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Panel backs bill to modernize TB screening for new hires in long‑term care (S.819)
Summary
The subcommittee unanimously reported S.819, which would allow standardized TB risk assessments and permit hires at low‑risk facilities to begin after an initial negative TB screen. A LeadingAge South Carolina letter said the two‑step test delays hiring amid staffing shortages and noted 83 TB cases in 2024.
The House 3M subcommittee voted unanimously to report Senate Bill 819, a proposal to modernize tuberculosis screening for new employees by recognizing recent validated negative TB tests and allowing risk‑based onboarding at low‑risk facilities.
Trey read a letter from Cassie South, president and CEO of LeadingAge South Carolina, urging passage. The letter described staffing shortages in long‑term care, said the two‑step TB test can delay onboarding 10–14 days and argued that allowing employees to start after an initial negative screening in low‑risk facilities would accelerate hiring without increasing public‑health risk. The letter cited 83 reported TB cases in South Carolina in 2024.
Chair Heath Sessions said the bill reduces regulatory delays without lowering safety standards and asked for the roll call. The subcommittee voted unanimously to report S.819 favorably to the full committee.
The bill will proceed to the full committee for further consideration.
