2023 Shared State Legislation Docket

Submissions to The Council of State Governments Shared State Legislation Committee should be sent to staff by August 31st to be considered for that year’s meeting docket. Submissions received after this deadline will be held for a later meeting. The status of any item on this docket is listed as reported by the submitting state’s legislative website or by telephone from state legislative service agencies and legislative libraries. Abstracts of the legislation on CSG SSL dockets and in CSG SSL volumes are usually compiled from bill digests and state legislative staff analyses.

CSG COMMITTEE ON

SHARED STATE LEGISLATION

2023 CYCLE DOCKET BOOK 43

December 9, 2022

SSL PROCESS

With the goal of sharing innovations in state policy, the CSG Shared State Legislation (SSL) Committee identifies, curates and disseminates state legislation on topics of major interest to state leaders. Committee members include two state legislators and one state legislative staff person appointed from each member jurisdiction. No private sector entities are permitted to serve on the CSG SSL Committee.

CSG SSL Committee members meet once a year to consider legislation. The items chosen by the committee are published online at ssl.csg.org after every meeting and are then compiled into an annual online CSG Shared State Legislation volume.

The consideration or dissemination of such legislation by the CSG SSL Committee does not constitute an endorsement nor will CSG advocate for the enactment of any such legislation in any member jurisdictions.

CSG SSL Committee members, other state officials and their staff, CSG Associates and CSG staff may submit legislation directly to the committee. The committee also considers legislation from other sources.

It takes many bills or laws to fill the dockets of a one year-long SSL cycle. Items should be submitted to CSG by Aug. 31 to be considered for that year’s meeting docket. Items submitted after that date are typically held for a later meeting.

Legislation submitted for consideration must be enacted into law by at least one state. Legislation that addresses a single, specific topic is preferable to omnibus legislation that addresses a general topic or references many disparate parts of a state code. Occasionally, committee members will consider and adopt uniform or “model” legislation or an interstate compact. In this case, the committee strongly prefers to examine state legislation that enacts the uniform or model law, or interstate compact. The CSG SSL Committee does not draft or create “model” legislation.

In order to facilitate the selection and review process on any submitted legislation, it is particularly helpful to include information on the status of the legislation, an enumeration of other states with similar provisions, and any summaries or analyses of the legislation.

Legislation and accompanying materials may be submitted to the CSG Shared State Legislation Program through the online submission form on the program website.

SSL CRITERIA

The SSL Committee reviews bills that:

1. Have been enacted as law.

2. Are available in similar forms in no more than 10 states.

3. Are no more than two years old.

4. Address a current state issue of national or regional significance.

5. Provide a benefit to bill drafters.

6. Provide a clear, innovative and practical approach to a problem.

7. Represent a comprehensive approach to a problem that has relevance for other states.

8. Use a logically consistent structure.

9. Use clear language.

PRESENTATION OF DOCKET ENTRIES

Docket ID# Title State/source Bill/Act

Summary: [These are typically excerpted from bill digests, committee summaries and related materials which are contained in or accompany the legislation.]

Status: [Action taken on item in source state.]

Comment: [Contains references to other bills or information about the entry and issues the members should consider in referring the entry for publication in SSL. Space may also be used to note reaction to an item, instructions to staff, etc.]

Disposition of Entry: [Action taken on item by the SSL Committee.]

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

Comments/Note to staff

*Item was deferred from the previous SSL cycle

SSL DOCKET CATEGORIES

2023 SSL Cycle Docket 43

ITEM NO. TITLE OF ITEM UNDER CONSIDERATION SOURCE

(*) Indicates item is carried over from previous SSL cycle.

Contents

(01)

COMMERCE AND LABOR

01-43-01

Marketplace Contractor Definition AL 01-43-02

An Act to create the Michigan first-time home MI buyer savings program; to provide for first-time home buyer savings accounts; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state agencies, boards, and departments; to allow certain tax deductions; and to provide for penalties and remedies.

01-43-03 Paid Family Leave for State Employees SC 01-43-04 The Delaware EARNS Act DE 01-43-05

Resolve, To Strengthen Maine's Workforce by ME Expanding English Language Acquisition and Workforce Training Programs 01-43-06

House Study Committee on Innovative Ways to GA Maximize Global Talent 01-43-07

Expansion Of Experiential Learning Opportunities CO 01-43-08 An Act To Make Changes to the Laws Regarding ME Licensure of Certain Individuals from Other Jurisdictions

01-43-09 An Act To Facilitate Licensure for Credentialed ME Individuals from Other Jurisdictions

01-43-10

Uniform Registration of Canadian Money NV Judgments Act

Virtual Currency Custody Services LA 01-43-12

01-43-11

California Financing Law: Remote Work CA 01-43-13

Consumer Privacy Act UT 01-43-14 Right to Start Act MS

(02) EDUCATION

02-43-01*

An Act concerning expansion of the opportunities CO to administer medical marijuana at school to a student with a valid medical marijuana recommendation.

Foster Youth Financial Assistance Program CO 02-43-03 Universal Preschool Program CO 02-43-04 Students; Eligibility for In-State Tuition VA 02-43-05 Pupil Mental Health: Model Referral Protocols CA 02-43-06 Inclusive Higher Education Act CO 02-43-07 An Act Concerning Childhood Mental And CT Physical Health Services In Schools

02-43-02

02-43-08 School Boards; Board Policy for Students Unable VA to Pay for a Meal at School

02-43-09 Remove Lawful Presence Verification CO Credentialing 02-43-10 Provisional Teacher Licensure; Teachers VA Licensed or Certified Outside of the United States

(03) ENVIRONMENT

03-43-01* Concerning the Management of Certain Materials WA to Support Recycling and Waste and Litter Reduction 03-43-02 An Act To Create the Maine Redevelopment Land ME Bank Authority

(04) GOVERNMENT

04-43-01

Elections: Vote by Mail Ballots CA 04-43-02 An Act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, TN Title 4, relative to state government 04-43-03 Creating Governor's Office of Immigrant Affairs MD 04-43-04 Relating to the Office of Immigrant and Refugee OR Advancement; and Declaring an Emergency 04-43-05 Concerning the creation of the Colorado office of CO New Americans 04-43-06 State Government – Technology IL

04-43-07

(05) HEALTH

05-43-01*

Uniform Public Expression Protection Act HI

An Act to Exempt Health Savings AR Account-Qualified Health Insurance Policies from Certain Insurance Requirements; To Clarify The Coverage of Diagnostic Examination’s for Breast Cancer Under Certain Plans.

05-43-02* Physicians Dementia Training IL

05-43-03* An Act Relating to Insurance; Providing for the NV Establishment of a Public Health Benefit Plan 05-43-04 Mental Health Parity Act GA 05-43-05 Regards Screening Mammography and Dense OH Breast Tissue

05-43-06 Amends the Illinois Insurance Code - Biomarkers IL 05-43-07 Equity and Representation in Health Care Act IL 05-43-08 Medicaid Coverage for Doula Services DE 05-43-09 Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act WV 05-43-10 Oklahoma Kratom Consumer Protection Act OK 05-43-11 An Act To Amend Title 18 Of The Delaware DE Code To Ensure Fairness In Cost-Sharing For Prescription Drugs 05-43-12 Public Employment: Unfair Practices: Health CA Protection 05-43-13 Safe Spaces for Youth Pilot Program HI 05-43-14 An Act Concerning Children’s Mental Health CT 05-43-15 Relating to health care; and declaring an OR emergency 05-43-16

Appropriations: omnibus; appropriations for MI 2022-2023 and 2021-2022; provide for. Creates appropriation act.

05-43-17 Concerning the licensure of international medical WA graduates 05-43-18 Revises Provisions Governing Behavioral NV Health Professionals

05-43-19

An Act to Modify Dental Licensure Requirements ME To Consider Credentialed Individuals from Other Jurisdictions

05-43-20

An Act amending the act of December 20, 1985 PA (P.L.457, No.112), known as the Medical Practice Act of 1985, further providing for license without restriction, for institutional license and for temporary license

05-43-21 International Medical Graduate Integrate CO Healthcare Workforce

05-43-22 Relating To Nurses HI 05-43-23 An Act relating to licensure of mental health VT professionals

05-43-24 Task Force – International Health Care IL 05-43-25

Commission to Study the Health Care Workforce MD Crisis in Maryland - Establishment 05-43-26 Pharmacy technician vaccinations TN 05-43-27 Medicaid Value-Based Purchasing OH

(06) JUSTICE

06-43-01* Law enforcement: use of force CA 06-43-02* Landlord Tenant Relations WA 06-43-03* Immigration Legal Defense Fund CO 06-43-04* Clean Slate Act PA 06-43-05 Miya's Law FL 06-43-06

An Act relating to promoting successful reentry WA and rehabilitation of persons convicted of criminal offenses

HALT Solitary Confinement Act NY 06-43-08 Hotels; Human Trafficking Training VA 06-43-09

06-43-07

Homeless Shelters: Safety Regulations CA 06-43-10

Corrections: educational programs CA 06-43-11

An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code DE Relating To Treatment Of Pregnant And Post-partum Prisoners

06-43-12 No Fee Identification Cards ID 06-43-13 Menstrual Products for Temporary Shelters NY 06-43-14 Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act IL 06-43-15 Criminal Procedure CA 06-43-16 Keshall ‘KeKe’ Anderson Safe Firearm Sales Act DE 06-43-17 Relates to licensing and other provisions relating NY to firearms

(07) TECHNOLOGY

07-43-01* Election Technology Use Study AR 07-43-02* Voluntary Contributions for Infrastructure Grants NV for Broadband Deployment

07-43-03* Telecommunication service act regulating NV suppliers of inmate calling services by the Public Utilities Commission

07-43-04* Modifies provisions relating to utilities MS 07-43-05* Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act VA 07-43-06 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience NJ Act (IDEA) 07-43-07

Tennessee Broadband Investment Maximization TN Act of 2022

(08) TRANSPORTATION

08-43-01* Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment WA

COMMERCE and LABOR Alabama

01-43-01

Summary:

Marketplace Contractor Definition

Act No. 2022-197

The act is a definitional, neutral approach to individuals who earn income as free lancers or on short-term contracts, also known as gig workers. With business models that are uniquely technology driven, these gig economy arrangements alter how worker classifications are being made. The act establishes a path to substantial compliance with the Internal Revenue Service 20 Factors Test i.e., the factors that determine the level of control an individual has over their work

Status: Enacted on April 1, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

There is an obvious benefit of treating all these type businesses in a similar fashion and not having a patchwork of worker classifications by harmonizing worker classification for digital economy workers and businesses across the realms of income tax, unemployment compensation and worker compensation. In proposing its neutral totality test, the drafting committee in Alabama borrowed heavily from an act passed by Kentucky recently, and was selected in order to try to avoid the difficulties in gig work regulation in California caused by the clash between proponents of AB 5 (the ABC Test driving the analysis into a finding of employment) and Proposition 22 (a backlash effort passed in 2020 that simply reclassified many types of positions as being independent contractors, regardless of how well performance of that position could adhere to the IRS twenty factors test for independent contractor status).

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

COMMERCE and LABOR Michigan

01-43-02

An Act to create the Michigan first-time home buyer savings program; to provide for first-time home buyer savings accounts; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state agencies, boards, and departments; to allow certain tax deductions; and to provide for penalties and remedies.

Senate Bill 145

Summary:

Senate Bill 145 creates the "Michigan First-Time Home Buyer Savings Program Act" to:

• Require the Department of Treasury to establish the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Program.

• Allow an individual, beginning Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2026, to open an account with a financial institution and designate the account as a first-time home buyer savings account to be used to pay or reimburse a beneficiary's eligible costs for the purchase of a single-family residence in the state

• Specify that contributions to and interest earned on a first-time home buyer savings account, as well as qualified withdrawals made from the account, are exempt from taxation under the Income Tax Act.

• Limit the maximum account balance of a first-time home buyer savings account to $50,000, subject to an earnings exception.

• Specify that, subject to certain exceptions, funds withdrawn from an account for any purpose other than the payment of eligible costs are subject to a penalty equal to 10% of the amount withdrawn.

• Specify what a financial institution is not responsible or liable for with respect to first-time home buyer savings accounts.

• Require the department to prescribe the form and way a taxpayer must claim the deduction and require certain information to be included in the form.

• Allow the state treasurer to promulgate rules to implement the program

• Allow the department to prepare and distribute informational materials on the program to financial institutions and potential home buyers.

