Capitol Corner | December 2024

Let the games begin!  The newly elected State Senate and State Assembly will convene on December 2nd for a one-day constitutionally mandated session to swear-in new Senators and Assembly Members elected in last month’s general election, adopt rules for the 2025-26 two-year legislative session, and begin the bill introduction process.  

Every year, thousands of bills are introduced under the Capitol dome.  Hundreds of them address how businesses operate in our state, innumerable measures address health care, and scores of them impact home health, hospice, and home care services directly.  But fear not, CAHSAH is on top of them all!  Our team reads each and every bill introduced to determine their impact on our industry and also reads every amendment to every bill throughout the 2-year session regardless of their general subject matter.  The bills identified as having even a tangential impact on our industry are brought to CAHSAH’s Policy, Advocacy, & Public Affairs (PAPA) Committee and positions are taken on those measures.  Those positions constitute our “marching orders” as we traverse the State Capitol and legislative office building advocating for our positions on those bills to ultimately protect you, your patients and clients, and your agencies.  

Of the thousands of bills introduced in 2024, 1,206 reached the Governor and he signed 1,017 of them into law – that's an 85% approval rate!  So it is important to know that every bill is critical, and no stone is left unturned in our advocacy on those measures.  

Given all of this, when you receive an “Action Alert” in your inbox, please respond to it immediately.  There is no better use of your time to assist us in our advocacy effort than to reach out to your legislators to ask them to support our industry in general and your ability to provide home health, hospice care, and home care aide services to their constituents.