Bill Text: CA SB466 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Registered nurses: Board of Registered Nursing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 489, Statutes of 2015. [SB466 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB466-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 466 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 489
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 4, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 4, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hill
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Bonilla)
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Sections 2701, 2708, and 2786 of, to add Sections
2718 and 2786.1 to, and to repeal Section 2736.5 of, the Business and
Professions Code, relating to nursing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 466, Hill. Registered nurses: Board of Registered Nursing.
The Nursing Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation
of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing within the
Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires the board to
appoint an executive officer to perform duties delegated by the
board. Existing law repeals those provisions establishing the board
and the executive officer position on January 1, 2016.
This bill would extend the repeal date to January 1, 2018.
The act authorizes the board to take disciplinary action against a
certified or licensed nurse or to deny an application for a
certificate or license for certain reasons, including unprofessional
conduct. Existing law establishes the California State Auditor's
Office, which is headed by the California State Auditor, to conduct
financial and performance audits as directed by statute.
This bill would require the board, by February 1, 2016, to
contract with the California State Auditor's Office to conduct a
performance audit of the board's enforcement program, as specified.
The bill would require the board to reimburse the office for the cost
of the performance audit. The bill would require the office to
report the results of the audit to the Governor, the department, and
the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature by January 1,
2017. The bill would require the board's staff and management to
cooperate with the office and provide the office with access to data,
case files, employees, and information.
The act authorizes any person who has served on active duty in the
medical corps of the Armed Forces of the United States and who
successfully completed the course of instruction to qualify him or
her for rating as a medical service technician--independent duty, or
other equivalent rating, and whose service in the Armed Forces was
under honorable conditions to submit the record of that training to
the board for evaluation. The act requires the board to grant a
license to that person if he or she meets specified qualifications
and the board determines that his or her education would give
reasonable assurance of competence to practice as a registered nurse
in this state. The act requires the board to maintain records of
those applicants, including, but not limited to, applicants who are
rejected from examination.
This bill would repeal those provisions.
The act requires the board to maintain a list of approved schools
or programs of nursing in this state, as specified, and provides that
an approved school or program of nursing is one that has been
approved by the board and meets certain academic requirements. The
act requires the board to deny an application for approval of, and to
revoke the approval given to, any school of nursing that does not
give student applicants credit for previous education and the
opportunity to obtain credit for other acquired knowledge by the use
of challenge examinations or other methods of evaluation.
This bill would require the board to deny or revoke approval of a
school of nursing that does not give student applicants credit in the
field of nursing for military education and experience by the use of
challenge examinations or other methods of evaluation. The bill
would require the board, by January 1, 2017, to adopt regulations
requiring schools seeking approval to have a process to evaluate and
grant credit, as defined, for military education and experience. The
bill would require the board to review a school's policies and
practices regarding granting credit for military education and
experience at least once every 5 years to ensure consistency in
evaluation and application across schools. The bill would require the
board to post on its Internet Web site information related to the
acceptance of military coursework and experience at each approved
school.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2701 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2701. (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs the
Board of Registered Nursing consisting of nine members.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, "board," or "the board," refers
to the Board of Registered Nursing. Any reference in state law to the
Board of Nurse Examiners of the State of California or the
California Board of Nursing Education and Nurse Registration shall be
construed to refer to the Board of Registered Nursing.
(c) The board shall have all authority vested in the previous
board under this chapter. The board may enforce all disciplinary
actions undertaken by the previous board.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 2. Section 2708 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2708. (a) The board shall appoint an executive officer who shall
perform the duties delegated by the board and who shall be
responsible to it for the accomplishment of those duties.
(b) The executive officer shall be a nurse currently licensed
under this chapter and shall possess other qualifications as
determined by the board.
(c) The executive officer shall not be a member of the board.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 2718 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2718. (a) (1) By February 1, 2016, the board shall contract with
the office to conduct a performance audit of the board's enforcement
program. The board shall reimburse the office for the cost of the
performance audit. The office shall report the results of the audit,
with any recommendations, to the Governor, the department, and the
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2017.
(2) The performance audit shall include, but not be limited to, an
evaluation of all the following:
(A) The quality and consistency of, and compliance with, complaint
processing and investigation.
(B) The consistency and adequacy of the application of board
sanctions or discipline imposed on licensees.
(C) The accuracy and consistency in implementing the laws and
rules affecting discipline, including adherence to the Division of
Investigation Case Acceptance Guidelines (Consumer Protection
Enforcement Initiative Model), as revised July 1, 2014.
(D) The timeframes for completing complaint processing,
investigation, and resolution.
(E) Staff concerns regarding licensee disciplinary matters or
procedures.
(F) The appropriate utilization of licensed professionals to
investigate complaints.
(G) The adequacy of the board's cooperation with other state
agencies charged with enforcing related laws and regulations
regarding nurses.
(H) Any existing backlog, the reason for the backlog, and the
timeframe for eliminating the backlog.
(I) The adequacy of board staffing, training, and fiscal resources
to perform its enforcement functions.
(b) Board staff and management shall cooperate with the office and
shall provide the office with access to data, case files, employees,
and information as the office may, in its discretion, require for
the purposes of this section.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "office" means the
California State Auditor's Office.
SEC. 4. Section 2736.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 5. Section 2786 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2786. (a) An approved school of nursing, or an approved nursing
program, is one that has been approved by the board, gives the course
of instruction approved by the board, covering not less than two
academic years, is affiliated or conducted in connection with one or
more hospitals, and is an institution of higher education. For
purposes of this section, "institution of higher education" includes,
but is not limited to, community colleges offering an associate of
arts or associate of science degree and private postsecondary
institutions offering an associate of arts, associate of science, or
baccalaureate degree or an entry-level master's degree, and is an
institution that is not subject to the California Private
Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education
Code).
(b) A school of nursing that is affiliated with an institution
that is subject to the California Private Postsecondary Education Act
of 2009 (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of
Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code), may be approved by the
board to grant an associate of arts or associate of science degree
to individuals who graduate from the school of nursing or to grant a
baccalaureate degree in nursing with successful completion of an
additional course of study as approved by the board and the
institution involved.
(c) The board shall determine by regulation the required subjects
of instruction to be completed in an approved school of nursing for
licensure as a registered nurse and shall include the minimum units
of theory and clinical experience necessary to achieve essential
clinical competency at the entry level of the registered nurse. The
board's regulations shall be designed to require all schools to
provide clinical instruction in all phases of the educational
process, except as necessary to accommodate military education and
experience as specified in Section 2786.1.
(d) The board shall perform or cause to be performed an analysis
of the practice of the registered nurse no less than every five
years. Results of the analysis shall be utilized to assist in the
determination of the required subjects of instruction, validation of
the licensing examination, and assessment of the current practice of
nursing.
SEC. 6. Section 2786.1 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2786.1. (a) The board shall deny the application for approval
made by, and shall revoke the approval given to, any school of
nursing that does not give student applicants credit in the field of
nursing for military education and experience by the use of challenge
examinations or other methods of evaluation.
(b) The board shall adopt regulations by January 1, 2017,
requiring schools to have a process to evaluate and grant credit for
military education and experience. The regulations shall be adopted
pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code). The word "credit," as used in this subdivision, is
limited to credit for licensure only. The board is not authorized to
prescribe the credit that an approved school of nursing shall give
toward an academic certificate or degree.
(c) The board shall review a school's policies and practices
regarding granting credit for military education and experience at
least once every five years to ensure consistency in evaluation and
application across schools. The board shall post on its Internet Web
site information related to the acceptance of military coursework and
experience at each approved school.
