This week begins the process of marathon Conference Committees meetings. This is the time any differences between the House and the Senate versions of a bill that has passed out of each Chamber will be hammered out.
Earlier last week, there was action taken on SB453 - “opening up the pipeline of CNA’s” bill. There were several amendments made after the Board of Nursing caused a bit of an uproar, but it seems to have all come together well in the end. You can see a summary of the bill by clicking here and full bill text here.
The Conference Committee consists of Representatives Landwehr, Eplee and Ruiz as well as Senators Hilderbrand, Pettey and Gossage. The Senate side agreed to the House version minus the provision that the State Board of Nursing report number of complaints annually and that the contents of HB 2734 be inserted in the bill of passage as well. This bill deals with reinstating the social worker applicant option for board-approved postgraduate supervised experience and allowing master's and clinical level licensees to take the baccalaureate addiction counselor test.
The Committee agreed on the compromise and will report such to both the House and Senate.
At some point the newly constructed House budget bill will make an appearance so that it can be put into a conference committee with the Senate-passed base budget bill. The House version includes a 10% for HCBS FE and PD providers. That increase was not in the Senate version. A Conference Committee was selected including Representatives Waymaster, Hoffman and Wolfe Moore as well as Senators Billinger, Claeys and Hawk. They plan to meet later this afternoon to hammer out differences.
