Committee roundup: Multiple public‑health bills pass or fail in Senate panel

At its session the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee heard and voted on a large set of bills across topics including long‑term care survey appeals, medical credentialing, licensure compacts, provider scope and specialty licensure, behavioral‑health workforce reforms, food‑access grants and several technical items. The following lists each bill the committee recorded action on and the committee outcome.

Votes at a glance

- HB17‑84 (skilled nursing IDR evidence rules): Passed — sponsor said the bill allows all evidence in appeals of IDRs to address increased erroneous IDR counts. (Committee announced “House bill 17 84 is passed.”)

- HB16‑79 (definition of determination of death amendment): Passed — amendment adopted to clarify definition; bill passed as amended.

- HB17‑68 (landfill host‑fee contracts): Passed — clarifies that host‑fee contracts must include start/end/renewal dates and be approved by city councils.

- HB14‑58 (medical credentialing confidentiality): Passed — removes requirement to submit DEA number to centralized credentialing to avoid potential federal prohibition.

- HB11‑85 (dietetic licensure compact): Passed — compact language consistent with other interstate health compacts; delegates some authority to legislative council in statutory language.

- HB12‑85 (ambulance treat‑in‑place telehealth exemptions): Passed — (also addressed in related EMS article); committee later approved after companion governance bill was presented.

- HB17‑67 (EMS advisory council/regulatory changes): Passed — reconstitutes EMS advisory council and grants defined adjudicatory and protocol authority.

- HB12‑52 (doula certification and reimbursement): Passed — creates a certification process for doulas and a reimbursement pathway consistent with Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies initiatives.

- HB15‑85 (clarifying licensure exemption for entities that employ therapists): Passed — clarifies entities employing PT/OT/SLP are not separately required to hold licensure.

- HB14‑71 (speech‑language pathology renewal timing): Passed — allows board to set renewal dates in rule for operational flexibility.

- HB14‑56 (Arkansas Kidney Disease Commission moved to advisory council): Passed — commission becomes advisory council under Department of Health and Board of Health oversight.

- HB18‑93 / HB1893 (emotional support animals): Passed — allows private property owners to ban emotional‑support animals by posted signage and narrows liability for property owners in certain circumstances.

- HB11‑86 (pain parity): Passed — requires Medicaid utilization management (prior authorization) for nonopioid FDA‑approved therapies to be no more restrictive than for opioids.

- HB11‑87 (licensure by endorsement for marriage and family therapists): Passed — streamlines endorsement process for qualified out‑of‑state MFTs.

- HB18‑17 (daycare allergy preparedness): Passed — tasks Education and Health departments to develop preparedness guidance for severe allergic reactions at child‑care facilities.

- HB18‑40 (sedation dentistry for individuals with developmental disabilities): Passed — allows passthrough/claims for sedation dentistry codes for that population within Passes/managed contracts.

- HB19‑43 (developmental disability provider rate review and Pass transparency): Passed — requires DHS rate review for direct service providers and more provider directory and rating transparency for Pass enrollment.

- HB18‑69 (maternal care designation infrastructure): Passed — creates statutory framework to designate maternal delivery hospitals and a call center/website infrastructure; no funding attached.

- HB12‑51 (anesthesia assistant licensure, amended): Failed — committee considered an amendment limiting licensure numbers but the measure failed on a committee vote.

- HB18‑41 (EMS funding formula): Passed — establishes county‑tier formula for distributing future EMS grant funds if identified.

- HB14‑28 (accessible bed‑height standard): Passed — prescribes a bed height measurement (23 inches floor to top of mattress) for accessible rooms.

- HB11‑42 (RESTORE Act — restorative reproductive medicine coverage): Passed — requires coverage for restorative reproductive medicine services to address conditions linked to infertility; fiscal impact in packet.

- HB16‑82 (Good Neighbor Act — food donation liability protections): Passed — clarifies liability protections for entities donating food to address food insecurity.

- HB19‑65 (Health Food Retail Act — food‑access grants): Passed — establishes a grant program structure at ADC to pilot food‑access solutions (grants/loans/matching) and reporting requirements.

- HB19‑54 (Behavior Analyst Registration Act): Passed — creates registration and regulation for behavior analysts left out of previous package.

How to read this roundup

This list records the committee’s formal outcomes (voice votes or recorded statements shown in the hearing transcript). A small number of measures had extended debate or public testimony (notably HB1004 on postpartum coverage and HB12‑51 on anesthesia assistants) and are covered in separate articles. Where the hearing included specific fiscal testimony or discrete next steps (DHS rate review, rulemaking by Department of Health), those details are captured in the committee record and hearing transcripts.