BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 466 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 26, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 466 (Hill) - As Amended August 18, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|14 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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