Committee advances three bills: waivers for rural hospitals, ombudsman memory-care training, law-enforcement naloxone exemption

The Kansas Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee took final action on three separate measures at the same meeting where it heard testimony on Senate Bill 67.

Senate Bill 82 (moved and passed)

Senate Bill 82 would require the secretary for Aging and Disability Services to grant physical-environment waivers to allow certain rural emergency hospitals to convert swing beds to skilled nursing facility beds. Committee staff summarized the bill as a narrowly targeted statutory change to permit rural facilities to adapt bed designations to local needs. Senator Tom Thompson moved the bill for favorable passage; the motion was seconded and the committee passed the bill by voice vote. The transcript records a voice vote but does not provide a roll-call tally.

Senate Bill 88 (moved and passed; amendment failed)

Senate Bill 88 would require the state long-term care ombudsman and regional long-term care ombudsmen to receive training related to memory care. Senator Jeanne Clifford moved the bill for favorable passage; the motion was seconded and the bill passed out of committee by voice vote.

An amendment offered by Senator Carolyn Petty would have removed specific listed training requirements and retained a broader requirement that the state ombudsman provide memory-care training. The amendment’s sponsor said the suggested language came from the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s office to avoid duplicating items already included in existing Alzheimer’s training. Senator Blasey opposed the amendment on the grounds that the legislature commonly specifies required training items. The amendment was moved, seconded and did not pass; the committee then passed the underlying bill by voice vote.

Senate Bill 193 — substitute (moved and passed)

Committee considered a substitute for Senate Bill 193 that would exempt law-enforcement agencies from the statutory requirement to have a physician medical director to carry and administer opioid antagonists (such as naloxone) under certain subsections, while preserving the liability protections in statute. The substitute would allow law-enforcement agencies to maintain and administer over-the-counter opioid antagonists without the protocols otherwise required under subsection F, while preserving immunity under subsection G. Senator Thompson moved to pass the substitute for Senate Bill 193; the motion was seconded and the substitute passed out of committee by voice vote. The committee chair recommended the language be handled as a substitute bill to avoid confusion when the bill moves to the Senate floor.

Procedure and voting

All three measures advanced out of committee by voice vote. The transcript records movers and seconds for each motion (Senator Thompson moved SB 82; Senator Clifford moved SB 88; Senator Thompson moved the SB 193 substitute). The record does not contain roll-call vote tallies in the provided transcript.

What to watch next

Each bill will be scheduled for further consideration on the Senate calendar. The SB 193 substitute makes a targeted change allowing law enforcement to be exempted from a medical-director requirement for carrying opioid antagonists while retaining liability protection; stakeholders and the committee recommended handling the change as a formal substitute bill before floor consideration.