BILL NUMBER: AB 2183 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bocanegra
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to amend Section 2842 2736 of
the Business and Professions Code, relating to vocational
nursing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2183, as amended, Bocanegra. Vocational nursing.
Nursing.
Under the Nursing Practice Act, the Board of Registered Nursing
licenses and regulates registered nurses. Existing law requires an
applicant for licensure as a registered nurse to comply with certain
requirements, including successful completion of the courses of
instruction prescribed by the board in a program in this state
accredited by the board for training registered nurses, or successful
completion of courses of instruction in a school of nursing outside
of this state, if, in the opinion of the board, the courses of
instruction are equivalent to the minimum requirements of the board
for licensure in this state. Existing law authorizes the board to
issue a license without examination by endorsement to any applicant
who is licensed or registered as a nurse in any other state,
district, or territory of the United States or Canada, if specified
requirements are met, including the requirement that the applicant
have successfully completed an equivalent course of instruction as an
applicant in this state.
This bill would require the Board of Registered Nursing to adopt
specific criteria for determining the equivalency of course of
instruction when assessing the qualifications of an out-of-state
applicant who is filing for licensure by endorsement. In adopting
that criteria, the bill would require the board to place an emphasis
on licensed clinical experience.
Under the Vocational Nursing Practice Act, the Board of Vocational
Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians licenses and regulates
vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians. The act requires the
board to prepare and maintain a list of approved schools of
vocational nursing in this state. The act specifies requirements for
board members, including that one member be a licensed vocational
nurse or registered nurse having at least 5 years' experience as a
teacher or administrator in an accredited school of vocational
nursing.
This bill would, instead, require that one member have that
teaching experience at a board-approved school.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2736 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2736. (a) An applicant for licensure as a registered nurse shall
comply with each of the following:
(1) Have completed such general preliminary education requirements
as shall be determined by the board.
(2) Have successfully completed the courses of instruction
prescribed by the board for licensure, in a program in this state
accredited by the board for training registered nurses, or have
successfully completed courses of instruction in a school of nursing
outside of this state which, in the opinion of the board at the time
the application is filed with the Board of Registered
Nursing board , are equivalent to the minimum
requirements of the board for licensure established for an accredited
program in this state. The board shall adopt specific criteria
for determining the equivalency of course instruction when assessing
the qualifications of an applicant who is already licensed or
registered as a nurse outside of this state and who is filing for
licensure by endorsement pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
2732.1. In adopting that criteria, the board shall place primary
emphasis on applicants who possess licensed clinical experience.
(3) Not be subject to denial of licensure under Section 480.
(b) An applicant who has received his or her training from a
school of nursing in a country outside the United States and who has
complied with the provisions of subdivision (a), or has completed
training equivalent to that required by subdivision (a), shall
qualify for licensure by successfully passing the examination
prescribed by the board.
SECTION 1. Section 2842 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
2842. (a) Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the
United States and a resident of the State of California. The board
shall have the following composition:
(1) Two members shall be duly licensed vocational nurses who have
been licensed for a period of not less than three years prior to
appointment.
(2) Two members shall be licensed psychiatric technicians, each of
whom shall have had not less than five years' experience in a
psychiatric hospital, or in a psychiatric unit of a hospital licensed
by the State Department of Health Services, or a private institution
licensed by the State Department of Health Services.
(3) One member shall be a licensed vocational nurse or registered
nurse who shall have had not less than five years' experience as a
teacher or administrator in a board-approved school of vocational
nursing.
(4) Six members shall be public members who are not licentiates of
the board or any other board under this division or of any board
referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600.
(b) No person may serve as a member of the board for more than two
consecutive terms.
(c) Per diem and expenses of members of the board who are licensed
psychiatric technicians shall be paid solely from revenues received
pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4500) of Division 2.