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Senate hears SB 596 to define hospitals’ on‑call lists and allow emergency regulations for psychiatric‑hospital staffing
Summary
SB 596 would define what qualifies as an on‑call list for hospitals to claim exemptions from nurse‑staffing penalties, require that an on‑call list represent at least 10% of nursing staff (subject to amendment), and authorize emergency rulemaking for staffing in psychiatric hospitals.
Senators in the Health Committee heard SB 596, a bill to tighten enforcement and clarify exemptions to existing nurse‑staffing ratio laws. The 2019 law that set penalties for staffing violations allowed an exemption when hospitals could show they had exhausted an on‑call list, but the definition of an on‑call list has been contested.
Senator Menjivar, the author, said SB 596 will define the on‑call list to require a pool representing about 10% of a hospital’s nurse staffing, clarify that separate daily violations be treated as distinct enforcement cases, and give the Department of Health authority to issue emergency regulations to establish staffing rules for psychiatric hospitals. The bill’s sponsors and nursing witnesses described chronic understaffing during and after the pandemic and urged clearer enforcement to protect patient safety.
Joyce Powell, an emergency‑department nurse, described repeated unsafe staffing incidents and said the 2019 law’s penalties have not been enforced consistently. “Every nurse knows that nurses have too many patients. … Lives are at risk,” Powell said. Labor and nursing organizations also supported an amendment taken by the author to allow float‑pool nurses to count toward the on‑call list, a change the author said she accepted after discussions with opposing groups.
Hospital associations and representatives of smaller and rural hospitals opposed the current bill language unless amended. They said a rigid 10% on‑call threshold and how on‑call status is counted could be administratively and financially difficult for small and rural facilities and urged flexibility for travel nurses, float pools and nurse managers who often serve multiple roles. Speakers also warned retroactive cuts and fines can be destabilizing.
The committee discussed accommodations for rural hospitals, the mechanics of float pools, and whether managers or non‑clinical registered nurses should count on an on‑call list. The author said she accepted a committee amendment to allow float‑pool nurses to count and pledged to continue negotiating specifics for small and rural hospitals. No formal public roll call vote was taken; the author asked for an aye vote when a quorum is present.
