Bill > A1597

Introduced Session

This bill will enter New Jersey into the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) - a multistate compact that establishes a mutual recognition system for the licensure of registered professional nurses and licensed practical nurses. Under a mutual recognition system, a nurse only needs to obtain one license from the nurse's state of residence in order to be permitted to practice nursing in any other state that is a party to the compact, provided that the nurse complies with the state practice laws of the state in which the patient is located at the time that care is rendered. Currently, a nurse is required to be licensed in, and by, each state in which the nurse chooses to practice. Under the NLC, a nurse who applies for licensure will be required to meet the qualifications for licensure and license renewal that have been established in the nurse's state of residence. Although a nurse may be licensed in one or more states that are not a party to the compact, a nurse may only be licensed in one state that is a party to the compact. The NLC will authorize a state that is a party to the compact to limit, suspend, or revoke the multistate licensure privilege of any nurse to practice in that state, and to take any other actions under the applicable state laws that may be necessary to protect the health and safety of the citizens of the party state. The NLC will also establish a coordinated licensure information system that will include a database on the licensure and disciplinary history of all nurses licensed in the party states. The party states will be required to report to the coordinated system all adverse actions against nurses, including actions against multistate licensure privileges, any current significant investigative information yet to result in an adverse action, and denials of applications and the reasons therefor. This information will be shared with party states unless the state submitting the information designates information that may not be shared or disclosed without the permission of the contributing state. The coordinated licensure information system is to be administered by a nonprofit organization composed of and controlled by state nurse licensing boards. The NLC will also establish the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators as a joint public instrumentality of the party states. However, nothing in the compact is to be construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity. Each party state will be required to have its compact administrator, which is to be the head of the state licensing board, or that individual's designee, participate as a member of the commission. The commission will be required to meet at least once a year. The compact grants the commission broad powers to: (1) promulgate uniform rules, which will have the effect of law, in order to facilitate and coordinate implementation and administration of the compact in the party states; (2) bring and prosecute legal proceedings in the name of the commission; (3) appoint advisory and other committees comprised of administrators, state nursing regulators, state legislators, consumer representatives, and other interested parties; and (4) cooperate with other organizations that administer state compacts related to the practice of nursing. The commission will further be authorized to identify defaults in the performance of a party state in meeting its obligations or responsibilities under the compact; to provide training and technical assistance to a party state in order to assist the party state in curing any defaults; and to terminate a defaulting party state's membership in the compact if all means of securing compliance have been exhausted. The compact also authorizes the commission to levy, and collect from each party state, an annual assessment to cover the cost of commission operations, activities, and staff. All of the administrators, officers, employees, representatives, and the executive director of the commission will be immune from liability, either personally or in their official capacities, for any civil claims arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that the accused had a reasonable basis for believing had occurred, within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, except in the case of intentional, willful, or wanton misconduct. Nothing in the NLC will abrogate or supersede the provisions of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes or any other title or chapter of law applicable to the practice of nursing in this State. In any instance of an omission from the compact, the provisions of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes or other applicable statutory or regulatory law will be controlling. Nothing in the NLC will abrogate or supersede the provisions in Title 34 of the Revised Statutes, or in any other title or chapter of law applicable to labor practices, workforce strikes, or the resolution of labor disputes in this State. The bill requires the Attorney General to submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature, one year after New Jersey becomes a party to the compact, evaluating whether the State's continued participation in the compact is in the best interest of the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. At a minimum, the report is to: (1) describe the beneficial and detrimental effects resulting from the State's participation in the compact; (2) describe any potential long-term effects that are likely to result from the State's continued participation in the compact; (3) indicate whether any other party state has changed its licensure requirements in the preceding year to make them less stringent than the requirements in New Jersey; and (4) provide a recommendation as to whether the State should remain a party to the compact. The Legislature will be permitted to withdraw the State from the compact if the Attorney General's report indicates that another party state has changed its licensure requirements to make them substantially lower than the requirements of New Jersey, or that withdrawal from the compact is in the best interests of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of New Jersey. As of October 2015, 25 states, including Maryland and Delaware, have enacted legislation agreeing to participate in the NLC. The NLC provides that it will become effective and binding on the party states either on the date that the NLC is enacted into law by at least 26 states, or on December 31, 2018, whichever is earlier. Although New Jersey entered into a prior version of the multistate NLC through the enactment of P.L.2001, c.340 (C.45:11A-1 et seq.), this law was temporary in nature and expired on January 1, 2007. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing has since adopted a revised version of the compact. Accordingly, the bill incorporates the updated provisions of the NLC, as adopted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing on May 4, 2015.

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Herbert Conaway (D)*,  JoAnn Downey (D)*,  Angela Mcknight (D)*,  Paul Moriarty (D)*,  Raj Mukherji (D)*,  Shavonda Sumter (D)*,  Daniel Benson (D),  Linda Carter (D),  Annette Chaparro (D),  Mila Jasey (D),  Angelica Jimenez (D),  Patricia Jones (D),  Pam Lampitt (D),  Gabriela Mosquera (D),  Nancy Muñoz (R),  Carol Murphy (D),  Nancy Pinkin (D),  Annette Quijano (D),  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D),  Parker Space (R),  Anthony Verrelli (D),  Harold Wirths (R), 

Substituted by S954/1699 (SCS/1R) (on 05/23/2019)