Status: Enacted on Feb. 9, 2022

COMMERCE and LABOR South Carolina

01-43-03

Summary:

Paid Family Leave for State Employees

Senate

Bill 11

This bill provides state employees up to six weeks of paid family leave for the birth or adoption of a child or up to two weeks for placement of a foster child.

Status: Enacted on May 13, 2022

Comments: From submitter: Three states Georgia, New Hampshire and South Carolina offer paid parental leave for state employees. Georgia and South Carolina allow paid leave for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

COMMERCE and LABOR Delaware

01-43-04

Summary:

The Delaware EARNS Act

House Bill 205

This act establishes the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving (EARNS) program to serve as a vehicle through which eligible employees may, on a voluntary basis, provide for additional retirement security through a state-facilitated retirement savings program in a convenient, cost effective and portable manner. The EARNS program will be designed to serve small businesses that are unable to offer retirement plans to employees due to the cost and administrative burden. Because there are documented wealth gaps in Delaware disproportionately impacting women and people of color, a state-facilitated savings plan aims to alleviate barriers small employers face in offering options, close the wealth gap among low to modest wage earners and keep Delaware competitive with neighboring states by attracting talented workers to Delaware. A state-sponsored savings plan, funded by employees, facilitated by employers and overseen by the state will offer one solution to the quickly emerging crises stemming from generations of workers without adequate savings. The act creates the Delaware EARNS Program Board to oversee initial design and implementation of the program. The board will be disbanded no later than Dec. 31, 2025, at which point all duties and functions of the board will be transferred to and assumed by the Plans Management Board. The effective date of the act is contingent upon an appropriation by the General Assembly necessary to implement the program. This Act also makes technical changes to existing law to make it conform to the standards of the Legislative Drafting Manual.

Status: Enacted on Aug. 18, 2022

Comments: Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

) Include in Volume

COMMERCE and LABOR Maine

01-43-05

Resolve, To Strengthen Maine's Workforce by Expanding English Language Acquisition and Workforce Training Programs

Legislative Document 1684

Summary:

This bill, among other things, directs Maine’s Department of Education Office of Adult Education to administer an industry-specific English language acquisition and workforce training program that takes into account participant education level, English language ability, skill sets, work experience and qualifications and credentials.

Status: Enacted on June 16, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

NY SB 3046

NC HB 540

CO SB21-077

PA SB 165 GA HR 11 NY S 7429

VT H 703 NM HB 191 MD SB 523

Staff Note:

CO SB 22-140 MN SF 3485 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 113 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332 ME LD 149

COMMERCE and LABOR Georgia

01-43-06

House Study Committee on Innovative Ways to Maximize Global Talent House Resolution 11

Summary:

This resolution establishes a House Study on Innovative Ways to Maximize Global Talent in Georgia. Among other things, the duties of the House study committee include: 1) reviewing best practices for maximizing global talent in Georgia, with a focus on education, training, occupational licensing and small business development; 2) assessing areas of greatest need for Georgia businesses and identifying solutions to improve access to global talent; and 3) developing specific recommendations to strengthen Georgia's economy by promoting economic integration.

Status: Enacted on March 31, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

NY SB 3046

NC HB 540 CO SB21-077 PA SB 165 ME LD 1684 NY S 7429 VT H 703 NM H B191 MD SB 523

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

CO SB 22-140 MN SF 3485 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 113 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332 ME LD 149 (HP 105)

COMMERCE and LABOR Colorado

01-43-07

Summary:

Expansion Of Experiential Learning Opportunities

Senate Bill 22-140

This bill expands experiential learning opportunities through relationships with employers. It establishes a work-based learning incentive program, a digital navigation program, a careeraligned English as a second language program and a global talent task force to study indemand occupations.

Status: Enacted on June 3, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

ME HP 105

NY SB 3046

NC HB 540CO SB 21-077

PA SB 165 ME LD 1684 GA HR 11 NY S 7429 VT H 703

ME LD 149 (HP 105)

Staff

NM HB 191 MD SB 523 MN SF 3485 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 113 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332

COMMERCE and LABOR Maine

01-43-08

An Act To Make Changes to the Laws Regarding Licensure of Certain Individuals from Other Jurisdictions

Legislative Document 2035

Summary:

This bill implements Maine Legislative Document 149. The bill clarifies that certain licensure documentation and fee waivers may be authorized only in situations of extreme hardship and only for individuals educated or trained in another country. The bill also allows a licensing entity the opportunity to issue licenses by endorsement prior to the conclusion of the rule-making process.

Status: Enacted on April 20, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

NY SB 3046

NC HB 540

CO SB21-077

PA SB 165 ME LD 1684 GA HR 11 NY S 7429 VT H 703 NM H B191

MD SB 523

CO SB 22-140 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 113 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332 ME LD 149 (HP 105)

COMMERCE and LABOR Maine

01-43-09

An Act To Facilitate Licensure for Credentialed Individuals from Other Jurisdictions

Legislative Document 149 (House Proposal 105)

Summary:

This bill grants the director of the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation in Maine the authority to 1) waive, on a case-by-case basis, documentation requirements for licensure submitted by applicants with international education or experience; 2) waive license and examination fees for the same group; and 3) grant provisional licenses to applicants with relevant experience or education, including international, to enable the applicants to meet established conditions to either maintain the provisional license or get full licensure.

This authority does not extend to the six boards affiliated with the department: the Board of Licensure of Medicine, the Board of Nursing, the Board of Registration of Professional Engineers, the Board of Dental Examiners, the Board of Optometry and the Board of Osteopathic Licensure.

Status: Enacted on June 11, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

NY SB 3046 NC HB 540 CO SB21-077 PA SB 165 ME LD 1684 GA HR 11 NY S 7429 VT H 703 NM HB 191

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

MD SB 523 CO SB 22-140 MN SF 3485 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 2847 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332

COMMERCE and LABOR Nevada

01-43-10

Summary:

Uniform Registration of Canadian Money Judgments Act

Assembly Bill 145

This act creates an administrative procedure for the registration and enforcement of a Canadian money judgment in an enacting state. Once the Canadian judgment is successfully registered in the state, the judgment is enforceable in the same manner as a judgment rendered in that state. The act supplements the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (“Recognition Act”) by providing an alternative method to seeking recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment. Section 6 of the Recognition Act requires the filing of a lawsuit to seek recognition and enforcement of a judgment, whereas Assembly Bill 145 offers a simple administrative alternative.

Status: Enacted on May 27, 2021

Comments: From submitter: The traditional way in which a foreign judgment (whether from another state or another country) is recognized and enforced in the United States is by filing a lawsuit in the state in which recognition and enforcement is sought to have the foreign judgment “domesticated,” that is, to have it turned into a judgment of the recognizing forum so that the judgment can be enforced as a domestic judgment of that forum. The full judicial proceedings currently required to recognize and enforce every foreign-country money judgment not only increase the costs to the litigants of recognition and enforcement, but also tax the judicial system through increased workload and more crowded dockets. The Uniform Registration of Canadian Money Judgments Act (Registration Act) eliminates the need to file a lawsuit in order to have a Canadian money judgment recognized and enforced. Instead, the uniform act offers a simple registration procedure that is designed to judicial workload and help decongest overburdened dockets. The Registration Act is drafted in a clear, comprehensive manner and will require little extra work from a bill drafter to make it ready for introduction in a state legislature. The act has been enacted in 6 states including Nevada.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

COMMERCE and LABOR Louisiana

01-43-11

Virtual Currency Custody Services House Bill 802

Summary:

This bill enables a financial institution or trust company to provide its customers with virtual currency custody services if the financial institution or trust company has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage risks and comply with applicable laws.

Status: Enacted on June 15, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

In this bill "digital assets" and "virtual currency" are synonymous and encompass other terms like cryptocurrency, tokens, and digital currency.

The rapid developments of the digital assets system have far exceeded the pace of regulation. As a result, regulated financial institutions, like credit unions, have been held back from fully engaging in the digital asset marketplace due to a lack of clear authorization and guidance from their prudential regulators. Meanwhile, companies that lack strict oversight and supervision have been able to fill the void and establish themselves with consumers. Their lack of sufficient regulation is accompanied by insufficient, or nonexistent, capital and liquidity requirements, or insurance. Consumers are often left unaware of the risk they are accepting by utilizing these companies, and they do not have the option to choose a safe and secure financial institution to engage in the digital assets marketplace. Providing a clear outline for custodial rights is the first step in ensuring consumers and institutions are protected from unassumed risks and potentially malicious entities.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

COMMERCE and LABOR California

01-43-12

California Financing Law: Remote Work Assembly Bill 2001

Summary:

Existing law, the California Financing Law (CFL), limits opportunities for remote work by prohibiting a finance lender, broker, mortgage loan originator or program administrator licensee from transacting business or making a loan or administering a Property Assessed Clean Energy program provided for by the CFL under a name or at a place of business other than what is specifically named in the license. The only exception is pursuant to a currently effective written order of the commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation authorizing the other name or other place of business.

This bill would authorize a licensee under the CFL to designate an employee, when acting within the scope of employment, to perform work on the licensee’s behalf at a remote location, as defined, if the licensee takes certain actions, including that the licensee prohibits a consumer’s personal information from being stored at a remote location except for storage on an encrypted device or encrypted media. The bill would define “encrypted” for these purposes.

Status: Enacted on Aug. 26, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the rapid adoption of remote work across the United States and created space and flexibility for workers. Many states created temporary allowances for remote work, some of which are now expiring. The temporary allowances illustrated the feasibility and benefits of permitting remote work for certain licensees. Remote work is often attractive to workers because it allows for more flexibility, less driving or commuting, and the ability to live in more affordable communities. And there is a growing sense among employers, based on recent private sector surveys, that they will not be able to unring the remote work bell and successfully bring employees back into full-time in-person work without facing significant retention challenges. As a result, remote work is expected to become more common in the coming years. A finance lender employee may only telework if they do not meet with a consumer in person at home, do not store records or a consumer's personal information at home except for on an encrypted device or encrypted media, and use the appropriate equipment to safeguard records and personal information. This bill recognizes modern advances, employee needs and preferences, and protects consumers.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

COMMERCE and LABOR Utah

01-43-13

Summary:

Consumer Privacy Act

SB 227

This bill addresses consumer privacy and data collected and maintained by certain businesses. Controllers are responsible for transparency, purpose specification and data minimization. They must also obtain the consumer’s consent for any secondary uses and must honor consumer rights (generally within 45 days of receipt of the consumer’s request). Controllers are also responsible for safeguarding date privacy and security, non-discrimination, non-retaliation and non-waiver of consumer rights. Controllers are prohibited from processing certain data qualifying as “sensitive data” without first presenting the consumer with clear notice and providing an opportunity to opt-out of processing.

Processors must follow a controller’s instructions and must enter into a contract that incorporates certain enumerated requirements (e.g., requirements pertaining to duty of confidentiality, data privacy and security safeguards) before processing data on behalf of the controller.

Specifically, the bill:

• Defines terms

• Provides consumers the right to:

o Access and delete certain personal data maintained by certain businesses.

o Opt out of the collection and use of personal data for certain purposes

• Requires certain businesses that control and process consumer personal data to:

o Safeguard consumer personal data

o Provide clear information to consumers regarding how the consumer personal data are used.

o Accept and comply with a consumer's request to exercise the consumer's rights under this bill

• Creates a right for a consumer to know what personal data a business collects, how the business uses the personal data and whether the business sells the personal data.

• Upon request and subject to exceptions, requires a business to delete a consumer's personal data or stop selling the consumer's personal data

• Allows the Division of Consumer Protection to accept and investigate consumer complaints regarding the processing of personal data.

• Authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to take enforcement action and impose penalties

• Makes technical changes.

Status: Enacted on March 24, 2022

Comments: From submitter: See more about the bill in an article by Morrison Foerster.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

COMMERCE and LABOR Missouri

01-43-14

Summary:

Right to Start Act

House Bill 1590

This bill modifies numerous provisions of law relating to incentives for new businesses. No later than June 30, 2024, and annually thereafter, the commissioner of the Office of Administration shall file a report with the General Assembly that includes:

• The number of contracts awarded to businesses that have been in operation for less than three years and the percentage of such amount compared to the total number of contracts awarded

• The total dollar amount of contracts awarded to businesses that have been in operation for less than three years and the percentage of such amount compared to the total dollar amount of contracts awarded.

