHS and our other partners to make sure that we're providing options for these Arkansans. They're important and they deserve the best that we have to offer. So thank you for your work on this. Any further discussion
from committee? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All
opposed? No. I'm going to rule the no's have it. Your bill has failed. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, committee. Hi, Representative McGrew. You're recognized. Members, we've got three bills that are supposedly really quick bills,
non-controversial, so we'll run these three bills real quick before lunch. Representative McGrew, remember the rules. Do not touch the mic. You can hit the button, and that's it, please. Yes, sir. Thank you.
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:50:32
They are very sensitive. With your permission, I'm bringing the Department of Labor
to the table. And I'm Richard McGrew, District 85. I'm bringing you today... Please let the department introduce themselves real quick.
Dan Parker
Unverified
1:50:44
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Dan Parker, Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Labor and Licensing.
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:50:49
And we're bringing you today Senate Bill 627.
This is a bill brought to me from the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Code Enforcement Division. It's basically a cleanup bill. I'll let Mr. Parker explain it to
Dan Parker
Unverified
1:51:04
you. Thank you very much. We're always looking for ways to improve the licensing and regulation of our professions. This is for our electricians, our HVAC professionals, and boiler and safety. If you don't know, Representative McGrew is a master electrician, so I think it speaks volumes. One of our licensees is here to support the bill and sponsor it.
We also reached out to other members that work closely in this area with our office, Representative Cozart and Senator Josh Bryant over in the Senate, they are both signed on as sponsors in support of the bill. It was fully vetted in the Senate and received a 33-0 vote. Some of the improvements that we're going to be able to accomplish through the bill will be to, let me get my list out, we're going to eliminate a couple licenses that are covered by other licenses.
We're able to improve procedures for licensing apprentice electricians. We're also going to be able to improve procedures for the testing of boilers and elevators so that should reduce costs and also make sure that those get tested on a timely basis and every elevator and boiler in the state is operating safely. And then there's an education component where we were able to eliminate some of the education requirements without sacrificing quality, if you will.
The biggest beneficiary of that is the cities across the state. There are about 320 municipal electrical inspectors statewide, and they currently have to take 16 hours a year of continuing education. The eight-hour course that they take the very first day covers everything they need to know, so we're able to eliminate that other eight hours and save the state and the city's a lot of money. So with that, I'd appreciate support from the committee on this bill and happy to answer any questions.
Seeing no questions from the committee, does anyone in the audience speak for or against the bill? I take it you're
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
1:53:10
closed for your bill. Yes, sir. I'd just like to say as an electrician, I really took notice in this. It makes it better not only for the state, but also for the last thing. I also would add in there that in my career, it was on my trucks and in my marketing, I was the world's greatest electrician. So the world's greatest electrician supports this bill, and I appreciate a good vote. You may have just killed your own bill.
Representative Woolridge moves due pass. Any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? I may have to bring that out on the House floor. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Parker, for the record, we don't always
agree with the Senate, and obviously you hadn't
Dan Parker
Unverified
1:53:52
been paying attention this morning. Well, thank you, and I apologize. I forgot to mention that Representative Woldridge and Representative, I appreciate your
Chair
Unverified
1:53:59
support, Mr. Chair, and Representative Woldridge as well. Representative Kozark, let's go. 598, correct?
Representative Bruce Cozart
Unverified
1:54:05
Mr. Chair, I'd like to have you on your head with those, please. Yes, that's correct. Mr. Chair, Representative Bruce
Speaker 323
1:54:24
Kozart, District 91, and I'll let Rose introduce herself. Thank you. Kristen Rhodes, the Director of
Speaker 324
1:54:30
Reemployment for the Division of Workforce Services. So just real quickly, this is a cleanup bill for all of ADWS. Some of the high points for this one is it does realign our definition of employee-employee relationship with the IRS.
The IRS went to the 20 factor questions in 2013. We put it into law, I believe, in 15, and then the IRS quickly changed it. And we have not updated our law to match theirs. We also have a current rule to where if a claimant for unemployment is tied to work, they're not required to look for work for 10 weeks. This actually reduces that down to three weeks. And then we also have several sections of TANF to be removed from the Division of Workforce Services Law.
