SENATE BILL NO. 73

INTRODUCED BY BERRY D

BY REQUEST OF THE BOARD OF NURSING

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ADDING MENTAL OR CHRONIC PHYSICAL ILLNESS TO CONDITIONS COVERED BY THE PROGRAM TO ASSIST LICENSED NURSES; AMENDING SECTION 37-8-202, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 37-8-202, MCA, is amended to read:

"37-8-202. Organization -- meetings -- powers and duties. (1) The board shall meet annually and shall elect from among the nine members a president and a secretary. The board shall hold other meetings when necessary to transact its business. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum at any meeting. The department shall keep complete minutes and records of the meetings and rules and orders promulgated by the board.

(2) The board may make rules necessary to administer this chapter. The board shall prescribe standards for schools preparing persons for registration and licensure under this chapter. It shall provide for surveys of schools at times it considers necessary. It shall approve programs that meet the requirements of this chapter and of the board. The department shall, subject to 37-1-101, examine and issue to and renew licenses of qualified applicants. The board shall conduct hearings on charges that may call for discipline of a licensee, revocation of a license, or removal of schools of nursing from the approved list. The board shall cause the prosecution of persons violating this chapter and may incur necessary expenses for prosecutions.

(3) The board may adopt and the department shall publish forms for use by applicants and others, including license, certificate, and identity forms and other appropriate forms and publications convenient for the proper administration of this chapter. The board may fix reasonable fees for incidental services, within the subject matter delegated by this chapter.

(4) The board may participate in and pay fees to a national organization of state boards of nursing to ensure interstate endorsement of licenses.

(5) (a) The board may define the educational requirements and other qualifications applicable to recognition of advanced practice registered nurses. Advanced practice registered nurses are nurses who must have additional professional education beyond the basic nursing degree required of a registered nurse. Additional education must be obtained in courses offered in a university setting or its equivalent. The applicant must be certified or in the process of being certified by a certifying body for advanced practice registered nurses. Advanced practice registered nurses include nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, nurse-anesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists.

(b) The board of nursing and the board of medical examiners, acting jointly, shall adopt rules regarding authorization for prescriptive authority of nurse specialists. If considered appropriate for a nurse specialist who applies to the board for authorization, prescriptive authority must be granted.

(6) The board shall establish a program to assist licensed nurses who are found to be physically or mentally impaired by habitual intemperance or the excessive use of narcotic drugs, alcohol, or any other drug or substance or by mental or chronic physical illness. The program must provide assistance to licensees in seeking treatment and monitor their efforts toward rehabilitation.

(7) The board may adopt rules for delegation of nursing tasks by licensed nurses to unlicensed persons.

(8) The board may fund additional staff, hired by the department, to administer the provisions of this chapter."

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

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