BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 538
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 17, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 538 (Price) - As Amended: August 15, 2011
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill extends the July 1, 2012 sunset date on the Board of
Registered Nursing (BRN) to July 1, 2016 and makes several
changes related to approval of nursing programs by the board.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Grants authority, on a prospective basis, over the approval of
nursing schools to the BRN in lieu of approval by the Bureau
of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).
2)Subjects newly approved nursing schools to fees that will fund
the BRN approval and ongoing BPPE regulatory activities.
3)Authorizes BRN to issue a cease and desist order to a school
of nursing that has not been approved by the BRN, and requires
BRN to inform the Attorney General (AG) when a school
continues to operate illegally.
4)Requires new nursing school programs seeking BRN approval to
be accredited by a recognized accrediting agency.
5)Grants the BRN authority to hire investigators who are
designated as peace officers.
6)Makes other clarifying and technical changes regarding the
nursing school approval process and to meetings of the BRN.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Approximately $30 million (BRN Fund) annually in regulatory
costs will continue to be incurred as a result of a provision
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extending the sunset on the BRN.
2)Increased one-time revenues to the BRN Fund in the range of
$50,000 associated with approval of an estimated 10 new
nursing programs. In addition, increased annual revenues of
approximately $35,000 to the BRN Fund for ongoing approval of
these programs. The BRN Fund is continuously appropriated.
3)Increased staff costs to the Department of Justice of $250,000
(BRN Fund) for one additional Deputy Attorney General to
handle the investigation and prosecution of unapproved schools
of nursing. These costs are difficult to estimate and can
vary greatly, depending upon the number and complexity of
cases.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author, this bill is a product of
an oversight hearing conducted by the Senate Business,
Professions, and Economic Development committee in March of
2011. The committee conducted a number of sunset review
hearings this year, and has crafted legislation to implement
recommendations that emerged from these hearings. The primary
purpose of this measure is to extend the sunset date of the
BRN to January 1, 2016. The Board's previous sunset review
was during the 2002-03 fiscal year. In addition, the author
and the BRN believe the changes in this bill will improve the
BRN's enforcement and ongoing operations with respect to the
nursing school approval process.
2)Background . The BRN is responsible for implementation and
enforcement of the Nursing Practice Act, which includes a
broad range of activities related to nursing education,
licensure of over 300,000 registered nurses, practice, and
discipline. With respect to nursing education, the BRN sets
educational standards and approves nursing programs.
3)Approval of Nursing Schools . In the oversight hearing of the
BRN, a number of issues emerged related to approval of new
nursing programs. Approval of new programs is critical to
meet the demand of students and address a nursing shortage in
the state. Currently, the BRN approves these programs, but
because the board does not charge any initial or ongoing
approval fee, this workload is indirectly funded by license
fees. This bill establishes a fee of $5,000 for initial
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approval and $3,500 annually for ongoing approval, which is
far less than the BRN's actual workload costs for program
approval. The bill also streamlines the nursing program
approval process by requiring only BRN approval and not dual
approval by the BPPE, as is required under current law.
4)Enforcement . The oversight hearing also identified enforcement
as a key concern. For instance, there has been at least one
instance of an unapproved nursing school operating, including
conducting classes and collecting tuition payments, even
though it was unauthorized to do so. This bill strengthens
enforcement related to unauthorized programs by requiring the
BRN to issue a cease and desist order, and to alert the
Attorney General, when it has a reasonable belief that an
unauthorized school is operating.
The bill also authorizes BRN the authority to hire
investigators classified as peace officers in order to improve
the board's ability to conduct its own investigations. This
will aid BRN in shortening the backlog of cases and the time
frame for complaint investigation.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081