An Act to amend 15.405 (7g) of the statutes; Relating to: membership on the Board of Nursing.
Summary
SB282 would change the composition of Wisconsin’s Board of Nursing. Under current law, the board has nine members, including five currently licensed registered nurses, one licensed practical nurse, one additional nurse member who may be either an RN or LPN, and two public members. The bill would reduce the number of registered nurse seats from five to three and add two new categories of professional representation: one currently certified advanced practice nurse prescriber and one nurse educator.
The bill also includes a transition provision for the current board. Of the existing board members appointed as registered nurses, the two whose terms expire first after the bill takes effect would be replaced, when those terms end, by an advanced practice nurse prescriber and a nurse educator. The bill does not change the board’s overall size, term structure, or the two public-member seats.
Impact
SB282 would amend s. 15.405 (7g) of the Wisconsin Statutes, which governs the Board of Nursing within the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Its practical effect would be to broaden the professional backgrounds represented on the board by shifting seats away from general registered nurse representation and toward advanced practice nursing and nursing education. This could affect board decisions on licensure, discipline, and regulation of nursing practice by changing who participates in those decisions, while leaving the board’s total membership at nine.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or other debate, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears to be a targeted professional-licensing governance change rather than a controversial policy overhaul, but the legislative history provided does not show support or opposition on the record. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials because there are no committee discussion transcripts or vote tallies. The most likely area for disagreement, based on the text alone, would be whether the board should continue to be dominated by currently licensed registered nurses or instead include more representation from advanced practice nurses and nurse educators. Any concerns would likely come from stakeholders in nursing regulation, professional associations, or licensing policy, but none are explicitly identified in the record provided.
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.