Health Committees in the State of Florida

Legislative Matrix
Understanding the issues that affect the nursing profession depends upon knowing who the legislators are in one state’s, as every state has its own laws regarding nursing and the extent to which professional nurses may administer to patients. In the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate, there are several committees that are designed to address pressing health care issues related to nursing and quality care provision. This paper will describe the legislators associated with theses committees.
In the Florida House there is the Health and Human Services Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Travis Cummings of District 18. Vice-chair is Rep. David Santiago of District 27. Rep. Bobby DuBose of District 94 and is the Democratic Ranking Member of the committee. Other Representatives on the committee include 5 Democrats—Lori Berman—District 90, Tracie Davis—District 13, Roy Hardemon—District 108, David Silvers—District 107 and Patricia Williams—District 92; and 11 Republicans: Jason Brodeur—District 28, Colleen Burton—District 40, James Grant—District 64, Michael Grant—District 75, Gayle Harrell—District 83, MaryLynn Magar—District 82, Ralph Massullo—District 34, Cary Pigman—District 55, Cyndi Stevenson—District 17, Frank White—District 2, Clay Yarborough—District 12 (Health and Human Services Committee, 2017).
Rep. Cummings is responsible for sponsoring several bills for the committees he is a member of that are presently active. These are (“Sponsored Bills of Representative W. Travis Cummings,” 2017):
2018
HB 2121
Northeast Florida Area Agency on Aging - Home Delivered Meals
Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 2127
Clay Behavioral Health-Crisis Prevention Team
Now in Appropriations Committee
2018
HB 2139
Auditory Oral Early Intervention Project for Children with Hearing Loss Ages Birth Through Two
Now in Appropriations Committee
2018
HB 2887
Ready4Work Re-entry
Now in Justice Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3063
UNF-The Jax Bridges Competitive Small Business Initiative
Now in Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3065
Arc Jacksonville - Transition to Community Employment Year Two
Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3067
Clay County Youth Alternative to Secured Detention (S.W.E.A.T. Program)
Now in Justice Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3361
Orange Park Medical Center Behavioral Health Indigent Care
Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3529
Family Support Services of North Florida - Services to At-Risk Youth or Those in Out of Home Care
Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3531
Challenge Enterprises of North Florida, Inc. - Club Challenge
Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3841
University of Florida Lastinger Center- Trauma Informed Care for School Resource Officers
Now in Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 3843
St. Vincent's Healthcare - Saving Lives Project
Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
2018
HB 6531
Relief/Shuler Limited Partnership/Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Now in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
The most famous representative of Florida is the state representative for District 23 in Florida—Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She is a member of the Democratic Party and is one of 120 members of Florida’s House of Representatives and is former head of the DNC, which is currently involved in a scandal regarding the Clinton campaign.
The Speaker of the House, representing the Republican Party, is Richard Corcoran. The House Majority Leader is Ray Rodriques (R) and the Minority Leader is Janet Cruz (D). Rick Scott (R) is the governor of the state of Florida and has been since 2011.
The Health and Human Services Committee oversees three subcommittees: Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee, chaired by Gayle Harrell and Julio Gonzalez; Health Innovation Subcommittee, chaired by MaryLynn Magar and Frank White; and Health Quality Subcommittee, chaired by James Grant and Rene Plasencia. Gayle Harrell has sponsored (“Sponsored Bills of Representative Gayle B. Harrell,” 2017):
2018
HB 835
Registration of Home Caregivers
Now in Health Quality Subcommittee
In the Florida Senate, the CS/SB CS/CS/HB 543: Regulation of Health Care Practitioners is currently active and is a general bill sponsored by the Health and Human Services Committee and the Health Innovation Subcommittee, sponsored by Pigman, Hardemann and Jenne. It focuses on “Regulation of Health Care Practitioners; Removing a provision that requires a joint committee to determine standards for the content of advanced registered nurse practitioner protocols; removing an obsolete qualification that is no longer sufficient to satisfy certain nursing certification requirements; requiring an advanced registered nurse practitioner to enter into a supervisory protocol with a physician under certain circumstances; authorizing the board to conduct certain onsite evaluations; requiring the Florida Center for Nursing to evaluate program-specific data for each approved nursing program and make an annual assessment of compliance by nursing programs with certain accreditation requirements; authorizing a pharmacist to administer specified medication by injection under certain circumstances, etc.” (HB 543, 2017).
The Florida Senate and House work together to pass legislation that will impact how nurses can operate in the health care industry and HB 543 is a good example of this, as it is based on passing into law the easing of restrictions on how nurses can operate in the future. As federal and state laws currently restrict the practice of nurse practitioners, APRNs must practice under the supervision of a physician. They also do not have full prescription authority and face restrictions on insurance reimbursement. There are several proposals in the House and Senate that can advance the role of the APRN to help meet the rise of primary care providers. These proposals like HB 543 would help to advance the aims of the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2012), which wants to see nurse practitioners able to practice to the full extent of their knowledge, training and ability. And as Hain and Fleck (2014) show, the barriers to nurse practitioner practice that negatively impact the quality of care provided to patients have everything to do with the extent to which APRNs are able to exercise their strengths in the field. By knowing the legislators in my state, it can help me and other nurses to play a more pivotal role in advocating for change. Knowing how legislators are voting, communicating our experiences as nurses to them, and helping them to understand the issues we face on the ground can all go into helping to craft a successful legislative strategy that will benefit nurses in the industry and patients who depend on them for care.
References
Hain, D., Fleck, L. (2014). Barriers to nurse practitioner practice that impact healthcare
redesign. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(2).
HB 543. (2017). Florida Senate. Retrieved from
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/543
Health and Human Services Committee. (2017). Florida House of Representatives.
Retrieved from http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx?CommitteeId=2915
IOM. (2012). The future of nursing. Retrieved from
http://nacns.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5-IOM-Report.pdf
Sponsored Bills of Representative Gayle B. Harrell. (2017). Florida House of
Representatives. Retrieved from http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/sponsoredbills.aspx?MemberId=4211&SessionId=86
Sponsored Bills of Representative W. Travis Cummings. (2017). Florida House of
Representatives. Retrieved from http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/sponsoredbills.aspx?MemberId=4540&SessionId=86