An Act to amend 15.405 (7g) of the statutes; Relating to: membership on the Board of Nursing.
Summary
AB294 amends Wisconsin law governing the membership of the Board of Nursing in the Department of Safety and Professional Services. The bill changes the board’s composition from five currently licensed registered nurses to three currently licensed registered nurses, while keeping the existing one licensed practical nurse, one nurse educator, one member who is either an RN or LPN, and two public members. It also updates the title of one seat to reflect a currently certified advanced practice registered nurse prescriber.
The bill includes a transition provision directing that, when the two RN board members with the earliest expiring terms leave office, those seats will be filled by one advanced practice nurse prescriber and one nurse educator. The revised board structure takes effect on September 1, 2026, while the act otherwise takes effect the day after publication. The measure is a targeted governance change rather than a broad policy overhaul, and it affects the statutory framework for nursing regulation and board appointments in Wisconsin.
Impact
AB294 directly amends s. 15.405 (7g) of the Wisconsin statutes, reducing the number of RN representatives on the Board of Nursing and reallocating those seats to better reflect advanced practice nursing and nursing education. The bill affects the composition of the state licensing board that oversees nursing regulation, professional standards, and related administrative decisions under ch. 441. It primarily impacts board appointment authorities, current and future board members, and the professional groups represented on the board.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the bill was treated as a routine administrative or professional-licensing update, with no committee transcript or recorded vote showing significant opposition or debate. The absence of recorded controversy, combined with the narrow scope of the amendment, indicates generally neutral to favorable sentiment toward the bill. The later addition of a coauthor also suggests continued legislative support.
Contention
No formal committee discussion or vote history is available, so there is no documented public contention in the record provided. The only potentially notable issue is the rebalancing of board representation: reducing RN seats from five to three while adding representation for an advanced practice nurse prescriber and a nurse educator. That change could matter to nursing subgroups concerned about how much influence each profession has on the board, but no specific objections are recorded here.
Relating to the transition of the nurse aide certification program from the Health and Human Services Commission to the Texas Board of Nursing and to the creation of a workgroup on nursing career pathways and a panel on nursing program standards.