December 02, 2021

Healthcare 2022: Pandemic Politics

Health care has been one of the industries most impacted by the pandemic over the last 22 months, and the new year is not likely to see a slowing of the challenges and opportunities it faces. In this issue, we lay out a number of the questions and issues we think will be top of mind for lawmakers, regulators, and health officials around the nation in 2022. Pandemic Politics Nobody knows for certain how the COVID-19...

November 19, 2021

Governors Spotlight: Electric Cars, Climate Initiatives, Improper Usage of COVID Relief Dollars & More

IL Incentivizes Electric Car Manufacturing : Saying he wants to see Illinois “become a leader in the clean transportation revolution,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed ( HB 1769 ), a bill offering a wide range of incentives intended to boost the Prairie State’s production of electric cars. The governor said the legislation will boost more than just production of electric passenger cars. “Electric...

November 19, 2021

Labor Week: Vaccine Mandate Exemptions in FL, ID; CA’s $500K COVID-19-Related Judgement against Amazon & More

FL to Consider New COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Exemptions: Florida lawmakers swiftly enacted legislation loosening COVID-19 workplace vaccination requirements in special session last week. The legislation ( HB 1 b ) provides new exemptions from such mandates for workers with health issues, a religious conflict with vaccination, or proof of immunity, or who are willing to submit to “periodic testing” or wear...

November 19, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: Congressional Pushback against Surprise Billing Rule, Hospital Expansion Oversight Bill in MA & More

Biden Administration Rule Spurs Revolt in Congress over Surprise Billing: Last December Congress passed the No Surprises Act, aimed at protecting patients from being billed directly for out-of-network medical care not covered by their insurance. After lengthy negotiations, healthcare providers, insurers and lawmakers agreed to resolve such claims via a 30-day negotiation period, followed by arbitration if an agreement...

November 19, 2021

States End Year Flush with Cash

This story was originally posted by Stateline , an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts When Colorado lawmakers head back to the state Capitol in January to negotiate the next yearly budget, they’ll have a rare opportunity to spend billions of extra dollars. They can dole out $3.3 billion of unexpected, additional state tax revenue, plus $2.6 billion in unspent federal COVID-19 relief funds. And more money...

November 12, 2021

Labor Week: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Exemptions in AL, UT; Digital Workplace Monitoring Notification in NY & More

AL Enacts Law Restricting COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed into law a bill ( SB 9 b ) requiring employers in the state to exempt from COVID-19 vaccination requirements “any employee who has completed and submitted [an] exemption form.” That form lists numerous possible reasons for exemption, including having previously suffered an allergic reaction to vaccine ingredients, having...

November 12, 2021

Governors Spotlight: Criminal Justice Reform Package, Consumer Debt, Paid Leave, Grocery Tax & More

DE Gov Signs Criminal Justice Reform Package : Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) signed an eight-bill package aimed at addressing longstanding racial inequalities in the state criminal justice system. The bills are a part of the larger agenda Democrats unveiled in the aftermath of the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in June of 2020. That officer, Derek Chauvin, was...

November 12, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: Reversal of J&J Opioid Ruling, Veto of Permanent Telehealth ‘Pay Parity’ in NJ & More

OK High Court Reverses J&J Opioid Ruling: In a 5-1 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s $465 million judgement against Johnson & Johnson, maintaining that the drugmaker violated the state's public nuisance law in its marketing of opioids. Such public nuisance claims are the basis for roughly 3,000 lawsuits that have been brought by state and local governments against drugmakers...

November 11, 2021

The Enduring Republican Grip on State Legislatures

Democrats lost more than a governorship in this month’s election, which cemented the party’s status as a persistent loser in state legislative elections. The headline story in Virginia was the defeat of former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe by Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, but Republicans also gained control of the House of Delegates, the lower house of the Virginia Legislature. With the...

November 09, 2021

The Challenges - and High Stakes - of Regulatory Compliance

STATE NET ® THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SERIES The state regulatory process can be a bewildering landscape for any organization seeking to have an inputon proposed rules that might impact its operations or merely stay in compliance with all applicable rules that are ultimately adopted. But failing to navigate that terrain effectively can be very costly. Monitoring Regulatory Activity Isn’t Easy The thousands...

October 29, 2021

Statehouse Potpourri (formerly known as Hot Issues): No Dogs Allowed, Energy Sources, Abortion Laws & More

Business The Wisconsin Senate approves SB 298 , a bill that would bar the Wolverine State from making rules against dogs entering businesses that sell pre-packaged food while still allowing pups to be banned from businesses that sell cooked food. It is now in the Assembly. The Pennsylvania House approves HB 1819 , which would, among several things, require job seekers to make a “good faith” attempt to...

October 29, 2021

Labor Week: TN, WY Lawmakers Taking Aim at Vaccine Mandates & More

TN Lawmakers Target COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: By the start of Tennessee’s special session on coronavirus legislation last week, nearly 100 bills had been filed. But the ones most likely to be passed are those sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R), who rarely sponsor bills themselves. Measures carried by the two include those that would bar private entities from requiring...

