PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD
OF NURSING
[49 PA. CODE CH. 21]
Continuing Education Fee for Certified Registered Nurse Practitioners
[37 Pa.B. 1035]
[Saturday, March 3, 2007]The State Board of Nursing (Board) proposes to amend § 21.253 (relating to fees) to read as set forth in Annex A. Section 21.253 is amended by setting an application fee for approval of certified registered nurse practitioner (CRNP) continuing education courses.
Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Statutory Authority
The proposed rulemaking is authorized under sections 8.1(c) and 11.2(a) and (d) of the Professional Nursing Law (act) (63 P. S. §§ 218.1(c) and 221.2(a) and (d)).
Background and Purpose
Section 8.1 of the act requires each CRNP to complete, in the 2 years prior to CRNP certification renewal, at least 30 hours of continuing education approved by the Board. For a CRNP with prescriptive authority, the 30 hours of continuing education must include at least 16 hours in pharmacology. In initially promulgating regulations to implement CRNP continuing education in 2004, the Board preapproved continuing education courses offered by the following providers: Board-approved CRNP programs, the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and the American Medical Association. See § 21.334(a) (relating to sources of continuing education). Although the Board anticipated that these providers would develop and offer the vast majority of programs for CRNP continuing education, the Board also recognized that other entities would provide CRNP continuing education. Accordingly, by that rulemaking the Board also provided in § 21.334(b) that any other provider of CRNP continuing education could seek approval of its courses and in § 21.334(c) that an individual CRNP could seek approval of a continuing education course the CRNP intended to take. Section 21.336(b) (relating to continuing education course approval) provides that an applicant for approval of a CRNP continuing education course must pay the fee required by § 21.253. That section, however, did not set the fee.
Section 11.2(a) and (d) of the act requires the Board to set fees by regulation so that revenues meet or exceed expenditures over a biennial period. General operating expenses for enforcement of the act are funded through biennial license renewal fees. The various licensing boards of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (Bureau) attempt to recover expenses regarding services which are provided directly to individuals, such as applications, verification of licensure or provision of required review and approval, directly through fees in which the actual cost of providing the service forms the basis for the fee. Actual cost calculations are based upon the product of the average time necessary to perform the function and the pay rate for the classification of the personnel performing the function, together with a proportionate share of administrative overhead.
The Board now proposes to implement the fee necessary for an application for approval of CRNP continuing education courses offered by providers that are not on the preapproved provider list. In this proposed rulemaking, the fee for the service provided would be implemented to allocate costs to those who use the service or application.
Description of Proposed Amendment
Based on estimates provided by the Bureau's Revenue Office, the Board proposes a fee of $100 for approval of a CRNP continuing education course. The fee was calculated based on an estimate of the Board staff and resources that will be expended to review and approve a CRNP continuing education course.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking will have no adverse fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions. The fees will have a modest fiscal impact on members of the private sector who apply for services from the Board. The proposed rulemaking will impose no additional paperwork requirements upon the Commonwealth, political subdivisions or the private sector.
Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the cost effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, no sunset date has been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on February 21, 2007, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and to the Chairpersons of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and the House Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey any comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the rulemaking, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of comments, recommendations or objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, recommendations or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to Ann Steffanic, Board Administrator, State Board of Nursing, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 within 30 days following publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Reference No. 16A-5128 (CRNP CE course approval fee) when submitting comments.
MARY E. BOWEN, R. N., CRNP,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-5128. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 21. STATE BOARD OF NURSING
Subchapter C. CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE PRACTITIONERS
GENERAL PROVISIONS § 21.253. Fees.
The following fees are charged by the Board:
* * * * * Application for approval of CRNP continuing education course $100
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-350. Filed for public inspection March 2, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]
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