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Senate committee clears House Bill 89 to clarify LPN role in nursing assessments
Summary
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 89 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation after lawmakers heard that the bill replaces vague language about LPN "contributing" with clearer delegated, focused assessment language aligned to IDAPA rules.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 89 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation after lawmakers said the bill clarifies how licensed practical nurses (LPNs) may participate in nursing assessments.
Representative John Healy, who introduced the bill, told the committee the measure is intended as a straightforward cleanup that replaces the term "contributing to" an assessment with language that allows registered nurses (RNs) to delegate "appropriate delegated focused assessments" to LPNs. "Sometimes 'contribute' is very arbitrary," Representative Healy said. "RNs can ask and delegate to LPNs ... give them a specific list. Here's what I would ask you to do to help me with this assessment. Can you go in and do X, Y, and Z?"
Why it matters: Committee members said the change aligns statute with existing IDAPA rules and clarifies the practical boundary between RN responsibility and tasks an LPN may be asked to perform. Senator Brandon Shippey asked whether the bill's phrase "performing appropriate delegated focused assessments" differs in practice from the statement of purpose's original language, and Representative Healy said the addition of "appropriate" was requested by a nursing group to ensure tasks remain within an RN's purview and do not push clinical responsibility outside scope.
The discussion included examples to distinguish appropriate and inappropriate delegation, such as asking an LPN to take vital signs or assess skin versus asking an LPN to perform an intake assessment that would remain the RN's responsibility. "Appropriate would be, could you go take vital signs? ... That is in their scope of practice," Representative Healy said.
Procedural outcome: Senator Blaylock moved and Senator Wintrow seconded a motion to send House Bill 89 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee adopted the motion by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the motion carried and the bill will proceed to the Senate floor.
The bill updates statutory language to mirror terms used in IDAPA and to make clearer what delegated assessments an RN may assign to an LPN. The committee did not take additional amendments during the hearing and provided no separate directions to staff.