October 29, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: TN Lawmakers Looking to Shield Doctors from Discipline for COVID-19 Misinformation & More

TN Lawmakers Move to Block State Medical Boards from Disciplining Doctors for Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation: Ahead of a special session on coronavirus legislation last week, Tennessee lawmakers prefiled a pair of bills ( HB 9020 c and HB 9028 c ) that would prevent the state Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Osteopathic Examination from disciplining doctors for their recommendations regarding COVID-19 treatment...

October 29, 2021

Governors Spotlight: Film Safety Protocols, Gubernatorial Emergency Powers, Transgender Restrictions & More

NM Gov Demands New Film Safety Protocols : In the wake of a tragic accidental shooting on the set of a movie being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said Hollywood needs to adopt strict new safety protocols to protect workers on set or the state will move to enact their own. “My full expectation is that the film and television industry will, at the conclusion of the investigation...

October 28, 2021

November Elections Eyed for Clues to 2022

A closely watched race for the Virginia governorship is going down to the wire with the election too close to call. In this year’s other governor’s election, Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy (D) leads by double digits over his Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator who calls himself a “disciple of Lincoln.” Democrats also hold the early edge in the invisible election...

October 22, 2021

Labor Week: AZ, SC, UT at Risk of Losing Workplace Safety Regulation Authority, Workers’ Comp Cost Savings from Vaccine Mandate & More

OSHA Could Strip Workplace Safety Regulation Authority from AZ, SC, UT: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is poised to begin the process of revoking the authority of Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah to regulate workplace safety, due to the states’ failure to adopt certain coronavirus protection policies. The three states are among 21 that have OSHA-approved plans allowing them to regulate workplace...

October 22, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: OH Nursing Home Room Camera Bill, COVID Testing Lab Lawsuits & More

Nursing Home In-Room Camera Bill Advancing in OH: A bipartisan bill ( SB 58 ) passed unanimously by the Ohio Senate in May and now up for its third committee hearing in the state’s House would allow nursing home residents or their families to install cameras in their rooms. Ohio lawmakers have been considering the idea for almost a decade. But this year’s measure - titled Esther’s Law, after Esther...

October 22, 2021

Governors This Week: Oil Drilling Bans, Broadband Expansion, New Unemployment Rules & More

CA Regulators Move to Ban Oil Drilling Near Homes : California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed new regulations on Thursday that would ban drilling new oil or gas wells near residential neighborhoods. Under the proposal, new wells could not be closer than 3,200 feet from homes, schools or health facilities. Existing wells within that zone would be allowed to continue, but would come under strict new controls, including...

October 21, 2021

The Rush to Influence Federal Vaccine Rules

The Biden administration is steadily working to finalize the rules for its proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate that will require at least 80 million U.S. workers to be vaccinated or test negative as a condition of employment. At the same time, a broad swath of businesses, labor unions, and conservative groups are working just as furiously to shape those rules to their own best advantage before they go into effect. As...

October 08, 2021

Hot Issues This Week: Business, Immigration & Social Policy

Business The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal by trucking companies seeking to exempt drivers from a California labor law that would classify them as employees rather than independent contractors. The SCOTUS rejected without comment an appeal of a lower court ruling that said state law, not federal law, determines the employment status of about 70,000 truck owner-operators. The issue is not dead, however, as a federal...

October 08, 2021

Governors This Week: Power Struggles, Electric Vehicles & More

ID Gov in Power Struggle with Lt. Gov : A simmering feud between Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) became public last week when Little said he would rescind an executive order McGeachin issued in his absence that banned Gem State schools from imposing mask or vaccine mandates. The kerfuffle started when McGeachin, who has already announced her candidacy for governor in next year’s...

October 08, 2021

Labor Week: COVID-19 Opt-Out Measure in AR & $130M Tesla Payout for Racial Harassment

AR Lawmakers Pass COVID-19 Vaccine Opt-Out Measure: Arkansas’ General Assembly passed a bill ( HB 1977 ) requiring employers in the state to allow their workers to opt-out of getting vaccinated for COVID-19. The measure failed to draw the two-thirds majority vote in the Senate required to approve its emergency clause, which would have made the measure effective immediately. Ordinarily, that would have meant it...

October 08, 2021

Healthcare Roundup: Differing Healthcare Worker Vaccination Mandate Impacts in NY and RI, HI Nursing Shortage & More

Divergent Worker Vaccination Mandate Results in NY, RI: Healthcare workers in New York have been getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at over twice the rate of adult residents of the state as a whole, since former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers on Aug. 16. As of the day after that announcement, 76 percent of hospital workers were fully vaccinated. By Oct. 2, the day after the...

October 07, 2021

Newsom Signs Major CA Unemployment, Consumer Finance and Education Funding Reforms

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) continued addressing the mountain of bills on his desk last week, including a legislative package to overhaul the state’s struggling unemployment benefits system. Reforming the CA EDD The state Employment Development Department (EDD) has come under intense criticism throughout the pandemic for a series of high-profile mishaps that include approving over $11 billion in fraudulent...

October 01, 2021

Governors This Week: Return to Work Incentives, Pandemic Prison Funds, Emergency Paid Leave & More

NJ Gov Unveils Return to Work Incentives : In an effort to address ongoing staffing shortages across several industries, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced an incentive program that will pay currently unemployed workers $500 to return to the workforce and employers who hire them up to $10,000 in wage subsidies. To be eligible for the Return and Earn program subsidies, employers must have fewer than 100 employees...