Committee endorses nursing-board reforms after days-long debate on expungement and timelines

The Special Committee on Health and Human Services voted to give House Bill 2408 a do-pass recommendation after adopting the Bliss Amendment (02/11/2026), advancing a set of reforms to the Arizona State Board of Nursing that supporters say will speed investigations and allow eligible nurses to petition to have certain disciplinary actions expunged.

Sponsor Representative Willoughby said the measure is intended to “hold the board accountable” after repeated audit findings and to give nurses a path to move past unrelated, old convictions or incidents. She described the expungement provision as discretionary — a petition the board may grant after meeting set conditions.

The bill as amended sets investigation timeframes, requires complaint triage and transfer to other oversight bodies where appropriate, and narrows personal liability for board members and staff to cases of reckless, malicious or willful conduct.

Board officials and patient-safety advocates strongly opposed key parts of the measure at the committee hearing. Carolyn McCormies, president of the Arizona State Board of Nursing, told committee members HB2408 “fundamentally undermines this mission by shifting the focus from patient safety to practitioner protection,” and raised alarms about a provision she said would raise the evidentiary standard for discipline from a preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence. “Requiring a higher burden here would make it significantly harder to intervene before patient harm escalates,” McCormies said.

McCormies also warned that expungement could hide prior unsafe behavior and create mismatches with federal records, complicating employers’ and regulators’ ability to detect patterns of misconduct.

Several nurses who testified described long delays in adjudication. Jeriann Morgan, an RN with 45 years’ experience, said a retaliatory complaint filed in July 2023 remained unresolved 28 months later and left her with little communication from the board. “The excessive delay in resolving complaints is unfair and harsh,” she said, urging lawmakers to back reforms that impose timelines and triage mechanisms.

Chelsea Valdez, an active nurse, said a 2014 disciplinary action that she said was not related to patient safety continues to block professional advancement; she urged lawmakers to allow the expungement pathway for nurses who meet the bill’s eligibility criteria.

Ajani, the bill explainer, and other witnesses told the committee the board has not had the staff capacity to keep pace with a sharp rise in complaints. McCormies said the board seeks 28 new FTEs and noted the board receives roughly 5,000 complaints a year and opens about 3,500 investigations; she and others said some complex cases legitimately take longer than 180 days to resolve.

Committee members split over the measure. Opponents argued the bill could create loopholes that allow bad actors to evade scrutiny, while supporters said timeliness and due-process protections are necessary. After recorded roll call, the committee returned HB2408 as amended with a 7–4–1 vote (7 ayes, 4 nays, 1 present).

The bill will move to the next step of the legislative process where floor consideration and additional amendments remain possible.