JGO committee advances Good Samaritan amendments and a mandatory PDMP after island health providers testify in support

The House Judiciary and Governmental Operations (JGO) Committee on July 25 advanced two public-health-focused bills after testimony from Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation staff and a local pharmacist.

The committee adopted House Bill 24-35, which would amend the Good Samaritan Act (7 CMC §2018), and advanced House Bill 24-36, to establish a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) administered by the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC). Committee members voted to replace permissive language in HB 24-36—words such as “may provide” and “may request”—with mandatory language (“shall”) for several provisions on information exchange and program development.

The bills aim to expand legal protections for people responding to opioid overdoses and to create a CHCC-run database of prescription and dispensing records. CHCC officials and local clinicians told the committee both measures would support safer prescribing and improve clinical care.

“My name is Eleanor Cabrera, and I represent CHCC as the chief strategy officer,” said Eleanor Cabrera during public testimony. Cabrera urged passage of HB 24-35 to broaden Good Samaritan protections to first responders, off-duty personnel, school employees and other community members acting in good faith. She also expressed CHCC’s support for HB 24-36, saying the proposed PDMP would be CHCC-administered, aligned with national standards, and would allow clinicians real-time access to prescription data.

Dr. Joshua Wise, a pharmacist and general manager of PHI Pharmacy, told the committee the PDMP would be valuable not only for controlled substances but also for monitoring other medications. “Our staff log in 20, 30 times a day. We’re always checking patients,” Wise said. He described clinical scenarios in which dispensing records revealed noncompliance—such as patients not picking up insulin—information that, if available at the point of care, could prevent medication errors and hospitalizations.

Committee members debated the bill language that governs CHCC’s role in exchanging PDMP data with other jurisdictions. One member said permissive language (“may”) undermined the bill’s aims because CHCC is afforded an immunity provision elsewhere in the draft; the committee voted to amend several subsections so CHCC “shall” provide data, “shall” request and receive data when applicable, “shall” develop technical and security measures, and “shall” enter agreements necessary for interstate or interjurisdictional data exchange.

The committee record shows oral testimony from CHCC staff (Cabrera and CHCC PDMP manager Monica Crisostomo Camacho were identified in testimony materials) and from Dr. Wise in support of HB 24-36. After debate and the amendments described above, the committee adopted HB 24-35 for a committee report for passage and adopted HB 24-36 as House Draft 1 for a committee report for passage.

The committee also discussed other bills at length during the same session (see “Votes at a glance” below). Several items were tabled for further work; a proposed NMI Code of Judicial Conduct was rejected by the committee.

Votes at a glance - HB 24-05 (jaywalking provisions) — Adopted for committee report for passage (House Draft 1). Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-10 (change of name legal procedure) — Adopted for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-16 (prioritize kinship placement for children in protective custody) — Adopted for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-23 (veteran ID for veteran license plates) — Adopted with an amendment to accept additional proof (language amended during session). Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-26 (amend crime of child abuse) — Adopted for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-28 (establish grand jury system) — Adopted for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-35 (Good Samaritan Act amendments; 7 CMC §2018 referenced) — Adopted for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-36 (establish PDMP) — Amended (replaced “may” with “shall” in multiple exchange/development provisions) and adopted as House Draft 1 for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - HB 24-37 (suspend Commonwealth Casino Commission / transfer regulatory functions) — Discussion and amendment work in progress; recessed for further amendment. Outcome: deferred. - HB 24-39 (treatment program enforcement officers) — Adopted for committee report for passage. Outcome: adopted. - Judicial Branch Communication 24-02 (Next-Generation Bar Exam rules) — Committee took no action to change and allowed it to proceed per the judicial communication timeline. - Judicial Branch Communication 24-03 (proposed NMI Code of Judicial Conduct) — Rejected; committee voted to furnish a committee report recommending rejection to the full House. Outcome: rejected. - Senate bills SB 24-11 SD1 (off-road vehicles), SB 24-13 SD1 (whistleblower/rewards), SB 24-28 SD1 (disorderly conduct/public intoxication) — Tabled for further study. Outcome: tabled.

Why this matters The two health bills advanced by the committee—HB 24-35 (Good Samaritan amendments) and HB 24-36 (PDMP)—are intended to change how clinicians, pharmacies and community members respond to overdoses and how prescribers and dispensers access prescription histories. The PDMP language change from “may” to “shall” on data exchange and development responsibilities increases legal obligation on CHCC and could affect whether the program participates in interstate data sharing, which affects clinicians’ access to out-of-jurisdiction dispensing records.

What’s next Both HB 24-35 and HB 24-36 were adopted for committee reports for passage and will be scheduled for consideration by the full House. Lawmakers flagged technical details in HB 24-36 related to privacy, interstate exchange and CHCC’s implementation responsibilities; those will be points for the floor and later implementation work if the bills pass.

Reported quotes “My name is Eleanor Cabrera, and I represent CHCC as the chief strategy officer,” Eleanor Cabrera said in testimony, urging the committee to advance both bills.

“Our staff log in 20, 30 times a day. We’re always checking patients,” Dr. Joshua Wise said, describing how pharmacists use monitoring data in clinical practice.

For the record The committee’s actions described above are reflected in the July 25 JGO Committee transcript. The committee used motions and seconds for each committee report; most roll-call tallies were recorded as voice votes on the record rather than recorded roll-call counts.