Surgical Smoke Evacuation Legislation Expected in 2021

Publish Date: December 16, 2020

In 2020, surgical smoke evacuation legislation was introduced in nine states: Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah. Many, if not all, of those states will once again see smoke evacuation bills introduced in 2021. In fact, New Jersey A3982 carries over into 2021.

In addition to the states that considered legislation in 2020, AORN is currently anticipating legislation in 2021 in Texas and Pennsylvania and is aware of legislators’ interest in legislation in Arizona, Washington, Indiana, Maine and Ohio.

Despite the pandemic, AORN has been busy throughout, conducting virtual meetings with legislators, stakeholders, AORN members and chapters and lobbyists across the country. We also worked with advocates in Georgia to present surgical smoke information to the Senate Study Committee on Surgical Smoke Evacuation Systems this fall. As many of you know, we have contacted AORN members across the country about surgical smoke evacuation surveys, legislation and virtual meeting opportunities.

Most state legislatures will reconvene in January. They will have difficult legislative agendas before them to address the pandemic, their budgets, and the economy. It will be important for your legislators to have you as a valuable constituent resource on health care issues and professional workplace safety matters like surgical smoke evacuation. And AORN will continue to need your voices in support of our surgical smoke evacuation legislative efforts at the state level.

You can follow the surgical smoke evacuation legislation that AORN tracks throughout the year. To get involved in AORN’s advocacy efforts in your state, contact Jennifer Pennock, Senior Manager of Government Affairs.