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What the Senate Public Health committee passed (and didn—t) today
Summary
The committee moved a set of bills on telemedicine, Alzheimer—s planning, workers— comp/COVID protections and smaller regulatory items; the measure to define "good moral character" for licensing boards failed to advance.
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee considered a broad agenda and disposed of a number of bills by voice vote.
Key votes and actions at a glance: - HB 10-63 (telemedicine): Passed in committee after extended debate over audio-only visits and the definition of a medical record (see separate coverage). - HB 14-34 (Alzheimer—s and dementia advisory council): Passed; will require periodic state planning and aims to coordinate agency response and position the state for federal funding. - HB 14-50 (early refills for chronic eye-drop users): Passed; allows prescribing clinicians to authorize early refills for patients with dosing difficulties and requires drug plans to cover the refill. - HB 14-07 and HB 14-09 (tax stabilization and unemployment wage-base freeze): Passed on voice votes (sponsors described freezes of certain 2022 rates at the 2021 level; fiscal impacts were described as limited in committee testimony). - SB 11-40 (funeral directors/embalmers online services): Passed; clarified practice options during pandemic-era adaptations. - HB 14-88 and HB 15-21 (workers' compensation COVID claims; health-care liability protections): Both passed in committee; sponsors said they codify governor—s executive orders and both include two-year sunset provisions. - HB 14-65 (definition of good moral character): Failed to pass for lack of a second after extended debate and expert testimony raising concerns about subjectivity and reentry impacts.
Procedural notes: The committee suspended rules at the start of the session to take up out-of-order items. Most measures passed on voice votes; the transcript does not record roll-call tallies for the voice votes.
Next steps: Bills that passed will proceed to the next legislative stage; sponsors and staff will continue drafting clarifications for measures where committee members requested more precise statutory language.