The commissioner shall also, in conjunction with the Office of Entrepreneurship established under Section 620.3800, file a report with the General Assembly making recommendations on improving access and resources for new Missouri businesses that have been in operation for less than three years by Jan. 1, 2024.

TAXATION (Sections 143.022 and 143.071)

Currently, there is an individual income tax deduction for business income. This deduction phases to 20% in 5% increments if certain triggers are met. No increase to the deduction will go into effect unless the net general revenue collected in the previous fiscal year exceeded the amount of net general revenue in any one of the three fiscal years prior to such year by at least $150 million. Shareholders of "S" corporations and participants in partnerships will be allowed a proportional deduction based on their share of ownership. As specified in this bill, the first $100,000 of any remaining business income amount from a taxpayer that begins business operations in this state on or after Jan. 1, 2023, after the subtraction provided for in law, shall be reduced by 20% for the first through third tax years in which the taxpayer's business is in operation.

Additionally, for all tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2023, in lieu of the tax currently imposed under law, a tax is imposed upon the Missouri taxable income of a corporation validly licensed under the applicable laws that begins operations in this state on or after Jan. 1, 2023, for the first through third tax years of such corporation, of 3% for the first $100,000 of the corporation's income.

OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

(Section 620.3800)

This bill creates the Office of Entrepreneurship within the Department of Economic Development. The office will employ an individual to promote policies and initiatives to support the growth of entrepreneurship in the state. The office will work with stakeholders and communities to provide information and technical support to entrepreneurs. The office will support and advise the Office of Administration with preparing the report, making recommendations on improving access and resources for new Missouri businesses. This bill is similar to House Bill 1202 (2021).

Status: Enacted on May 9, 2022

Comments:

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION Colorado

02-43-01*

An Act concerning expansion of the opportunities to administer medical marijuana at school to a student with a valid medical marijuana recommendation.

Senate Bill 21-056

Summary:

This bill requires school districts to create systems to reasonably accommodate students who have been prescribed medical marijuana.

Status: Enacted on May 6, 2021

Comments: Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION Colorado

02-43-02

Summary:

Foster Youth Financial Assistance Program

Senate Bill 22-008

The act requires all public higher education institutions in Colorado to provide to Colorado resident students who have been in foster care or, following an adjudication as neglected or dependent, in noncertified kinship care in Colorado at any time on or after reaching the age of 13 (qualifying students), financial assistance for the remaining balance of the student's total cost of attendance in excess of the amount of any private, state or federal financial assistance received by the student (remaining balance financial assistance). Subject to available appropriations, the act requires the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to provide to an institution money to cover 50% of the remaining balance financial assistance provided by the institution to qualifying students. The institutions are required to designate an employee to serve as a liaison to qualifying and prospective qualifying students.

The act requires the Department of Higher Education to designate four full-time equivalent employees as foster care student navigators to provide guidance to prospective qualifying students with selecting institutions and programs and to assist students with completing an institution's application for admission, the free application for federal student aid and, if eligible, the application for a Chafee Education and Training Vouchers Program grant.

School district and state charter school institute child welfare education liaisons are required to provide students in out-of-home placements with information and assistance regarding the remaining balance of financial assistance for qualifying students.

The act appropriates $2,610,575 from the general fund to the Department of Higher Education for aid for foster students.

Status: Enacted on May 26, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

InsideHigherEd shares, "That youth who have experienced foster care have high aspirations but face considerable barriers to obtaining a postsecondary credential is well established in the research literature. For example, although an estimated 80% of those youth hope to attend college, studies have found that only an estimated 3% to 5% successfully complete an undergraduate degree, compared with 29% of the general population. Finally, such students often don’t have the financial resources to pay for higher education, including tuition, fees, housing, food and other associated expenses. In fact, despite federal aid programs that provide some financial support, they may be less likely than their other first-generation and low-income peers to apply for it." This is a national issue. The SSL Committee may consider whether this bill meets all necessary criteria.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

EDUCATION Colorado

02-43-03

Universal Preschool Program House Bill 22-1295

Summary:

Key provisions of Colorado’s universal preschool bill:

• Provides 10 hours of tuition-free preschool for 4-year-olds statewide, as well as a smaller number of 3-year-olds those who have disabilities or who have certain risk factors.

• Gives the executive director of the new Department of Early Childhood the authority to make rules, in consultation with an advisory committee.

• Pledges to provide universal preschool in various settings, such as public schools, private centers and homes.

• Charges the new department with creating a single application for publicly funded early childhood programs, including universal preschool.

Status: Enacted on April 25, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

The program promises 4-year-olds 10 hours a week of tuition-free preschool in public school classrooms or private settings, such as child care centers, churches or homes licensed to provide preschool. Funding will come from the state’s existing preschool program, which serves children with certain risk factors, and from proceeds of a nicotine tax Colorado voters approved in 2020.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION Virginia

02-43-04

Students; Eligibility for In-State Tuition House Bill 2123

Summary:

This bill provides that students who meet the criteria to be deemed eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status shall be afforded the same educational benefits, including financial assistance programs administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the State Board for Community Colleges or a public institution of higher education, as any other individual who is eligible for in-state tuition. The bill directs the council, in coordination with institutions of higher education, to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill had a delayed effective date of Aug. 1, 2022, and is identical to Senate Bill 1387.

Status: Enacted on March 12, 2021

Comments: Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION California

02-43-05

Summary:

Pupil Mental Health: Model Referral Protocols

Assembly Bill 309

This bill requires the state Department of Education to develop model referral protocols for addressing pupil mental health concerns. It requires the department to consult with various entities in developing the protocols, including current classroom teachers, administrators, pupils and parents. The bill requires the department to post the model referral protocols on its internet website. The bill makes these provisions contingent upon funds being appropriated for its purpose in the annual Budget Act or other legislation or state, federal or private funds being allocated for this purpose.

Status: Enacted on Oct. 8, 2021

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION Colorado

02-43-06

Summary:

Inclusive

Higher Education Act

House Bill 1107

This bill creates the Inclusive Higher Education Grant Program in the Department of Higher Education to provide grants to state institutions of higher education for the purpose of establishing, or expanding existing, inclusive higher education programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It also requires the department to contract with an organization that has demonstrated success in assisting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attend such institutions and appropriates funds.

Status: Enacted on May 26, 2022

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION Connecticut

02-43-07

An Act Concerning Childhood Mental And Physical Health Services In Schools

Act. No. 22-80

Summary:

The bill provides that a school nurse or, in the absence of a school nurse, a qualified school employee may maintain opioid antagonists (i.e., substances that block or reduce the effects of opioids) for the purpose of emergency first aid to students who experience an opioid-related drug overdose and do not have a prior written authorization of a parent or guardian or a prior written order of a qualified medical professional for the administration of such an opioid antagonist.

Status: Enacted on May 24, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

The act amends the state’s school medication administration laws to allow school nurses (or during their absence/unavailability, qualified/trained school employees) to administer opioid antagonists (i.e., NARCAN) to provide emergency first aid to students experiencing opioidrelated drug overdose and who do not have prior written authorization from a parent or prior written order of a qualified medical professional. During regular school hours, there must be at least one such qualified/trained school employee on school grounds (at each school in the absence of a school nurse). A parent/guardian may submit a request in writing to the school nurse and medical advisor that an opioid antagonist not be administered to their child. The act also requires the Department of Consumer Protection (in collaboration with SDE) to provide information to school districts on where they can acquire opioid antagonists. The act authorizes prescribers or pharmacists certified to prescribe an opioid antagonist to enter into an agreement with school districts on the distribution and administration of such antagonists.

Staff Note: Disposition

EDUCATION Virginia

02-43-08

School Boards; Board Policy for Students Unable to Pay for a Meal at School

House Bill 2013

Summary:

This bill requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.

Status: Enacted on March 12, 2021

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

EDUCATION Colorado

02-43-09

Summary:

Remove Lawful Presence Verification Credentialing

Senate Bill 21-077

This bill eliminates the requirement that the Department of Education and each division, board or agency of the Department of Regulatory Agencies verify the lawful presence of each applicant before issuing or renewing a license.

Status: Enacted on May 27, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

NY SB 3046

NC HB 540 PA SB 165 ME LD 1684 GA HR 11 NY S 7429 VT H 703 NM H B191 MD SB 523

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

CO SB 22-140 MN SF 3485 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 113 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332 ME LD 149 (HP 105)

EDUCATION Virginia

02-43-10

Provisional Teacher Licensure; Teachers Licensed or Certified Outside of the United States

Senate Bill 68

Summary:

This bill requires the Virginia Board of Education to provide for the issuance of a provisional license, valid for a period not to exceed three years, to any individual who holds a valid and officially issued and recognized license or certification to teach issued by an entity outside of the United States but does not meet the requirements for a renewable license. Companion bill: House Bill 979.

Status: Enacted on April 11, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the teaching category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

ENVIRONMENT Washington

03-43-01*

Concerning the Management of Certain Materials to Support Recycling and Waste and Litter Reduction

Senate Bill 5022

Summary:

This bill manages solid waste through prohibitions on expanded polystyrene, providing for food service-ware upon customer request and addressing plastic packaging.

Status: Enacted May 17, 2021

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

ENVIRONMENT Maine

03-43-02

Summary:

An Act To Create the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority

Legislative Document 1694

The bill establishes the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority to assist municipalities and other entities in the redevelopment of properties, including properties that are blighted, abandoned, environmentally hazardous and functionally obsolete, in order to return those properties to productive use. It also establishes the Development Ready Advisory Committee within the redevelopment authority in order to develop and maintain best practices for community development and to assist the redevelopment authority and any other entity that requests assistance with redevelopment matters.

Status: Enacted on Aug. 8, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

LD 1694 also won Maine Association of Planners Project of the Year award. It was a very bipartisan process, with leaders in both chambers and members from across Maine, in rural and urban centers, co-sponsoring and supporting the bill. It addresses a problem found in every community properties that developers do not want, and which municipalities do not have capacity (financial or otherwise) to take on. The bill not only establishes a State Land Bank, which will leverage federal resources and staff to work with the municipality, it also establishes best practices in the form of a Development Ready Advisory Committee for technical expertise, streamlining of state resources and municipal support.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

GOVERNMENT California

04-43-01

Summary:

Elections: Vote by Mail Ballots

Assembly Bill 37

This bill ensures all registered voters receive a mail-in ballot at least 29 days before every election. Specifically, the bill:

• Requires a ballot be mailed to every registered voter in all elections.

• Requires a vote-by-mail tracking system to be accessible to voters with disabilities.

• Requires county elections officials to permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote-by-mail system for any election.

• Provides that a vote-by-mail ballot is timely cast if it is voted on or before election day and, if returned by mail, received no later than seven days after election day.

• Authorizes an elections official to consider any information from the United States Postal Service or a bona fide private mail delivery company that indicates the date on which the ballot was mailed, in order to determine whether a vote-by-mail ballot was timely cast.

• Requires any county that does not conduct an all-mailed ballot election to provide at least two vote-by-mail ballot drop-off locations within the jurisdiction where the election is held, or at least one vote-by-mail ballot drop-off location for every 30,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction where the election is held, whichever results in more voteby-mail ballot drop-off locations. In a jurisdiction with fewer than 30,000 registered voters, the bill requires at least one vote-by-mail ballot drop-off location and requires the elections official to make a reasonable effort to provide a ballot drop-off location in the jurisdiction where the election is held.

• Requires the operation of vote-by-mail ballot drop-off locations to meet certain specified criteria.

• Authorizes a jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing vote-by-mail ballots the 29th day before any election.

• Provides that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made.

Status: Enacted on Sept. 27, 2021

GOVERNMENT Tennessee

04-43-02

An Act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, relative to state government

House Bill 2309

Summary:

This bill allows certain immigrants, such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, to be eligible to apply for a professional or commercial license.

Status: Enacted on May 2, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the general category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

NY SB 3046

NC HB 540 CO SB21-077

PA SB 165 ME LD 1684 GA HR 11 NY S 7429 VT H 703

NM HB 191

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

MD SB 523 CO SB 22-140 MN HF 3986 ME LD 2035 TN HB 2309 MA S 113 NJ A 3963 IL HB 4332 ME LD 149 (HP 105)

GOVERNMENT Maryland

04-43-03

Summary:

Creating Governor's Office of Immigrant Affairs

Senate Bill 85

This bill establishes the Governor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to create a network of centers to provide assistance and services to immigrants and promote civic and economic integration.

