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Medical subcommittee updates Long Term Care Council membership, fixes agency titles
Summary
The House medical subcommittee favorably recommended House Bill 3022 with amendments that correct agency titles, add the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs as a voting member of the Long Term Care Council, and permit designees to attend council meetings; the measure was sent to the full committee unanimously.
Representative Heath Sessions, chair of the House medical subcommittee, said the panel on an unspecified date favorably recommended House Bill 3022, a cleanup measure that updates agency names and membership on the Long Term Care Council and directs the council to maintain a statewide access system for long-term supports and services.
The bill, sponsored in the subcommittee by Representative Mark Smith, would replace an obsolete reference to the lieutenant governor’s office on aging with the Department of Aging and would add the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs as a voting member of the Long Term Care Council. The subcommittee adopted two amendments to correct a title and to allow agencies to send designees when agency directors cannot attend council meetings.
"This one's really a low hanging fruit opportunity for us to clean up some stuff," Representative Mark Smith said, describing the changes as follow-up work from legislative oversight reviews. Staff told the panel the title change corrects the statute to refer to the "secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs" rather than "director," and the second amendment permits agency designees to serve on the council when directors are unable to attend.
Committee members unanimously approved each amendment and then voted to favorably recommend the bill as amended to the full committee. During roll calls on the amendments and on the final favorable recommendation, the recorded votes were: Representative Thomas Beach — Aye; Chair Celeste Davis — Aye; Scott Montgomery — Aye; Representative Heath Sessions — Yes.
Supporters described the bill as a technical cleanup following a legislative oversight review and the elevation of the lieutenant governor’s office on aging to a cabinet-level Department of Aging; no witnesses opposed the measure during the subcommittee hearing. Dr. Sarah Greenway participated remotely and provided feedback mentioned during discussion; staff said stakeholder input had been solicited during oversight reviews and could be revisited if needed.
The measure now moves to the full Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee for consideration.
