Capitol challenge, 2009.

On Thursday, February 12, 2009 over one hundred nursing students, faculty, and licensed nurses gathered at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in downtown Santa Fe to learn about the legislative process, how the legislative process affects the nursing profession and our work environments, the current bills that New Mexico Nurses Association (NMNA) are watching, supporting or opposing, and how to effectively communicate with legislators to voice our opinions.

Patricia Montoya, MPA, BSN, RN, current Projects Manager at NM Medical Review Association, spoke about her nursing history, her varied work history as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration, Secretary of Health in the Richardson Administration, a lobbyist for the American Nurses Association in Washington, DC, and her efforts in the political process to affect health policy by working with legislators with whom she'd developed working relationships. Ms. Montoya discussed the process of working with legislators to educate them about nursing and health care issues, support them in their reelection, and ask for their support in passing legislation.

Dr. Fran A'Hern-Smith provided the participants with guidelines for letter-writing, phone-calling, and writing letters to the Editor of newspapers and magazines. The basics for contacting a legislator are:

* give basic information (you are a registered nurse, a constituent of the legislator)

* your contact information [phone, address, email],

* the topic (an issue, a bill by number and title) about which you are writing,

* a thank you for their past support of these kinds of issues, and for their current work

* a signature.

* keep it short and to the point.

Linda Siegle, our lobbyist since 1997, described the legislative process: Bill introduced in either House or Senate, then is assigned to one, two or three committees for hearings, the hearings are held with supporters attending and expert witnesses testifying as to why the bill is important for nurses, the profession, patient safety, improved outcomes, etc. Each committee the bill is assigned to must have a hearing about whether the committee agrees with the bill, report that back to the House/Senate, then it moves to the next committee. Eventually the bill is voted on by that body (House or Senate) and moves to the other side and the entire process starts over. If the bill is passed by both the House and the Senate then it goes to the Governor for signature or veto. There have been instances when NMNA has to provide the Governor with information supporting the bill and the way it was written in order to get the needed signature.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The participants were then supplied with a listing of bills that are of interest to NMNA. This year the Health Employees Whistle-blower bill, and ongoing funding for nursing scholarships, faculty loan-for-service, nursing expansion funds in House Bill 2- the funding bill for state government, funding for ENMU, UNM, WNMU nursing programs were being watched. There was also a bill to set up an oversight board that would remove from the NM Board of Nursing and other licensing/ regulation boards the ability to change the scope of practice for their licensees by requiring the involved board to present the background, research into safety, cost, etc. to this oversight board. The oversight board then would report their findings to the Legislative Council Service, the Governor and the interim Legislative Committees about whether this bill should be allowed to be introduced. NMNA and many other professional groups and licensing boards oppose this bill.

Of note, by March 14th the Health Employees Whistle-blower bill has been heard by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, passed by both AND passed by the House, received a Do Pass from the Senate Corporations and Transportation committee, and is awaiting the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislature ends at noon Saturday, March 21. Ms. Siegle expects it to be heard this week, and be passed by the Senate before the end of the session.

NEXT YEAR: The Nursing Practice Act must be re-authorized during the 30 day (short) session or the Board of Nursing must close on July 1, 2010. This means that there would be no Board-approved nursing programs, so anyone graduating after its closure would not be able to sit for the NCLEX examination, no nurses could leave the state and work elsewhere because the Board of Nursing would not be able to provide information about past licensure, any disciplinary action, etc. It is critical that we have lots of nursing support for the passage of the bill even before the legislature opens the 3rd Tuesday of January, 2010.