BILL NUMBER: AB 378 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 23, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman
(Principal coauthors: Senators Aanestad and Huff)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick,
Gilmore, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran, and Villines)
(Coauthors: Senators Blakeslee, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,
Dutton, Emmerson, Harman, Hollingsworth, Runner, Strickland, Walters,
and Wyland)
FEBRUARY 23, 2009
An act to amend Section 2811.5 of the Business and Professions
Code, relating to nursing , and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 378, as amended, Hagman. Nursing: continuing education.
Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure
and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered
Nursing and makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law
requires a licensee renewing his or her license to submit proof to
the board that during a specified time the licensee has been informed
of developments in the registered nursing field either by pursuing a
continuing education course offered by a provider approved by the
board or by other means deemed equivalent by the board. Existing law
requires the board to establish, by regulation, standards for
continuing education. Existing law requires these standards to make a
variety of alternative forms of continuing education available to
licensees. Existing law requires the content of all courses of
continuing education to be relevant to the practice of nursing.
This bill would provide that continuing education courses, as
specified, that advance or promote labor organizing on behalf of a
union, or that advance or promote statutory or regulatory changes,
political candidates, political advocacy, or political strategy shall
not be considered content relevant to the practice of nursing and
shall not be acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure
renewal. The bill would also prohibit an approved provider from
representing that such a continuing education course is acceptable
for meeting requirements for licensure renewal and would require the
board, subject to specified procedural requirements, to withdraw its
approval of a provider that violates that requirement for no less
than 5 years, as specified.
Because a violation of these requirements by a provider would
constitute a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2811.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2811.5. (a) Each person renewing his or her license under Section
2811 shall submit proof satisfactory to the board that, during the
preceding two-year period, he or she has been informed of the
developments in the registered nurse field or in any special area of
practice engaged in by the licensee, occurring since the last renewal
thereof, either by pursuing a course or courses of continuing
education in the registered nurse field or relevant to the practice
of the licensee, and approved by the board, or by other means deemed
equivalent by the board.
(b) For purposes of this section, the board shall, by regulation,
establish standards for continuing education.
(1) (A) The standards shall be established in a manner to assure
that a variety of alternative forms of continuing education are
available to licensees, including, but not limited to, academic
studies, in-service education, institutes, seminars, lectures,
conferences, workshops, extension studies, and home study programs.
(B) Continuing education courses shall contain only content
relevant to the practice of nursing as described in this section and
as defined and described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 1450)
of Division 14 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations.
Continuing education courses that advance or promote labor organizing
on behalf of a union, or that advance or promote statutory or
regulatory changes, political candidates, political advocacy, or
political strategy shall not be considered content relevant to the
practice of nursing and shall not be acceptable for meeting
requirements for licensure renewal as described in subdivision (a).
For the purposes of this section, "courses" includes institutes,
seminars, lectures, conferences, workshops, and any other public
events.
(C) The standards shall take cognizance of specialized areas of
practice.
(D) The continuing education standards established by the board
shall not exceed 30 hours of direct participation in a course or
courses approved by the board, or its equivalent in the units of
measure adopted by the board.
(2) (A) If an approved provider offers a course described in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), the provider shall not represent
that the course is acceptable for meeting the continuing education
requirements for licensure renewal. If a provider violates this
requirement, the board shall withdraw its approval of the provider,
subject to subparagraph (B).
(B) If, after the board provides the provider notice and an
opportunity to be heard as described in Section 1459.1 of Title 16 of
the California Code of Regulations, the board finds that the
provider violated the requirement in subparagraph (A), the board
shall withdraw approval of the provider for no less than five years.
(c) The board shall encourage continuing education in spousal or
partner abuse detection and treatment. In the event the board
establishes a requirement for continuing education coursework in
spousal or partner abuse detection or treatment, that requirement
shall be met by each licensee within no more than four years from the
date the requirement is imposed.
(d) In establishing standards for continuing education, the board
shall consider including a course in the special care needs of
individuals and their families facing end-of-life issues, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Pain and symptom management.
(2) The psycho-social dynamics of death.
(3) Dying and bereavement.
(4) Hospice care.
(e) In establishing standards for continuing education, the board
may include a course on pain management.
(f) This section shall not apply to licensees during the first two
years immediately following their initial licensure in California or
any other governmental jurisdiction.
(g) The board may, in accordance with the intent of this section,
make exceptions from continuing education requirements for licensees
residing in another state or country, or for reasons of health,
military service, or other good cause.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure that important changes in nursing continuing
education requirements are give effect at the earliest possible time,
it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.