Policy Implemented This Spring Results in New Costs for Certification and Renewals
New fees implemented this spring by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) include some substantial increases for nurse practitioners, including a hike of more than 200 percent for the cost of an application for NP certification.
That’s just one of more than 30 fee increases regarding initial applications, renewals and other services.
The changes were prompted by the adoption of Senate Bill 1039 of 2016, which imposed new statutory fee ranges and required the BRN to set fees within the prescribed ranges. The bill was the result of an audit that the board underwent to determine whether the board was charging appropriate fees to conduct its business at an adequate service level to provide public protection. According to the BRN, the audit found that the board had not been charging enough fees for many areas and has not been collecting enough fees to support increased enforcement efforts.
Changes impacting nurse practitioners include increases of:
- $350 in the cost of an application for NP certification (from $150 to $500)
- $100 in the cost of a temporary NP certification (from $50 to $150)
- $150 in the cost of biennial NP certification renewal (which previously carried no fee)
As SB 1039 was working its way through the legislative process, an analysis by the Assembly Appropriations Committee estimated the new fees would generate $23 million per year in revenue. The BRN states these funds will be used to support and improve many of the services it provides, “including, but not limited to: the call center, cashiering, license renewals, licensee support, initial licensing, administrative support, legislation, contracting, social media and public records act requests.”