NC House, Senate advance bills promising pandemic hospital visits

Each chamber passed similar legislation, but more votes are needed before the issue is final.

Posted 9:16 p.m. May 5, 2021 — Updated 9:31 p.m. May 5, 2021

Travis Fain

, WRAL statehouse reporter, & Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — State lawmakers advanced a pair of bills Wednesday meant to ensure that people in the hospital and at adult care homes can have visitors, even in a pandemic.

Senate Bill 19, the No Patient Left Alone Act, generally would fine any nursing home or hospital $500 a day for preventing any patient from having visitors. It cleared the state Senate and moves to the House for more discussion.

Meanwhile, the House approved House Bill 447, which deals with hospital visits from the clergy. The measure essentially forbids hospitals from blocking those visits, though they can require clergy to follow infection control rules.

Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort, said he knows of a handful of cases where hospitals tried to block people from seeing their pastors, including a man named Jeff Rieg who was being removed from life support. The bill is named for Rieg.

“We do understand that there’s a pandemic .. but we also understand that the rights of the people to exercise their religion is never to be infringed upon," Kidwell said.

This bill, which would take effect Oct. 1, cleared the House 98-19. The Senate bill would take effect as soon as it becomes law.

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