This year the 446th session of the Maryland General Assembly began on Jan. 10 and ended on April 8, 2024. The legislative committee reviewed, monitored and submitted supportive or oppositional testimony on bills that affect our practice, our patients and their families.
In addition, members from our committee serve as experts on pediatric legislative issues for the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland (NPAM). We also attend the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MDAAP) legislative committee’s weekly meetings to gain more insight on bills and to partner with them on children’s health issues as they arise during the Maryland General Assembly session.
Our chapter works for you to monitor child health and advanced practice nurse legislation's impact on pediatric practice and health care throughout the year by:
- Regular participation in national NAPNAP monthly Health Policy Learning Collaborative conference calls during which local chapters provide updates to the National Legislative team. In addition, the NAPNAP lobbyist and Health Policy officers provide federal legislation updates and discuss planned actions. The Child Health Policy Collaborative is open to all NAPNAP members and meets at 8 p.m. ET via conference call on the first Wednesday of every month to discuss policy trends and advocacy solutions on national, state and local levels.
- Monitoring pediatric health-related bills introduced at the state and local levels during the Maryland General Assembly session. The Maryland General Assembly begins annually in January and runs until May. Legiscan is a database that tracks the introduction and progression of each bill presenting during session. We also offer letters and testimonies of support or opposition by the MD Chesapeake Chapter of NAPNAP to bills we are monitoring. Our support or opposition is guided by NAPNAP’s National Health Policy Agenda.
- Supporting and contributing to the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland (NPAM) legislative efforts on behalf of all nurse practitioners in our state through participating on NPAM's legislative committee weighing in expertise on pediatric legislative issues in the state of Maryland and at NPAM's lobby night with state legislators.
- Collaborating with the Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (MDAAP). We also work closely with MDAAP to monitor state specific pediatric legislation in order to support their mission to advocate for all of Maryland’s children and adolescents and their health care needs.
- Forwarding pertinent legislative information to the membership to provide current updates or “calls to action”. We ask that you review this information and participate when requested! Let your voice be heard! You can visit NAPNAP’s National Advocacy Center to learn how you can take action on our current advocacy campaigns, see key child health and practice legislation and find your elected official.
We do expect to see the APRN Compact Bill resurface in the 2024 Legislative session.
If there is specific legislation you would like to bring to our attention, please contact your Legislative Chair Evgenia Ogorodova at eogorodova@umaryland.edu.
We are looking for members to join our legislative committee. If you are interested please contact: