WHEREAS, Nurse practitioners serve as trusted frontline providers of health care for patients in California; and

WHEREAS, Nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses who have advanced clinical education and training building upon their initial registered nurse preparation; and

WHEREAS, There are over 385,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the United States, and over 40,000 nurse practitioners in California providing primary, acute, and specialty care to patients of all ages and backgrounds; and

WHEREAS, Nurse practitioners diagnose, treat, and prescribe medications and other treatments to patients through a caring, patient-centered, and holistic model of care; and

WHEREAS, Citizens of our state and nation have great trust in the high-quality care nurse practitioners provide, resulting in over one billion patient visits annually to nurse practitioners across the country; and

WHEREAS, Five decades of research demonstrate the high quality of care provided by nurse practitioners; and

WHEREAS, Leading governmental and policy entities, including the National Academy of Medicine, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the National Governors Association, and the Federal Trade Commission, have taken notice of the benefits of nurse practitioners’ full practice authority and have endorsed this regulatory model; now, therefore, be it