Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee advances package of bills on veterans services, physician licensing, military affairs and litter

The House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee reported favorably on six bills Wednesday, advancing measures on long-term care access, physician licensing, county veterans affairs staffing and oversight, a rename and expansion of a military affairs council, and litter control officer allocations.

The committee’s action bundled a series of mostly noncontroversial measures and a set of veterans-focused bills that drew the most discussion. Representative Sessions, presenting the medical subcommittee report, summarized two bills: House Bill 3022, which would amend a code section to update departmental names, alter the membership of the Long-Term Care Council to replace “the chairman of the Joint Legislative Healthcare Planning and Oversight Committee or their designee” with the director (changed by amendment to “secretary”) of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and require the council to work toward a statewide access system for long‑term supports and services; and a physician-licensing bill (sponsored by Representative Weston Newton) that would add discretionary authority for the Board of Medical Examiners to waive examination requirements in some circumstances and require certain examination waivers when applicants are to practice within specified South Carolina agencies.

Why it…