Session Wrap-up

 

The 2011 Legislative Session is now history.  Given the extremely difficult financial conditions facing State Government, the Legislature spent most of its time dealing with budget and funding issues.  This session, NSA tracked 35 policy bills. Of these, NSA supported 25, opposed 1, and was neutral on 9 of the bills.  19 of the bills NSA supported, passed, and the one opposed died. A summary of all the bills can be viewed at Nevada Senior Advocates.

 

The best news is that the Aging and Disability Services Division received roughly the same funding they had for the current budget year $53,325,633.00.  The total appropriations to the Division for FY2011-2012 are $53,579,198 and $55,295,579 for FY2012-2013.  The Division will be undertaking a more expanded role in Elder Protective Services as they assume the responsibility for this program on a statewide basis, as well as the autism program.

 

Also, the Division has been working with COPE providers to take over the Personal Assistance Services (PAS) program that St. Mary’s dropped during June. While St. Mary’s has discussed the possibility of giving up the PAS program for the last few years, it finally reached the point where they could no longer continue to subsidize the program. The PAS program provides home-based care for individuals that do not qualify for other resources, such as Medicaid. There are approximately 150 individuals in the program that are now being transitioned to other providers What this will do to the funding for home and community-based services in the future has yet to be determined.

 

Of the policy bills that NSCA tracked, the most significant were:

Unfortunately, SB379 , which NSA supported, died. This bill provided for the first time, an incentive for most of the facilities that are regulated by the Health Division in the form of reduced licensure fees and inspections if the facilities were free of supported complaints and had positive inspection reports. Hopefully this will be resurrected next session, and the fiscal impacts will be better defined.

 

Overall, NSA was generally pleased with the policy successes we participated in this Session. Most importantly, was the maintenance of the Aging and Disabilities Services Division budget at roughly the 2010/2011 levels.

 

While NSA was pleased with the passage of SB421, which eliminated the Tobacco Settlement Fund silos, there was concern by others that the loss of percentage set asides, will be detrimental. It is now up to all of us to make sure that ADSD starts the process called for in the legislation to involve the stakeholders in the development of the funding priorities for the next biennium. To this end, NSA, along with other stakeholders, will be meeting with ADSD and DHHS personnel in the near future to develop a consensus on the approach to be followed involving the stakeholders in the development of the funding plan called for in the legislation.

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated in the Session, and worked with many of the Legislators on senior and disabled issues. Without your efforts, the seniors and disabled could have seen more serious cuts than they did. Again, thank you all.

 

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Weekly Updates

 

Week 16

 

This was the last full week of the Session. In general most of the bills of interest to seniors seemed to fair pretty well. The best news however, was that the Supreme Court decision has in all likelihood ended the ability of the State to shift the costs of programs to local government. This in the long run will require more thoughtful discussion and debate over what priorities are for the State. The bills of interest page on the Nevada Senior Advocates is current as of June 4, and will be updated with the final tallies as soon as possible.

 

ACR10 which directs the creation of a task force to develop a plan for Alzheimer's disease passed the Senate on Friday and is now in enrollment in the Assembly, the last step before being sent to the Secretary of State. That should occur in next two days. This, along with the passage of SB421, which restructured the Tobacco Settlement Funds will address two very different but important issues facing the State. Alzheimer's disease is impacting more and more Nevadans both seniors and those under 60, and the Tobacco Settlement Fund changes will make it easier for the State to address the rapidly changing conditions facing seniors and the disabled as we move forward.

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated in the Session, and worked with many of the Legislators on senior and disabled issues. Without your efforts, the seniors and disabled could have seen more serious cuts than they did. Again, thank you all.

 

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Week 15

 

As discussed last week, bills were being heard in the second house committees, with little floor action, as the Legislature was attempting to get the non-exempt bills through the second house. The policy bills NSA is following all got through, with the exception of SB127, which dealt with guardianships for veterans. Floor action picked up towards the end of the week, and many of the bills were acted on and sent to the Governor, or are in the final stages of approval. This leaves the exempt bills which either will be heard this week or die. The bills of interest page on the Nevada Senior Advocates website contains the status of all bills as of May 28.

