From the Statehouse

By Jennifer Garrison

July 16, 2010

Most of us give little thought to our drinking water supply. We simply want it to be there when we turn on the faucet and we trust that it is safe to drink.  Likewise few of us give thought to the needs our family or ourselves may have when ill.  We simply expect that we will be provided with care by qualified professionals.

One of our important jobs as lawmakers is to ensure public health and safety and assist the vulnerable.  The Ohio House of Representative recently took steps to address both these issues: ensuring a safe water supply and making sure someone is available to help patients cope with severe pain.

There are roughly 5,200 public water systems in Ohio serving approximately 10.8 million people every day.  These systems are regulated by Ohio’s Safe Drinking Water Laws in order to protect the public health and entrust primary enforcement responsibility with the state.

Although these laws and regulations are in place, some Ohio public water systems continue to experience problems of contamination and noncompliance.  This poses a significant risk to the health of many Ohioans.  In order to address these continuing problems HB 352 adds several additional provisions to Ohio’s Safe Drinking Water Laws and creates criminal penalties for violations of the law.

HB 352 requires every public water system submit a technical, managerial, and financial capability plan for the system and implement a capability assurance plan if either, (1) the system has demonstrated a lack of those capabilities through noncompliance with Ohio’s Safe Drinking Water Law or (2) has been cited as creating an unacceptable public health risk or contamination of a public water supply.

The bill also increases penalties for violations, and allows the Attorney General to prosecute anyone who violates or threatens to violate the Ohio Safe Drinking Water Law.

This bill creates additional safeguards to protect public health and establishes appropriate penalties in order to deter violations.  The public can be confident that their drinking water is safe.  I voted “yes” on HB 352, as it passed out of the House with strong bi-partisan support.  It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) frequently treat patients whose conditions require the management of moderate to severe pain.  An important part of the treatment for these patients is access to schedule II drugs.  However, current law restricts APN’s from administering such drugs.  Such restrictions can lead to delays in treatment and unnecessary pain and suffering of patients.  HB 206 eliminates these restrictions while not increasing APN’s scope of practice.

Under current law, APN’s can only prescribe schedule II drugs to terminally ill patients, only for a 24 hour supply, and only if this course of treatment was initiated by a physician.  HB 206 allows APN’s who have been licensed to prescribe to administer these drugs as long as they are acting in the course of professional practice, in collaboration with a physician, and in accordance with law.

In order to become licensed to prescribe, APN’s must complete at least 45  contact hours in pharmacology,  at least 36 of those hours must be contact hours of advanced pharmacology training, and must include training in schedule II drugs.

By allowing APN’s with the proper education and experience to administer schedule II drugs, this bill eases the suffering of many patients.  I voted “yes” on HB 206 as it passed out of the House with strong bi-partisan support.  It now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

You can reach Jennifer Garrison in her Columbus office at (614)644-8728, in the district at (740)373-2414 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Her website is www.jennifergarrison.com.