Board told statutory fix needed before nursing regulation updates; proposal would restore commissioner role in school approvals

The Department of Public Health told the Connecticut Board of Nursing that a statutory revision is required before the board can submit a package of updated nursing regulations.

DPH attorney Ryan Burns said the department identified a gap created by a prior statutory change that removed commissioner involvement in school approvals. Burns said DPH staff believe some commissioner authority is still legally necessary and the department plans to seek a legislative fix before filing the regulations. “Back a few years ago, there was a change in the statutes that removed the commissioner from the school approval process…we identified an issue with the statutes that needs to be corrected,” Burns said.

Why it matters: Board members have spent months drafting modernizations to the nursing regulations. Burns told the board he is reluctant to submit a regulatory package that depends on a statute the department intends to revise, because the regulations refer to that statute and may need edits after the legislative result.

Timeline and process: Burns described the schedule the governor’s office uses to collect departmental legislative proposals: departments are collecting proposals through mid‑October, packages are reviewed by the governor’s policy office, then submitted to the legislature before the January session. Burns said if the item is uncontroversial it could proceed quickly, but he expected several months and likely an outcome toward the end of the legislative session. “This will go several months through the legislative process and most likely toward the end of the legislative session…you’ll see whatever’s gonna happen with that proposal,” he said.

Board concerns and scope: Board members asked for clarity on exactly what the commissioner’s restored role would include. Burns and chair Gina Reiner emphasized the proposed change would be limited to school‑approval authority and was meant to provide a non‑participant check on licensing decisions to strengthen decisions against legal challenge. “One is to make sure that there’s always two decision makers that are looking at something…so it gives more strength to those decisions,” Burns said. Several members expressed concern that involving the commissioner could introduce political influence into school approvals; Burns and others replied the intent is to provide procedural protection and legal defensibility, not to override the board’s authority.

Model rules and next steps: Board members asked staff to incorporate the latest National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) model rules for regulating nursing programs into the regs-drafting process; board member Cindy Arpin volunteered to share recent NCSBN materials with DPH. DPH said it will continue to draft the proposed regulations but will not submit them to the regulatory review process until the statutory amendment is settled.

Ending: DPH will circulate the draft statutory language and continue to consult with board members. Burns invited board members to coordinate outside the meeting on legislative strategy and asked the board to await the department’s submission of final language before organized outreach.