Status: Enacted on Oct. 1, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the category to establish state-level Offices of New Americans. Other bills in this category are:

PA SB 101

OR HB 778

CO HB21 - 1150

CA SB 452

AZ AB 1428

DE SB 249

MN HF 4355

IL HB 1567

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

GOVERNMENT Oregon

04-43-04

Relating to the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement; and Declaring an Emergency House Bill 778

Summary:

This bill establishes the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement within the Office of the Governor, for the purpose of operating a statewide immigrant and refugee integration strategy.

Status: Enacted on July 19, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the category to establish state-level Offices of New Americans. Other bills in this category are:

MD SB 85

PA SB 101

CO HB 21 - 1150

CA SB 452

AZ SB 1428

DE SB 249

MN HF 4355

IL HB 1567

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

GOVERNMENT Colorado

04-43-05

Summary:

Concerning the creation of the Colorado office of New Americans

House Bill 21 - 1150

This bill establishes the Colorado Office of New Americans, intended to serve as a centralized location for state programs, initiatives and policies focused on facilitating economic stability and promoting successful integration of immigrants

Status: Enacted on June 25, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the category to establish state-level Offices of New Americans. Other bills in this category are:

MD SB 85

PA SB 101

OR HB 778

CA SB 452

AZ SB 1428

DE SB 249

MN HF 4355

IL HB 1567

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

GOVERNMENT Illinois

04-43-06

Summary:

State Government – Technology

House Bill 1567

This bill amends the Governor’s Office of New Americans Act to support the social, cultural and economic inclusion of immigrants and refugees. Among other things, the Office of New Americans ensures immigrant and refugee access to quality English language learning programs and monitors the completion of New Americans Plans by each state agency.

Status: Enacted on June 10, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the category to establish state-level Offices of New Americans. Other bills in this category are:

MD SB 85

PA SB 101

OR HB 778

CO HB 21 - 1150

CA SB 452

AZ SB 1428 DE SB 249 MN HF 4355

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

04-43-07

Summary:

Uniform Public Expression Protection Act

SB 3329

The Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA) is designed to combat the issue of strategic lawsuits against public participation, also called “SLAPPs.” These are lawsuits filed solely to entangle their targets in expensive litigation that chills the defendant from engaging in constitutionally protected activity, such as freely speaking and petitioning the government. The act creates a clear process by which such lawsuits can be challenged and their merits fairly assessed in an efficient manner.

Additional information about the act can be found here: https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?communitykey=4f486460-199c49d7-9fac-05570be1e7b1

Status: Enacted on June 17, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

The Uniform Public Expression Protection Act provides states with a modernized anti-SLAPP framework that harmonizes the varying approaches found in existing law by enunciating a clear process through which SLAPPs can be challenged and their merits fairly evaluated in an expedited manner. In doing so, the act actually serves two purposes: protecting individuals’ rights to petition and speak freely on issues of public interest while, at the same time, protecting the rights of people and entities to file meritorious lawsuits for real injuries. The act is drafted in a clear, comprehensive manner and will require little extra work from a bill drafter to make it ready for introduction in the state legislature. The act has been enacted in Hawaii, Kentucky and Washington.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HEALTH Arkansas

05-43-01*

An Act to Exempt Health Savings Account-Qualified Health Insurance Policies from Certain Insurance Requirements; To Clarify The Coverage of Diagnostic Examination’s for Breast Cancer Under Certain Plans.

Senate Bill 664

Summary:

This bill would ensure that a health insurance plan that is Health Savings Account-qualified is exempt from any state law that would cause the plan to be disqualified because the law requires coverage of and/or cost-sharing for benefits that would cause that plan to fail to meet the federal definition of a “high deductible health plan ”

Status: Enacted on April 27, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This legislation is offered to ensure that health-related legislation does not disqualify a Health Savings Account owner from continuing to make tax-deductible contributions to their HSA. A Health Savings Account (“HSA”) is a trust or custodial account offered with a high-deductible health insurance plan that meets specific requirements in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, as interpreted and administered by the federal Internal Revenue Service. An eligible individual can deduct contributions from income taxes and use contributed funds tax-free for qualified medical expenses. But consumers cannot benefit from an HSA unless they are enrolled in an “HSAqualified” plan. A plan will fail to qualify if a state law (however well intended) requires coverage without (or with limited) cost sharing for benefits that are not “preventive care” services as defined by federal HSA law. The federal HSA statute requires that HSA-qualified plans apply a minimum deductible to all covered benefits that are not “preventive care.”

The Arkansas law (Act 939) was enacted in response to several bills enacted in the 2021 legislative session that were problematic including SB 290, SB 309 and HB 1569

Other states with similar provisions embedded in their Insurance Codes:

• Kentucky: KRS Chapter 304, Subtitle 17A. (via Chapter 133/2021)

• Oregon: ORS §742.008

• Rhode Island: Title 27, Chapter 69

• Utah: Title 31A, Chapter 22, Part 6, §657 (via Chapter 198/2022)

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

Committee Meeting:

HEALTH Illinois

05-43-02* Physicians Dementia Training Senate Bill 677

Summary:

This bill requires all health care professionals seeking licenses or registration renewals to complete one hour of training in the diagnosis, treatment and care of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Status: Enacted Aug. 16, 2021

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HEALTH

05-43-03*

Summary:

Nevada

An Act Relating to Insurance; Providing for the Establishment of a Public Health Benefit Plan

Senate Bill 420

Senate Bill 420 requires the director of the Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the executive director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange and the commissioner of insurance of the Department of Business and Industry, to design, establish and operate a public health benefit plan known as the Public Option.

The public option must be available to all natural persons who reside in Nevada through the exchange and for direct purchase. It may also be made available to small employers or their employees. The public option must meet requirements established by federal and state law for individual health insurance or health insurance for small employers and must meet certain coverage and premium limitation requirements.

Status: Enacted on June 9, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

The bill provides for a public health insurance option to be implemented by 2026. This makes Nevada as the second state to enact a state-managed public health insurance, and it is quite innovative. For instance, health insurers must bid to offer a public health option when they also bid to provider coverage to Nevada's Medicaid population. These unique concepts may be of interest to the SSL Committee for further consideration.

From The Las Vegas Sun (April 28th, 2021):

Bill would create public health insurance option in Nevada CARSON CITY With about a month left in the Legislative session, Nevada lawmakers are considering a bill that would establish a state public health insurance option. Senate Bill 420, led by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, would make the so-called Nevada Option available through the state’s insurance marketplace and state-contracted health insurers. Under the bill, coverage would begin by 2025. “I think if there’s one thing that the pandemic has absolutely illustrated, it is the need for more affordable health care and sensible health care for Nevadans here in the state,” Cannizzaro said. “That has absolutely become even more readily apparent as people have lost their jobs; they’ve been kicked off their health insurance; they’ve been struggling to ensure that when and if they get sick during the pandemic, that they’ll be able to have access to health care,” she said. The bill would require companies that bid to provide Medicaid services in Nevada also offer plans under the public option. Proponents see it as a way to leverage the state’s $2 billion in Medicaid contracts to expand affordable health care. The bill’s goal is to reduce premiums statewide by 15% in the program’s first five years. Under the bill, premiums for the public option would be 5% lower than any ZIP code’s reference premium and rate increases would be capped.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

HEALTH Georgia

05-43-04

Summary:

Mental Health Parity Act

House Bill 1013

This bill amends titles 15, 20, 31, 33, 37, 45 and 49 of the Georgia statutes relating to courts, education, health, insurance, mental health, public officers and employees and social services, respectively, to implement the recommendations of the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission.

Status: Enacted on July 1, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This is actually an Omnibus Bill. It does not just focus on Mental Health Parity. Speaker Ralston sponsored the bill. This 76-page bill focuses on a plethora of mental health issues that need to be addressed in every state. Georgia HB 1013 would be model legislation for states that already have passed mental health parity. It is unique as the legislation addresses parity, access to medications, medical loss ration, additional beds in rural communities, criminal justice training, as well as other neglected components in this vulnerable population. States could look as this as model legislation or select specific parts of the bill to address their unique needs.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

05-43-05

Summary:

Regards Screening Mammography and Dense Breast Tissue

House Bill 371

This bill revises the law governing health insurance and Medicaid coverage of screening mammography by requiring coverage for one screening mammography every year and specifying that screening mammography includes digital breast tomosynthesis. The bill requires health insurers and the Medicaid program to cover supplemental breast cancer screening if certain conditions are met. The bill revises the language a mammography facility must use when notifying a mammography patient in writing of the presence of dense breast tissue.

For a Certificate of Need granted during the period of the COVID-19 state of emergency, the bill:

• Requires the director of health to grant a certificate holder a 24-month extension to obligate capital expenditures and commence construction for a proposed project.

• Provides that the transfer of a certificate, or transfer of the controlling interest in an entity that holds a certificate, prior to completion of the reviewable activity for which the certificate was granted, does not void the certificate, so long as recognizing the transfer does not violate continuing law that prohibits a certificate from being approved in various circumstances.

• For a certificate granted on or before the bill’s effective date, prohibits the director from imposing a civil penalty against a certificate holder for obligating capital expenditures in an amount between 110% and 150% of the approved project cost.

Status: Enacted June 1, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

HB 371 will improve the patient notification letter informing women of dense breasts, allow women of any age or risk factor to receive a yearly mammogram, define mammogram with the inclusion of tomosynthesis, and finally, expand coverage for supplemental breast cancer screenings for women with dense breasts or with a high-risk factor.

Provisions of the bill make a point to include the best technology available to doctors when screening for the disease. By including tomosynthesis in the definition of a mammogram, women will have access to a 3-D image of their screening. Chest MRIs and ultrasounds would also be more accessible for women in need of a supplemental screening.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

Include in Volume

Include as a Note

Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

05-43-06

Summary:

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code - Biomarkers

House Bill 1779

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code to provide that an individual or group health care service plan contract that is issued, amended, delivered or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2022, shall not require prior authorization for biomarker testing for an insured with advanced or metastatic stage 3 or 4 cancer, nor shall prior authorization be required for biomarker testing of cancer progression or recurrence in the insured with advanced or metastatic stage 3 or 4 cancer. Defines "biomarker testing".

This bill:

• Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan amended, delivered, issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2022, shall include coverage for biomarker testing.

• Provides that biomarker testing shall be covered and conducted in an efficient manner to provide the most complete range of results to the patient's health care provider without requiring multiple biopsies, biospecimen samples or other delays or disruptions in patient care.

• Provides that biomarker testing must be covered for the purposes of diagnosis, treatment, appropriate management or ongoing monitoring of an enrollee's disease or condition when the test is supported by medical and scientific evidence.

• Provides that when coverage of biomarker testing for the purpose of diagnosis, treatment or ongoing monitoring of any medical condition is restricted for use by health insurers, nonprofit health service plans or health maintenance organizations, the patient and prescribing practitioner shall have access to a clear, readily accessible and convenient processes to request an exception, and the process shall be made readily accessible on the insurer's website. Defines "biomarker" and "biomarker testing."

Status: Enacted on July 31, 2021

HEALTH Illinois

05-43-07

Summary:

Equity and Representation in Health Care Act

House Bill 4645

This bill creates the Equity and Representation in Health Care Act, which:

• Contains the findings of the General Assembly.

• Creates the Equity and Representation in Health Care Workforce Repayment Program and the Equity and Representation in Health Care Workforce Scholarship Program to be administered by the Department of Public Health

• Provides that a health care professional, medical facility or behavioral health provider may apply to the department for loan repayment assistance under the program.

Status: Enacted on May 27, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This legislation builds upon significant administration efforts toward health equity including expanding telehealth coverage in order to increase health care access to vulnerable and rural populations, including mental health services; eliminating the Medicaid backlog; bringing an additional $250 million in federal health care funding to Illinois; signing the Healthcare and Hospital Transformation bill into law; and working with the General Assembly to make Illinois the first state in the nation to offer health care access assistance to undocumented seniors.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

05-43-08

Medicaid Coverage for Doula Services House Bill 343

Summary:

This bill relates to coverage for doula services, defines doula services and provides that such services include support and assistance during labor and childbirth, prenatal and postpartum support and education, breastfeeding assistance and lactation support, parenting education and support for a birthing person following loss of pregnancy.

Status: Enacted on July 25, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill mandates the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance to formulate a plan for coverage of doula services by Medicaid providers. That report would be due Nov. 1 to the General Assembly. The services include educational support to pregnant and birthing women before, during, and after childbirth.

