MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2006 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Holland
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI BOARD OF NURSING TO MAINTAIN AN OFFICE IN THE GREATER JACKSON AREA; TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-18, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE CERTAIN COMPONENTS OF THE NURSING WORKFORCE PROGRAM OF THE BOARD; TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD SHALL SEND LICENSEES A NOTICE OF RENEWAL OF LICENSURE INSTEAD OF AN APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL; TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO ORDER SUMMARY SUSPENSION OF A LICENSE PENDING PROCEEDINGS FOR REVOCATION OR OTHER ACTION IF THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE IMPERATIVELY REQUIRES EMERGENCY ACTION; TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS TO MAINTAIN ACTIONS TO ENJOIN PERSONS WHO PRACTICE NURSING WITHOUT A LICENSE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 73-15-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-17. The Mississippi Board of Nursing is authorized and empowered to:
(a) Adopt and from time to time revise such rules and regulations consistent with the law as shall be necessary to govern its proceedings and carry into effect the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Require the secretary to keep records of all meetings of the board and keep a record of all proceedings, and to prepare a register of registered nurses and a register of licensed practical nurses, all nurses appearing thereon to be duly licensed under this chapter, and which registers shall be open for public inspection at all reasonable times.
(c) Issue subpoenas, require attendance of witnesses, and administer oaths of persons giving testimony.
(d) Cause the prosecution of all persons violating the provisions of this chapter, and incur such necessary expenses therefor.
(e) Conduct hearings upon charges calling for discipline of a licensee or revocation of a license or of the privilege to practice.
(f) Present a true and full report to the Governor and the Legislature, together with statement of receipts and disbursements on or before February 1 of each year.
(g) Maintain an office in the greater Jackson area for the administration of this chapter.
(h) File an annual list of all certificates of registration issued by the board with the Secretary of State's office for both registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.
(i) File an annual list of all certificates of registration issued by the board to registered nurses, including addresses of the persons with the Mississippi Nurses' Association; and file a similar list of all certificates of registration issued to licensed practical nurses, including addresses of the persons, with the Mississippi Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses and the Mississippi Licensed Practical Nurses Association.
(j) Adopt a seal which shall be in the form of a circle with the image of an eagle in the center, and around the margin the words "Mississippi Board of Nursing," and under the image of the eagle the word "Official." The seal shall be affixed to certificates and warrants issued by the board, and to all records sent up on appeal from its decisions.
(k) Schedule dates and locations for state board examinations for examining qualified applicants for licensure.
(l) Examine, license and renew licenses of duly qualified applicants.
(m) Appoint and employ a qualified person who shall not be a member of the board to serve as executive director, define the duties, fix the compensation, and delegate to him or her those activities that will expedite the functions of the board. The executive director shall meet all the qualifications for board members, and shall in addition:
(i) Have had at least a master's degree in nursing, eight (8) years' experience as a registered nurse, five (5) of which shall be in teaching or in administration, or a combination thereof; and
(ii) Have been actively engaged in nursing for at least five (5) years immediately preceding appointment.
(n) Employ, discharge, define duties, and fix compensation of such other persons as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(o) Secure the services of research consultants as deemed necessary who shall receive a per diem, travel and other necessary expenses incurred while engaged by the board.
(p) To enter into contracts with any other state or federal agency or with any private person, organization or group capable of contracting, if it finds such action to be in the public interest and in the furtherance of its responsibilities.
SECTION 2. Section 73-15-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-18. (1) The Mississippi Board of Nursing is designated as the state agency responsible for the administration and supervision of the Nursing Workforce Program as an educational curriculum in the State of Mississippi. It is the intent of the Legislature to develop a nursing workforce able to carry out the scope of service and leadership tasks required of the profession by promoting a strong educational infrastructure between nursing practice and nursing education.
