Sunset Process - House Health and Insurance Committee. The bill implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on the "Nurse Practice Act" (act), under which nurses are regulated by the state board of nursing (board). Specifically, the bill:
Continues the act for 7 years, until September 1, 2027 ( sections 1 and 2 and 3 of the bill);
Authorizes the board to enter into a confidential agreement to limit practice with a nurse who has a health condition that affects the ability of the nurse to practice safely and modifies grounds for disciplining a nurse to specify that a nurse may be disciplined for failing to notify the board of a health condition that limits the nurse's ability to practice safely, failing to act within the limits imposed by the health condition, or failing to comply with the terms of a confidential agreement entered into with the board ( sections 3 through 5 4 through 6 );
Adds, as a ground for disciplining a nurse, engaging in a sexual act with a patient during the course of care or within 6 months after care is concluded ( section 4 5 );
Requires licensees and insurance carriers to report malpractice settlements and judgments ( sections 4 and 6 through 8 5 and 7 through 9 );
Modifies the grounds for discipline relating to alcohol or drug use or abuse to clarify that the use or abuse need not be ongoing to trigger discipline ( section 4 5 );
Requires a nurse to report an adverse action or the surrender of a license within 30 days after the action ( section 4 5 );
Requires a nurse to report a criminal conviction within 30, rather than 45, days after the conviction ( section 4 5 );
Repeals the standards of "willful" and "negligent" with regard to certain grounds for disciplining a nurse ( section 4 5 );
Changes the title "advanced practice nurse" and the acronym "A.P.N." to "advanced practice registered nurse" and "A.P.R.N." ( sections 9 through 17 10 through 18 );
Eliminates the requirement that an advanced practice nurse (APN) with prescriptive authority maintain and update an articulated plan once the APN has completed the provisional prescriptive authority period ( section 13 );
Authorizes, rather than requires, the board to conduct random audits of an APN's articulated plan regarding the APN's provisional prescriptive authority ( section 13 );
Eliminates the age limit and the requirement to be retired for a nurse to obtain a volunteer license ( sections 18 and 19 and 20 );
Repeals the requirement for the director of the division of professions and occupations to consult with the board before appointing an executive administrator and other personnel for the board ( section 20 21 );
Repeals the requirement for at least one board member to sit on the panel to interview candidates for the board executive administrator position ( section 20 21 ); and
Makes technical amendments to the act to: Split 2 distinct grounds for discipline that are included in a single paragraph in the disciplinary section of the act into 2 separate paragraphs; replaces references in the act to the term "refuse" with the term "deny"; and repeals an obsolete provision ( sections 4 and 21 5 and 22 through 25 ).
Additionally, the bill:
Reduces the number of experience hours required for an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) to obtain prescriptive authority from 1,000 hours to 750 hours and includes a legislative declaration stating that the experience hours should not be adjusted downward before the next sunset review of the act ( sections 1 and 14 );
Eliminates the requirement that an APRN seeking or who has obtained prescriptive authority develop, maintain, or update an articulated plan and that the board audit those plans ( sections 5 and 14 );
Adds definitions of "collaboration", "delegation of patient care", and "licensed health care provider" to the act for purposes of clarifying the ability of nurses to delegate nursing tasks to other providers and assistive personnel ( sections 10 and 26 ); and
Modifies the definitions of "practice of practical nursing" and "practice of professional nursing" ( section 10 ).
(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Read More

Statutes affected:
Preamended PA1 (02/12/2020): 24-34-104, 12-30-108, 12-255-120, 25-51-104, 12-255-104, 12-255-105, 12-255-107, 12-255-111, 12-255-112, 12-255-127, 13-21-115.5, 12-255-110, 12-255-114, 12-255-121, 12-255-131, 12-30-105, 12-240-108, 12-240-121, 12-280-103, 12-280-502
Introduced (01/30/2020): 24-34-104, 12-30-108, 12-255-120, 25-51-104, 12-255-104, 12-255-105, 12-255-107, 12-255-111, 12-255-112, 12-255-127, 13-21-115.5, 12-255-110, 12-255-114, 12-255-121, 12-255-118
Engrossed (03/10/2020): 24-34-104, 12-30-108, 12-255-120, 25-51-104, 12-255-104, 12-255-105, 12-255-107, 12-255-111, 12-255-112, 12-255-127, 13-21-115.5, 12-255-110, 12-255-114, 12-255-121, 12-255-131, 12-30-105, 12-240-108, 12-240-121, 12-280-103, 12-280-502
Reengrossed (03/11/2020): 24-34-104, 12-30-108, 12-255-120, 25-51-104, 12-255-104, 12-255-105, 12-255-107, 12-255-111, 12-255-112, 12-255-127, 13-21-115.5, 12-255-110, 12-255-114, 12-255-121, 12-255-131, 12-30-105, 12-240-108, 12-240-121, 12-280-103, 12-280-502