The 80th Legislative Session

80th Legislative Summary for APNs view slide presentation

In the annals of CNAP history, the Regular Session of the 80th Texas Legislature will be remembered as the last session in which APN organizations were encumbered by the 2003 Agreement with Medical Organizations.  That agreement, also known as the Moratorium, maintained the status quo through the 2005 and 2007 sessions.  It prevented medical organizations from supporting any legislation that would limit the current scope of practice for APNs.  On the other hand, it prevented APN and other nursing organizations from supporting any legislation that would expand practice for APNs or change the way APNs and physicians practice together.

Despite the moratorium, APN lobbyists were busy throughout the legislative session protecting APNs.  The outcome was good. The bill that would have licensed anesthesiologist assistants suffered total defeat. In addition, eight bills became law that referred to "APNs," "RNs," "providers" or "practitioners" that would have referred to "physicians" if CNAP had not been present to protect your practice.

Instead of the usual legislative summary in a table format, I prepared a Power Point presentation that may be easier to digest. The presentation includes a brief explanation of each bill, the primary author and sponsor, and a link to the full text. Access the slide presentation here.

If you wish to find other information about a particular bill, go to the Texas Legislature Online Website (www.capitol.state.tx.us) and find "Search Legislation" on the home page. By "Legislature" select "80(R) - 2007" and below that select "Bill Number." Then in the space provided enter the bill number, e.g. sb8 or hb2426. Under the text tab of each bill, some bills have the option to read an "Enrolled Bill Summary." Those summaries explain the basic content in the version of the bill that became law and can help interpret the bill.

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Looking for the Legislative Updates that Lynda published during the session?
They are archived here.