Senate amends hospital workplace‑violence reporting bill, restores current sunset language
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Summary
Senators amended H.B. 380 on the floor to change a sunset/repeal year from 2032 back to 2027, keeping the bill focused on reporting requirements and protections against retaliation; the amended measure was read for a third time and recorded with unanimous ayes in the roll call shown.
The Senate amended and advanced H.B. 380 on Jan. 26, 2026, a bill sponsored by Sen. Plumb that requires hospitals to track and report incidents of workplace violence and includes protections against retaliation for reporters.
Why it matters: Hospital staff and health care workers have raised concerns about workplace violence; the Senate kept the bill’s core reporting and anti‑retaliation provisions while adopting a floor amendment to restore the earlier sunset date in current code, a change sponsors and opponents agreed was needed for clarity.
Amendment and debate Sen. Sandra Brammer raised concerns about enhanced penalties tied to victim status and asked to revert an extension in the code from 2032 to the 2027 date in current law. Brammer said she supported reporting requirements but preferred that enhanced penalties not be extended in a way that treats some victims differently.
Sen. Plumb acknowledged the question and sought additional clarity from the sponsor and the Legislative Research and General Counsel; senators worked to agree on a voice amendment. "I think that this is is important work to be recording workplace violence that's happening in our health care settings," Plumb said, urging support for the amended bill.
Roll call and outcome After the floor amendment replacing '2032' with '2027' passed by voice, the amended H.B. 380 was read for a third time; the recorded vote shown in the transcript was 26 ayes, 0 nays, 3 absent.
Implementation and next steps Sponsors said the measure would improve data collection on hospital workplace incidents and provide protections against retaliation for employees who report violence. The Senate will transmit the amended bill forward in the legislative process.
Ending The amended H.B. 380 passed the Senate third reading and will continue through the legislative process with the restored sunset language in place.