As in last session, it went over to a DHS. So those are the main points for this one, and we're happy to take any questions. I told
her to keep it short. Yes, sir. Seeing no questions from committee, anyone in the audience speak for or against
the bill? I take it you're closed for your bill. We're closed. I have a motion due to pass. Any discussion on motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Ayes have it. Senator Penzo, let's go. Congratulations, your bill passed. You got about 30 seconds.
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
1:55:48
Because you already got me one minute past
where I wanted to be. Thank you, committee. I had somebody fly in just to testify for this, so we'll make it very quick. If we get into too much debate, we can kick the debate until after. But thanks for accommodating. First, SB 311, Clint Penzo, Senate District 31. Mr. Chair, members
Speaker 330
1:56:17
of the committee, Senator, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here.
My name is Jackie Diehl. I've spent my career researching the Chinese Communist Party and its military buildup for the last two decades. I'm also on the advisory board of a nonprofit called State Armor that's been working for about the last 18 months to help states in the United States protect themselves and their citizens from Chinese Communist Party efforts to intervene in our country sub-nationally. Just a few days ago, some of you might have seen the Congressional National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology came out with a report.
This was a bipartisan commission led by members of Congress and senior experts on biotech. And their report warned of an impending eclipse of the United States and our research capacity and technology in the biology realm by the Chinese Communist Party. and they warned that this was very serious because if we get surpassed, if we're no longer in the lead in the biotechnology field, we may never be able to catch up. That was their conclusion
and they said that it's especially concerning because what we're seeing in the People's Republic of China is an effort to quote-unquote weaponize biotechnology. Over the last two decades where I've been researching the Chinese military, I've learned about the military's interest in biowarfare, which dates back to the Korean War, when Chinese propagandists and Russian propagandists falsely accused the United States of using bioweapons on the battlefield. In 2015, a Chinese colonel and professor at one of the Chinese military's senior command colleges wrote a book
accusing the U.S. of developing genetically modified bioweapons. In 2016, a Chinese general and the head of China's National Defense University published a book stating, and this is a very chilling quote, in the development of biotechnology today, the most lethal weapons are genetically engineered weapons designed to attack people based on their specific ethnic or racial background, causing specific races to become ill, such as suffering immune deficiency, loss of intelligence,
sterilization, or even death, while leaving other races unscathed. Accordingly, senior Chinese military officers write of the need to establish what they call biological dominance or biological deterrence, meaning that they must demonstrate the ability to weaponize advances in biotechnology using new genetic manipulation techniques such as CRISPR so that all other countries will fear the People's Republic of China. And if a war breaks out, for instance, over Taiwan or some
other flashpoint, the United States and other countries will be too intimidated to intervene. To achieve biological dominance, then, the Chinese Communist Party has sponsored the rise of a company called Beijing Genomics Institute, which makes genetic sequencing machines and performs sequencing services. This company is known to have been working with the Chinese military to study the genomes of fetuses and newborns. Since 2010, they've been sending out test kits to pregnant women, prenatal test kits in other countries like Europe, in countries in Europe.
They've also been known to be researching on genetic manipulation techniques to make super soldiers, for instance, to make soldiers resistant to altitude sickness. The Chinese Communist Party has subsidized the company, allowing it to underprice foreign competitors, and the idea is so that they can use their funds from the CCP to underprice competitors, drive them out of the market, and then dominate the market for sequencers and sequencing services, which allows them to connect clients' or patients' DNA and genetic
material. Though the concern, again, is that they are using this genetic material that they are collecting from all over the world to create tailored bioweapons that will hurt non-Chinese but spare Chinese people. And for this reason, at the federal level, the government, the U.S. government, has put the company and its affiliates or subsidiaries on no-go lists, procurement ban lists from the Commerce Department to the Defense Department. The company has also been implicated in the
genocide of the Uyghur population in Western China. So some of the sanctions are for moral or ethnic genocide reasons and others are for security reasons. But the problem is these designations don't prevent state and local institutions like hospitals in Arkansas from paying for BGI machines and services. So I think Arkansas has an opportunity to act here and take a leading role in protecting its people and their genetic material from a military connected hostile
foreign adversary company and I'm happy to answer any questions and thank you again
for the opportunity to testify. Any questions
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
2:01:21
from the committee? Representative Inet. Thank you. How many organ transplants in Arkansas are performed with organs sourced
Speaker 330
2:01:29
from China? That's a good question. Thank you for the question, ma'am. The other part of this bill addresses illegal organ transplants sourced from the People's Republic of China. I don't know the number from Arkansas
specifically, I have to imagine it's not a high number. I think the major effort in that part of the bill is to symbolically say we don't want to be part of any situation where prisoners, like people of faith or minorities, ethnic and religious minorities in China who are being persecuted from the Chinese Communist Party, we don't want to be complicit in the forcible extraction of their organs. And there are many documented cases of forced organ extraction in the People's Republic of China. I just don't know how frequently it happens in
Arkansas, but again, the idea
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
2:02:18
would be to say, we don't want to be part of that. Which
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
2:02:25
ethnicity is being targeted here in Arkansas? Well, there's two main victim populations that
Speaker 330
2:02:32
have been discussed in the literature. One is people from Western China, the Muslim Uyghur population, that is two successive of secretaries of state, both Secretary Blinken and Secretary Pompeo before him, if I'm not mistaken, said that there was a genocide against those people in China happening. Also, there is
the Falun Gong religious community. Those are people who believe in a particular faith in the People's Republic of China, and they are being persecuted for their religious belief because the Chinese Communist Party considers them a cult, and they've been put in prison. And at least one person who had a forcible organ extraction in prison there survived and somehow ended up leaving China and came and testified in the United States last year at a different hearing. So we can see
the scars. We know the stories. Medical professionals have documented that this is happening. The reason they know is because sometimes they'll have a patient and they'll try to coordinate care in the People's Republic of China, and they'll get a time for the transplant that is crazy quick. Like, obviously, you know, usually if you need a transplant, you have to get on a list. And depending on your eligibility and, you know, what criteria you meet, it can take weeks, months, years. Many people have been waiting for years. But in the People's Republic of China,
doctors are getting told, sure, we can take your patient. We'll match them up, you know, in a matter of days. And so that's not something that you would do unless you were registering prisoners, unfortunately, to make their organs available, which, I mean, unfortunately, often leads to their death. Any other questions from the
committee? Seeing none, anyone else in the audience speak for or against the bill?
Senator Penzo, you recognize clothes for your bill? Got anything else to close with? No, thank you very much for
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
2:04:33
your time and attention. Yeah, thanks for letting us get
this in. I just ask for a good vote. We have a motion to do pass.
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
2:04:44
Any discussion? Representative McGee, you're recognized for discussion. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I like this bill, and I'm going to vote for it. I encourage all of the members to vote for it. I have personal experience, not personal as a physician myself,
but a friend of mine who did corneal transplants, an ophthalmologist that specializes in corneal transplants, a number of years ago went to China to give a course. And they identified 13, of course this is secondhand because it's from my friend, they identified 13 people that needed corneal transplants in this clinic that he was staffing and instructing physicians there. Now, in the United States, he might identify 13 people he would put on a corneal transplant list,
and eventually they would get their corneal transplant. He made a comment, and they told him, don't worry about it, we'll have them here tomorrow. And he had 13 corneas the next day. Now, you don't get 13 corneas in one day unless you go get them from somebody. So that's real-life experience. So I encourage everyone
to vote for this. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for your indulgence. Any other discussion on
the motion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Ayes have it.
Congratulations, your bill is passed. Thank you, committee. Members, we'll stand in recess. Call of the chair. Thank you.
Agenda
CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1079 F. Allen TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR GENETIC TESTING FOR AN INHERITED GENE MUTATION FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS; AND TO MANDATE COVERAGE FOR EVIDENCE-BASED CANCER IMAGING FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.
HB1255 Wooldridge TO AMEND THE COVERAGE OF A CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM.
HB1429 M. Shepherd TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY WHILE ENSURING QUALITY FOR CERTAIN FACILITIES PERFORMING MAMMOGRAPHY SERVICES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE QUALITY STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITATION OF FACILITIES FOR MAMMOGRAPHY.
