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2024 Legislative Updates

The following are bills that were considered by the Board of Registered Nursing during the second year of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session and were ultimately passed by the Legislature then signed into law by Governor Newsom.

For a list of every bill the Board took a position on this year and the outcome of each bill, please visit the following: 2024 Board Positions

Because most bills contain multiple provisions, please refer to the bills themselves for complete details. The bills can also be accessed through the California Legislative Information website.

Assembly Bills

• AB 1577 (Low) Health facilities and clinics: clinical placements: nursing
  The bill requires health facilities and clinics to meet with a community college or California State University with an approved school of nursing, upon the college’s request, and work in good faith to meet the needs of the college’s nursing program, including adding additional clinical placement slots to accommodate the nursing program. Requires the hospital or clinic, if unable to provide additional clinical placement slots, to inform the Department of Health Care Access and Information of its lack of capability or capacity using a form developed by the department, subject to a $1,000 fine for failure to provide the information.
• AB 1991 (Bonta) Licensee and registrant renewal: National Provider Identifier
  The bill requires health profession licensing boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs to require a licensee or registrant who electronically renews their license or registration to provide their individual National Provider Identifier, if they have one.
• AB 2015 (Schiavo) Nursing schools and programs: faculty members, directors, and assistant directors
  The bill establishes a process for approved schools of nursing, except for those that are actively accredited by an institutional or programmatic accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education, to obtain approval from the Board of Registered Nursing to serve as a faculty member, assistant director, or director at any approved prelicensure nursing program throughout the state.
• AB 2270 (Maienschein) Healing arts: continuing education: menopausal mental or physical health
  The bill requires the Medical Board of California, Board of Registered Nursing, Board of Psychology, Physician Assistants Board, and Board of Behavioral Sciences, in determining their continuing education requirements, to consider including a course in menopausal mental or physical health.
• AB 2471 (Patterson) Professions and vocations: public health nurses
  The bill removes the requirement for public health nurses to renew their certificates on a biennial basis with the Board of Registered Nursing.
• AB 2581 (Maienschein) Healing arts: continuing education: maternal mental health
  The bill requires the Board of Registered Nursing, Board of Psychology, Physician Assistants Board, and the Board of Behavioral Sciences, in establishing standards for continuing education, to consider including a course in maternal mental health.
• AB 2730 (Lackey) Sexual assault: medical evidentiary examinations
  The bill adds a certified nurse midwife, working in consultation with a physician or surgeon, to the list of qualified health care professionals that can perform a sexual assault exam.
• AB 3119 (Low) Physicians and surgeons, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants: continuing medical education: infection-associated chronic conditions
  The bill requires the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, and the Physician Assistant Board to consider requiring licensees to take a continuing education course related to infection-associated chronic conditions, including, but not limited to, long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and dysautonomia.

Senate Bills

• SB 607 (Portantino) Controlled substances
  The bill expands the existing requirement for prescribers to discuss information about the risks associated with opioid use and addiction when issuing or dispensing opioids to a minor patient, to require that discussion to occur regardless of the patient's age.
• SB 639 (Limon) Medical professionals: course requirements
  The bill, among other provisions, requires a nurse practitioner who provides primary care to a patient population of which over 25% are 65 years of age or older to certify that they have completed at least 20% of all existing mandatory continuing education hours in a course in the field of gerontology, the special care needs of patients with dementia, or the care of older patients.
• SB 1015 (Cortese) Nursing schools and programs
  The bill requires the Board of Registered Nursing to study and recommend standards regarding how approved schools of nursing or nursing programs manage or coordinate clinical placements and to annually collect, analyze, and report information related to management of coordination of clinical placements.
• SB 1451 (Ashby) Professions and vocations
  The bill, among other provisions, makes various changes to the criteria for licensure of nurse practitioners that practice without standardized procedures. Clarifies that no person shall use the words “doctor” or “physician,” the letters or prefix Dr., the initials M.D. or D.O., or any other terms or letters indicating or implying that the person is a physician and surgeon, physician, surgeon, or practitioner in a health care setting that would lead a reasonable patient to determine that person is a licensed M.D. or D.O.
• SB 1468 (Ochoa-Bogh) Healing arts boards: informational and educational materials for prescribers of narcotics: federal "Three Day Rule."
  The bill requires each health professional licensing board that licenses a prescriber to develop informational and educational material regarding the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s "Three Day Rule" to ensure prescriber awareness of existing medication-assisted treatment pathways to serve patients with substance use disorder.