BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 466  


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          Date of Hearing:  August 26, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          SB 466  
          (Hill) - As Amended August 18, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill extends the sunset for the Board of Registered Nursing  
          (BRN), and contains provisions addressing issues identified  
          during the BRN Sunset Review Oversight Hearings.  Specifically,  
          this bill:








                                                                     SB 466  


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          1)Extends the sunset date of the BRN and its Executive Officer  
            for two years, until January 1, 2018. 


          2)Requires the BRN to contract with the State Auditor's office  
            to conduct a performance audit of the board's enforcement  
            program.


          3)Requires the BRN to deny approval for schools that do not  
            provide credit for military experience, requires regulations  
            to this effect, and requires the board to review such policies  
            once every five years and make related information publicly  
            available. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Costs of $37.3 million annually for two years to continue the  
            operation of the BRN (BRN Fund). 


          2)Minor one-time costs to issue regulations, and one-time costs  
            to review school polices for compliance with military training  
            requirements of approximately $400,000 per year for two years  
            (BRN Fund).  Ongoing costs to maintain compliance and update  
            policies appear as if they should be absorbable.  


          3)Staff costs to the state auditor's office, likely in the range  
            of low hundreds of thousands (Reimbursements from BRN Fund).


          COMMENTS:










                                                                     SB 466  


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          Purpose. This bill is intended to extend the BRN's sunset, and  
          to address issues raised in the sunset review report.  Concerns  
          have been raised about the fairness and effectiveness of the  
          BRN's enforcement program; this bill requires an audit be  
          conducted.  In addition, BRN is required by law to evaluate and  
          credit military experience and training toward RN licensure. BRN  
          has effectively has delegated this duty to schools it approves,  
          but does not ensure schools comply with this requirement. This  
          bill requires BRN to deny schools that do not provide credit for  
          military experience.


          Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081