Texas House Passes Staffing Bill
Monday June 15, 2009

The Texas House approved Senate Bill 476, which seeks to increase the role of nurses in hospital staffing decisions, according to the Longview News-Journal. It would require that 60% of the members of a hospital’s nurse staffing committee be nurses and would prohibit mandatory overtime for hospital nurses in most cases.

“At a time when our state is in dire need of nurses, we cannot afford to lose good hospital nurses due to mandatory overtime and grueling work schedules,” said Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, according to Longview. “This legislation will help retain bedside nurses and ensure that they have a voice in issues such as nurse-patient ratios, work schedules, and other issues affecting patient care.”

The House and the Senate have to work out minor differences in their versions of the proposal before the measure could go to the governor.