HLS 17RS-727 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 59
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN
HEALTH CARE/PROVIDERS: Creates a study group to make recommendations
concerning the potential establishment of an independent health professions scope
of practice review committee
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To create a special study group to evaluate and make recommendations concerning the
3 prospective establishment of an independent health professions scope of practice
4 review committee to be known as the "Louisiana Health Professions Institute" and
5 to require the group to report findings and recommendations to the legislature.
6 WHEREAS, services and procedures that a healthcare professional may and may not
7deliver or perform are determined by the scope of practice for that person's profession; and
8 WHEREAS, while Louisiana's health professions are regulated by state licensing
9boards, each such board, in turn, is created by and receives its regulatory powers from the
10legislature, including the power to enforce a scope of practice, via the state laws which
11provide for those boards and which the legislature may revise from time to time; and
12 WHEREAS, Title 37 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, which encompasses
13laws relative to professions and occupations, provides for licensure and regulation of all of
14the following healthcare practitioners: acupuncturists; addiction counselors; athletic trainers;
15audiologists; behavior analysts; chiropractors; clinical exercise physiologists; clinical
16laboratory personnel; dentists; dietitians and nutritionists; direct service workers; marriage
17and family therapists; medical psychologists; medication attendants; mental health
18counselors; midwives; nurses, including licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and
19advanced practice registered nurses; nursing facility administrators; occupational therapists;
20optometrists; perfusionists; pharmacists; physical therapists; physician assistants; physicians;
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HCR NO. 59
1podiatrists; polysomnographic health professionals; professional counselors; psychologists;
2radiologic technologists; rehabilitation counselors; respiratory therapists; social workers; and
3speech-language pathologists; and
4 WHEREAS, through its function as a lawmaking body, the legislature plays an
5essential role in setting policy for all professions and occupations; however, this
6policymaking role occurs within an inherently political context; and
7 WHEREAS, in taking up any prospective expansion, limitation, or other revision to
8a health profession's scope of practice, the legislature must evaluate numerous
9considerations, the most significant of which is the delicate balance between expanding
10access to care and ensuring patient safety; and
11 WHEREAS, in the legislature, the initial duty of screening health profession scope
12of practice proposals lies with the committees on health and welfare, which must consider
13significant amounts of information and extensive public comments given by individuals,
14officials, and interest groups which come before the committees to support or oppose various
15scope of practice measures; and
16 WHEREAS, objective, reliable information is essential for any policymaking body
17to make decisions that best serve the public interest; and
18 WHEREAS, other states seek, obtain, and process information concerning health
19profession scope of practice proposals through special review committees; and
20 WHEREAS, notable among state scope of practice review programs is that of
21Connecticut, which in 2009 employed the Legislative Program Review and Investigations
22Committee, a bipartisan, statutory committee of the state's legislature, to evaluate scope of
23practice review models of fourteen other states and make recommendations to the
24Connecticut General Assembly, which later enacted Public Act No. 11-209 in 2011 creating
25a scope of practice determinations program within the state's health agency that is now
26viewed as one of the most effective programs of its type in the nation; and
27 WHEREAS, the necessity of a program or committee of this type in Louisiana has
28been demonstrated through the legislature's experience of recent sessions of considering
29high-profile and highly controversial scope of practice proposals affecting several health
30professions; and
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1 WHEREAS, it is clear that establishing some form of independent, nonpolitical
2scope of practice review committee would greatly enhance the ability of legislators to make
3the most informed and most prudent policy decisions when faced with matters so vital to the
4well-being of Louisiana's citizens as proposals affecting the scope of practice of our state's
5health professions.
6 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
7create a special study group to evaluate and make recommendations concerning the
8prospective establishment of an independent health professions scope of practice review
9committee to be known as the "Louisiana Health Professions Institute".
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study group shall be composed of the
11following members:
12 (1) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.
13 (2) Two members representing the Louisiana State University Health Sciences
14Center at New Orleans appointed by the chancellor of that institution, one of whom shall be
15a representative of the medical school and one of whom shall represent a school or program
16which trains health professionals other than physicians.
17 (3) Two members representing the Louisiana State University Health Sciences
18Center at Shreveport appointed by the chancellor of that institution, one of whom shall be
19a representative of the medical school and one of whom shall represent a school or program
20which trains health professionals other than physicians.
21 (4) The dean of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical
22Medicine or his designee.
23 (5) The dean of the Southern University School of Nursing or his designee.
24 (6) The chief executive officer of the Louisiana Public Health Institute or his
25designee.
26 (7) The director of the Louisiana State Law Institute or his designee.
27 (8) The chief executive officer of the Louisiana Association of Health Plans or his
28designee.
29 (9) The executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission or his designee.
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1 (10) A member of the Louisiana House of Representatives appointed by the speaker
2of the House of Representatives.
3 (11) A member of the Louisiana Senate appointed by the president of the Senate.
4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study group shall include as nonvoting ex
5officio members representatives of each state licensing board created in Title 37 of the
6Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 and which licenses a health profession, in the number
7of one representative per board. The chairperson of each such board shall identify to the
8secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health the board's appointee on or before
9September 8, 2017.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of the Louisiana Department of
11Health shall take such actions as are necessary to ensure that the study group convenes on
12or before September 30, 2017.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that at its initial meeting, the study group shall elect
14a chairperson and shall adopt rules of procedure and any other policies it deems necessary
15to facilitate its work.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study group shall meet on dates and at times
17and places designated by the chairperson.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that meetings of the study group shall be subject to
19the Open Meetings Law, R.S. 42:11 et seq.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the study group shall serve
21without compensation, except per diem or expense reimbursement to which they may be
22individually entitled by their respective employers.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the evaluation required by this
24Resolution, the study group shall consider as a model for the Louisiana Health Professions
25Institute the scope of practice review system of the state of Connecticut, any such system of
26another state addressed in the report of the Connecticut Legislative Program Review and
27Investigations Committee entitled "Scope of Practice Determination for Health Care
28Professions", the model which was proposed in Senate Bill No. 649 of the 2014 Regular
29Session of the Legislature, and any other model as may be selected by members of the group.
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1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study group shall submit a written report of
2findings and recommendations concerning the prospective establishment of the Louisiana
3Health Professions Institute to the House Committee on Health and Welfare, the Senate
4Committee on Health and Welfare, the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the
5Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee no later than thirty days prior to the convening
6of the 2018 Regular Session of the Legislature.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
8secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the chancellor of the Louisiana State
9University Health Sciences Center at New Orleans, the chancellor of the Louisiana State
10University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport, the dean of the Tulane University School
11of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the dean of the Southern University School of
12Nursing, the chief executive officer of the Louisiana Public Health Institute, the director of
13the Louisiana State Law Institute, the chief executive officer of the Louisiana Association
14of Health Plans, and the executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 59 Original 2017 Regular Session Hoffmann
Creates a special study group to evaluate and make recommendations concerning the
prospective establishment of an independent health professions scope of practice review
committee to be known as the "Louisiana Health Professions Institute".
Requires the study group to report findings and recommendations concerning the prospective
establishment of the La. Health Professions Institute to the legislative committees on health
and welfare and the legislative committees on governmental affairs no later than 30 days
prior to the convening of the 2018 R.S.
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