Omnibus health licensure bill clears second round

A Health and Human Services omnibus bill was amended and advanced from select file July 20.

LB755, introduced by Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, would require barbers who work at a client’s home to obtain a permit from the state Board of Barber Examiners. The bill also would allow nail technicians to offer in-home services.

Blood introduced an amendment during select file debate based on her LB752. The amendment, adopted 42-0, would require that the state Department of Health and Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs encourage their service providers and state and local agencies to ask applicants if they or their family members have served in the military.

This would enable veterans to access services that they otherwise may not be aware are available, Blood said.

“By asking this question, the state can also connect this demographic to federal services,” she said.

As previously amended, LB755 also includes provisions of the following bills:
• LB37, introduced by Sen. Robert Hilkemann of Omaha, which would amend the Podiatry Practice Act to allow a physician’s assistant to perform services that are delegated by and provided under the supervision of a podiatrist and are within the podiatrist’s scope of practice;
• LB772, introduced by Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg, which would remove restrictions on physician assistants regarding the details of their collaborative agreement and their ability to work in a hospital and prescribe medication, including allowing a physician assistant to serve under several specialists who may work at the same practice rather than solely under a single physician;
• LB811, introduced by Sen. John McCollister of Omaha, which would amend the Parkinson’s Disease Registry Act and require that a patient’s date of birth rather than Social Security number be included in a pharmacist’s semi-annual report to the state Department of Health and Human Services;
• LB825, also introduced by Hilkemann, which would add Spinal Muscular Atrophy to the list of 32 required screenings for all infants born in Nebraska; and
• LB834, introduced by La Vista Sen. John Arch, which would allow architecture candidates to begin taking their professional licensure exam as they are completing their education and experience requirements, and allow engineers to take one of their two exams prior to completing four years of post-accredited degree experience.

Following adoption of the Blood amendment, LB755 advanced to final reading by voice vote.