This bill is just one of several bills signed into law by Gov. Carney that are centered on expanding health services across the state that are focused on maternal and infant health that are designed to improve health outcomes for families.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HEALTH West Virginia

05-43-09

Summary:

Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act

House Bill 4112

This bill states that pharmacy managers may not require more stringent accreditations or certifications than necessary. Additionally, pharmacy managers may not restrict consumer access to “specialty drugs.”

Status: Enacted on March 30, 2022

Comments: From submitter: This bill (HB4112 from 2022) enhances the already comprehensive PBM (primary benefit manager) reform legislation HB 2263 (2021). West Virginia has taken the lead on PBM reform, they have proven cost savings to the state when returning the Medicaid pharmacy program back to FFS (fee for service) and away from PBM's and have increased patient access and lowered costs.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HEALTH Oklahoma

05-43-10

Summary:

Oklahoma Kratom Consumer Protection Act

House Bill 1784

This bill creates the Oklahoma Kratom Consumer Protection Act. Kratom is an herbal extract used for medicinal purposes. The bill:

• Requires vendors to disclose certain information on product labels.

• Prohibits vendors from certain activities if the disclosure requirement is not met

• Prohibits vendors from preparing or distributing kratom products under certain circumstances

• Establishes label requirements for kratom products.

• Prohibits vendors from distributing or selling kratom products to minors.

• Requires vendors to provide test results

• Provides administrative penalties for certain violations

• Authorizes an aggrieved person to bring cause of action under certain circumstances

• Make certain declarations upon a specific finding by the court.

Status: Enacted on May 24, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

The Kratom Consumer Protection Act, enacted in various forms in 7 states (Utah, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma and Colorado), addresses the growing problem of dangerously adulterated kratom products the present significant safety risks for consumers. Kratom is a plant that is indigenous to Southeast Asia, although it is now being grown in Hawaii and Florida in the U.S., and is now consumed by more than 15 million Americans on a regular basis. The alkaloids of the kratom plant have been found, at higher doses, to help consumers suffering from addictions for therapies used to address acute and chronic pain to replace more dangerously addictive and potentially deadly opioids. Most consumers use kratom as a replacement for a cup of coffee for increased energy and focus, and some have found it to be helpful in relieving anxiety. As the popularity of kratom has increased, bad actors in the industry have adulterated natural kratom with fentanyl, heroin, morphine and other dangerous drugs to give their product enhanced effect the natural plant does not provide. That leads to addictions and overdose deaths. The Kratom Consumer Protection Act is an essential regulatory scheme to protect consumers.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

05-43-11

An Act To Amend Title 18 Of The Delaware Code To Ensure Fairness In Cost-Sharing For Prescription Drugs

Senate Bill 267

Summary:

The bill requires that third-party cost-sharing assistance used by patients is applied toward the enrollee's health insurance deductibles and any out-of-pocket limits. Additionally, the bill defines what constitutes a “cost-sharing requirement” and how to calculate the assistance when applying to patient’s deductibles and out-of-pocket limits. This bill applies to carriers and pharmacy benefits managers with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2024.

The bill provides that if application of that requirement would result in ineligibility of a health savings account under federal law, the requirement applies to health savings account-qualified high deductible health plans with respect to the deductible of a plan after the enrollee has satisfied a specified minimum deductible, except with respect to specified items or services, in which case the requirement applies regardless of whether the minimum deductible has been satisfied.

Status: Enacted on June 30, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

In 2019, the SSL Committee previously included legislation (Virginia SB1596/HB251) to ensure any third-party cost-sharing assistance would count towards a patient’s deductible and maximum out-of-pocket costs. DE SB 267 includes additional provisions that improves upon this legislation to ensure patients with HSA-eligible HDHPs (high deductible health plans) are able to count all cost-sharing assistance towards their deductible and maximum out-of-pocket costs once they meet the IRS minimum deductible. This language protects patients in the event a state law banning an accumulator adjustment program would result in loss of HSA-eligibility for HDHPs and helps to ensure patients that have an HSA-eligible HDHP are able to contribute to their HSA while also ensuring that any cost-sharing assistance is counted towards their deductible or maximum out-of-pocket costs once they meet the IRS minimum deductible amount. This updated bill language ensures that state laws are aligned with federal IRS guidance and helps to prevent state law from jeopardizing patients’ eligibility to contribute to HSAs. This is an innovative solution and consistent with the most recent model accumulator adjustment program ban language adopted by NCOIL.

HEALTH California

05-43-12

Public Employment: Unfair Practices: Health Protection Assembly Bill 237

Summary:

This bill creates the Public Employee Health Protection Act, making it an unfair practice for a covered employer to fail or refuse to maintain or pay for continued health care or other medical coverage for an enrolled employee or their enrolled dependents, for the duration of the enrolled employee's participation in an authorized strike, at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued to work in their position for the duration of the strike.

Status: Enacted on Oct. 9, 2021

Comments: N/A

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

05-43-13

Summary:

Safe Spaces for Youth Pilot Program

Senate Bill 3235

This bill establishes the Safe Spaces for Youth Pilot Program within the Department of Human Services. It requires the pilot program to collaborate with all state and county departments that offer services to ensure the well-being of youth in Hawaii to coordinate the identification of youth who are experiencing homelessness and placement of these youth at a shelter for homeless youth. It also requires the department to contract with nonprofit organizations to provide shelters for homeless youth. It also requires the department to submit a report to the legislature before the Regular Session of 2025.

Status: Enacted on June 27, 2022

Comments: N/A

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

05-43-14

Summary:

An Act Concerning Children’s Mental Health

House Bill 5001

The bill provides that the commissioner of the Department for Children and Families shall establish and implement a regional mental and behavioral health consultation and care coordination program for primary care providers who serve children, and the pediatric patients of such providers. It also provides that the program shall refer the pediatric patient of a primary care provider who serves children for not more than three follow up telehealth or in person appointments with a mental health care provider under specified circumstances.

Status: Enacted on May 23, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

Bill includes 73 different sections with a slew of programs and funding. It would make license reciprocity possible for out of state providers, especially those who treat children. It also would set up a grant program for local and regional boards of education to hire additional school mental health specialists and create a second grant program for school boards and operators of youth camps to help cover mental health services for students.

Under the bill, certain health plans would have to offer coverage for two mental health wellness examinations per year performed by a licensed mental health provider and waive the requirement for prior authorization. The measure also mandates that the state health care advocate designate an employee to handle services specific to minors and launches a peer-topeer mental health support program.

The proposal won unanimous final passage in the Senate with a vote of 36-0.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HEALTH Oregon

05-43-15

Relating to health care; and declaring an emergency House Bill 4034

Summary:

Sections 17-19 and 23-26 of omnibus House Bill 4034 allow for pharmacy staff who are not physically handling drugs to work offsite with proper security controls. This allows for better working conditions for health care workers and increases their access to work in remote areas. It also reduces barriers to operating remote dispensing sites in areas that lack access to pharmacy services. The telepharmacy section includes language from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy model act. The remote dispensing portion is a follow up to Oregon Senate Bill 629 from the 2021 session.

Status: Enacted on March 23, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This language was developed in collaboration between the sponsor, Rep. Rachel Prusak FNP (D-Oregon, Chair of House Health Care Committee) and several health care stakeholders to improve access to care and working conditions for health care workers. Several states have codified remote work for pharmacy staff, and more have since the beginning of COVID. This list includes NH SB 57 (2021), Indiana HB 1468 (2021), Illinois SB 194 (2021). Remote dispensing telepharmacy practice bills are also trending. These include CO SB 22-173 (2022) and AZ HB 2149 (2018). Provisions of OR HB4034 unify the strongest aspects of both types of bills in one simple framework.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HEALTH Michigan

05-43-16

Appropriations: omnibus; appropriations for 2022-2023 and 2021-2022; provide for. Creates appropriation act.

Senate Bill 5783

Summary:

This bill provides funds for a task force on internationally trained medical licensing as part of the fiscal year 2022-23 licensing and regulatory affairs budget.

Status: Enacted on July 20, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the healthcare category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44

ME LD 1660

PA HB 245

CO HB22 - 1050

IL SB 4015

HI HB 1758

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

HEALTH Washington

05-43-17

Summary:

Concerning the licensure of international medical graduates

House Bill 1129

This bill allows eligible international medical graduates to apply for a limited license to practice under the supervision of a licensed physician in Washington. Eligible candidates must provide proof they are certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, have passed all steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination and successfully pass the commission’s background check process.

Status: Enacted on May 10, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

NV SB 44

ME LD 1660

PA HB 245

CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015 HI HB 1758

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317

OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

HEALTH Nevada

05-43-18

Summary:

Revises Provisions Governing Behavioral Health Professionals

Senate Bill 44

This bill revises existing provisions to include the requirements for applicants for a license to engage in social work who are graduates of a foreign college or university, among other things

Status: Enacted on June 11, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

ME LD 1660

PA HB 245

CO HB22 - 1050

IL SB 4015

HI HB 1758

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

VT H 0661

IN HB 1239

IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

05-43-19

An Act to Modify Dental Licensure Requirements To Consider Credentialed Individuals from Other Jurisdictions

Legislative Document 1660

Summary:

This bill authorizes the Board of Dental Practice, on a case-by-case basis, to grant licensure to otherwise qualified applicants for dentist licenses, limited dentist licenses and dental hygienist licenses who did not obtain either a doctoral degree in dentistry or a dental hygiene degree from a program accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. It authorizes the board to consider educational equivalency in determining qualifications. The bill would also authorize the Board of Dental Practice, on a case-by-case basis, to grant licensure to otherwise qualified applicants for dentist faculty licenses, limited dentist licenses, expanded function dental assistant licenses, faculty dental hygiene licenses, faculty denturist licenses and licenses under the Dental Practice Act endorsement provision if the applicant is licensed in good standing in a foreign nation or a foreign administrative division that issues licenses in the dental professions.

Status: Enacted on June 11, 2021

Comments: From submitter: This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129 NV SB 44 PA HB 245 CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015 HI HB 1758

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

HEALTH Pennsylvania

05-43-20

An Act amending the act of December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112), known as the Medical Practice Act of 1985, further providing for license without restriction, for institutional license and for temporary license

House Bill 245

Summary:

This bill amends the Medical Practice Act of 1985 to allow International Medical Graduates enrolled in medical residency to apply for a license without restriction after completing two years of approved graduate medical training, aligning licensure requirements with their U.S. medical graduate counterparts.

Status: Enacted on April 19, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44 ME LD 1660

CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015 HI HB 1758

VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440 Staff Note: Disposition

HEALTH Colorado

05-43-21

International Medical Graduate Integrate Healthcare Workforce House Bill 22 - 1050

Summary:

This bill supports the integration of International Medical Graduates in Colorado's health care workforce by establishing an assistance program, a clinical readiness program and dedicated residency positions. The bill would also create a new pathway to licensure for international medical graduates who have not completed a U.S. residency program but meet other specified requirements.

Status: Enacted on June 7, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44 ME LD 1660 PA HB 245 IL SB 4015 HI HB 1758

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

Relating To Nurses

House Bill 1758

Summary:

This bill allows eligible internationally educated and trained nurses applying for licensure by endorsement to receive a temporary permit while their applications are verified and reviewed.

Status: Enacted on June 27, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44 ME LD 1660

PA HB 245

CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

HEALTH Vermont

05-43-23

Summary:

An Act relating to licensure of mental health professionals

House Bill 0661

This bill directs the Office of Professional Regulation to conduct a study of mental health professional licensure, including the barriers hindering refugees and new citizens, among other populations, from entering mental health professions.

Status: Enacted on May 12, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44

ME LD 1660

PA HB 245

CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HI HB 1758

IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD HB 625 MD SB 440

HEALTH Illinois

05-43-24

Task Force – International Health Care House Bill 5465

Summary:

This bill creates a Task Force on Internationally Licensed Health Care Professionals to remove barriers to licensure and practice for health care workers licensed in another country and to address the health care workforce shortage in the state.

Status: Enacted on May 13, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44

ME LD 1660

PA HB 245

CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

HI HB 1758

VT H 0661

IN HB 1239

IN SB 0317

OK SB 1741

MD HB 625MD SB 440

HEALTH Maryland

05-43-25

Commission to Study the Health Care Workforce Crisis in MarylandEstablishment

House Bill 625

Summary:

This bill establishes a commission to study areas related to health care workforce shortages that would examine, among other things, the barriers impeding immigrant and refugee health care workers and identify career and licensure pathways for individuals with education, training and experience from another country.