 

A resolution was introduced by Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, requiring the Legislative Committee on Health Care to create a task force to develop a state plan for Alzheimer’s disease to the next session. Assemblywoman Smith believes the need for the plan is now, given the increasing numbers of Nevadans with Alzheimer's. She felt through the use of a task force that brings the key players to the table, a plan can be developed efficiently and in a timely fashion, benefiting not only those affected by the disease, but caregivers, and providers. The resolution was introduced on Thursday, passed the Assembly on Friday, and was referred to the Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee on Saturday. We all owe Assemblywoman Smith our thanks for bringing this important issue to the Legislature and shepherding it through the Assembly so quickly. Thank you Debbie.

 

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Week 14

 

The Governor signed AB123 that revises provisions concerning the reporting of crimes against older persons. This is the first bill NSA is following that reached the Governors desk. Most of the other bills are still in committee, and most should be acted upon this week. On May 20, non exempt bills must be passed by the second house policy committee to remain alive. The Legislature has been adding bills to work sessions without notice, and this will occur with more frequency as the Legislature nears the end on the session on June 6.

 

SB421 was amended and approved by Senate Finance. The amendment is not available yet, but it will incorporate the changes that the Department of Health and Human Services suggested .

 

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Week 13

 

There was very little action on the policy bills being followed by NSA. The bills were either postponed, or no action was taken on those heard. The Legislature spent a majority of its time on the floor as committees of the whole hearing education and health and human service budgets. The major action occurred on Friday when the Aging and Disability Services Budget was approved by the joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The Governor recommended budget was generally adopted, except that the autism programs were consolidated in the Division. The Closing Packet contains all the recommendations made by the LCB staff. During the upcoming week, I will highlight those actions which were taken.

 

As noted last week, SB421 was silent on the process that was to be used to develop the plan. There was nearly unanimous support that the process must be public, and involve stakeholders as well as the general public. The Department amendment seems to addresses this issue. They also prepared a flow chart graphically displaying the process.

 

 

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Week 12

 

Of the senior bills NSA is tracking, all made it through the house of origin and are now in the other house. The hearings scheduled for last week were bumped to the upcoming week. The Legislature spent most of their time on bills referred to the money committees, or on the floor, getting "easy" bills passed. The Governor has vetoed AB183, which proposed to use the school district bond fund reserve for some quick start construction projects. The Governor has proposed that these funds be used for school district operations. The bill has been returned to the Assembly and is awaiting further action.

 

SB421 was heard in Senate Finance on April 27. NSA had submitted an amendment to the bill which was developed in cooperation with the Directors Office staff. The Directors Office was in agreement with the amendment, except for the suggestion that the Legislature approve the priorities for the plan that the Department will develop to drive the expenditures in the budget for the Tobacco Settlement Funds. Several that testified supported the amendment, except for the suggestion to have the Legislature approve the priorities.

 

The bill, as submitted, was silent on the process that was to be used to develop the plan. There was nearly unanimous support that the process must be public, and involve stakeholders as well as the general public. The Department was asked to prepare an amendment that would lay out the process.

 

In discussions with the Director and Deputy Director on April 30, they indicated the plan would be available for public review at least by September 1 prior to the legislative session, and possibly earlier. The plan is to be developed by the Grants Management Advisory Committee, Nevada Commission on Services for Persons with Disabilities, and the Nevada Commission on Aging. How these three pieces will be integrated was not discussed, but will be important as this process moves forward.

 

All the testimony and amendments submitted to date can be viewed and downloaded from NELIS. Click on "Meetings", then "Bills" from the drop down list, and select SB421.

 

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Week 11

 

No bills NSA is following were acted on in committee this week, because the Legislature spent most of their time on the floor, either as Committees of the Whole discussing education, or passing bills that were voted out of Committee by the April 15 deadline. All bills have to passed by their house of origin by April 26. The bulk of the Session will be spent in the money committees, as they close budgets, and work on the various bills that were declared exempt, and have fiscal impacts.

 

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Week 10

 

The Legislature had one of its busiest weeks in a long time. As discussed last week, policy bills that didn't get out of their house of origin by April 15, 2011, are dead. This does not mean the substance of the bills cannot appear as amendments to other bills that are still alive however.

