AB 1577 (Low, D-Cupertino)
Neutral as Amended
Signed by the governor on Sept. 27.
AB 1577 requires health facilities and clinics, upon the written request of a California community college (CCC) or California state university (CSU), to meet with and work in good faith to meet the clinical placement needs of their nursing program. If, after meeting with the CCC or CSU, a health facility or clinic is not able to meet the clinical placement needs of the school, the health facility or clinic is required to annually, on Jan. 30, submit a form to the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) describing the reasons the health facility is not able to meet the school’s clinical placement needs. This information will be posted on HCAI’s website for five years. The bill gives HCAI the authority to assess an administrative penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for failure to provide the informational notice by the Jan. 30 due date. These requirements will sunset on Jan. 1, 2032.
AB 1695 (Gipson, D-Gardena)
Support
Passed the Senate on Sept. 12. Ordered to be returned to the Senate and held at the desk on Sept. 13.
AB 1695 would have created the Nursing Pathway Pilot Program, which would have reduced the barriers to enrolling in community college nursing programs, thereby increasing the training and retention of more nurses at all levels.
AB 2015 (Schiavo, D-Santa Clarita)
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Signed by the governor on Sept. 22.
AB 2015, sponsored by the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN), authorizes the board to approve for five years a director, assistant director, or member of the faculty of an approved school of nursing or nursing program. The BRN is required to display an individual’s faculty approval status through an online search tool.
AB 2104 (Soria, D-Merced)
Support
Vetoed by the governor on Sept. 27.
AB 2104, similar to Sen. Roth’s SB 895, would have required the chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Pilot Program at 10 community college districts in order to offer a bachelor of science in nursing degree. In identifying eligible community college districts, the chancellor’s office would have been required to prioritize community college districts in broadly recognized underserved nursing areas, as well as community college districts with persistent poverty. The pilot program would have ended Jan. 1, 2031. The bill also would have required the Legislative Analyst’s Office, by Jan. 1, 2030, to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and whether it should be continued or expanded.
SB 895 (Roth, D-Riverside)
Co-sponsor
Vetoed by the governor on Sept. 27.
SB 895 would have required the California Community Colleges to develop a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Pilot Program at 10 community college districts in order to offer a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree. It also would have required the Legislative Analyst’s Office to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot, which would have ended on Jan. 1, 2034.
SB 1015 (Cortese, D-Campbell)
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Signed by the governor on Sept. 27.
SB 1015, sponsored by the California Nurses Association, requires the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) to annually report information related to the management of clinical placements and coordination with clinical facilities by approved nursing programs. The report must include information related to how approved nursing programs collaborate and coordinate with other approved schools of nursing or regional planning consortiums that utilize the same clinical facility. The report must be posted on the BRN’s website and be submitted to the Legislature. Additionally, SB 1015 requires the BRN’s Nursing Education and Workforce Advisory Committee to study and recommend standards for how approved nursing programs should manage and coordinate clinical placements. The study must include various topics, such as the necessity and feasibility of a statewide consortium to manage and coordinate clinical placements, as well as identifying and reporting violations of Business and Professions Code section 2786.4, related to the prohibition of payment to any clinical facility in exchange for clinical placement slots. The report detailing the committee’s findings will be submitted to the Legislature.
SB 1042 (Roth, D-Riverside)
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Held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file on Aug. 15.
SB 1042 would have required health facilities, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 1250, and clinics, as defined in Health and Safety Code sections 1200 and 1204, to report to the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) information on the number of clinical placements available. All approved nursing programs, public and private, would have been required to report their clinical placement needs. Upon request of an approved nursing program, health facilities and clinics would have been required to meet with representatives from the nursing program to work in good faith to meet the program’s needs related to educating and training nurses. The bill also would have allowed the BRN, upon request by an approved nursing program, to assist in identifying clinical placement slots to meet the program’s clinical placements needs. Hospitals could have elected to make existing or additional clinical placements slots available.
SB 1451 (Ashby, D-Sacramento)
Support Through Coalition
Signed by the governor on Sept. 22.
SB 1451 is the Senate Business and Professions Committee omnibus bill. The bill includes clarifying guidance to provisions of AB 890 (Wood, 2019), which established a regulatory framework for nurse practitioners (NPs) to practice independently. Among the changes, SB 1451 clarifies experience requirements for transition to practice and the disclosures that NPs must provide to patients.