BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2344| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2344 Author: Nielsen (R) Amended: As introduced Vote: 21 SEN. BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/28/10 AYES: Negrete McLeod, Aanestad, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, Florez, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Walters SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Nursing: approved schools SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill clarifies that institution of higher education, for the purposes of the Board of Registered Nursing approval of nursing schools, includes community colleges and private postsecondary institutions offering an Associate of Arts (AA) or an Associate of Science (AS) degree. Clarifies that a nursing school that is not an "institution of higher education" may affiliate with an institution of higher education offering either an AA or an AS degree to individuals who graduate from the nursing school. ANALYSIS : CONTINUED AB 2344 Page 2 Existing Law 1.Creates the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by BRN and requires BRN to maintain a list of approved nursing schools. 2.Defines an approved school as an institution of higher education or school that is affiliated with an institution of higher education that offers an AA degree to individuals that graduate from the affiliated nursing school. 3.Provides that an "institution of higher education" includes a community college that offers an AA degree. 4.Requires BRN to determine by regulation the required subjects of instruction to be completed in an approved school of nursing, including the minimum units of theory and clinical experience necessary to achieve essential clinical competency at the entry level of a registered nurse (RN). 5.Establishes the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) within DCA and provides for Bureau oversight and regulation of California private postsecondary institutions. This bill: 1.Provides that an "institution of higher education" includes but is not limited to a community college offering an AA or AS and private postsecondary institutions offering an AA or AS. 2.Clarifies that an approved school is as an institution of higher education or school that is affiliated with an institution of higher education that offers an AA or AS to individuals that graduate from the affiliated nursing school. Background AB 2344 Page 3 Current law, Business and Professions Code 2786, does not define "institution of higher education" but provides that the term includes community colleges offering associate degrees. Current law also requires that a school that is not an "institution of higher education" which seeks to offer a nursing program must make an agreement with an institution of higher education to grant an associate of arts degree, or a baccalaureate degree if appropriate, to individuals who graduate from the nursing program. According to a Legislative Counsel Bureau opinion provided by the Author, a private postsecondary institution offering an AS may qualify as an "institution of higher education" for the purposes of approval of a nursing program by BRN, notwithstanding the fact that the institution does not have an AA degree. Health Care Workforce Shortage . With an increasingly aging population, California is in the midst of a health care workforce shortage. The supply of skilled, trained health care professionals has diminished in recent years and according to the non-profit California Institute for Nursing and Health Care, the state will see a shortage of over 100,000 nurses by 2020. On March 23, 2009, this Committee held an informational hearing entitled "The Role of Private Education Institutions in Preparing California's Diverse Workforce: Meeting the Challenges of our Workforce and Job Training Needs." The hearing examined the ability of private postsecondary institutions to fill the career preparation needs of California's workforce and evaluate policy options that allow them to expand their workforce development programs with the requisite amount of oversight required to protect students. Relationship of BPPE to DCA Boards . Nine boards within DCA have a direct connection to BPPE. While some are required to review the curriculum and often institutions offering programs, others require BPPE approval in order to meet educational requirements for licensure, certification or registration. The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) for example, approves curriculum, facilities, equipment and textbooks for schools offering training programs for eventual licensees. The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) staff grants approval and AB 2344 Page 4 ultimately accreditation of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technician programs but does not have oversight of institutions offering these programs. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, current law is ambiguous as to whether a college that offers an Associate of Arts Degree (AA) or an Associate of Science Degree (AS) can be approved by BRN. The author's office cites the experience of Cambridge Junior College in Yuba City, a private college accredited by the Accreditation Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), as need for this measure. That school was denied BRN approval to offer a nursing degree because it only offers an AA in nursing. The author's office argues that this bill is intended to clarify that a higher education institution offering an AA and/or an AS degree, or school affiliated with such an institution that meets with other established requirements, may become approved for nursing schools by BRN. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero, Norby, Skinner, Vacancy JJA:cm 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses AB 2344 Page 5 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END ****