 

In any event, there were 5 Assembly bills and one Senate bill NSA was following that died. The Bill Status page shows these bills. There were hearings on most of the remaining bills, and the following provides a few highlights from the hearings. Thanks to Michael Trudell, NSA was able to cover most of the hearings, but we did miss a few. If the following doesn't cover a bill that you are concerned about, look on the Bill Status page, or give me a call at (702) 275-6530.

 

SB325 creates an Inspector General function in the Department of Administration. This is a "Governor's Bill", and accomplishes one of the priorities of NSCA, which proposed creating such a function in the Department of Health and Human Services. NSA testified in support of this bill, and during the work session, it was amended, deleting most of the teeth that make an Inspector General function effective. It also was moved to the Comptrollers Office, and tied directly into the audit function of the Comptroller. The comments from some of the committee members indicated that the Governor is responsible for the oversight responsibilities and does not need the authority that would be vested in an Inspector General. Will be interesting to see what happens with this bill in the other house, and what the Governor does if it makes it to his desk.

 

SB245 that creates a statewide system for the return of missing older persons, was amended and approved. Due to concerns about the potential costs to implement such as system during the first couple of public hearings on the bill, the Amendment to the bill substantially changed the requirement for law enforcement to oversee and implement the new statewide alert system, and provided for a more voluntary effort by the media. Mr. Fisher, representing the Broadcasters Association, stated that with the use of new media and the social media there are many opportunities to implement the program. He stated that next session, more data will be available regarding the success of the program, and there would be information available to address the concerns expressed by the opposition

 

AB242 conceptual amendment require additional reporting for non-profit organizations and entities created by interlocal agreement and who receive state funds, to make reports to the Interim Finance Committee. While there was general support for the bill, the procedural requirements were considered burdensome in the original bill, and the conceptual amendment addressed these concerns.

 

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Week 9

 

SB325 creates an Inspector General function in the Department of Administration. This is a "Governor's Bill", and accomplishes one of the priorities of NSCA, which proposed creating such a function in the Department of Health and Human Services. As discussed with you previously, one of the real problems with the current system, is that if you have a complaint, or a concern about what an agency did, there was no vehicle, short of going to the Governor, to attempt to address the issue. While this is only part of the role of an Inspector General function, it is extremely important to those who have contractual relationships with the state. The Inspector General also will be looking for fraud waste and abuse, and providing recommendations to improve the operations of agencies. Testified in support of this bill.

AB181 that addressed the involuntary commitment of a sexually dangerous person, was amended and voted out of committee. The amendment requires the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice to evaluate the policies and practices relating to the civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons.

AB125 narrows the definition of crimes against older persons so that the Repository of Information Concerning Crimes Against Older Persons. The current definition is capturing many offenses which were never intended to be included in the repository. The amendment prohibits the inclusion of the names of anyone accused but not convicted, from appearing in the repository


SB79 which amended the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement was amended and passed out of committee. Unfortunately, didn't sit through the hearing, so missed the amendments. Once they are available, will include them in a subsequent report. As previously noted, this is a key bill since it governs the Tobacco Settlement Funds that are one of the primary sources of funds for home and community-based services.

SB128, which proposed major changes to the guardianship statutes, was amended and voted out of committee. The amendments eliminated the sections of the bill that were controversial. The bill, as amended, deals primarily with requiring background checks and the duties and responsibilities of guardians.

AB534 increases penalties for operating group homes without a license. This passed out of committee with no amendments.

The two houses have until April 15 to pass all non exempt bills, which generally relate to policy issues. There will be first hearings and work sessions all week, with little notice to meet this deadline. Will be one of the busiest weeks during the session. Hearings are going on today (Saturday), and there will numerous night meetings as well.

 

The following is the a status report on all the legislation being considered through March 8, 2011:

 

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Week 8

 

The week started with a hearing on AB305 that removed the misdemeanor penalty for the first offence on crimes committed against elderly or vulnerable persons. Testified in support of this bill, which would level the penalties for all age groups. There was testimony in opposition to the bill that was based upon a concern that nursing and assisted care living facility staffs would be caught up in the criminal acts covered by this bill. Their testimony did not specifically address the crimes covered by this bill. If in fact nursing home and assisted living staff are involved in the type of crimes covered by this section of NRS, they should be treated as anyone else.

 

SB245 creates a statewide alert system for missing elderly persons was heard on Monday. The bill, as proposed, would be built upon the "Amber Alert" system that exists for abducted children. There was opposition to the bill, similar to what occurred last session, because the Amber Alert system is not really geared towards missing persons. During the week, the proponents and opponents met and have developed a compromise that creates the alert system based on another system. This should allow the bill to move forward. There will be an additional hearing on the bill week after next.

 

SB379 which creates an incentive system for facilities inspected by the Bureau of Health Care Quality in the way licensure fees are charged, and inspections conducted for facilities that do not have any major deficiencies at the last inspection was heard Tuesday. Facilities that fall in this category will receive a 25% reduction in their renewal fee, and the routine inspection will be extended out 50% beyond the normal period. There are safeguards in the bill to address complaints and other changes in the operation of the facility. This is the first time the state has taken an incentive approach in the licensure area. Testified in support of this bill, and hopefully it will pass.

 

SB79, which deals with the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement, proposes amendments to address issues that have arisen during the arbitration discussions that are ongoing by the states and the tobacco industry was heard on Thursday. This is an extremely important issue, because during the arbitration process, the states could be required to repay monies already received, or, future funds could be in jeopardy. This hearing was moved to a work session on April 7, which will include additional testimony. The outcome of this bill has a potential major impact on the funding for the various programs funded with the tobacco settlement funds.

 

In addition to hearings on the above bills, there was a work session on the Health and Human Services Directors Office budget. Written testimony was submitted reinforcing the desire to merge the ADSD Aging and Disabilities Resource Center databases with the 2-1-1 system database.

 

There were eight bills added to the list NSA is following. The majority of these shift the cost of funding various programs to local government. NSA is not taking a position on these bills.

 

SB421 gets rid of the silos in the Tobacco Settlement Funds available to the Department of Health and Human Services was introduced. NSA supports this bill, and will be offering a friendly amendment to involve the Legislature in establishing the annual funding priorities - not the specific programs that are funded. The amendment also will include reporting language back to the Legislature on what was funded.

 

Monday was the cut-off for committee bill introductions. There are a total of 1,068 bills that will be considered by the Legislature this session, in addition to a handful of budget related bills. Based upon a preliminary review of the bills, there are a total of 32 bills that directly impact seniors NSA has identified. This list may grow as additional review of the introduced bill list occurs in the upcoming two weeks.

 

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Week 7

 

The Division of Health Care Financing and Policy budget was heard Friday. The main discussion was about the proposed rate reduction in nursing homes, which was a follow-up to the committee hearing on SB54 held earlier in the week. No decisions were made at either meeting, but the industry is providing the Legislators with more information on the impact of the proposed cut. There was also discussion about some lawsuits that are in the Ninth Circuit Court that will impact the ability of the State to make cuts in the Medicaid program. There will be an amendment to the Division budget ready by Thursday of next week, that will make additional adjustments based upon more current information from the Federal Government, and caseload projections.

 

Also, AB286 was heard. This bill will create a committee of state agencies to look at Medicaid fraud waste and abuse from both the provider and recipients perspective. The hope is that by bringing the key players together in the same place, they will be able to collectively address the issues more effectively, and, provide the Legislature at the next session with statutory fixes to make the system work better. The committee will sunset prior to the next session.

 

There was one bill added to the list of bills NSA is following.

 

AB450 which is directing the Department of Administration to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state agencies in the procurement of grants from the Federal Government. This is long overdue, and hopefully the legislation will pass, and the Executive Branch will embrace it.

 

No additional action was taken on the bills being tracked. Monday, is the final day for committee bills to be introduced. There have been a total of 1270 BDRs filed (individual and committee ones), and 848 bill have been introduced, leaving a potential 422 more – not counting exempt bills, which will add a handful of other bills related primarily to the budget.

 

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Week 6

 

The Aging and Disability Services Division budget was reviewed this past week. Testimony was provided by Barry Gold of AARP, who pointed out that the waiver program hourly rates could be cut by 15%. This would apply to the additional services covered by the waivers, not the Personal Care Services, which constitute the majority of the services offered under the Medicaid waivers. He also supported Senator Horsford's comments that the state should be looking at providing home and community-based services as opposed to institutional care, which is considerably more expensive, as well as less desirable from the seniors perspective.

 

Bruce Arkell supported Mr. Gold's comments on the priorities, and suggested that the Committee ask the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy why they do not include home and community-based services in the State Plan, which would place them on the priority as nursing home placement. Mr. Arkell said he asked DHCFP about this, and did not get a clear answer as to why this wasn't done. He also suggested that the Legislature consider establishing the priorities for funding home and community-based services, rather than leaving that up to the Division. Lastly, he suggested that the budget and staff associated with the Aging and Disability Resource Center be transferred to the same unit that will be responsible for the 2-1-1 system to save funds, as well as provide better service to both the senior and disabled populations.

 

Janice Ayres, on behalf of the Nevada Senior Corps Association, asked that the Independent Living Grants not be diverted to other uses as has occurred in the past.

 

Connie McMullen spoke on behalf of the State Plan Accountability Committee. She reinforced the previous comments about the 15% reduction in rates for the waiver programs, the shifting of a portion of the costs for the Elder Protective Services Program to local governments who may not have the funds to continue the program, the negative impact on seniors with the elimination of the Senior Citizens Property Tax Assistance Program, as well as other issues.

 

Written comments are available by clicking on the following links:

 

There were three bills added to the list of bills NSA is following.

 

AB286 establishes an advisory committee on Medicaid fraud that is to report back to the Interim Finance Committee and the next session of the Legislature on the extent of the issue, as well as providing recommendations on how to address it. This is one of the most important issues facing the State, and needs to involve the Legislative branch in the discussion.

 

AB305 eliminates the misdemeanor penalty for the first conviction on elder abuse or vulnerable persons. This change is welcomed, and points to the growing problem of abuse of vulnerable persons.

 

SB245 creates a statewide alert system for the return of missing older persons. A similar bill was introduced last session, but did not get out of committee. Hopefully this version of the bill has corrected the issues raised last session.

 

No additional action was taken on the bills being tracked. Monday, is the final day for individual legislator bills to be introduced. There have been a total of 1268 BDRs filed (individual and committee ones), and only 608 bill have been introduced, leaving a potential 660 more – not counting exempt bills, which will add a handful of other bills related primarily to the budget.

 

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Week 5

 

The Aging and Disability Services Division budget will be reviewed by the Joint Budget Committee during the upcoming week. This will be one of the last ones impacting the Department of Health and Human Services that will be heard before the budget committees start to work on them. This will be a good opportunity for any of you that want to make comments on the budget to do so. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday starting at 7:30am, and is shown in the table at the end of this email.

There were two bills added to the tracking list this week.

The following bills NSA is concerned about were acted upon during the past week, or at the end of the previous week.

The session finished its fifth week, leaving 11 to go. There were no additional BDRs filed as of Friday, and 509 bills have been introduced.

 

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Week 4

 

The session finished its fourth week, leaving 12 to go. There were 1,267 BDRs filed as of Friday, and 463 bills have been introduced. During the week ending March 4, no new bills were introduced that impacted seniors.

 

The Nevada Senior Corps Association Legislative breakfast was held on March 1st. A big thank you goes to Karen Ross, at NV Energy, who made it possible for them to sponsor the breakfast. Several legislators attended, and the members of the Association were able to provide them with information about their programs. In talking with both the members and some of the Legislators, the event was considered a success. Again, thank you NV Energy for making this event possible.

 

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith presented Janice Ayres, with a Legislative Proclamation, thanking her for her over 30 years of service to the seniors of Nevada. Janice turned 90 this January, and is still one of the most effective proponents of seniors in the State. We are all fortunate she is still advocating for seniors, and the programs that serve them.

 

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Week 3

 

The Nevada Senior Corps Association will be holding a breakfast between 7:00am and 8:00am on March 1 in room 3100 of the Legislative Building. Many of the members will be available at the breakfast to discuss their programs with the legislators that attend. If you are in the building, please stop by.

 

The session finished its third week, leaving 13 to go. There were 1,097 BDRs filed as of Friday, and 411 bills have been introduced. The session is pretty much on schedule, and the committees are processing bills faster than I have seen in past sessions. This is indicative of the pressure everyone is under because of the funding and reform issues facing them. March should be a very interesting month as the rest of the bills will be introduced (other than exempt and budget bills). The key dates are on the NSA calendar. You can download the official final calendar.