Status: Enacted on May 22, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is part of the health care category to address barriers to occupational licensing and support access to the workforce for immigrants and refugees. Other bills in this category are:

MI SB 5783

WA HB 1129

NV SB 44 ME LD 1660 PA HB 245 CO HB22 - 1050 IL SB 4015

HI HB 1758 VT H 0661 IN HB 1239 IN SB 0317 OK SB 1741 IL HB 5465 MD SB 440

Staff Note: Senate Bill 440 was also submitted for consideration; it is completely identical to House Bill 440.

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

05-43-26

Summary:

Pharmacy technician vaccinations

House Bill 2131

This bill permits a pharmacy technician to perform tasks delegated by the pharmacist, including participation in drug, dietary supplement and device selection, storage, distribution and administration, if the delegated tasks are consistent with the pharmacy technician's education, training and experience.

Status: Enacted on April 13, 2022

Comments: From submitter: During the COVID-19 pandemic, HHS (pursuant to the Prep Act) authorized Pharmacy Technicians to administer COVID-19 vaccines. This would continue the practice of technician vaccinations by codifying it in statute, increasing access to care across states.

Staff Note:

As early as 2016, Idaho actively underwent a rule rewrite which included adding language that permitted pharmacy technicians to administer immunizations, becoming the first state in the nation to do so. Rhode Island and Utah followed suit with their rules in 2018. As of September 2022, Virginia, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have enacted laws that permit pharmacy technicians to administer vaccinations and perform additional duties.

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

Medicaid Value-Based Purchasing

House Bill 110

Summary:

Enacted as part of the 2021-22 budget act, and found on page 2233 (Section 333.215), the bill requires the state Department of Medicaid to submit to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services a Medicaid state plan amendment to authorize the department to enter into valuebased purchasing supplemental rebate agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers. The agreements must establish criteria for the payment of supplemental rebates. The rebates can be calculated and paid in a single year or over multiple years.

The department must use its best efforts to ensure that the agreement form permits rebates to be calculated on many different bases at the discretion of the department with the approval of the drug manufacturer, including under (1) outcome-based models, (2) shared savings models, (3) subscription or modified subscription models, (4) risk-sharing models or (5) guarantees. The bill provides that the department is not required to enter into these supplemental rebate agreements.

Status: Enacted on June 30, 2021

Comments: From submitter: Please note that relevant provisions are found on page 2233, section 333.215.

This bill authorizes the Medicaid department to enter into value-based arrangements with biopharmaceutical manufacturers to help ensure patient access to innovative therapies. Other recent legislation similar in nature includes California SB 521 (failed, 2021), Minnesota HF 2461 (pending, 2021), and Texas SB 1780 (enacted, 2019).

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

06-43-01*

Summary:

Law enforcement: use of force

Assembly Bill 48

Assembly Bill 48 enacts restrictions on the types of force law enforcement can use in response to protests. As a general rule, the bill prohibits the use of “kinetic energy projectiles” (such as rubber or plastic bullets or “beanbag” rounds) and “chemical agents” (such as tear gas, pepper balls and pepper spray) to disperse any assembly, protest or demonstration, except in compliance with several requirements.

This bill:

• Prohibits the use of kinetic energy projectiles or chemical agents by any law enforcement agency to disperse any assembly, protest or demonstration, except in compliance with specified standards set by the bill and prohibits their use solely due to a violation of an imposed curfew, verbal threat or noncompliance with a law enforcement directive.

• Directs that standards for the use of kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents to disperse gatherings include the requirement that, among other things, those weapons only be used to defend against a threat to life or serious bodily injury to any individual, including a peace officer, or to bring an objectively dangerous and unlawful situation safely and effectively under control.

• Defines chemical agents to include, among other substances, chloroacetophenone tear gas or chlorobenzalmalononitrile gas.

• Makes these provisions inapplicable within a county jail or state prison facility.

• Requires each law enforcement agency, within a specified timeframe, to post on their internet website a summary, as described, of any incident in which a kinetic energy projectile or chemical agent is deployed by that agency for the purpose of crowd control.

• Requires the Department of Justice to provide a compiled list of links to these reports on its internet website.

• Provides that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Status: Enacted Sept. 30, 2021

Comments: From Submitter:

The bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez would bar law enforcement agencies from using kinetic projectiles, chemical agents or tear gas to break up peaceful demonstration, and prohibit police from aiming rubber bullets, beanbags and foam rounds at anyone’s head, neck or other vital areas.

It would also require training officers to use the less-lethal weapons only when someone as at risk of death or serious injury, or “to bring an objectively dangerous and unlawful situation safely and effectively under control.”

Officers would still have to give verbal warnings and try other de-escalation tactics first. Departments would also have to report any use of the weapons. The weapons could still be used in state prisons and county jails.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

Landlord Tenant Relations

Senate Bill 5160

Summary:

This bill creates the first statewide right to counsel program in the nation for unlawful detainer proceedings. It requires the court to appoint counsel for indigent tenants, subject to amounts appropriated, with a prioritization to provide legal representation services in those counties in which the most evictions occur and to indigent tenants who are disproportionately at risk of eviction. Additionally, it requires landlords to offer tenants a reasonable schedule and amount for repayment of any unpaid rent accrued during the public health emergency.

This bill also expands eligibility for claim reimbursement under the landlord mitigation program to include unpaid rent accrued during the eviction moratorium and public health emergency periods under certain circumstances. It also requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to contract with dispute resolution centers to establish a two-year, statewide eviction resolution pilot program to facilitate the resolution of nonpayment of rent cases.

Status: Enacted on April 22, 2021

Comments: From Submitter: From the article in the Seattle Times, April 23rd 2021: Washington is now the first state in the U.S. to ensure that its poorest tenants have access to a lawyer during eviction proceedings. That guarantee, known as a “right to counsel” by tenant organizers and civil legal aid advocates, was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday as part of a larger bill aimed at preventing a flood of eviction cases once local eviction bans expire. Several cities, including Seattle, have passed right to counsel laws, and seven other states are considering similar measures. “A right to counsel furthers racial, economic, and social justice while helping to address the extreme imbalance of power between landlords and tenants,” John Pollock, coordinator of the advocacy group National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, said in an email. “By being the first state to enact a right to counsel, Washington State has showed the 7 states with pending legislation how to get it done, and showed the other 42 states what they need to get done.”

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

) Include in Volume

) Include as a Note

) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting

) next SSL cycle

06-43-03*

Summary:

Immigration Legal Defense Fund

House Bill 21-1194

This bill creates the Immigration Legal Defense Fund. The Department of Human Services administers grants from the fund to qualifying nonprofit organizations that provide legal advice, counseling and representation for, and on behalf of, indigent clients who are subject to an immigration proceeding. The bill lists permissible uses of grant money awarded from the fund. Organizations that receive a grant from the fund are required to report to the administrator certain information about persons served and services provided by the organization.

Colorado has about 190,000 immigrants without documentation, according to the latest data available, and 1 in 10 residents are immigrants. Colorado is now the first state in the nation to pass legislation creating such a fund.

Status: Enacted on June 25, 2021

Comments: From submitter: Representative Ricks, the sponsor of the bill, is the first African Immigrant to be elected to the Colorado Legislature and the only immigrant serving in the legislature this year. She came to the United States as a refugee from Liberia and is committed to increasing protections and opportunities for immigrants not only in Colorado, but throughout the country.

From The Denver Post (June 26, 2021). Colorado's immigrants now have more protections, benefits in state law https://www.denverpost.com/2021/06/26/immigration-colorado-legislature2021-undocumented/

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

Clean Slate Act

House Bill 440

Summary:

This bill creates a process for expungement of criminal records. The criminal records relating to a charge for which a person has received a pardon would be automatically expunged. In the case of acquittals, the court would determine whether an individual has been fully acquitted of all charges within the same criminal episode before expunging those charges from the person’s record.

The process of expunging the record of a charge for which the person was fully acquitted is as follows:

• The court gives the individual and the state a notice that the person’s criminal record will be automatically expunged.

• The state has 60 days to object to the expungement, and that objection can be only that the person received a partial, not full, acquittal.

• The court holds a hearing to determine whether the expungement relates to a partial acquittal. The hearing can be waived if both parties agree.

• The court orders an expungement unless it finds that the charge was related to a partial acquittal.

• The record must be expunged within 12 months from the date of the acquittal.

Status: Enacted on Oct. 29, 2020

Comments: N/A

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

Miya's Law

Senate Bill 898

Summary:

The bill makes changes to Florida’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and public lodging establishment laws in an effort to provide safety and security for apartment tenants.

The bill directs landlords or licensees of transient and nontransient apartments to require that all employees undergo a background screening performed by a consumer reporting agency done in accordance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act as a condition of employment. A person may be disqualified from employment based on the background screening if the person has been found guilty or pled no contest to certain offenses including those involving violence and disregard for safety.

Effective Jan. 1, 2023, apartments must maintain a log accounting for the issuance and return of all keys for each dwelling unit and establish policies for the issuance and return of unit keys and storage and access to unissued keys. An apartment’s key logs and employee background screening files are subject to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s annual inspection of apartments.

The bill changes from 12 hours to 24 hours the “reasonable notice” that a landlord must give a tenant for entry into a unit for the purpose of repair.

Additionally, the bill provides that an operator of a public lodging establishment may not offer an hourly rate for an accommodation. However, an operator may charge an hourly rate for late checkout fees.

Status: Enacted on June 27, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

This bill is designated as “Miya’s Law,” and is an effort to strengthen residential tenant safety. It is named after Miya Marcano, a young woman who was tragically killed in her apartment in 2021.

Delegate Candi Mundon King filed another version of this bill in Virginia as well, VA HB 160.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

cycle

06-43-06

An Act relating to promoting successful reentry and rehabilitation of persons convicted of criminal offenses

House Bill 1818

Summary:

The bill promotes successful reentry and rehabilitation of persons convicted of criminal offenses via the provision of housing vouchers for six months following release from the Department of Correction’s custody.

Status: Enacted on July 31, 2021

Comments: From submitter: Formerly incarcerated people are seven times more likely to be homeless than those who were not incarcerated, which places them at greater risk. The Washington State Legislature enacted House Bill 1818: Promoting Successful Reentry and Rehabilitation of Persons Convicted of Criminal Offenses, which provides housing vouchers for six months for formerly incarcerated people leaving the Department of Correction’s custody.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

06-43-07

Summary:

HALT Solitary Confinement Act

Assembly Bill 02500

The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act advances reform measures around solitary confinement practices for individuals in jails and prisons. It prohibits any form of isolation exceeding 15 days and bans solitary confinement for vulnerable populations.

The act:

• Limits the use of segregated confinement in state prisons and county jails and implements alternative rehabilitative measures, including the creation of Residential Rehabilitation Units.

• Restricts the use of segregated confinement for all incarcerated persons to up to 15 days.

• Expands the definition of segregated confinement to include any form of cell confinement where an individual is held for more than 17 hours a day.

• Mandates additional out-of-cell time and rehabilitative programming for individuals diverted to rehabilitative units after the 15-day limit has been reached.

• Prohibits segregated confinement for special populations for any period of time. Special populations are:

o Individuals ages 21 or younger

o Individuals ages 55 and over.

o Individuals with a disability.

o Individuals who are pregnant, up to eight weeks postpartum or caring for children in a facility.

• Prohibits the denial of services, treatment or basic needs such as clothing, food and bedding while an individual is held in segregated confinement.

• Mandates that staff undergo 37 hours and 30 minutes of initial training prior to assignment to segregated confinement units and 21 additional hours annually after assignment.

• Adds due process protections by prohibiting placement in segregated confinement prior to a disciplinary hearing and by allowing access to counsel.

• Requires the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to publish monthly reports on its website with semi-annual and annual cumulative reports of the total number of people in segregated confinement.

Status: Enacted on March 31, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

A large body of research links solitary confinement to increased risks for self-harm and suicide, worsened mental illness and higher rates of death after release. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3953781/

Colorado barred use of long-term isolation in its prisons in 2017, and two years later, New Jersey restricted use of solitary confinement to 20 consecutive days.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

JUSTICE Virginia

06-43-08

Summary:

Hotels; Human Trafficking Training

House Bill 258

The bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, under the direction of the Criminal Justice Services Board, to develop an online course to train hotel proprietors and their employees, as defined in the bill, to recognize and report instances of suspected human trafficking. The bill provides that the online course shall be provided at no cost to the hotel proprietors and their employees. The bill also requires that every hotel proprietor require its employees to complete the human trafficking training course developed by the department or an alternative online or in-person training course approved by the department within six months of being employed by a hotel and thereafter at least once every two years, for as long as the employee is employed by the hotel. The bill has a delayed effective date of Jan. 1, 2023.

