Here  we  are  4  weeks  into  the  84th  Texas  Legislative  Session  and................we  wait.  Right  now,  legislators  are  busy  crafting  legislation  and  meeting  with  constituents.    The  Texas  Constitution  limits  action  during  the  first  60  days  to  only  budget  and  emergency  items  so  little  more  than  resolutions  and  recognitions  have  occurred  on  the  floor  of  either  chamber.    Representative  Donna  Howard  presented  this  resolution  honoring  nurse  practitioners  http://bit.ly/1A4hhty  and  Representative  Cecil  Bell  this  one  http://bit.ly/1KSSdug    The  Legislature  only  meets  for  140  days  every  2  years  but  when  they  meet,  no  one  is  safe.    Everything  is  on  the  table  –  your  property,  your  income,  your  daily  activities,  and  the  regulations  impacting  your  ability  to  care  for  patients.    That’s  why  we’re  here.    We  want  to  make  sure  that  someone  is  working  to  protect  your  practice  and  to  create  a  regulatory  environment  that  doesn’t  stand  in  the  way  of  patient  care.    Legislative  Committee  Assignments    Both  chambers  have  now  appointed  committees.    These  committees  are  the  ones  most  likely  to  deal  with  issues  important  to  us.    While  these  are  the  primary  committees  of  interest,  it  is  certainly  not  out  of  the  realm  of  possibility  that  other  committees  will  consider  our  legislative  matters.    Learn  more  about  the  House  Public  Health  Committee  -­‐  http://bit.ly/1zcJP1r    Learn  more  about  the  Senate  Health  &  Human  Services  Committee  http://bit.ly/173qKa8    We  meet  with  members  of  these  committees  on  a  weekly  basis  just  to  make  sure  that  they  are  on  top  of  APRN  issues  of  interest.          

Our  Bills    We  have  a  lot  of  items  that  we  are  pursuing  this  year.    Once  again,  full  practice  authority  is  at  the  top  of  our  list.    I  expect  the  bill  to  be  finalized  and  out  of  Legislative  Council  (the  agency  responsible  for  drafting  legislation)  by  early  next  week.    Once  a  draft  is  ready,  we  will  make  it  available  for  you  all  to  view.    If  you  have  any  interest  in  reading  the  one-­‐page  summaries  of  these  bills,  follow  this  link      Round  the  Capitol    We  have  two  days  upcoming  where  you  can  come  to  Austin  and  lobby  your  local  legislators.    Already,  we  have  had  two  days  where  your  colleagues  met  with  39  Representatives  and  28  Senators.    If  you  can  make  it  on  March  4  http://bit.ly/1D6s0rg  or  April  8  http://bit.ly/1DPmR5S  please  follow  the  links  and  register.    Legislators  need  to  hear  from  constituents.    Let’s  make  sure  that  they  are  hearing  from  the  nurse  practitioner  constituents  on  what  you  need  to  care  for  patients.    Upcoming  Week    The  upcoming  week  should  be  an  exciting  one  as  committees  begin  their  work.    We  also  expect  that  many  of  our  bills  will  be  filed  and  negotiations  to  begin  on  the  various  items  we  have  proposed.    I  promise  to  provide  updates  as  things  begin  to  move.    One  last  thing……….you  will  begin  receiving  calls  to  action.    If  you  can’t  make  it  to  Austin,  please  respond  to  those  specific  calls  to  sign  petitions  and  to  email  and  call  legislative  offices.    We  need  to  utilize  every  tool  in  our  toolbox  –  email,  phone  calls,  Facebook,  and  twitter  if  we  hope  to  be  affective.    Talk  to  you  soon!