HB1679 M. Brown TO AMEND THE REVISED ARKANSAS ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT; TO ALLOW CERTAIN CLASSES OF PERSONS TO REVOKE OR AMEND AN ANATOMICAL GIFT UPON THE DEATH OF THE DONOR; AND TO REQUIRE CERTAIN REPORTING OF PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATIONS.
HB1734 Childress TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DEATH CERTIFICATES; AND TO CLARIFY THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WHO MAY SIGN A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE OF DEATH AND PRONOUNCE DEATH OF A PATIENT.
REGULAR AGENDA
Number Sponsor Subtitle
SB238 J. Payton TO AMEND THE USED TIRE RECYCLING AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.
SB473 Stone TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE ARKANSAS FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES BOARD; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ARKANSAS FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES BOARD TO ADVISE THE ARKANSAS FIRE TRAINING ACADEMY ON CERTAIN MATTERS.
SB117 C. Penzo TO CREATE THE NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIAN PRACTICE ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR LICENSURE OF NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIANS IN ARKANSAS; AND TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS STATE BOARD OF NATURAL MEDICINE.
SB444 K. Hammer TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT.
SB507 G. Leding TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO COVER APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS SERVICES FOR CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES.
SB554 C. Tucker TO CREATE THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM.
SB560 J. English TO DECREASE THE BASE CONTRIBUTION RATE; TO INCREASE THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSESSMENT RATE; TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE SKILLED WORKFORCE IN THIS STATE; AND TO AMEND THE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES TRAINING TRUST FUND.
SB120 C. Penzo TO REQUIRE LICENSURE FOR ALL PRIVATE CARE AGENCIES IN THIS STATE; AND TO ENSURE CONSUMER PROTECTION FOR VULNERABLE AGING ADULTS.
SB347 C. Penzo TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO INCREASE REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR CERTAIN DENTAL SERVICES AND TO SET AN ANNUAL REIMBURSEMENT CAP FOR ADULT DENTAL SERVICES.
SB534 G. Leding TO ESTABLISH THE ARKANSAS KRATOM CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT; AND TO REMOVE MITRAGYNINE AND 7-HYDROXYMITRAGYNINE, ALSO KNOWN AS KRATOM, FROM THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES LIST IN ARKANSAS.
SB576 B. Davis TO AMEND THE COVERAGE OF CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORS WITHIN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM.
SB601 Hester TO CREATE A PATHWAY FOR A GRADUATE OF A FOREIGN MEDICAL SCHOOL TO BE LICENSED IN THIS STATE IF HE OR SHE IS OFFERED FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT AS A PHYSICIAN FROM A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER.
SB2 C. Penzo TO REPEAL THE STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION PROGRAM; AND TO REMOVE THE MANDATE FOR WATER SYSTEMS TO MAINTAIN A FLUORIDE CONTENT.
SB121 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT TO PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.
SB122 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT TO PHYSICIANS.
SB217 C. Penzo TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO REQUEST A WAIVER TO EXCLUDE CANDY AND SOFT DRINKS FROM ELIGIBLE FOODS UNDER THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SB255 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "DRUG" WITHIN THE FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
SB262 C. Penzo TO AMEND THE CORPORATE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE DOCTRINE; AND TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WHO OWNS A MEDICAL CORPORATION TO MAINTAIN OWNERSHIP UPON AN INACTIVE LICENSE OR RETIREMENT.
SB311 C. Penzo TO CREATE THE END ORGAN AND GENOMIC HARVESTING ACT; TO PROHIBIT COVERAGE OF CERTAIN HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPLANT OR POST-TRANSPLANT CARE; AND TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN GENETIC SEQUENCERS AND GENETIC ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGIES.
SB598 J. English TO AMEND VARIOUS LAWS RELATED TO THE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES; AND TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "EMPLOYEE" UNDER THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW RESULTING FROM INITIATED ACT 4 OF 1948.
SB603 C. Tucker TO REQUIRE AN AIR AMBULANCE TO CONTACT THE ARKANSAS TRAUMA SYSTEM FOR DIRECTION ON THE BEST DESTINATION TO TRANSPORT A PERSON.
SB627 Irvin TO ASSIST THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND LICENSING AND THE STATE'S ELECTRICIAN, HVACR, ELEVATOR, AND BOILER SAFETY LAWS.
HB1996 Gramlich TO AMEND THE CHILD LABOR LAWS ENACTED BY INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1914; TO ESTABLISH AN EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO CIVIL PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS; AND TO CREATE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS RELATED TO CHILD LABOR.
HB1998 Torres TO CREATE THE JAMES MCFERRON MENTAL HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND RESILIENCY ACT; AND TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO SERVICES AND TRAINING TO FIRST RESPONDERS.
SB632 F. Love TO AMEND THE FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT; AND TO REQUIRE WARNING LABELS FOR HAIR RELAXERS THAT CONTAIN CERTAIN CHEMICALS.
DEFERRED BILLS
Number Sponsor Subtitle
HB1008 A. Collins TO REQUIRE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR POSTPARTUM MOTHERS FOR ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH.
HB1010 A. Collins TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES.
HB1011 A. Collins TO CREATE THE RESTORE ROE ACT; AND TO RESTORE A WOMAN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION SERVICES.
HB1012 A. Collins TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO EXTEND ELIGIBILITY TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES.
HB1013 Hudson TO PROTECT FERTILITY TREATMENT RIGHTS IN THIS STATE.
HB1029 D. Garner TO SET THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE IN THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND SERVICES RELATED TO ADDICTION.
HB1032 A. Collins TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY.
HB1132 Pilkington TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDED BY ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES; AND TO AMEND THE PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY OF AN ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE.
HB1224 Nazarenko TO AMEND THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT; AND TO APPLY THE AUTOMATIC OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR OUT-OF-STATE LICENSURE ACT TO MASSAGE THERAPISTS.
HB1244 K. Brown TO AMEND THE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE OF FULL INDEPENDENT PRACTICE AUTHORITY BY A CERTIFIED NURSE PRACTITIONER OR CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST.
HB1270 Pilkington TO ESTABLISH A PRESCRIBED PEDIATRIC EXTENDED CARE PILOT PROGRAM THROUGH A SECTION 1115 MEDICAID DEMONSTRATION WAIVER; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
HB1302 L. Johnson TO ADD DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY TO THE UNIVERSAL NEWBORN SCREENING ACT.
HB1401 Pilkington TO INCLUDE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY SERVICES WITHIN THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CARE ACT.
HB1463 Hudson TO PROHIBIT DISCLOSURE OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST MATERIALS OR TEST DATA.
SB187 Irvin TO AMEND THE COMPOSITION OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID DRUG UTILIZATION REVIEW BOARD TO INCLUDE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.
HB1532 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS RARE DISEASE ADVISORY COUNCIL.
HB1566 McClure TO REQUIRE ADOPTION OF A STATEWIDE PRACTICAL NURSING PROGRAM CORE CURRICULUM TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY IN PRACTICAL NURSING EDUCATION.
HB1592 J. Mayberry TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA PUBLIC HEALTH ACT.
HB1718 Gramlich TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATION IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES LICENSED IN THIS STATE.
HB1723 Pilkington TO AMEND INITIATED ACT 1 OF 2000, ALSO KNOWN AS THE TOBACCO SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS ACT; AND TO DIRECT THE ARKANSAS MINORITY HEALTH COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER A GRANT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS.
HB1781 Crawford TO AUTHORIZE THE LICENSURE OF CLINICS, HEALTH CENTERS, OR OTHER FACILITIES IN WHICH A PREGNANCY IS TERMINATED OR ABORTED IF CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES ARE MET.
HB1588 McAlindon TO REQUIRE APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SEEKS OR IMPLEMENTS AN EXPANSION OF COVERAGE FOR THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM.
HB1776 Lundstrum TO AMEND THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A SOLID WASTE LANDFILL OR TRANSFER STATION PERMIT OR AN EXPANSION OF A SOLID WASTE LANDFILL OR TRANSFER STATION PERMIT.
