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The 84th Legislative Session adjourned this past Monday, and Texas' advanced practice nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) are more than disappointed. Not a single bill reached Govenor Abbott's desk.
HB 2602 (expansion of schedule II controlled substance authority to psychiatric/mental health APRNs, palliative care APRNs, and APRNs in hospital settings upon discharge) was the last piece of legislation to die. The bill did make it out of committee with an unanimous 11-0 vote, but sat in the Calendars Committee where the bill was rumored to have been tagged the maximum number of times allowed by House rules.
You can read more about what the Calendars Committee does here. You can find a list of committee members here.
You can also look at an overview of nurse practitioner laws and regulations specific to each state here.
I do want to congratulate the states that successfully passed APRN legislation.
The fat lady hasn't even begun to sing...
