Bill Summary

• Establishes state licensure requirements for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) effective January 1, 2015, requiring national certification in one of four roles (certified nurse anesthetist, nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse practitioner) and at least one recognized population focus area.

• Expands APRN scope of practice to include diagnosing, prescribing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies, ordering diagnostic studies (with specified exclusions), and functioning as primary care providers without requiring physician supervision or collaborative management agreements.

• Creates an Advanced Practice Nursing Advisory Council with seven members (four APRNs representing each role, two physicians, and one public member) to review prescribing trends, emerging practices, and provide recommendations to the Board of Nursing; council sunsets February 2, 2022.

• Allows currently practicing APRNs to obtain licensure under grandfather provisions if they were recognized practitioners on July 1, 2014 and apply by January 1, 2015, without meeting new graduate-level education requirements.

• Appropriates $377,000 in fiscal year 2015 to the Board of Nursing to implement APRN licensing, with a base appropriation of $231,000 for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.