HB1795 A. Brown TO CREATE THE FERTILITY CLINIC LICENSURE ACT.
HB1816 L. Johnson TO PROHIBIT HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTHCARE INSURERS FROM USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE DELIVERY OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES OR THE GENERATION OF MEDICAL RECORDS UNLESS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS ARE MET.
HB1818 L. Johnson TO CREATE THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED CARE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.
HB1819 L. Johnson TO REQUIRE THE STATE REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS TO COORDINATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES TO CONTACT MOTHERS FOR SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE DURING THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD.
HB1882 Pilkington TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF ENROLLABLE MEDICAID BENEFICIARY POPULATION AND ALLOW THE GOVERNOR TO DESIGNATE MEDICAID POPULATIONS TO BE ENROLLED UNDER THE MEDICAID PROVIDER-LED ORGANIZED CARE ACT.
HB1888 Steele TO AMEND THE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE SERVICES LAW; AND TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT RECORDS FOR INDIVIDUALS.
HB1890 J. Mayberry TO ALLOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BILL FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES; AND TO REQUIRE THE ARKANSAS MEDICAID PROGRAM TO REIMBURSE SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR CERTAIN HEALTHCARE SERVICES.
HB1906 Lundstrum TO REQUIRE WRITTEN CONSENT OF A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN WHEN PRESCRIBING LONG-ACTING REVERSIBLE CONTRACEPTION TO A PERSON WHO IS YOUNGER THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE.
HB1791 C. Cooper TO CLARIFY THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE UNITED NATIONS DO NOT HAVE JURISDICTION OR POWER IN THIS STATE AND DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE OR IMPLEMENT ACTIONS IN THIS STATE.
HB1880 Hudson TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HUMAN LIFE PROTECTION ACT AND THE ARKANSAS UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION ACT TO ADD CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS.
HB1908 Long TO CREATE THE PROOF OF RESIDENCY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING PUBLIC ASSISTANCE; AND TO REQUIRE PROOF OF RESIDENCY FOR ADULT APPLICANTS.
HB1909 Long TO CREATE THE PUBLIC SERVICES ONLY FOR CITIZENS ACT; AND TO REQUIRE VERIFICATION OF CITIZENSHIP AND RESIDENCY IN ORDER TO RECEIVE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE- HOUSE, Apr 10, 2025 | Agenda | 5 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Representative Jeff Wardlaw Chair
Unverified
Speaker 4
Representative Fred Allen
Unverified
Representative Jeremy Wooldridge
Unverified
Representative Matthew J. Shepherd
Unverified
Speaker 27
Representative Paul Childress
Unverified
Representative Dwight Tosh
Unverified
Senator Fredrick J. Love
Unverified
Speaker 42
Speaker 58
Speaker 62
Speaker 64
Speaker 46
Senator Clint Penzo
Unverified
Speaker 92
Representative Kenneth B. Ferguson
Unverified
Representative Denise Jones Ennett
Unverified
Speaker 111
Speaker 118
Speaker 120
Speaker 122
Speaker 78
Speaker 130
Speaker 134
Representative R. Scott Richardson
Unverified
Speaker 93
Speaker 74
Representative Richard McGrew
Unverified
Speaker 70
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
Speaker 115
Speaker 159
Representative Aaron Pilkington
Unverified
Representative Lee Johnson
Unverified
Speaker 164
Speaker 97
Speaker 174
Representative Glenn Barnes
Unverified
Representative Ryan A. Rose
Unverified
Speaker 106
Speaker 209
Representative Dolly Henley
Unverified
Speaker 221
Speaker 30
Representative Cindy Crawford
Unverified
Speaker 237
Speaker 239
Speaker 240
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
Speaker 248
Senator Greg Leding
Unverified
Kevin Cleghorn
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Speaker 276
Speaker 278
Speaker 281
Speaker 282
Speaker 284
Speaker 287
Speaker 288
Representative Keith Brooks
Unverified
Speaker 291
Speaker 299
Speaker 302
Speaker 305
Speaker 263
Dan Parker
Unverified
Chair
Unverified
Representative Bruce Cozart
Unverified
Speaker 323
Speaker 324
Speaker 330