LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Alabama Nurse, Mar-May 2006

Legislation aimed at securing safe working conditions for registered nurses and clean air for the public anchor the 2006 Alabama State Nurses' Association legislative agenda.

ASNA has for the past two years pushed the so-called "workplace violence" legislation to make it a felony to assault a registered nurse or other health care worker in the performance of his/her duties.

In 2004, the measure was approved by the state Senate on a 34-0 vote, only to die on the calendar in the House the final night of the session. In 2005, the bill passed the House on an 80-0 vote, only to die on the calendar in the Senate the last night of the session.

"We feel good about our chances for getting the bill through this year," said Joseph F. Decker II, ASNA Executive Director. "This protection is afforded other professions and we feel like nurses are deserving of the same consideration."

Passage of the legislation would mean that if a person assaults a nurse performing their duties "with intent to cause physical injury" and did in fact injure them, that person could be convicted of a Class C felony, punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. Under current law, such an assault may well result in the aggressor being charged with only a misdemeanor unless it can be shown that the perpetrator intended to cause "serious physical injury."

Presently, assaults on emergency edical personnel, fire fighters, peace officers and teachers are punishable as felonies.

The legislation is sponsored again this year in the state Senate by Senator Ted Little of Auburn and in the House by Representative Barbara Boyd of Anniston.

ASNA also has thrown its backing behind legislation designed to protect the public from second-hand smoke. The Legislature passed a Clean Air Act in 2003 that prohibits smoking in many public buildings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, and relegated smoking in other places, like restaurants and bars, to designated areas.

Senator Vivian Figures of Mobile, sponsor of the 2003 measure, has introduced legislation to strengthen the existing law by essentially banning smoking in restaurants, bars and membership association buildings. Membership association is defined in the bill as those nonprofit entities created for charitable, philanthropic, educational, political, social and other similar purposes.

Figures says designating areas does not adequately protect the public from second-hand smoke that drifts throughout the facility. Moreover, the bill is designed not only to protect the consuming public but employees of restaurants, bars and associations.

ASNA's Legislative Committee has placed a top priority on passage of the Figures bill this year. If approved by the Legislature, the measure would be voted on statewide, since the centerpiece of the two-bill package is a proposed constitutional amendment.

Figures says polls indicate the overwhelming majority of Alabama residents favor stiffer restrictions on smoking, shown to be a major cause of lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.