S695 - Modernize Nursing Practice Act

• Establishes new Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) licensure category effective January 1, 2016, requiring graduate-level education, national certification, and Board licensure for nurses practicing as nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, or clinical nurse specialists.

• Expands Board of Nursing composition to include one APRN member among eight registered nurse positions and grants Board authority to establish prescribing, ordering, dispensing, and furnishing authority for APRNs.

• Adds new disciplinary grounds including immoral conduct, unprofessional conduct, failure to respond to Board inquiries, and actions against licenses in other jurisdictions; allows Board to limit or revoke APRN prescriptive authority.

• Implements grandfathering provisions allowing existing APRNs recognized by the Board on December 31, 2015, to obtain licensure without meeting new education requirements if they apply by January 1, 2016.

• Updates Board procedures to allow mental or physical competency examinations, establishes confidentiality protections for investigative records, and requires criminal history record checks for applicants applying for initial licensure.