(2) The Mississippi Board of Nursing is authorized to establish an Office of Nursing Workforce within the administrative framework of the board for the purpose of providing coordination and consultation to nursing education and practice. The Nursing Workforce Program shall encompass five (5) interdependent components:
(a) Develop and facilitate implementation of a state educational program directed toward nursing educators regarding health care delivery system changes * * * and the impact these changes will have on curriculum and on the service needs of nurses.
(b) Determine the continuing education needs of the nursing workforce * * * and facilitate such continuing education coursework through the university/college schools of nursing in the state and the community/junior college nursing programs in the state.
(c) Promote and coordinate through the schools of nursing opportunities for nurses prepared at the associate degree and bachelor degree levels to obtain higher degrees.
(d) Apply for and administer grants from public and private sources for the development of the Nursing Workforce Program prescribed in this section.
(e) Establish systems to ensure an adequate supply of nurses to meet the health care needs of the citizens of Mississippi. This will include, but is not limited to, gathering and quantifying dependable data on current nursing workforce capacities and forecasting future requirements. The Office of Nursing Workforce will report its findings annually to the Mississippi Legislature.
(3) Pursuant to the provisions of subsections (1) and (2), the Board of Nursing is authorized to provide for the services of an Office of Nursing Workforce Director and such other professional and nonprofessional staff as may be needed and as funds are available to the Board of Nursing to implement the Nursing Workforce Program prescribed in this section. It shall be the responsibility of such professional staff to coordinate efforts of the bachelor degree schools of nursing, the associate degree schools of nursing and other appropriate agencies in the State of Mississippi to implement the Nursing Workforce Program.
(4) The Board of Nursing shall appoint a Nursing Workforce Advisory Committee composed of health care professionals, health agency administrators, nursing educators and other appropriate individuals to provide technical advice to the Office of Nursing Workforce created in this section. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the Board of Nursing from a list of nominees submitted by appropriate nursing and health care organizations in the State of Mississippi. The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for actual travel expenses and mileage authorized by law for necessary committee business.
(5) All funds made available to the Board of Nursing for the purpose of nursing workforce shall be administered by the board office for that purpose. The Board of Nursing is authorized to enter into contract with any private person, organization or entity capable of contracting for the purpose of administering this section.
(6) The Nursing Workforce Program and the Office of Nursing Workforce provided for in this section will be established and implemented only if sufficient funds are appropriated to or otherwise available to the Board of Nursing for that purpose.
SECTION 3. Section 73-15-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-27. The license of every person licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall be renewed biennially except as hereinafter provided:
(a) Registered nurses:
(i) The license to practice as a registered nurse shall be valid for two (2) calendar years, beginning January 1 of each uneven-numbered year and expiring December 31 in each even-numbered year of the biennial period and subject to renewal for each period of two (2) years thereafter.
(ii) A notice for renewal of licensure will be mailed by the board on or before November 1 of the year the license expires to every person to whom a license was issued or renewed during the biennial period. An application shall be completed and returned to the board by December 31 of that year with the biennial renewal fee to be set at the discretion of the board, but not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
(iii) Upon receipt of the application and fee, the board shall verify the accuracy of the application and issue to the applicant a certificate of renewal for the ensuing period of two (2) years. Such renewal shall render the holder thereof the right to practice as a registered nurse.
(iv) A registered nurse may request in writing to the board that his or her license be placed on inactive status. The board may grant such request and shall have authority, in its discretion, to attach conditions to the licensure of such registered nurse while on inactive status. A biennial renewal fee for inactive registered nurses shall be set at the discretion of the board, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
(v) Any registered nurse applying for a license, renewal of an active license, reinstatement of a lapsed license, or change from inactive to active status may be required to provide evidence of continuing basic nursing competencies when such nurse has not practiced nursing for compensation or performed the function of a registered nurse in a voluntary capacity with or without compensation within the five-year period immediately prior to such application for a license, renewal, reinstatement or change of status.
