Legislature(2021 - 2022)ADAMS 519

03/31/2022 09:00 AM House FINANCE

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= HB 306 EXTEND BOARD OF PHARMACY TELECONFERENCED
Moved HB 306 Out of Committee
+ HB 170 ENERGY INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM & FUND: AIDEA TELECONFERENCED
<Bill Hearing Canceled>
+ Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled TELECONFERENCED
+= HB 60 PUBLIC SCHOOLS: MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
HOUSE BILL NO. 306                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of                                                                     
     Pharmacy; and providing for an effective date."                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:08:55 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDI STORY,  SPONSOR, thanked  the committee                                                                    
for hearing the bill. She  stated that the Board of Pharmacy                                                                    
must  be extended  for the  critical work  of licensing  and                                                                    
regulation of the profession. She  agreed with the auditor's                                                                    
recommendation  of extending  the board  for six  years. She                                                                    
remarked  that legislators  all shared  a concern  about the                                                                    
Prescription  Drug Monitoring  Program (PDMP).  She believed                                                                    
fixing the PDMP  was a separate issue from  the extension of                                                                    
the board. She clarified that  the PDMP was housed under the                                                                    
Board of  Pharmacy; however, the board  only had enforcement                                                                    
power  and   regulatory  oversight  over   pharmacists.  She                                                                    
highlighted that the Medical Board,  Board of Nursing, Board                                                                    
of Dental  Examiners, Board of Examiners  and Optometry, and                                                                    
Board  of Veterinarian  Examiners  all  participated in  the                                                                    
PDMP. She relayed that the chairs  of the boards met twice a                                                                    
month solely about  the PDMP. She shared that  her staff had                                                                    
been  working  closely  with  the  Department  of  Commerce,                                                                    
Community   and  Economic   Development  (DCCED)   and  Sara                                                                    
Chambers [Director,  Division of Corporations,  Business and                                                                    
Professional Licensing,  DCCED] and  they all  felt strongly                                                                    
about how to  make some progress in the  PDMP. She requested                                                                    
to hear from Ms. Chambers.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:11:10 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:11:37 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SARA CHAMBERS, DIRECTOR,  DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS, BUSINESS                                                                    
AND   PROFESSIONAL   LICENSING,  DEPARTMENT   OF   COMMERCE,                                                                    
COMMUNITY   AND   ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT,   appreciated   the                                                                    
members' desire for a solution  to ensure the PDMP was doing                                                                    
what the  legislature had  set forth for  the program  to do                                                                    
and to  ensure it was  doing it  well. In addition  to that,                                                                    
everyone understood  and agreed  on the expectations  of the                                                                    
PDMP.  She appreciated  the bill  sponsor's  desire to  find                                                                    
some solutions.  She communicated  that since the  last bill                                                                    
hearing,  the department  had been  working  with the  board                                                                    
chairs and  some members of  the House Finance  Committee to                                                                    
identify  existing  funding  sources  that  could  help  the                                                                    
department  locate a  contractor, consultant,  or individual                                                                    
with PDMP  expertise who could  take a holistic view  of how                                                                    
the  PDMP fit  into  the state's  opioid crisis  management.                                                                    
Additionally,  the individual  could help  determine whether                                                                    
legislation could  be recommended in a  subsequent report to                                                                    
the  legislature to  address changes  ranging from  small to                                                                    
large,  what  the  department,  boards,  and  administration                                                                    
could  be doing  differently, looking  at other  states, and                                                                    
providing technical assistance.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Chambers  stated the resources  were out there  and they                                                                    
were  working  to  connect the  dots,  especially  with  the                                                                    
department's  limited resources.  She  elaborated that  they                                                                    
had  been working  with  the Division  of  Public Health  to                                                                    
identify some  grant funding. They  believed it  may provide                                                                    
an option to move forward on  a report and analysis in a way                                                                    
that would edify the concerns.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:13:52 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Edgmon relayed that he  had been one to raise                                                                    
concerns  about the  PDMP. He  appreciated the  information,                                                                    
and it  satisfied his concern.  He was ready to  support the                                                                    
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  LeBon  MOVED  to   ADOPT  Amendment  1,  32-                                                                    
LS1434\A.2 (Ambrose, 3/16/22)  [by Representative Carpenter]                                                                    
(copy on file):                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 5                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Delete "2028"                                                                                                              
     Insert "2026"                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Representative Edgmon OBJECTED.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Representative  LeBon  explained  the amendment.  He  stated                                                                    
that the  committee had heard  from the  legislative auditor                                                                    
there  were  some  issues  with  board  governance  and  the                                                                    
working relationship  between the Board of  Pharmacy and the                                                                    
agency.  He  thought  the  legislature  would  want  to  see                                                                    
progress  towards  improving  the  work  of  the  board.  He                                                                    
supported a  reduction in  the extension  of the  board from                                                                    
2028 to 2026.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative Edgmon MAINTAINED his OBJECTION.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
A roll call vote was taken on the motion.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
IN FAVOR: Johnson, Josephson, LeBon, Thompson                                                                                   
OPPOSED: Ortiz, Wool, Edgmon, Merrick, Foster                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
The MOTION to adopt Amendment 1 FAILED (4/5).                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:15:58 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:16:08 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Ortiz  MOVED to  REPORT HB  306 out  of committee                                                                    
with individual recommendations  and the accompanying fiscal                                                                    
note.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative   Johnson   OBJECTED  for   discussion.   She                                                                    
remarked that  she put a  reminder in her calendar  to bring                                                                    
up the  topic the  following session.  She wanted  to ensure                                                                    
the legislature  was doing  its do  diligence. She  had some                                                                    
concerns about  the length [of the  board extension] because                                                                    
some  issues had  been identified.  She remarked  that going                                                                    
forward  with the  next year's  budget, it  was easy  to let                                                                    
things  go by  the wayside.  She  remarked there  may be  an                                                                    
opportunity  in   the  future  to  talk   about  boards  and                                                                    
commissions, which she believed  would likely be healthy for                                                                    
some  of  the state's  boards.  She  was not  interested  in                                                                    
shutting the board down or  in spending a substantial amount                                                                    
of money on  another audit to come back to  the committee to                                                                    
report that the  same thing was still  happening. She stated                                                                    
that somehow  the legislature  needed to  figure out  how to                                                                    
get a  report that may  not be  100 percent or  exactly what                                                                    
the  legislature wanted  to vote  on. The  legislature would                                                                    
need to determine how to deal with it.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Representative Johnson WITHDREW her OBJECTION.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
There being  NO further OBJECTION,  HB 306 was  REPORTED out                                                                    
of committee  with three "do  pass" recommendations  and six                                                                    
"no recommendation" recommendations  and with one previously                                                                    
published fiscal impact note: FN1 (CED).                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:17:59 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:20:02 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED