Ohio House Passes Legislation to Give APNs Additional Authority to Prescribe Medications

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COLUMBUS—Chairman of the House Health and Aging Committee Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) has announced that the Ohio House today passed legislation to increase the ability of advanced practice nurses (APNs) to prescribe schedule II medications in certain settings while ensuring patient protection.

Currently, APNs have the authority to prescribe medications for terminally ill patients for a 24-hour supply only after the collaborating physician has initially prescribed the drug. Senate Bill 83 removes these limitations for APNs and allows them to prescribe in certain locations, including hospitals, health care facilities operated by the Department of Mental Health or the Department of Developmental Disabilities, or a nursing home. It also grants the Board of Nursing the authority to discipline nurses who self-administer schedule I controlled substances.

“Advanced practice nurses go through years of education and clinical training, and they are qualified to safely prescribe medications that will provide quick pain management for patients,” Rep. Wachtmann said.

Within the state of Ohio, APNs undergo extensive training in pharmacology to prepare them to be responsible prescribers of schedule II medications. APNs have been prescribing schedule II medications under certain conditions since 2002.

Senate Bill 83 will now be sent back to the Senate for concurrence.

Heartbeat Bill Passes from Ohio House of Representatives

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COLUMBUS—State Representative Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) today announced that the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 125—legislation that, when enacted, will protect the lives of Ohio’s babies starting with their first detectable heartbeat.

 

House Bill 125, more commonly referred to as the Heartbeat Bill, will prohibit individuals from performing an abortion on a pregnant woman prior to testing whether the child she is carrying possesses a detectable heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected according to standard medical practice, an abortion will be prohibited by law unless the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.

 

“In addition to focusing on jobs and Ohio’s business climate, we are also working to protect life—the most fundamental of human rights,” said Rep. Wachtmann.

 

A baby’s cardiac activity begins at a biologically identifiable time, normally when the heart is formed in the gestational sac. While as many as 30 percent of natural pregnancies end in spontaneous miscarriage, less than five percent of all natural pregnancies end in spontaneous miscarriage after the detection of fetal cardiac activity. Therefore, many believe that fetal heartbeat is a medical predictor that an unborn baby will reach viability and live birth.

 

House Bill 125 was introduced in February and has undergone extensive debate in the House. It will now be sent to the Ohio Senate for further debate and consideration.

Wachtmann Blasts Distortions about Great Lakes Compact, Water Withdrawal Regulatory Program Bill

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COLUMBUS—State Representative Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) today denounced the outright misinformation and falsities surrounding House Bill 231, which will implement Ohio’s first-ever water withdrawal regulatory program as required by the Great Lakes Compact in an effort to promote business growth.

 

In a statement released on Friday, former Governor and U.S. Senator George Voinovich attacked the job-creation potential of House Bill 231 and falsely accused it of undermining the resource protections established in the Great Lakes Compact. This was preceded by testimony by former Governor Bob Taft to the Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Representative Wachtmann responded in length today in a letter to all members of the Ohio Senate, in which he responded to each of the inaccurate claims made about the bill.

 

“I feel compelled to respond to testimony you recently heard from Gov. Taft and a letter from Gov. Voinovich regarding House Bill 231, the implementation of the Great Lakes Compact,” Wachtmann said in response to the grossly exaggerated claims by the former governors, whose claims mirror the attacks by state environmentalist groups. “Unfortunately, they received inaccurate information about what is actually in the bill. Certain groups feel compelled to continue to spread misinformation and I have taken the liberty of responding to the testimony and letter.”

 

House Bill 231 allows Ohioans to utilize and invest in fresh-water resources without jeopardizing Ohio’s lakes and rivers. It will work in accordance with the Great Lakes Compact, which has been adopted in all eight Great Lakes border states and specifically in Ohio in 2008 as a way to prevent diversions of water to areas outside of the Great Lakes Basin. Access to affordable, abundant and reliable water supplies from the Lake Erie Basin is a cornerstone in retaining and attracting businesses to northern Ohio. In order for Ohio to remain economically competitive Ohioans need to encourage ongoing investment by utilizing the abundant water resources we have available.

 

“House Bill 231 is just one of the ways that we have worked to create jobs and attract more investment in Ohio,” Wachtmann added. “No one is disputing the fact that Lake Erie is one of our most precious resources, from tourist activity to recreation. For Senator Voinovich to insinuate through his letter that my House colleagues and I, in any way, are attempting to soil the integrity of our Great Lake and its viability for future generations is simply untrue. We cannot pass up the opportunity for business growth and economic investment, which is an infinite possibility through this legislation.”

 

House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee process on H.B. 231 was open and transparent, providing plenty of opportunity for the public to testify. There were five hearings in the committee and 12 witnesses who spoke to the bill.

Legislation to Permit Water Withdrawal Regulatory Program Passes Ohio House

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COLUMBUS—State Representative Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) today announced the Ohio House’s passage of House Bill 231, which will implement Ohio’s first-ever water withdrawal regulatory program as required by the Great Lakes Compact.

 

House Bill 231 allows Ohioans to utilize and invest in fresh-water resources without jeopardizing Ohio’s lakes and rivers. It will work in accordance with the Great Lakes Compact, which has been adopted in all eight Great Lakes border states and specifically in Ohio in 2008 as a way to prevent diversions of water to areas outside of the Great Lakes Basin.

 

“House Bill 231 recognizes Ohio’s fresh water as a job-creating economic asset while meeting Ohio’s obligations under the Compact with respect to the management of the waters of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin,” said Wachtmann. “Ohio is required to implement a regulatory program according to the Compact, and House Bill 231 does so in a manner that promotes good stewardship of the water resource, protects existing private property rights, and promotes economic development and job creation in Ohio’s hard-hit industrial corridor.”

 

House Bill 231 focuses particularly on the decrease in percent of runoff from Ohio to the Lake Erie Watershed. If a withdrawal from Lake Erie does not exceed 1.5 percent of the annual runoff to the watershed, it is presumed that the withdrawal does not cause a significant adverse impact. Similarly, if a withdrawal from groundwater or a river or stream does not exceed .75 percent of the annual runoff to the Lake Erie Watershed, it is presumed that this withdrawal does not have a substantial effect.

 

“By using the long-term mean annual runoff as a measurement, House Bill 231 ensures that businesses in the steel, utility, pulp and paper, automobile, agriculture, horticulture aggregate, chemical, and petroleum industries are not prevented from developing in the lake region,” Wachtmann said.

 

House Bill 231 also sets the threshold levels that facilities must meet before they are pulled into the regulatory program. Additionally, though it is not required under the Compact, the legislation provides protection to a number of small, high-quality streams by lowering the threshold and establishes more restrictive rules regulating those withdrawals. It also requires facilities that obtain permits to adopt best management practices that are environmentally and economically sound, among other provisions.

 

The legislation passed by with a bipartisan vote and will now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.