Janice Lanier JD RN Liaison Public Policy Committee
The Making of a Christmas Tree
HB 315 as introduced
In a marathon final legislative session of the 135th General Assembly, a 400-page amendment was added to HB 315 by a conference committee. The original bill dealing with various aspects of township law was introduced in November 2023, passed the house in late June during an earlier marathon session that preceded the lengthy pre-election summer recess. The bill was approximately 122 pages long.
HB 315 as enacted
The bill eventually passed the senate on December 11th, but the house refused to concur with the senate changes. A conference committee was named consisting of six legislators: senators Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville), Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) and representatives DJ Swearingen R-Huron, Chair), Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), and Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake). Early in the morning of December 19th the committee produced its lengthy report.
Legislative Update Janice Lanier JD RN Liaison Public Policy Committee
Lame Duck, Log Rolling & Christmas Trees
Once the results of the November General Election were in, eyes turned to what’s going to happen when the newly elected lawmakers take office in January. That’s true for Congress in Washington and for the state legislature in most states. However, before the members of the new General Assembly (the 136th) are sworn in, the outgoing members have until the end of 2024 to finish up their pending business. The rush to close out the current general assembly has led to a flurry of activity that is not over yet. Keeping track of all the developments is not for the faint of heart.
Many bills that have been lingering in various standing committees in both the house and senate face a deadline. If they do not complete the legislative process before the house and senate adjourn sine die, the bills must be reintroduced and begin the entire process anew.
HELP PROTECT OHIO PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS
Earlier this year the ANA-Ohio Board of Directors voted to oppose HB 73. ANA-Ohio offered testimony explaining nursing's concerns before the Senate Health Committee. While the bill's sponsor Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) responded to some of nursing's concerns, issues remain with respect to the overall language in the bill. The Senate Health Committee will hold another hearing on the bill Wednesday, December 11th. Following is a message provided by the Ohio Hospital Association that you are encouraged to use when communicating with members of the health committee and your state senator urging them not to take action on this bill.
Tell Your Ohio State Senator and members of the Senate Health Committee to Stop House Bill 73
Sub. HB 73 creates a dangerous framework requiring the dispensing and administering of drugs to hospitalized patients, without the ability of health care providers to perform their role in a patient's clinical care.
Sub. House Bill 73 also:
Health Committee members: Senators:
Stephen Huffman, Chair shuffman@ohiosenate.gov
Terry Johnson, Vice Chair johnson@ohiosenate.gov
Nickie Antonio, Ranking Member antonio@ohiosenate.gov
Bob Hackett hackett@ohiosenate.gov
Catherine Ingram ingram@ohiosenate.gov
Kristina Roegner roegner@ohiosenate.gov
Mark Romanchuk romanchuk@ohiosenate.gov
Also, take action NOW to contact YOUR Ohio Senator!
email-senator's last name@ohiosenate.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ohio Study on Nurses’ Voting Behaviors Helps Shape Future Actions by Nursing Organizations
Ohio – [December 2024] – Nurse researchers from northeast Ohio released the results of their groundbreaking, multi-year study about voting behavior of licensed nurses in Ohio. “Influence begins at the ballot box,” said the study’s lead researcher, Ruth E. Ludwick. PhD, RN-BC, APRN-CNS, FAAN of the Department of Nursing, Kent State University. “My colleagues and I wanted to compare voting activity and party affiliation of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to help us find ways to increase nurses’ involvement in this fundamental component of civic engagement—voting.”
Health care is a highly regulated industry, with many of those laws and rules coming from federal and state lawmakers. The policies they enact affect every aspect of nurses’ practice. Despite the important role policymakers play, nurses continue to be under-represented in board rooms and hearing rooms.
The study found the number of Ohio licensed nurses who are registered to vote and cast a ballot was higher than the overall population for general elections conducted between 2020-2023. However, given the importance of public policy decisions to nurses’ both professionally and personally, one would expect the percentages to be higher. “Around 71% of licensed nurses are registered to vote; however, that means one in four nurses are not,” said Dr. Ludwick.
