2016 Legislative Session Summary
2016 Legislative Session Summary May 24, 2016 The 109th General Assembly is now history, having adjourned (at last) on April 22. Now the election season has begun, and there are many state legislative races of interest. If you’d like a complete list, the Secretary of State’s office has compiled one: http://sos.tn.gov/elections
Thank you to all WPC members who contacted legislators and supported Women’s Day on the Hill. Your support is so very important to our lobbying efforts!
Prosecution for “Fetal Assault” Legislation passed in 2014 allowed for the prosecution of a pregnant woman for assault if her baby was born addicted to or harmed by the mother’s illegal use of narcotics.
This year, SB1629/HB1660 was introduced by the original sponsors, Sen. Tate and Rep. Weaver, and sought to remove the “sunset” termination date for the original law, which was July 1, 2016. WPC, along with other groups that had opposed the original bill in 2014, lobbied against the effort to make the law permanent.
After many hours of testimony, the 2016 bill failed in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee. Testimony emphasized that treatment options for women are slim, or even non-existent, and the law had probably been discouraging women from getting prenatal care. Tennessee Economic Council on Women SB256/HB387 (Bell/Faison), which would have extended the “sunset” date of the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, was approved in the House in 2015 but did not move out of the Senate Government Operations Committee that year. This session, the bill was again set for consideration in the Senate Committee but ultimately failed to get the five votes necessary to be considered by the entire Senate. Unfortunately, this means the the Economic Council on Women, which had gone into “wind down” mode automatically last year, will cease to exist on July 1, 2016. Despite a demonstration of substantial public support and testimony from the Council about the important work undertaken, the bill did not gain the support of a majority of the committee members and, therefore, failed.
Women’s Health, Abortion, Contraception SB2568/HB2577, regulating the disposal of fetal tissue, was proposed by the Haslam administration and sponsored by Sen. Norris and Rep. McCormick. It passed and became Public Chapter 1003. Affecting all health care providers who may dispose of fetal or related tissue, it imposes additional requirements to previously existing state and federal law. State law already required all physicians to report to the Department of Health the status of every abortion, whether a surgical or medication abortion, on a form prescribed by the department. PC1003 now requires that physicians also provide explicit information about the disposal of any fetal or related tissue in each and every surgical abortion, including the name of the medical waste company that is utilized by the provider. The bill also requires that “prior to final disposition of a dead fetus, regardless of the duration of pregnancy, the funeral director, the person in charge of the institution, or other person assuming responsibility for final disposition of the fetus, shall obtain from the mother authorization for final disposition on a form prescribed and furnished, or approved by the state registrar.” Although this legislation adds absolutely unnecessary, inappropriate, and sometimes inaccurate language to the statute, the impact is expected to be relatively benign.
Contraceptives provided by a licensed pharmacist (without a prescription from a physician) will ultimately become a reality with the passage of SB1677/HB1823, which is now Public Chapter 942, by Sen. Dickerson and Rep. Hazelwood. The legislation authorizes a pharmacist to provide hormonal contraceptives according to a valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement containing a standard order and procedures developed and executed by a physician. Under such circumstances, the pharmacist may provide hormonal contraceptives to individuals who are 18 years of age or older or emancipated minors. There will be some rule-making by the Board of Pharmacy and others prior to the implementation of this, but it’s a great start to providing easier access to contraception for many women.
SB2240/HB1654, by Sen. Hensley and Rep. Terry, is now Public Chapter 986 and added the words “written consent” to an existing statute that prohibited engaging in “medical experiments, research or the taking of photographs upon an aborted fetus…” without the consent of the mother. It also added this new language: “provided, however, that prior knowledge and consent of the mother shall not be required when a person is taking photographs of the aborted fetus for the purpose of capturing images that the person reasonably believes depict evidence of a violation of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation.” The statue, originally passed in 1979, by the way, already prohibited offering or accepting anything of value for an aborted fetus.
SB1769/HB1459 (by Sen. Beavers and Rep. Womick) and SB1770/HB1758 (by Sen. Beavers and Rep. Weaver) proposed, respectively, mandatory ultrasounds prior to any abortion and a ban on abortions at 20 weeks or beyond. Neither of these bills, which were opposed by WPC and others, passed. Of Interest Senator Bill Ketron and Rep. William Lamberth filed SB2091/HB2239 to help cancer patients access oral cancer treatments at the same out of pocket expense (i.e. copay) as chemotherapy. The discrepancy exists because oral cancer treatment is typically considered under a pharmaceutical benefit, and chemotherapy is under the medical benefit which typically has lower co-pays. This creates an un-level field for cancer patients who do not have the ability to choose their treatment because they are given a specific treatment plan based on their type of cancer. A broad coalition attempted to pass the bill but it failed in the Senate Commerce Committee despite the testimony of cancer survivors including the bill sponsor Senator Ketron. Governor Haslam signed into law a bill solidifying Tennessee-licensed physicians’ ability to prescribe medications for the treatment of moderate to severe Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.) in adults. The new law makes clear that it is not a violation of the Board of Medical Examiners’ or the Board of Osteopathic Examiners’ regulations for a physician or osteopathic physician to prescribe Vyvanse for any of its FDA-approved indications, including moderate to severe B.E.D. in adults.
