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Joint Fiscal Committee holds open extraordinary-aid language for nursing homes amid nurse-recruitment concerns
Summary
The Joint Fiscal Committee discussed session-law section e306, which would allow extraordinary financial relief to prevent closures of nursing homes in compliance with state and federal rules, and agreed to hold the section open while members pressed for more funding and reporting on nurse recruitment.
The Joint Fiscal Committee reviewed session-law section e306 — language added by the House that would authorize “extraordinary financial relief” to prevent nursing homes that are in good standing and in compliance with state rules and federal regulations from closing, and agreed to hold the section open for further consideration.
Committee members flagged the lack of a sustained recruitment strategy for nursing staff alongside the new relief language. One member said the budget included just $500,000 last year for recruitment efforts while the state spent about $62,000,000 on travel nurses the year before. “One of the only programs that we had in the budget was a half a million dollars last year to help recruit and retention of nurses,” the Committee member said.
Greg Nixon, Joint Fiscal Office staff, summarized the House’s addition and the reporting requirement built into the language: the section directs EVA to submit a report on or before Dec. 15, 2025, to relevant standing committees that would include “proactive measures and target interventions that may be used to reduce the use and amount of extraordinary financial relief in the future.” Nixon described the section as intended for rare, last-resort uses to keep eligible facilities open.
Committee discussion focused on whether the proposed reporting and last-resort relief are paired with sufficient investment to reduce reliance on large travel-nurse contracts. A Committee member argued that without a stronger recruitment line item the state will continue to rely on costly travel nurses rather than build stable staffing at facilities. Members suggested keeping the language open while the committee considers adding or clarifying funding for recruitment and related workforce initiatives.
No formal roll-call motion or binding vote on the SAL language is recorded in the transcript; members repeatedly agreed to “hold” or “leave open” the section pending further information and potential technical changes. The committee also noted the report deadline and the intention to review proactive measures in that report before finalizing the section in the FY26 package.
Next steps: the section remains open for further drafting and possible addition of recruitment funding or directed follow-up. The committee flagged the Dec. 15, 2025 report as a key milestone for evaluating whether extraordinary relief language should remain or be altered.