(vi) Any registered nurse who permits his or her license to lapse by failing to renew the license as provided above may be reinstated by the board on satisfactory explanation for such failure to renew his or her license, by compliance with all other applicable provisions of this chapter, by completion of a reinstatement form, and upon payment of a reinstatement fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), which shall not include the renewal fee for the current biennial period. Any registered nurse who permits his or her license to lapse shall be notified by the board within fifteen (15) days of such lapse.
(vii) Any person practicing as a registered nurse during the time his or her license has lapsed shall be considered in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties provided for violation of this chapter, provided the registered nurse has not submitted the required reinstatement form and fees within fifteen (15) days after notification by the board of such lapse.
(b) Licensed practical nurses:
(i) The license to practice as a licensed practical nurse shall be valid for two (2) calendar years, beginning January 1 of each even-numbered year and expiring December 31 in each uneven-numbered year of the biennial period and subject to renewal for each period of two (2) years thereafter.
(ii) A notice for renewal of licensure will be mailed by the board on or before November 1 of the year the license expires to every person to whom a license was issued or renewed during the biennial period. An application shall be completed and returned to the board by December 31 of that year with the biennial renewal fee to be set at the discretion of the board, but not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
(iii) Upon receipt of the application and fee, the board shall verify the accuracy of the application and issue to the applicant a certificate of renewal for the ensuing period of two (2) years. Such renewal shall render the holder thereof the right to practice as a licensed practical nurse.
(iv) A licensed practical nurse may request in writing to the board that his or her license be placed on inactive status. The board may grant such request and shall have authority, in its discretion, to attach conditions to the licensure of such licensed practical nurse while on inactive status. A biennial renewal fee for inactive licensed practical nurses shall be set at the discretion of the board, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
(v) Any licensed practical nurse applying for a license, renewal of an active license, reinstatement of a lapsed license, or change from inactive to active status may be required to provide evidence of continuing basic nursing competencies when such nurse has not practiced nursing for compensation or performed the function of a licensed practical nurse in a voluntary capacity with or without compensation within the five-year period immediately prior to such application for a license, renewal, reinstatement or change of status.
(vi) Any licensed practical nurse who permits his or her license to lapse by failing to renew the license as provided above may be reinstated by the board upon satisfactory explanation for such failure to renew his or her license, by compliance with all other applicable provisions of this chapter, by completion of a reinstatement form, and upon payment of the reinstatement fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), which shall not include the renewal fee for the current biennial period. Any licensed practical nurse who permits his or her license to lapse shall be notified by the board within fifteen (15) days of such lapse.
(vii) Any person practicing as a licensed practical nurse during the time his or her license has lapsed shall be considered an illegal practitioner and shall be subject to the penalties provided for violation of this chapter, provided the licensed practical nurse has not submitted the required reinstatement form and fees within fifteen (15) days after notification by the board of such lapse.
SECTION 4. Section 73-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-29. (1) The board shall have power to revoke, suspend or refuse to renew any license issued by the board, or to revoke or suspend any privilege to practice, or to deny an application for a license, or to fine, place on probation and/or discipline a licensee, in any manner specified in this chapter, upon proof that such person:
(a) Has committed fraud or deceit in securing or attempting to secure such license;
(b) Has been convicted of felony, or a crime involving moral turpitude or has had accepted by a court a plea of nolo contendere to a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude (a certified copy of the judgment of the court of competent jurisdiction of such conviction or pleas shall be prima facie evidence of such conviction);
(c) Has negligently or willfully acted in a manner inconsistent with the health or safety of the persons under the licensee's care;
(d) Has had a license or privilege to practice as a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse suspended or revoked in any jurisdiction, has voluntarily surrendered such license or privilege to practice in any jurisdiction, has been placed on probation as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse in any jurisdiction or has been placed under a disciplinary order(s) in any manner as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse in any jurisdiction, (a certified copy of the order of suspension, revocation, probation or disciplinary action shall be prima facie evidence of such action);
(e) Has negligently or willfully practiced nursing in a manner that fails to meet generally accepted standards of such nursing practice;
(f) Has negligently or willfully violated any order, rule or regulation of the board pertaining to nursing practice or licensure;
(g) Has falsified or in a repeatedly negligent manner made incorrect entries or failed to make essential entries on records;
(h) Is addicted to or dependent on alcohol or other habit-forming drugs or is a habitual user of narcotics, barbiturates, amphetamines, hallucinogens, or other drugs having similar effect, or has misappropriated any medication;
(i) Has a physical, mental or emotional condition that renders the licensee unable to perform nursing services or duties with reasonable skill and safety;
(j) Has engaged in any other conduct, whether of the same or of a different character from that specified in this chapter, that would constitute a crime as defined in Title 97 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as now or hereafter amended, and that relates to such person's employment as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse;
(k) Engages in conduct likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public;
(l) Engages in any unprofessional conduct as identified by the board in its rules; or
(m) Has violated any provision of this chapter.
