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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Hurt		DATE TYPED:	01/21/02		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Nursing Excellence Program				SB	31
					ANALYST:		Carrillo

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY02	FY03	FY02	FY03
	150.0	See Narrative		Recurring	Tobacco Settlement Program Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue

Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY02

FY03

(150.0)

Recurring

Tobacco Settlement Program Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Board of Nursing

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 31, Nursing Excellence Program, appropriates $150.0 from the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund to the Board of Nursing for the purpose of providing a program for nursing excellence. The program shall include strategies for enhanced recruitment and retention of professional nurses, career ladder education opportunities and improved interaction with health facilities administrations, the medical profession and institutions of higher education.

SB 31 provides that any unexpended or unencumbered balances remaining at the end of FY03 shall revert to the general fund. The bill also contains an emergency clause.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $150.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund. As the bill currently reads, any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2003 shall revert to the general fund. This is a technical issue. SB 31 should be amended to read: “shall revert to the Tobacco Settlement Permanent or Program Fund”.

According to the Board of Nursing staff, the scope of the bill and work to be accomplished is large and the funding request would not provide adequate resources to accomplish the provisions.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Board of Nursing staff indicates they do not have the staff resources to undertake a project of this magnitude and meet all of its current statutory requirements. The Board will have to hire or contract for additional profession and support staff to implement the provisions of SB 31.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The reversion clause should be corrected to read either the “tobacco settlement program fund” or the “tobacco settlement permanent fund”.

The Board of Nursing staff comments the SB31 language is unclear regarding the development of strategies for career ladder education opportunities. Clarification is needed on whether the bill is referring to career ladder opportunities within the workplace or educational institutions. Currently, there is an articulation agreement among the majority of the State’s nursing programs. Workplace career ladder strategies are more appropriately addressed by the employers.

WJC/njw