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Committee backs emergency‑power bill for nursing homes and adds correctional facilities amendment
Summary
After the recent ice storm, senators urged stronger emergency-power requirements for nursing homes and personal care homes; the committee approved a reverse‑repealer and adopted an amendment to include correctional facilities before advancing the bill.
Members said the recent ice storm exposed dangerous gaps in backup power for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Senator Parks told the committee that the storm revealed inadequacies in how facilities are powered and supplied during prolonged outages and urged the committee to keep the bill alive to identify best practices. "One of the things we learned during this storm ... is that we're inadequate," Senator Parks said.
Senator Barnett proposed — and the sponsor accepted — a friendly amendment to include correctional facilities in the same emergency‑power provisions, and the committee voted to adopt the amendment and advance the measure as amended. Senators noted they need additional technical information on generator size, fuel needs and timelines before finalizing statutory requirements.
