Old History 5

More Old History

The Third Round (2000 Session) Continued

Freedom of Access Survives "Firefight" in Gov Ops, Apr. 12

Our reception in the House Government Operations committee this morning was unexpectedly fierce and confused. It was obvious that the members were not aware of the content or the history of SF689, judging from the types of issues they wanted to discuss. It also didn't bode well that Dick Mulder was sitting in the audience, handing out "literature" (much of it misinformation and outright lies with his name on it) and bending the ear of any member he could talk to. I have never, in my 3 years at the capitol, seen a Representative lobby members of another committee like that!

Although the chairman had expected this to be just a half-hour, we went for 90 minutes in the morning, took a recess (which gave us a chance to talk to the members), and reconvened for a half-hour in the afternoon. The issues batted around were numerous:

Some clarifications of the "incompetence" language (for when an alternative therapist could no longer practice) were proposed to include mental incompetence.
There was a lot of confusion over the roles of the various Boards and the Legislature to redefine professional scopes of practice, and whether modalities like "bodywork" infringed on the Boards for Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, etc.
Phyllis Kahn was not comfortable with the long list of modalities in the bill, especially since she didn't know what many of them were, causing Diane Miller to have to define what these terms were ("Ayurveda is ...") for the committee. Doug Reuter provided the best straight-line when he asked what "colostrum therapy" was and how dangerous it was. Boudreau sputtered back, "It's the use of nutritional substances to build up the immune system... it's ... IT'S MILK!!"
Rep. Kahn was also critical of the "proscribed practices" list, such as we can't use X-rays. She wanted to know if the language allowed other kinds of radiation to be used. Diane Miller explained such practice is prohibited by existing FDA or other regulations and need not be covered in our bill. (So none of you should be doing radiation therapy now, and get rid of the nuclear reactor in your basement!)
On a similar note, Doug Reuter was critical of the "no invasive techniques" clause, wondering whether that included enemas and colonics, which he wanted to regulate more. Apparently some deal was made with him to look into the matter more later and he dropped his opposition on this point.
A long discussion on the 3 line clause in the bill empowering the Dept. of Health to make rules to administer the bill broke out. Some members were uncomfortable with giving the Dept. any rule making powers, others wanted restricted powers, a third faction wanted to allow the Dept. to recommend rules to the Legislature for their consideration, a fourth said leave it alone. (I think the third faction finally won out.)
Chris Gerlach noted that many of the modalities, such as Ayurveda, have a spiritual basis. He wondered whether the bill restricted the practice of spirituality or spiritual healing in any way (no).

As you can tell, it was a confused mess in the morning session. Part of this may be due to a "research paper" that was circulating in the DFL caucus that claimed this was a terrible bill that had no consumer protection teeth. Apparently this paper was adversely affecting member's opinions. So we brought in Rep. Phil Carruthers (who caused us so much trouble in Civil Law, but has since been a strong supporter of FOA) for the afternoon session to testify in favor of the bill and explain that the paper was erroneous. The opposition died down markedly after he talked.

There were amendments proposed today.

Betty Folliard took a swipe at Lynda Boudreau's abortion bill that just got sent to the Governor, by proposing a 24 hour waiting period between giving a client of an alternative practitioner their Client Bill of Rights and signing the informed consent papers, and actually commencing treatment, claiming we need to have "equal treatment of both men and women" in the law. This one was defeated.
An amendment to simply delete the 3 lines allowing the Dept. of Health to make rules was defeated.
In the afternoon, an amendment of this same clause passed, requiring the Dept. to go through the Legislature with proposed rules by October.
The "laundry list" of modalities at the beginning of the bill (always a favorite target) was deleted.
In addition, the "invasive techniques" issue was put on the back burner.

At this point, the bill was voted on and overwhelmingly passed, with about 4 no votes.

Next Steps:

At 9:30 this morning, I was told "No Ways and Means Committee"; by this afternoon, that still seems to be the case (I'll let you know if it changes). I heard we will have to go back to the Rules Committee Thursday for some procedural issue -- I don't have the details yet. It sounds like the House is taking Friday off, so that makes the House floor vote look more like Monday at the earliest.

Stay tuned for further details -- the dust hasn't even settled on what happened today. I'm sure I'll have a "clarification" message out to you later.

The Legislative "Endgame" gets Complicated Again, Apr. 16

A surprise move in the Senate last Friday, Apr. 14, puts the situation for Freedom of Access into total confusion once again. After busting out of the controversial omnibus bill and making it through several House committees on its own, the Senate made life difficult (it would seem) on the eve of a possible House floor vote. By including Freedom of Access in a larger Senate health bill sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kiscaden, it looks likely that we are going through another joint conference committee.