Status: Enacted on April 27, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

In 2020 alone, 119 cases of human trafficking were reported, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. This doesn't even account for cases that are unreported. Human trafficking occurs across states, and across state lines. This is a bill that could be adopted/adapted in many states.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

06-43-09

Summary:

Homeless Shelters: Safety Regulations

Assembly Bill 362

This bill requires local jurisdictions to inspect homeless shelters if they receive complaints from occupants alleging that the shelter is substandard.

The bill authorizes cities and counties to take action or issue emergency orders to the owner or operator of shelters, if a health and safety violation is found. If a shelter owner/operator fails to correct a violation, cities or counties are authorized to impose civil penalties, including withholding state funding.

The bill:

• Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt, amend or repeal rules and regulations for the protection of the health, safety and general welfare of the occupants and the public relating to specified residential structures.

• Requires a city or county that receives a complaint from an occupant of a homeless shelter or an agent of an occupant, alleging that a homeless shelter is substandard to inspect the homeless shelter.

• Requires a city or county that determines that a homeless shelter is substandard to issue a notice to correct the violation to the owner or operator of the homeless shelter within 10 business days of the inspection or issue the notice to correct the violation immediately if the violation constitutes an imminent threat to the health and safety of the occupants of the homeless shelter.

• Authorizes a city or county to issue an emergency order directing the owner or operator to take immediate action to rectify violations if the city determines that the violations are dangerous, hazardous, imminently detrimental to life or health or otherwise render the homeless shelter unfit for human habitation.

• Requires a city or county to provide free, certified copies of any inspection report or citation issued pursuant to these provisions to a complaining occupant or their agent. This bill makes the owner or operator of a homeless shelter responsible for correcting any violation cited pursuant to these provisions.

• Requires the owner or operator of a homeless shelter to correct each violation within 30 days of receipt of the citation, subject to a 30-day extension.

• Authorizes a city or county to impose additional civil penalties on the owner or operator that fails to correct a violation within the required time period and prohibits a city or county from awarding or distributing any state funding to the owner or operator of a homeless shelter for purposes of operating the homeless shelter if, among other things, the owner or operator fails to correct a violation within the required time period.

• Requires each city and county to submit a report by April 1 of each year that provides specified information, including any pending uncorrected violations, a list of emergency orders issued and a list of any owners or operators who received three or more violations within any six-month period.

• Authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development or the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency to deem an owner or operator of a shelter

ineligible for state funding for shelter operations based on the information provided in the report.

Status: Enacted on Sept. 29, 2021

Comments:

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

JUSTICE California

06-43-10

Summary:

Corrections: educational programs

Senate Bill 416

This bill expands access and establishes guidelines for college programs for incarcerated individuals. Specifically, the bill:

• Requires the Department of Education to make college programs available for the benefit of inmates with a general education development certificate or equivalent or a high school diploma and would require those college programs to only be provided by the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California or other regionally accredited, nonprofit colleges or universities.

• Provides a set of criteria to prioritize various college programs, including face-to-face instruction, comprehensive in-person support and coordination with nonprofit postsecondary programs serving formerly incarcerated students.

• Requires the education providers to be responsible for determining and developing their curricula and degree pathways, determining certificate pathways, providing instructional staff and determining what services will be offered to ensure incarcerated students can successfully complete the course of study.

• Requires an inmate enrolled in a full-time college program to be deemed by the department to be given a full-time work or training assignment.

Status: Enacted on Oct. 9, 2021

Comments: From submitter:

The Michelson Center for Public Policy (MCPP), along with a coalition of social justice and education organizations are applauding California Gov Gavin Newsom for signing legislation authored by California State Sen. Ben Hueso to combat recidivism by expanding access to college instruction for incarcerated individuals. The combined efforts of bill cosponsors MCPP, Project Rebound Consortium, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Underground Scholars Initiative at UC Berkeley, and other stakeholders succeeded in building broad bipartisan support in the State Legislature for the effort.

The bill makes California the first state in the nation to provide protections to incarcerated students as they seek to attain a post-secondary education.

“Two-thirds of those who leave prison are back within three years, often due to a lack of education or training opportunities. Through our foundations, and with our partners, we have long been a proponent of smart justice. We are deeply grateful to our elected leaders, who recognize how critical education is to empower these individuals to uplift themselves and their families post-incarceration,” said Gary K. Michelson, M.D , founder and co-chair of MCPP and Michelson Philanthropies.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

06-43-11

An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Treatment Of Pregnant And Post-partum Prisoners

House Bill 342

Summary:

Delaware law prohibits the use of restraints on women who are giving birth or in labor except in limited circumstances. This bill expands that protection to include women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and those in the 13-week immediate post-partum period. Wrist restraints fastened in front of the body may be used during transport except during labor or delivery or while being transported with a newborn. Wrist, leg and waist restraints may also be used in extraordinary circumstances, but a licensed medical professional must be notified as soon as practicable when waist or leg restraints are applied and examine the prisoner within 10 minutes of the notification. Leg and waist restraints are prohibited for prisoners in labor and delivery.

Status: Enacted on July 25, 2022

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

06-43-12

Summary:

No Fee Identification Cards

Senate Bill 1268

This bill amends existing law to allow for the issuance of no fee identification cards to persons who are homeless.

Status: Enacted on March 16, 2022

Comments: Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

06-43-13

Summary:

Menstrual Products for Temporary Shelters

Senate Bill 7697

This bill amends the social services law, in relation to providing menstrual products at no cost to adults and children receiving temporary shelter, directs that any provider of a temporary shelter that is reimbursed from state or state administered grants or funds be required to provide an adequate number of menstrual products commensurate with individual needs, including, but not limited to, sanitary napkins, tampons and panty liners, at no cost to individuals requiring such products.

Status: Enacted on Feb. 24, 2022

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

06-43-14

Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act House

Bill 5418

Summary:

This bill amends the Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act and expands the list of rights to include the right to participate in an age and developmentally appropriate intake process immediately after placement in the custody or guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services and directs the department to provide the youth a document describing inappropriate acts of affection, discipline and punishment by guardians, foster parents, siblings and other adults.

Status: Enacted on May 13, 2022

Comments: Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

Criminal Procedure

Assembly Bill 124

Summary:

Current law allows an individual who is arrested or convicted of an offense that is directly related to being a victim of human trafficking to request that any penalty be voided. This bill would extend that opportunity to victims of intimate partner violence. The bill also requires prosecutors in plea bargaining to consider the impact of defendant experience as a victim of human trafficking or intimate partner violence.

Status: Enacted on Oct. 8, 2021

Comments:

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

Keshall ‘KeKe’ Anderson Safe Firearm Sales Act

Senate Bill 302

Summary:

This bill allows victims of gun violence and impacted communities to hold participants in the gun industry accountable for irresponsible practices that create or contribute to dangerous conditions that cause harm

Status: Enacted on June 30, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

Since 2005, a federal law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”) has shielded bad actor gun manufacturers, wholesalers and dealers from most lawsuits, creating a culture of impunity within the industry. However, this bill relies on an exception in PLCAA to allow lawsuits to go forward against gun members whose reckless or illegal conduct puts our communities in danger. Importantly, the new law will only impact manufacturers and dealers who’s reckless and wrongful actions lead to harm, ensuring that these bad actors in the industry finally face the same type of accountability and financial pressure that has driven other industries to invest in the safety of their products. The lifesaving benefits of this kind of accountability in industries such as automobiles, tobacco, and opioids have been apparent for decades, and it is time we hold the firearm industry accountable as well.

a) Issue of Significance: In an average year, 40,620 people die and 76,385 are wounded by guns in the US, costing the country $557.2 billion each year. Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens, and Black youth are 14 times more likely than their white peers to die by gun homicide.

b) Benefit to Drafters: Each state must tailor a bill of this nature to ensure that it achieves its goals and withstands constitutional challenges, but Delaware’s law provides an excellent starting place. The law provides accountability, without infringing upon the rights of responsible sellers and manufacturers, or those who wish to legally purchase firearms.

c) Innovative Approach: This bill was the second of its kind to be signed into law, and similar policy has only been passed and signed in three other states. It should serve as a road map to stem the flow of gun trafficking and ensure that industry members act responsibly to prevent gun violence. The approach works within the legal framework established by PLCAA and adds a new tool to the toolbox of those who wish to hold bad actors in the gun industry accountable and stop gun violence. Financial pressure on the industry will drive safer practices and innovation.

This Act is named for Keshall “KeKe” Anderson. KeKe was an innocent bystander who was killed in a 2016 shooting involving a firearm purchased through a straw purchase. In 2019, in a lawsuit by the family of a gun violence victim against the dealer of the firearm involved in her death, the Delaware Supreme Court interpreted Delaware law as granting a firearm dealer full immunity from liability, even if the firearm dealer is negligent in selling a firearm to a straw purchaser.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

JUSTICE New York

06-43-17

Summary:

Relates to licensing and other provisions relating to firearms

Senate Bill 51001

This bill changes the concealed carry permitting process and prohibits gun possession in various areas. The bill:

• Clarifies law enforcement official authority to deny permits to those who are likely to use a gun irresponsibly or in a way that endangers themselves or others

• Requires thorough training, including live-fire training, for people seeking concealed carry permits which must meet new statewide standards

• Requires thorough investigation of all concealed carry permit applicants, including inperson interviews, character references and reviews of social media posts and other information

• Expands the categories of recent convictions that disqualify a person from obtaining a carry permit (including for misdemeanor assaults, menacing and driving while intoxicated).

• Establishes an appeals process for all license applicants and provides written notice for all permit application denials and revocations to ensure the process is fair and transparent

• Requires monthly checks of a license issued by the state to identify licensees who have become prohibited from possessing firearms as a result of a conviction, extreme risk protection order, domestic violence restraining order or any other disqualifying event

• Requires that firearms being carried in public be securely stored when left in licensees’ vehicles to prevent theft.

• Prohibits the possession of any firearms, whether carried concealed or openly, in a wide range of places across the state, including government buildings, polling places, parks, daycare centers, playgrounds, public transportation (including buses and subways) and places where alcohol is consumed

• Prohibits firearms on any private property unless the property owner explicitly allows it (by posting a sign or otherwise granting their permission).

Status: Enacted on July 1, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

In addition to removing concealed carry permitting language struck by the Supreme Court in their Bruen decision, this law strengthened concealed carry permitting process and prohibits gun possession in various areas.

a) Current Issue of Significance: Despite gun violence increasing more than 30% in the last ten years, the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen dangerously paved the way for more people to carry hidden, loaded guns in public spaces.

b) Benefit to Bill Drafters: Though states can no longer require applicants to prove they have a “good cause” to carry a concealed gun in public, concealed carry permitting generally was upheld in Bruen. The Court provided specific parameters for acceptable permit requirements and sensitive places restrictions, that New York took care to abide by, while strengthening their law to ensure public safety.

c) Clear and Innovative Approach: New York was the first “good cause” state to introduce and pass a legislative fix to their gun laws following the Court’s ruling. The state took a two-pronged approach: raising the bar of objective criteria for who may obtain a carry permit, and increasing sensitive place restrictions, under the assumption that more people will now be carrying in public.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

TECHNOLOGY Arkansas

07-43-01*

Summary:

Election Technology Use Study

House Bill 1568

This bill requires a legislative study of and report on the use of certain biometric data (fingerprints, facial recognition technology) in elections and the implementation of a ballot tracking system.

Status: Enacted March 23, 2021

Comments: From submitter: Potential alternative to identity verification in states that currently require photo ID to vote.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

TECHNOLOGY Nevada

07-43-02*

Voluntary Contributions for Infrastructure Grants for Broadband Deployment

Assembly Bill 388

Summary:

Section 7.92 of this bill requires the state treasurer to establish, by regulation, a program that enables a provider of broadband or commercial mobile radio service to participate in a voluntary contribution program for broadband infrastructure. This enables a customer to opt in and make voluntary monetary contributions as part of the customer’s monthly bill. This bill also requires the director of the Office of Science, Innovation and Technology to establish and administer a program of infrastructure grants for the development or improvement of broadband services for persons with low incomes and persons in rural areas. Section 7.92 makes a willful violation of any regulation adopted by the state treasurer concerning the voluntary contribution program a deceptive trade practice.

