MNA Legislative Update May 2, 2014 (Page 69)

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota

MNA Legislative Update May 2, 2014

 

Public Employee Relations Board

A bill to establish a Public Employee Relations Board (HF3014) was passed by the full Senate on Monday. This legislation would create a board to decide Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claims involving public employees, which includes many MNA nurses at public municipal or county hospitals (known in statute as Charitable Hospitals). Under current law public employees must litigate ULP claims in district court-a cumbersome and expensive process. The PERB bill would create a process that saves employers and employees money and would mirror the ULP process in the private sector.

 

Many nurses contacted their senators last week asking them to oppose attempts to remove Charitable Hospitals from the bill, and we are pleased to report that an amendment to exempt those facilities failed. Another amendment to delay implementation of the PERB for Charitable Hospitals for one year also failed.

 

The companion bill was already passed by the House, and, next week, we anticipate the House will vote to concur with the Senate version of the bill, which would then go on to the Governor for his signature.

 

APRN Bill

Sen. Kathy Sheran’s bill (SF511) to allow Advance Practice Registered Nurses to practice to the full extent of their scope was heard on the Senate floor. Her bill would give full practice authority to Certified Nurse Midwives, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists. The bill allows APRNs to practice independently, but does limit CRNA’s who will continue to require a collaborative management agreement with a physician to practice pain management.

 

The bill passed unanimously, and we anticipate the House will vote to concur with the Senate language, which MNA supports over the House language.

 

Medical Marijuana

The bill to legalize medical marijuana prescribed by a physician for certain serious medical conditions (SF1641) passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday then passed Judiciary without recommendation on Wednesday. The Senate Health and Human Services Finance Division amended the bill today to prohibit smoking medical marijuana, but would still allow “vaping,” the inhaling of fumes through a charged liquid vaporizer. An example of this technology is the Novo Starter Kit by SMOK. It has all the modern features you would expect from a vaporizer, patrons of this device can often be seen blowing huge clouds of vapour.

 

On Thursday, Representative Carly Melin and House leadership announced a new medical marijuana proposal (SF2470) that would pave the way for clinical trials for patients with qualifying conditions such as seizures, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and glaucoma. Because the bill prohibits smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes, law enforcement is neutral; they have opposed other bills that allow smoking as well as other methods of using medicinal marijuana.

 

Today the House Rules Committee is hearing the compromise bill introduced by Rep. Melin. As of this writing they have not yet concluded their hearing.

 

MNA supports legislation that would provide compassionate relief to seriously ill patients.

 

Health and Human Services Policy Omnibus Bills

The Senate and House omnibus Health and Human Services Policy bills have been taken up by a conference committee to work out differences between the two. The bills both include language that MNA supports related to the Health Professionals Services Program and health professionals with substance use disorders.

Supplemental Budget Bills

The House and Senate are also working out the differences between their supplemental budget bills in a conference committee. In his supplemental budget recommendation, Governor Dayton included $11 million this year and $22 million in the next biennium to cover the cost of negotiated salary increases for staff working in 24-hour care facilities within State Operated Services and the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, which includes many MNA members. While neither the House nor the Senate has included this funding in their respective omnibus bills, we have spoken to conference committee members and about the serious consequences of not funding the State Operated Services salary supplement. We will continue to monitor the negotiations.

 

Nurses Week May 6-12

MNA nurses will be going to the Capitol the morning of Tuesday, May 6 for the kickoff to Nurses’ Week. We’ll meet at the MNA office at 9:00 am to carpool over to the Capitol. We anticipate the House and Senate will go into session around 10:00 or 11:00 am. As legislators enter the chambers, we will give out stickers saying “Nurses Care” then listen to speeches honoring nurses from the Galleries. Please email geri.katz@mnnurses.org if you can come on Tuesday morning.

 

MNA Government Affairs Commissioners and staff with State Representative

Joe Atkins at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota

MNA Legislative Update May 2, 2014

 

Public Employee Relations Board

A bill to establish a Public Employee Relations Board (HF3014) was passed by the full Senate on Monday. This legislation would create a board to decide Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claims involving public employees, which includes many MNA nurses at public municipal or county hospitals (known in statute as Charitable Hospitals). Under current law public employees must litigate ULP claims in district court-a cumbersome and expensive process. The PERB bill would create a process that saves employers and employees money and would mirror the ULP process in the private sector.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update May 2, 2014  »

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota

MNA Legislative Update April 25, 2014

 

Public Employee Relations Board

 

A bill to establish a Public Employee Relations Board (HF3014) has already passed and will be heard by the full Senate on Monday. This legislation would create a board to decide Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claims involving public employees, which includes many MNA nurses at public municipal or county hospitals. Under current law public employees must litigate ULP claims in district court-a cumbersome and expensive process. The PERB bill would create a process that saves employers and employees money and would mirror the ULP process in the private sector.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update April 25, 2014  »

RN-RunThief River Falls nurses beat Boston off the starting line of the running season this year, and may have Beantown trying hard to catch up.

