End of 88th Legislative Session Review

The Texas Legislature heard and heeded the call from nurses to deliver change. The ongoing nursing shortage is undeniable and was a priority issue this session. As you may recall, in March 2023, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced SB 25, an initiative to support nursing education by providing scholarship opportunities, faculty loan repayment assistance, and grants for simulation and clinical education. The Senate’s vocal support resulted in the bill’s enrollment and is now in effect. Texas will begin to implement a new scholarship program for nursing students (funded at $25M) and expand the Nursing Faculty Loan Repayment Assistance Program (NFLRP) to include part-time faculty. In addition to the inclusion of part-time faculty, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board now has the authority to increase the award amount for faculty via rulemaking (funded at $7M). Furthermore, the Nursing Innovation Grant Program (NIGP) has been extended to 2027 (funded at $6M) and additional funding was allocated to the Professional Nursing Shortage Reduction Program (NSRP) (funded at $46.8M). 

In response to the rise of violence in healthcare facilities, the Texas Legislature worked swiftly to provide legislation that aims to prevent, protect and deter these incidents from occurring. SB 240, the Workplace Violence Prevention Act, was one of the first bills to reach Governor Greg Abbott’s desk this session and establishes a comprehensive, statewide approach to preventing workplace violence against healthcare workers. The law now states that when responding to incidents of workplace violence, a facility must offer immediate post-incident services, including any necessary acute medical treatment for each healthcare provider or employee of the facility who was directly involved in the incident. Additionally, facilities are not permitted under the law to discourage healthcare providers or employees from exercising their right to contact or file a report with law enforcement regarding incidents of workplace violence. 

Notably, to deter acts of violence in healthcare facilities, SB 840 upgraded the penalty for assaulting hospital personnel from a misdemeanor to a felony. SB 840, better known as the Jacqueline “Jackie” Pokuaa and Katie “Annette” Flowers Act, memorializes the lives lost at the Methodist Dallas Medical Center shooting in 2022 and protects all staff in hospitals, including nurses, physicians, physician assistants, maintenance or janitorial staff, receptionists, and other individuals who are employed by or work in a hospital.

Source:  Nursewatch 8-2023, TNA Governmental Affairs