Section 7.5 of this bill creates the Account for the Grant Program for Broadband Infrastructure for the deposit of money collected by the state treasurer from participating providers in the voluntary contribution program. It also requires that money deposited in the Account be used to provide infrastructure grants and defray the costs of establishing and administering the programs established.

Sections 7.7 and 7.93 of this bill require the office, on or before Oct. 1, 2021, to establish and administer a Broadband Ready Community Certification program for the purpose of encouraging the deployment of broadband infrastructure in underserved communities

Status: Enacted on June 8, 2021

Comments: From submitter: Connectivity in rural Nevada has long been a problem but with remote schooling/work due to the pandemic, the issue became more urgent. This bill is a way to start to address the issue.

Staff

TECHNOLOGY Nevada

07-43-03*

Telecommunication service act regulating suppliers of inmate calling services by the Public Utilities Commission

Senate Bill 387

Summary:

Existing federal regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission establish rate caps and certain other limitations on charges that may be imposed by a provider of an inmate calling service for interstate or international calls. (47 C.F.R. §§ 64.6000 et seq.)

This bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt procedures to: (1) establish rate caps and certain limitations on charges for an inmate calling service; and (2) approve a schedule or tariff that exceeds such a rate cap or fails to comply with a limitation prescribed by the commission. Section 5 also requires the commission to review annually, and, if necessary, revise such a rate cap or limitation established or imposed by the commission.

Section 4 of this bill requires a competitive supplier to file with the Commission, and obtain approval for, a schedule or tariff that specifies the rates, terms and conditions applicable to an inmate calling service before providing the service. Section 4 requires the commission to approve any schedule or tariff that specifies rates, terms and conditions that do not exceed a rate cap prescribed by the commission and that comply with any limitation prescribed by the commission. Section 4 authorizes the commission to approve a schedule or tariff that exceeds a rate cap or fails to comply with a limitation prescribed by the commission pursuant to the procedure adopted pursuant to section 5. Section 4 also requires a competitive supplier to submit a revised schedule or tariff if the commission revises a rate cap or limitation and the schedule or tariff on file with the commission exceeds the revised rate cap or fails to comply with the revised limitation.

Section 12 of this bill authorizes a competitive supplier who provides an inmate calling service before Oct. 1, 2021, to continue to provide such service if the competitive supplier files with the Commission the tariff or schedule required by section 4 by a certain date.

Section 11 of this bill requires a competitive supplier that provides an inmate calling service to publish the rates, terms and conditions of the inmate calling service.

Status: Enacted on June 2, 2021

Comments: From submitter: The FCC has called on states to address the issue of intrastate inmate phone charges, and in response, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners released a statement in July 2020 calling on its members to address the problem of exorbitant inmate phone charges and to seek authority to review the rates in their states. While state correctional facilities may have the oversight and professional staff needed to negotiate good contracts, local jails often do not and may enter into contracts that provide a financial benefit to the local jail at the expense of the inmates (some of whom are not convicted but merely detained or awaiting trial).

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to regulate certain utilities. (Chapter 704 of IRS) Under existing law, all telecommunication providers, with the exception of certain small-scale providers of last resort, are classified as competitive suppliers and subject to reduced regulation by the commission. (NRS 704.68861- 704.68887)

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

TECHNOLOGY Missouri

07-43-04*

Summary:

Modifies provisions relating to utilities

House Bill 734

This bill specifies how wind farms will be assessed for property tax purposes and allows gas utility corporations to recover particular costs when they invest in renewable natural gas programs.

Status: Enacted on July 6, 2021

Comments: From submitter: This is likely the most innovative piece of securitization legislation in the country as it relates to electric companies. This bill allows for the replacement of existing generation with renewables, transmission, distribution, or quick start gas. It strategically allows for rates and earnings options that support communities and companies in the transition period by repositioning older generation out of a base rate structure.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry: SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note ( ) Defer consideration: ( ) next SSL meeting ( ) next SSL cycle ( ) Reject

TECHNOLOGY Virginia

07-43-05*

Summary:

Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act

Senate Bill 1392

The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act provides consumers with certain rights related to their personal data, including the right to know, access, confirm and delete personal data; correct inaccuracies in personal data; data portability (i.e., easy, portable access to all pieces of personal data held by a company); opt out of the processing of personal data for targeted advertising purposes; opt out of the sale of personal data; opt out of profiling based upon personal data; and not be discriminated against for exercising any of the foregoing rights.

Specifically, this bill:

• Establishes a framework for controlling and processing personal data.

• Applies to all persons who conduct business in the Commonwealth and either (i) control or process personal data of at least 100,000 consumers or (ii) derive over 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of personal data and control or process personal data of at least 25,000 consumers.

• Outlines responsibilities and privacy protection standards for data controllers and processors.

• Grants consumer rights to access, correct, delete and obtain a copy of personal data and opt out of the processing of personal data for purposes of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data or profiling of the consumer.

• Does not apply to state or local governmental entities and contains exceptions for certain types of data and information governed by federal law.

• Provides that the attorney general has exclusive authority to enforce violations of the law

Status: Enacted in March 2021

Comments: From submitter: Virginia became the second state to pass a new law that would regulate consumer online data privacy. California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act a few years before and Colorado also enacted its own version of data privacy in 2021. Several other states had their own proposals. Virginia's approach has less ambiguity than California's law and more closely aligns to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), enforced by the European Union as of May 2018. As many companies already have processes in place to comply with the EU GDPR, the Virginia approach makes for easier compliance, while still achieving the goal of granting consumers online data privacy protections and rights.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022 ( ) Include in Volume ( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

TECHNOLOGY New Jersey

07-43-06

Summary:

21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA)

Assembly Bill 2614 / Senate Bill 2723

This bill requires the Office of Information Technology and certain agencies in the executive branch to provide citizens with a modern digital experience by developing agency-specific plans to update the platforms through which these agencies provide services to businesses and members of the public. The bill ensures that each agency will improve the provision of digital services by leveraging data analytics and related tools to ensure an effective rendering of all publicly facing websites on mobile devices, increasing the use of data analytics to improve website operation, enhancing the delivery of digital information and digitizing government processes and workflows. Each agency is required to make its plan available to the public electronically through a link displayed on its website, except that the agency may redact such information as necessary to address cybersecurity concerns.

Status: Enacted on Jan. 18, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

In the 2022 legislative session, New Jersey passed the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, or 21st Century IDEA to meet public demand for a smoother experience with state government services. For instance, government websites are some of the most highly trafficked internet destinations, but many state government websites are outdated and slow, creating a poor citizen experience and a lack of trust in state agencies. The bill mandates the creation of a process to be utilized by each agency to ensure that its website intended for public use is mobile-friendly and accessible by persons with disabilities within one year following the submission of each agency’s plan.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) supported this legislation in an article on their website

TECHNOLOGY Tennessee

07-43-07

Summary:

Tennessee Broadband Investment Maximization Act of 2022

Senate Bill 2480

Beginning July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025, the bill provides an exemption from state sales and use tax for all purchases and leases of all equipment machinery or other infrastructure that is used in producing broadband communication services or to provide internet access.

Status: Enacted on May 31, 2022

Comments: From submitter:

Tennessee SB 2480 was enacted pursuant to the General Assembly's intent to maximize the impact of the historic public and private sector investments in broadband anticipated to be made during the next five years.

The bill language, now law, is comprehensive, but fairly uncomplicated and aligns well with other actions policymakers are taking to incent broadband investment.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxation) has adopted a resolution recommending that states who wish to encourage broadband deployment consider exempting communications network equipment from sales and use tax.

A study by Dr. Raul Katz at Columbia University concludes that each 1% reduction in the sales tax rate on network investment would increase investment by 1.97%.

Costs to deploy broadband networks are 5-10% higher in states that do not provide a sales tax exemption.

Staff Note: Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject

08-43-01*

Summary:

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment

Senate Bill 5192

This bill establishes foundational standards for public charging of electric vehicles; specifically, price transparency, enhanced payment methods and increased data and interoperability.

Status: Enacted on May 10, 2021

Comments:

From NW Energy Coalition – April 27, 2021: Complementary Bills Pave the Way for a ZeroEmissions Transportation Future

Washington has over 68,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on the road today, and with commitments from automakers, Washington signing on to a recent multi-state zero emissions vehicle letter, and President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, that number will keep growing. To plan for this growth, two bills, SB 5192 and HB 1287, recently passed the Washington legislature and are now on their way to Governor Inslee.

SB 5192 sets foundational standards for public charging, protecting Washington consumers and inspiring confidence so people know they can rely on EV charging infrastructure. Sponsored by Senators Das, Lovelett, Carlyle, Kuderer, Nguyen, and Wilson, SB 5192 would increase access to public charging and make the charging experience as easy as filling up your car with gasoline.

Complementary to SB 5192, HB 1287, is focused on increasing preparedness for a zeroemissions transportation future. Among other things, the bill directs the state to develop a refueling infrastructure mapping tool, ensures electric utilities are planning for new transportation electrification load, and strengthens the state’s EV readiness requirements.

SB 5192 – Accessible Public Charging

With this policy, Washington will establish a standardized framework so you know how you’re going to pay, how much you’re going to pay, and that you’re getting what you pay for when you recharge your car at a public charging station. As it currently stands, every public EV charging experience is different and unpredictable. Some systems require unique key fobs, RFID cards, specific network apps and cell service to use that app and can even require consumers to prepay on an account to start charging your car. These are all barriers that can discourage people from making the transition to EVs, and result in inequitable access to EV charging. With the growing availability of EVs from automakers, electric vehicles shouldn’t be reserved for only those who can afford to navigate an inconsistent and often confusing public charging experience. EVs should be an option for renters, rideshare drivers, drivers without bank accounts, and all Washington residents who rely on a personal vehicle to meet their transportation needs. Simple solutions to charging can help more people enjoy the cost savings of driving EVs with public charging often still more affordable than buying gas. This new policy helps remove barriers and increase access for all.

Here are the things the bill does:

1. Price transparency – requiring all costs associated with a charging session to be clearly displayed.

2. Payment methods – directing the Department of Agriculture to establish convenient and accessible payment methods for all current and future users, means for conducting a charging session in languages other than English, and means for facilitating charging sessions for consumers who prefer not to use a bank or low-moderate income.

3. Data and interoperability – requiring charging providers to report on charging station information and maintain interoperability standards.

4. Next Steps + Implementation – The Department of Agriculture, with the Department of Commerce and Utilities and Transportation Commission, will start at least two rulemakings. The first rulemaking will be to establish minimum payment method requirements and the second will be to develop interoperability standards. Both rulemakings must be completed by Jan. 1, 2023.

HB 1287 – Zero-Emission Vehicle Readiness (ZEV Readiness)

This bill creates planning guidelines and tools to prepare for a zero-emissions transportation future. It will help ensure Washington’s infrastructure meets the needs of current and future residents and to ensure affordability is a key component in the transition. Here are the things the bill does:

1. Mapping tool – directs the Department of Transportation to develop a mapping and forecasting tool that provides locations and essential information of charging 159 and refueling infrastructure to support forecasted levels of electric vehicle adoption, travel and use.

2. Utility resource planning – provides further direction and clarity to ensure utilities are proactively planning for new transportation electrification load growth as Washington transitions to electricity as a major transportation fuel.

3. Building codes – directs the State Building Code Council to establish EV infrastructure requirements, including for residential buildings, that support anticipated levels of ZEV use that result from the implementation of the ZEV program and emission reductions consistent with state emission reduction limits.

4. ZEV goal – establishes that all new light-duty vehicle sales in Washington be electric by 2030, contingent upon a vehicle miles traveled fee or tax being in effect in Washington with at least 75% of light duty vehicles participating. [Update: Governor Inslee vetoed this section of the bill, stating that “we cannot afford to link an important goal like getting to 100% zero-emission vehicles to a separate policy that will take time to design and implement.” See the full veto message here.]

5. Next Steps + Implementation – There will be opportunities to engage in the design of the mapping tool, the development of utility integrated resource plans, and the building code rules related to electric vehicle infrastructure. The State Building Code Council must adopt the electric vehicle infrastructure requirements by July 1, 2024.

Staff Note:

Disposition of Entry:

SSL Committee Meeting: 2022

( ) Include in Volume

( ) Include as a Note

( ) Defer consideration:

( ) next SSL meeting

( ) next SSL cycle

( ) Reject