(2) When the board finds any person unqualified because of any of the grounds set forth in subsection (1) of this section, it may enter an order imposing one or more of the following penalties:
(a) Denying application for a license or other authorization to practice nursing or practical nursing;
(b) Administering a reprimand;
(c) Suspending or restricting the license or other authorization to practice as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse for up to two (2) years without review;
(d) Revoking the license or other authorization to practice nursing or practical nursing;
(e) Requiring the disciplinee to submit to care, counseling or treatment by persons and/or agencies approved or designated by the board as a condition for initial, continued or renewed licensure or other authorization to practice nursing or practical nursing;
(f) Requiring the disciplinee to participate in a program of education prescribed by the board as a condition for initial, continued or renewed licensure or other authorization to practice;
(g) Requiring the disciplinee to practice under the supervision of a registered nurse for a specified period of time; or
(h) Imposing a fine not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
(3) In addition to the grounds specified in subsection (1) of this section, the board shall be authorized to suspend the license or privilege to practice of any licensee for being out of compliance with an order for support, as defined in Section 93-11-153. The procedure for suspension of a license or privilege to practice for being out of compliance with an order for support, and the procedure for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license or privilege to practice suspended for that purpose, and the payment of any fees for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license or privilege to practice suspended for that purpose, shall be governed by Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163, as the case may be. If there is any conflict between any provision of Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163 and any provision of this chapter, the provisions of Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163, as the case may be, shall control.
(4) If the public health, safety or welfare imperatively requires emergency action and the board incorporates a finding to that effect in an order, the board may order summary suspension of a license pending proceedings for revocation or other action. These proceedings shall be promptly instituted and determined by the board.
SECTION 5. Section 73-15-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-35. The practice of nursing as a registered nurse or the practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse by any person who has not been issued a license or who does not hold the privilege to practice under the provisions of this chapter, or whose license or privilege to practice has been suspended or revoked, or has expired and not been reinstated, or has negligently or willfully practiced nursing in a manner that fails to meet generally accepted standards of such nursing practice, is declared to be a danger to the public health and welfare and shall be enjoined through appropriate court action. In addition to and not in lieu of any other civil, criminal or disciplinary remedy, the Attorney General, the Board of Nursing or the prosecuting attorney of any county where a person is practicing or purporting to practice as a registered nurse or as a licensed practical nurse in violation of this chapter may, in accordance with the laws of this state governing injunctions, maintain an action to enjoin that person from practicing as a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse until in compliance with this chapter. The court may issue a temporary injunction without notice or without bond enjoining a defendant from further practicing as a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse. If it is established to the satisfaction of the court that the defendant has been or is practicing as a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse without being licensed or privileged to practice and in good standing as provided herein, the court may enter a decree perpetually enjoining the defendant from such further activities, and a subsequent violation of which may be considered as contempt of court by any court of competent jurisdiction. Such injunction and contempt proceedings may be in addition to and not in lieu of any other penalties and remedies provided by this chapter.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.