 

Hearings were held in Assembly Judiciary on February 21 for AB125, and AB126. AB125 clarified the provisions about what constitutes abuse of elder persons for inclusion in the Repository of such cases maintained by the Department of Public Safety. The ACLU expressed concerns about the possibility of inclusion in the Repository personal information. No action was taken on the bill.

 

AB126 added vulnerable persons to those that can be dealt with by the Attorney General's Unit for the Investigation and Prosecution Against Older Persons, and required the creation of multidisciplinary teams to investigate such complaints in each county. The Attorney General offered amendments to the bill to remove the mandate that such teams be created, added language that permitted local governments to create such teams, and permitted the participants on the teams to share confidential information. The amendment was supported by Washoe County among others. This amendment, if it is incorporated in the bill, will permit more flexibility in implementing the law, remove the fiscal note submitted by the Attorney General, and most importantly, allow the sharing of confidential information by the participants in the multidisciplinary teams. No action was taken on the bill.

 

On February 23, the Medicaid budget was presented to the joint budget subcommittee. There will be a budget amendment submitted to address the rates for the various Medicaid waivers impacted by the restoration of the personal care services. This would, if approved, keep the rates for pca services in line with the non-waiver pca services, if I understood the testimony correctly.

 

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Week 2

 

Hearings were held in Senate Judiciary on February 15 for SB55, SB127, and SB128. SB55 increased the penalties for elder abuse, and was voted out of committee following the hearing. SB127 and SB128 dealt with guardianship issues, and amendments were proposed on both bills. The committee took no action on either bill.

 

On February 16, Assembly Health and Human Services AB123. Tibi Ellis, representing NSA and the personal care industry, offered testimony suggesting that the bill be clarified to make it clear that inspections of a PCA client home is not to be inspected. There was additional testimony about the requirement that all facilities be inspected 4 times a year. The Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance provided a fiscal note that the cost to perform the inspections over the biennium would be $7,453,584. No action was taken on the bill.

 

On February 17, Senate Health and Human Services was scheduled to hear SB129. This bill is designed to improve the accountability of the various facilities that are licensed by the Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance, and to standardize the training for administrators and caregivers. NSA has proposed amendments to the bill to eliminate from the training the owners of facilities. The bill as proposed would mandate training for boards of directors, and corporate officers to receive training. Section 1(9) of the bill holds the owners responsible for assuring that training is performed in accordance with the statute. This is the appropriate role of the owner, and the training is not only burdensome, but in all likelihood would eliminate some providers whose ownerships is out of state,. The requirement that there be a standardized training program is supported, and NSCA through the Personal Care Agency Advisory Committee, will work with the Bureau to develop a standardized training program for the PCA industry. The bill was pulled from the agenda, and will be heard later.

 

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Week 1

 

During the past week, testimony in support of AB50 was given, and a clarifying amendment was offered. There are two sections of this bill that require the Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance to charge actual costs for obtaining a license. While not a critical issue, it does confuse what is a very good bill. The matter was referred to LCB Legal Counsel.

 

The Department of Health and Human Services presented the Directors Office budget to a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The majority of the comments from the legislators indicated there is a concern about the sustainability of the funding for several of the programs discussed. This probably will become a theme through the rest of the budget discussions.

 

A meeting was held with Mike Willden, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a few legislators to discuss the issues that NSA is concerned about. The response from both the Director and the legislators was generally favorable, and as the policy bill and budget move forward, these issues will discussed in detail with the full committees, and Division Staff.

 

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Legislative Handouts

 

NSA Issues

 

Download the issues. As the session progresses, there will be additional discussions with the Administration as well as legislators and the various committees which will impact the issues. Updates will be posted as the inevitable changes occur.

 

AB50

 

An amendment to AB50 was offered that attempted to clarify the section of the current statute that called for charging the actual costs for approving a license application. AB50 included new language that is intended to accomplish the same thing. The amendment is intended to avoid conflicts. The issue was referred to the Legislative Counsel Bureau Legal Division. The bill was voted out of committee on March 4, without the amendment.

 

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