Bill Text: MS HB95 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Nursing home administrators; delete repealer on licensure requirements for and authorize board to conduct background checks.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-04-17 - Law W/out Governor's Signature [HB95 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2021-HB95-Comm_Sub.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Turner
House Bill 95
(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-17-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE BOARD OF NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATORS TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS CHECKS ON APPLICANTS FOR LICENSURE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE APPLICANT SHALL NOT BE CHARGED ANY OF THE COSTS OF OBTAINING THAT INFORMATION; TO DELETE THE DATE OF THE REPEALER ON THE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATORS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 73-17-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-17-11. (1) From and after July 1, 2011, in order to be eligible to be licensed as a nursing home administrator, an individual must submit evidence satisfactory to the board that he or she:
(a) Is at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
(b) Is of good moral character, including evidence of a criminal background check within the last six (6) months, under Section 43-11-13 and Section G.407.3 of the Minimum Standards for Institutions for the Aged or Infirm;
(c) Is in good health;
(d) Has satisfied at least one (1) of the following requirements for education and experience:
(i) Has sixty-four (64) hours of college work from an accredited institution and has worked in a supervisory capacity in a Mississippi-licensed nursing home for a minimum of two (2) years immediately before making application for the Administrator-in-Training Program established by board rule;
(ii) Has an associate degree from an accredited institution and has worked in a supervisory capacity in a Mississippi-licensed nursing home for a minimum of two (2) years immediately before making application for the Administrator-in-Training Program established by board rule;
(iii) Has a bachelor's degree in any other field of study from an accredited institution before making application for the Administrator-in-Training Program established by board rule; or
(iv) Has a bachelor's degree in health care administration or a health care related field or business from an accredited institution before making application for the Administrator-in-Training Program established by board rule;
(e) Has (i) completed a nursing home Administrator-in-Training Program and successfully completed the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Board (NAB) examination, or (ii) completed an Administrator-in-Training Program in Long-Term Care Administration from an academic institution during which time the institution held National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Board (NAB) Program Approval through the academic approval process, to the satisfaction of the board;
(f) Has successfully passed the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Board (NAB) examination and the Mississippi State Board of Nursing Home Administrators examination to test his or her proficiency and basic knowledge in the area of nursing home administration. The board may establish the frequency of the offering of those examinations and the contents thereof; and
(g) Has met all of the requirements established by federal law.
(2) The board is authorized to conduct a criminal history records check on applicants for licensure. In order to determine the applicant's suitability for licensing, the applicant shall be fingerprinted. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety for a check of the state criminal records and forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a check of the national criminal records. The Department of Public Safety shall disseminate the results of the state check and the national check to the board for a suitability determination. The applicant shall not be charged any of the costs of requesting and obtaining the state and national criminal history records information on the applicant.
( * * *3) Reciprocity shall be extended to
individuals holding licenses as nursing home administrators in other states,
upon proper application and a finding on the part of the board that:
(a) The applicant possesses the basic qualifications listed in this chapter and in the rules and regulations adopted under federal law;
(b) The applicant has met all of the requirements established by federal law; and
(c) The standards for licensure in the other states are at least the substantial equivalent of those in this state, including education and experience, and the applicant has passed both the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Board (NAB) and the state exams.
The issuance of a license by reciprocity to a military-trained applicant or military spouse shall be subject to the provisions of Section 73-50-1.
( * * *4) The board may prescribe appropriate
fees for the taking of those examinations and for the issuance of licenses.
Those fees shall be not more than the cost of the examinations and Five Hundred
Dollars ($500.00) for the issuance of a license. However, the fee for an
initial license may be prorated in proportion to the period of time from the
date of issuance and the date of biennial license renewal prescribed in
subsection (4). All licenses issued under this chapter shall be for a maximum
period of two (2) years.
( * * *5) Except as provided in
Section 33-1-39, the board may renew licenses biennially upon the
payment of a fee to be established by the board, which shall be not more than
Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), plus any administrative costs for late payment.
* * *
(6) Current licensure by the Department of Mental Health under Section 41-4-7(r) as a mental health/intellectual disability program administrator shall exempt the licensee from the requirement of licensure as a nursing home administrator if the licensee is employed in the state mental health system as Administrator of Intermediate Care Facility or Facilities for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/ID) no larger than sixteen (16) beds.
* * *
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.
