Our Role & Impact

Legislative Activities

Founded in and serving the Washington, DC area since 2001, NatCapLyme educates government officials and healthcare industry leaders about Lyme and tick-borne diseases on behalf of individuals and families of those afflicted with such diseases. We actively engage with all sides of the Lyme and tick-borne disease issue to encourage measurable progress. NatCapLyme is an all-volunteer organization, but we have an appointed legal and legislative counsel, as well as individual board members, who bring political and legal experience to the table. Our legislative activities are ongoing, always focused on improving the lives of tick-borne disease sufferers.

Legislative-activities

We’re fighting on many fronts. We invite you to see what we’re doing on a state and federal level:

Lyme Legislation Introduced in Virginia

WE NEED YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO CONTACT THEIR VIRGINIA DELEGATES TO SUPPORT H.B. 512

Dear Fellow Virginians:

Great news for us all!  Delegate Tom Rust has introduced H.B. 512, a bill in the Virginia House of Delegates relating to long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease.  This bill allows a physician to prescribe, administer or dispense long-term antibiotic therapy to a patient diagnosed with Lyme or tick-borne disease.  Also, it specifies that the Board of Medicine shall not initiate a disciplinary action against a licensed physician solely for prescribing, administering, or dispensing long-term antibiotic therapy to a patient clinically diagnosed with Lyme disease, provided such clinical diagnosis and treatment has been documented in the patient’s medical record by such licensed physician.

The single most important aspect of this legislation is that a physician can treat with antibiotics for more than 4 weeks without the fear of disciplinary action.

The National Capital Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Association endorses Delegate Rust’s bill.  We have been working closely with Delegate Rust and his staff.  We are asking everyone to call and write your own Virginia Delegate and Senator and ask them to sign-on to this bill.  The legislation must be read within 30 days or it will die!  Passage of the bill is only a 60-day process, which requires the following steps:

  1. DRAFTING & INTRODUCTION – When the General Assembly meets in January, the delegates and senators introduce their bills in their respective chambers.
  2. COMMITTEE ACTION – The bill is referred to a committee. The committee members consider the bill and decide what action to take.  This is when the public may speak.  After listening to the testimony the committee will decide whether to recommend the passage or defeat of the bill.  They may also amendments at this time.  If the committee recommends passage of the bill, it is returned to the chamber where it was introduced.
  3. FLOOR ACTION – The title of the bill must be read or printed in the calendar three times.  For the FIRST READING the bill is printed in the calendar or is read by the clerk. In the SECOND READING the bill may be amended after it has been read a second time.  In the House of Delegates the bill may be debated.  For the THIRD READING in the Senate, the bill may be debated.  A final vote is taken during the third reading.
  4. VOTING – If the bill passes, it is sent to the other chamber where it follows a similar process of committee action, floor debate, amending, and voting.  If the bill passes both houses in the same form, it goes to the Governor.  If the bill is amended by the other house, it is then returned to the body from which it originated for approval of the amendment.
  5. GOVERNOR’S ACTION – Once passed in the same form, the bill is sent to the Governor for his approval. The Governor may:  1) sign the bill into law, 2) amend the bill and return it to the General Assembly for their approval, 3) veto the bill and return it to the General Assembly where the House of Delegates and Senate may override the Governor’s veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses, 4) take no action and the bill becomes a law without his signature.
  6. LAW – Bills that become laws during a regular session (or the reconvened session that follows) are effective on July 1, unless specified otherwise.
  7. This process presents a monumental task for such a short time frame, but TOGETHER with Delegate Rust’s help we can make it happen.

We will be asking you to contribute and participate in a variety of ways over the next 30 days.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW !!

  • Please READ the bill by clicking HERE.
  • GO to www.natcaplyme.org and find your delegate from the legislative links on our HOME PAGE.  Uses the form letter supplied or compose and send your own message.  The most effective way to reach your Virginia Delegate or Senator is by e-mail, fax and telephone.  Tell your Delegate that you strongly support the bill and you are counting on their support.  Ask him or her to sign-on to the bill as a co-sponsor.
  • CALL, e-mail or fax these instructions to your friends and relatives in Virginia and ask them to send a message to their Delegate in support of the bill.
  • VISIT the NatCapLyme website for current updates.
  • As soon as the bill is referred to a specific committee we will let you know the names of the committee members.  Delegate Rust advises that the committee members are the most important ones to contact.  Everyone, regardless of delegate district, should also contact them.

If the bill makes it through the process and to the committee, we need to have everyone ready to attend to the hearing and show their support.  We’ll let you know the date and time as soon as we have it.

We would also like as many people as possible to submit written testimony.  Please prepare the story of your journey with Lyme disease and its impact on your life with or without long-term care from a Lyme literate doctor.

IF WE WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN IMPROVE THE TREATMENT FOR LYME DISEASE IN VIRGINIA

WHAT WE DO FOR YOU!