MNA members of the Sanford – Thief River Falls Medical Center bargaining unit are celebrating the success of their inaugural 5k RN Run on Saturday, April 19 to raise funds for the community’s D.A.R.E. program.

Nearly 60 runners participated in the event and nurses were able to deliver $836 to the organization dedicated to drug abuse resistance education.

MNA Co-Chair Tiffany Eidelbes credited nurse organizers Kayla Knutson and Karey Johnson with imagining and executing an idea that brought a sizable crowd out for the festivities.
… Read more about: Thief River Falls “RN Run” Raises Funds and Fun  »

Imagine everyone in your town wanting to let you know you are awesome. MNA nurses in International Falls don’t have to dream.

Eight months into negotiating a contract with management at Rainy Lake Medical Center (RLMC), the 27-member bargaining unit is literally seeing signs of support throughout this picturesque city that shares a border with Canada.

Over 100 signs, sporting the message “We Support Our Nurses” are being posted in shop windows; hoisted high by firefighters, paramedics and EMTs; cradled by senior apartment residents; and displayed on bulletin boards throughout the city’s commercial districts. It’s a message warmly given from the town often referred to as “America’s Icebox.”  In addition, members of several other unions in the area have signed petitions of solidarity for the nurses.
… Read more about: Signs of Support for IFalls Nurses Line the Streets  »

MNA Legislative Update April 11, 2014

There was a lot of activity at the Capitol this week with several major pieces of legislation debated, passed, and signed into law. Many of these were priorities that MNA supports.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE
Status: Passed by House and Senate

On Monday morning, leaders of the House and Senate announced an agreement to raise Minnesota’s minimum wage (HF2091). The agreement will raise the wage to $9.50 over three years and include an automatic inflationary increase that allows workers to keep up with the cost of living. The final deal includes a provision allowing the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to suspend the inflationary increase in case of an economic downturn.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update April 11, 2014  »

CSS formLast year at the State Capitol, legislators were impressed when the Minnesota Nurses Association turned over boxes of Concern for Safe Staffing Forms at committee hearings.

The forms helped make the case that patients are at risk and nurses are advocating for better staffing to improve quality care.

Now the form has been improved to allow for database search and data analysis.  We will now be able to tell lawmakers and patients how many incidents of unsafe staffing occurred at facilities; how many times nurses felt their patients were at risk; how many times management ignored or simply dismissed requests by nurses to bring in more staff because they were caring for too many patients at one time.
… Read more about: New Concern for Safe Staffing Form  »

MNA Legislative Update April 5, 2014Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota

Minimum Wage

Legislative leaders are still in discussions about raising the minimum wage (HF92). Both the House and Senate agree on raising the wage to $9.50, but only the House currently supports including an annual inflationary increase in the legislation, called indexing, that allows minimum wage workers to keep up with the rising costs of food, housing, and transportation. Last week the Senate introduced a bill that would have asked the voters to decide on the minimum wage and inflationary increases, but this week the author, Sen. Ann Rest, withdrew the bill.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update April 5, 2014  »

2014 student day on the hillOn Thursday, April 3, for the seventh consecutive year, the Minnesota Nurses Association hosted students from nursing schools throughout the state for a lesson in advocacy that takes them beyond their bedside responsibilities.

350 students and instructors, representing 14 different schools of nursing attended the day-long event that kicked off with a morning meet & greet with MNA members leaders.  A comprehensive orientation followed, providing students insights about policy issues facing legislators in which nurses have a keen interest, including Nurse Licensing, Monitoring and Discipline; Minimum Wage; Mandatory Flu Vaccine; Department of Health Study of Staffing and Patient Outcomes; and Health Care for All.
… Read more about: Nursing Students Connect Practice and Policy  »

Minnesota legislators introduced a bill (HF2415/SF2212)to require mandatory flu vaccination for all health care workers. At MNA’s Nurses Day on the Hill on March 11, nurses raised these issues with their respective representatives and senators, including the bills’ sponsors, and brought forward enough concerns that the authors and legislative leaders agreed that the bill should not move forward this year. It is very unusual for a bill’s author to change their mind about an issue after a bill has been introduced, and, to our knowledge, this is the first MNA issue to be withdrawn in recent memory.

 

While MNA considers vaccinations one important public health tool and encourages nurses to consider vaccination as a means of protecting themselves and their patients, we oppose attempts to legally mandate vaccines.
… Read more about: The Power of Nurses at Day on the Hill: Legislators drop mandatory flu vaccine bill  »

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul Minnesota Nurse Licensing, Monitoring and Discipline
The bills proposing changes to the Health Professionals Services Program (HPSP) and how the Board of Nursing handles nurses with substance use disorders and drug diversion are moving through the legislative process. Our priorities remain reflected in the bills – protecting patient safety, treating substance use disorder as a disease, encouraging nurses with substance use disorders to seek rehabilitation treatment, and protecting nurses’ private medical and legal information.

Minimum Wage
The conference committee working on a bill to increase the minimum wage is still hung up on the issue of an automatic inflationary increase for low-wage workers (“indexing”).
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update March 28, 2014  »