Obviously, the situation is unclear so far, but here's the most likely scenario. If the full House receives the new Senate bill on Monday, Apr. 17, it's probable they will call for a conference committee to resolve the differences. The committee may be able to meet later in the week, hopefully finishing deliberations before the Legislature goes into recess for Easter and Passover. The House and Senate would meet again after the recess to consider the compromise bill, possibly Monday, Apr. 24 at the earliest. If we get through both floor votes, we go to Gov. Ventura by the end of April. Of course, all this could change again.

Keep contacting your home district Representatives and add your Senator, too. Details du jour as they become available.

News from the Capitol, Apr. 18

Some miscellaneous tidbits of news today. First of all, it was announced that the holiday recess will be from Thursday, Apr. 20 through Monday, Apr. 24. We get a long weekend to catch up to the fast-moving situation. Stay tuned the next few days until the details become clear and keep contacting your Representatives and Senators.

The Joint Conference committee has been called. The 3 members each from the House and Senate seem competent and friendly to Freedom of Access, so I'd expect they will complete their work quickly and without many surprises. The "compromise bill" from this committee should be ready for floor votes early next week after the recess.

My contacts say there "may" be a floor vote in the House this week yet on the standalone version of Freedom of Access (SF689, plus the House amendments). If so, they say to be ready for the most amazing display of theatrical misinformation and killer amendments from Dick Mulder to date. It could get messy.

According to MNHC members who are doing the lobbying at the Capitol, we should start thinking about contacting Gov. Ventura's office. I'd recommend starting next week, as the bill is going through the floor votes, as the issue will still be "fresh" a few days later when it gets to the governor. If you write or call, please be positive and upbeat, stressing the merits of the bill and how consumers desire this kind of protection and access. Do not dwell on the negatives, such as your favorite tirade against the AMA, etc. We just want to let Ventura know the public is thinking about this issue and supports the bill. He seems positive to the bill already -- we want to keep him thinking that way.

Freedom of Access Clears Conference Committee, Apr. 26

Freedom of Access passed through the Joint Conference Committee this morning as part of a larger bill. There was a bit of debate and a few technical amendments to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill (that's what a conference comm. does), but no theatrical arguments. If anything, the meeting was so low key and mostly mumbled that we had a tough time in the audience following the proceedings.

The amendments (nothing major) included:

Tightening up the language restricting licensed practitioners (such as doctors) from doing alternative treatments in an "off-license" fashion.
The "medically incompetent" rule restricting an alternative practitioner from practicing was changed to "may be incompetent or may be mentally or physically unable to engage safely" as a provider.
Tightening of the language saying licensed practitioners are subject to their boards.
The rule making ability of the Commissioner of Health under this bill was apparently left in the simpler Senate version language.
The "laundry list" of alternative modalities was left in the final bill.

The bill (now called HF3839/SF2474) was passed, as amended, to the full House and Senate. At this time, it's completely up in the air when these bodies will take it up. Best guesses are Friday,Apr. 28 or Monday, May 1 for the House and the next work day for the Senate. We'll probably find out more details tommorrow evening; maybe not. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, keep contacting your home district Representatives, Senators, and the office of the Governor and urge them to support the bill. We still need to shore up all the support we can get. The House situation looks particularly volatile for many reasons -- the politics in that body become very contentious by the end of the session. The Senate looks much easier. As for Gov. Ventura, late word has it he hasn't even looked at the bill yet and will likely rely on the recommendations of his staff and the calls and letters to his office.

House Floor Vote Scheduled for May 1

Freedom of Access finally reaches the full House again on Monday, May 1, starting at 11:00 AM in the House Chambers of the Capitol. A difficult time is possible, given the divisive political mood in this body of late. If we pass this vote, the Senate will probably hold a floor vote on May 2.

Star Tribune Coverage of the House Vote, May 2

The May 2 edition of the Mpls Star Tribune had the following item on page B5 in its legislative beat section.

House OKs bill regulating alternative health care

A bill to regulate alternative health-care practices was approved by the House on Monday despite opposition from the Legislature's only physician. Rep. Richard Mulder, R-Ivanhoe, a family practitioner, denounced the measure as a "witchcraft bill" and said it contains unnecessary new spending and duties for the state Department of Health.
Among the 22 listed practices that would be subject to regulation, complaint investigation and discipline by the Health Department are acupressure, aromatherapy, herbalism, homeopathy, massage, meditation and Qi Gong energy healing.
"Doctors are providing some of these services already," said House sponsor Kevin Goodno, R-Moorhead. "This strengthens consumer protections." House members approved the bill on a 110-23 vote and sent it to the Senate.
The bill is House File 3839. To get a copy of the bill, go to: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us or call 651-296-2314.