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Health Professions Subcommittee

Thursday, February 19, 2026·46m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Health Professions Subcommittee unanimously advanced five Senate bills addressing veterinary workforce shortages, nursing home insurance gaps and oversight, pharmacy affordability, and opioid treatment access — all passing 10 to 0 with no opposition recorded on any measure.

Key Actions

·SB 331 – Board of Veterinary Medicine; traineeshipsPassed

+ 4 more actions

Notable Quotes

“In my years of overseeing various addiction recovery programs, I've witnessed firsthand how people in recovery will drive up to five hours for the medication that they need, only to be told that they have to come back the very next day for take home doses because a pharmacist isn't physically there to authorize the poor of their medication. And this is in the moment when you have to deliver that news. It is devastating for people because it is. It creates a lot of chaos. And in recovery, what you need is stability. It can be very triggering.”

Dr. Shea Tinsley, licensed psychotherapist and healthcare practitioner — Dr. Tinsley was testifying in favor of SB 421, which would allow a licensed pharmacist to supervise the assembly of opioid treatment take-home doses remotely rather than requiring physical on-site presence.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Report SB 331Passed
Amend SB 535 (line amendment on line 129)Passed
Report SB 535 as amendedPassed
Report SB 418 as amended (moved by Delegate Maguire)Passed
Report SB 421Passed
Report SB 429Passed
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TranscriptPreview
Good morning. I call this meeting of the Health Profession Subcommittee to order. If the clerk will please open the rolls and members show your attendance. And we do have a quorum. Thank you. We are going to start with Senator Rome. Good morning. And that is Senate Bill 331. You have the floor. Thank you so much, Madam Chair and members of the subcommittee here. So SB331. This is a constituent service bill brought to you by one of my constituents from Gainesville. This bill expands eligibility for veterinary traineeship programs to include one, graduates of an American Veterinary and Medical association association accredited college of veterinary medicine who have not yet passed the North American Veterinary licensing examination, and 2. Registrants in the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates program who have taken and received a passing score on the NAVLE and have completed all steps of the. Let's see if I can get this ECFVG program except for the Clinical Proficiency Examination. This. I appreciate the delegate for the applause. Yeah. So basically the whole point of this, Madam Chair, is to make sure that we are filling some of our vet shortages. Right now I've got…
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