“Clearly, there is more work to be done to increase nurses’ awareness of the role policymakers play in their practices and to help them develop the skills they need to be more influential in crafting the actual policies being put forth,” says ANA-Ohio Executive Director Tiffany Bukoffsky, MHA, BSN, RN. Voting is the first step in the process. “Nursing professional organizations are key to providing the accessible and realistic opportunities nurses need to become more effective policy influencers and voters. This study is a starting point. But it cannot end here”.
Professional nursing organizations are a vital part of the envisioned change. ANA-Ohio, a newly formed state constituent association of the American Nurses Association has taken
that responsibility seriously. “During its relatively short existence, ANA-Ohio conceived and hosted the first nurse led public policy hackathon at Miami University where nurses and non-nurses from across the state came together to develop innovative policy-based solutions to problems they encounter in their practice settings”, Bukoffsky added. Nineteen teams presented their proposals to a panel of judges, some of whom were legislators who then encouraged them to bring their ideas to the General Assembly. Recently, during the ANA-Ohio Annual Meeting, the Jeri Milstead Public Policy Symposium focused on innovations that are or will change the way nurses provide care to their patients. “From the Sky to the Statehouse” explored the public policy challenges that both foster and impede change.
The next step in preparing nurses to take on a more visible and impactful role in policy making is ANA-Ohio’s 2025 Nurse Policy Influencers Bootcamp beginning in February. The first cohort of participants will spend several months learning the ins and outs of policy making and experience first-hand how the process actually functions. The bootcamp graduates will help mentor future boot campers and help build the sustainable skills and insights needed to move from observer to doer.
The data from the study on nurses’ voting behaviors will help inform the strategies ANA-Ohio develops in conjunction with other nursing organizations to not only convince more nurses to register to vote and actually vote, but also to have a more visible and influential presence at the policy table.
About American Nurses Association-Ohio:
The American Nurses Association – Ohio (ANA-Ohio) is the trusted professional registered nurses’ association that is dedicated to promoting excellence in nursing practice, fostering high standards of nursing care, and advocating for the rights and interests of nurses across Ohio. Through education, advocacy, leadership, resources, and support, ANA-Ohio aims to empower nurses to improve health care.
Media Contact:
Tiffany Bukoffsky, Executive Director, ANA-Ohio, director@ana-ohio.org
View Press Release in PDF Format
Lame Duck session underway
HB 285, the nurse staffing ratio bill, introduced in October 2023, had its second hearing in the House Health Provider Services Committee on November 19th. The committee heard proponent and opponent testimony. Seven proponents, most of them representing the Ohio Nurses and Health Professionals Association, testified before the committee; seventy-one submitted written proponent testimony and three submitted written opponent testimony. Opponents included the Ohio Chamber of Commerce; joint testimony from the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Ohio Business Roundtable; and the Christ Hospital’s Health Network.
Election results—What’s next?
Almost everyone has heard the results of the 2024 General Election. Some are elated others dismayed, but regardless of those emotions, the work of current elected state officials will go on until time runs out on the 135th General Assembly in December. The infamous “lame duck” session is set to start in mid-November, which means the deal making has begun in earnest. Some long-standing bills will move, and others will become the “vehicle” or “Christmas tree” upon which to attach a myriad of special interest hot button issues.
Read More
Read the latest 135th General Assembly Bill Tracking as of November 1, 2024
Members of the Ohio General Assembly have not been at the statehouse since late June, so while little official business has been conducted, legislators have not been idle. All seats in the Ohio House of Representatives are on the ballot for the November General Election, and half of the Ohio Senate seats (even-numbered districts) are also before voters.
Be an informed voter on November 5th. The material developed by ANA sets out where the presidential candidates stand on health care related issues. Please note this resource is not intended as an endorsement of either candidate.
Introduction
The general assembly began its summer recess June 26th and is not likely to resume holding official sessions until after the November general election. As is the case when a prolonged hiatus is looming, committee meetings were frequent, agendas were long, and sessions ran into the night. Multiple bills received cursory attention, and political wheeling and dealing was the order of the day. When the gavel fell in the house (hours after the senate had already started its recess), over 50 bills had been addressed with many becoming so-called Christmas tree proposals (full of many different surprises) on their way to becoming law in Ohio.
2501 Jolly Rd Ste 110 | Okemos, MI 48864 info@ana-ohio.org
