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Important Update on SB 164: APRN Licensure

Posted 12 months ago by Ashley Blackmon

 Please see the message from Julianna McConnell, our outstanding, ever-working, non-tiring lobbyist:

Today is the 40th and final day for Governor Kemp to sign or veto legislation from the 2023 Legislative Session.
 
I am so disappointed to have to share this news with you as many of you, along with our APRN leadership team, have worked so many hours over the past three years to finally succeed in passing our APRN Licensure bill through the Senate and House.  As you remember, SB 164 which contained the APRN licensure language passed the House and the Senate unanimously during the 2023 session - a historical accomplishment for nurses!!
 
However, when the Governor’s legal staff reviewed the bill over the past few weeks, they informed us that there seemed to be an issue with the bill language not providing adequate time for the implementation of the APRN license process -  time for the Board of Nursing to be able to complete the transfer from an “authorization to practice” to a formal APRN License for the approximately 18,000 APRNs in the state by the July 1, 2023 date when the bill would have become law.  
 
Senator Hufstetler (the bill sponsor) requested that the bill be vetoed in order to give him time to work with the Secretary of State, legal counsel, and our APRN leadership to modify the bill language to provide an adequate licensing transition time/procedure for the APRN licenses.  We will be working with Senator Hufstetler to accomplish this and assure that the Governor’s legal team approves the bill’s amended language.
 
Again…we were very disappointed when we found out about this issue and that we would need to postpone the APRN licensure bill until the 2024 session.  We are, however,  committed to working with Senator Hufstetler to help him succeed in modifying the APRN licensure language and getting it passed and signed by the Governor in the early part of the 2024 session. 
 
We will keep you updated as we begin this process with Senator Hufstetler.
 
 
Julianna