In case you hadn't heard yet, HB 287was heard in the House Business & Labor Committee this afternoon. As you know, we have been working on removing the final Consultation & Referral plan which identifies a physician or APRN who will be available to answer a question should an APRN have a question about a schedule II medication.
Today was our first big success...our bill passed UNANIMOUSLY in the House Business and Labor Committee!!!!!Representative Welton (sponsor) was sending out fist bumps and Representative Dunnigan jests after completing statements of support in committee, "Let my people go" and do what we do. Smiles have been on our legislative committee's faces for the past several hours and we are excited about this year's potential for nurse practitioners in Utah. If you'd like to hear the committee hearing, click here and listen for Rep Welton about 15 minutes into the meeting. Though there were some mis-statements, "all's well that ends well." Excellent comments were made by several committee members in response to Mark Brinton, UMA. If you have a moment, please send a quick thank you to the B&L committee members.
Because the session this year is abbreviated due to the pandemic, we are pressing forward quickly to make sure the bill passes before the session ends. We still have a lot of work to do, but our legislative committee and co-sponsors are excited about making it through our first step with a win like this.
Thank you for your support and efforts to help Utah Nurse Practitioner Association with this bill.
Here's what you can do: Your communication with your legislators (grassroots efforts) is the ONLY way we will be able to do this. Please focus on securing your house representative's (find your legislators here) vote. Just ask if they've heard about the NP Bill - HB 287 and how they are planning to vote and offer information that could help them make and informed decision. We will send out notifications as the bill progresses and when we need your help communicating with your senators.
