BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 466
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
466 (Hill)
As Amended August 18, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |14-0 |Bonilla, Jones, | |
|Professions | |Baker, Bloom, Burke, | |
| | |Campos, Chang, Dodd, | |
| | |Eggman, Gatto, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wilk, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
SB 466
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Implements the recommendations from the Board of
Registered Nursing's (BRN) Sunset Review Oversight Hearings,
including requiring the California State Auditor's Office to
conduct a performance audit of the board's enforcement program and
extending the BRN's sunset date by two years. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Defines "office" as the California State Auditor's Office.
2)Requires the BRN, by February 1, 2016, to contract with the
office to conduct a performance audit of the BRN's enforcement
program. The BRN must reimburse the office for the cost of the
audit. The office must report the results of the audit, with
any recommendations, to the Governor, the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA), and the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature by January 1, 2017.
3)Provides that the performance audit shall include an evaluation
of the following:
a) The quality and consistency of, and compliance with,
complaint processing and investigation;
b) The consistency and adequacy of the application of board
sanctions or discipline imposed on licensees;
c) The accuracy and consistency in implementing the laws and
rules affecting discipline, including adherence to the
Division of Investigation Case Acceptance Guidelines
(Consumer Protection Enforcement Initiative Model), as
revised July 1, 2014;
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d) The timeframes for completing complaint processing,
investigation, and resolution;
e) Staff concerns regarding licensee disciplinary matters or
procedures;
f) The appropriate utilization of licensed professionals to
investigate complaints;
g) The adequacy of the board's cooperation with other state
agencies charged with enforcing related laws and regulations
regarding nurses;
h) Any existing backlog, the reason for the backlog, and the
timeframe for eliminating the backlog; and,
i) The adequacy of board staffing, training, and fiscal
resources to perform its enforcement functions.
4)Requires the BRN staff and management to cooperate with the
office and to provide the office with access to data, case
files, employees, and information as the office may require.
5)Deletes the phrase "all phases" from the requirement that the
BRN develop regulations requiring schools to provide clinical
instruction in all phases of the educational process.
6)Repeals the provisions relating to the BRN's evaluation and
licensure of an applicant who has served on active duty in the
medical corps of the armed forces, including:
a) The requirement that the BRN grant a license if the person
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meets specified qualifications and the BRN determines that
the education would give reasonable assurance of competence
to practice as a registered nurse in this state;
b) The requirement that the BRN promulgate regulations
establishing criteria for evaluating the education of the
applicants; and,
c) The requirement that the BRN maintain records of specified
applicants.
7)Requires the BRN to deny the application for approval made by,
and revoke the approval given to, any school of nursing that
does not give student applicants credit in the field of nursing
for military education and experience by the use of challenge
examinations or other methods of evaluation.
8)Requires the BRN to promulgate regulations by January 1, 2017,
requiring schools to have a process to evaluate and grant credit
for military education and experience. The term "credit" is
limited to credit for licensure only - the BRN may not prescribe
the credit that an approved school of nursing must give toward
an academic certificate or degree.
9)Requires the BRN to review a school's policies and practices
regarding granting credit for military education and experience
at least once every five years to ensure consistency in
evaluation and application across schools. The BRN must post on
its Web site information related to the acceptance of military
coursework and experience at each approved school.
10)Extends the BRN's sunset dates from January 1, 2016, to January
1, 2018.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in costs of $37.3 million
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annually for two years to continue the operation of the BRN. The
bill will also result in 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. There will also be ongoing costs
to maintain compliance and update policies appear as if they
should be absorbable. Lastly, there will be staff costs to the
state auditor's office, likely in the range of low hundreds of
thousands.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is author sponsored. According to the author,
"The Sunset Report identified many issues, and the [BRN] is
actively working to resolve many of them. I look forward to
seeing the [audit] reports and maintaining engagement with the
[BRN] to protect California consumers."
Background. In March of this year, the Assembly Business and
Professions Committee and the Senate Business, Professions and
Economic Development Committee (Committees) conducted joint
oversight hearings to review 12 regulatory entities: California
Accountancy Board, California Architects Board and Landscape
Architects Committee, California State Athletic Commission, Board
of Barbering and Cosmetology, Cemetery and Funeral Bureau,
Contractors State License Board, Dental Board of California, Board
for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists, BRN,
Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, and BVNPT.
This bill is one of several sunset bills that are intended to
implement the legislative changes recommended by Committee staff.
The recommendations are reflected in the background papers
prepared by Committee staff for each agency and program reviewed.
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Experiential Learning. Current law requires the BRN to require
approved schools to "give student applicants credit, in the field
of nursing, for previous education and the opportunity to obtain
credit for other acquired knowledge by the use of challenge
examinations or other methods of evaluation." It also requires
the BRN to develop regulations to determine the types of education
and "the amount of credit which is to be given for each type of
education," which appears to include education beyond the
classroom.
However, instead of making its own determination, the BRN
promulgated regulations delegating the responsibility to determine
credit to the approved schools. Despite the delegation, the BRN
has stated that it does not believe any schools grant credit or
allow testing to prove skills or knowledge based on prior
professional experience.
Therefore, this bill requires the BRN to promulgate regulations
requiring schools to have a process to evaluate and grant credit
for previous education and clinical and theoretical knowledge
acquired through prior experience. This bill also requires the
BRN to review school policies and practices at least once every
four years to ensure consistency in evaluation and application
across schools.
Military Experience. Existing law requires the BRN to evaluate
and credit military experience and training towards a RN license.
However, the BRN does not currently do so, and it does not require
schools to do so either. Therefore, this bill requires the BRN to
require schools to evaluate and credit military experience and
makes conforming changes.
JLAC Audit. The recent sunset oversight hearings revealed issues
within the BRN. Therefore, a short-term audit may help to provide
a review of the BRN's operations in order to ensure that any
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remaining issues are resolved. Therefore, this bill will require
the State Auditor to conduct an audit of the BRN.
Analysis Prepared by:
Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0001658