SF 5381

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 04/09/2024 09:35am

A bill for an act
relating to workforce development and higher education; establishing the Center
for Nursing Equity and Excellence at the University of Minnesota; appropriating
money for the Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence at the University of
Minnesota; requiring a report.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. CENTER FOR NURSING EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE.

Subdivision 1.

Establishment.

The Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence is
established within the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Minnesota State
Colleges and Universities, to address nursing workforce needs, including issues of health
equity, recruitment, retention, and utilization of nursing workforce resources that are within
the current scope of the practice of nurses.

Subd. 2.

Duties.

The center shall:

(1) develop a strategic statewide plan for nursing workforce supply based on a detailed
analysis of workforce needs by conducting a statistically valid biennial data-driven gap
analysis of the supply and demand of the health care workforce. The center shall:

(i) establish and maintain a database on nursing supply and demand in the state, including
current supply and demand; and

(ii) analyze the current and future supply and demand in the state;

(2) establish and maintain a database on nursing workforce needs, including current data
and future projections;

(3) develop recommendations to increase nurse faculty and clinical preceptors, support
nurse faculty development, and promote advanced nurse education;

(4) develop best practices in the academic preparation and continuing education needs
of qualified nurse educators, nurse faculty, and clinical preceptors;

(5) collect data on nurse faculty, employment, distribution, and retention;

(6) pilot innovative projects to support the recruitment, development, and retention of
qualified nurse faculty and clinical preceptors;

(7) encourage and coordinate the development of academic practice partnerships,
including partnerships with hospitals that provide opportunities for nursing students to
obtain clinical experience to support nurse faculty employment and advancement;

(8) develop distance learning infrastructure for advancing faculty competencies in the
pedagogy of teaching and the evidence-based use of technology, simulation, and distance
learning techniques;

(9) enhance and promote recognition, reward, and renewal activities for nurses in the
state by:

(i) promoting nursing excellence programs such as magnet recognition by the American
Nurses Credentialing Center;

(ii) proposing and creating additional reward, recognition, and renewal activities for
nurses; and

(iii) promoting media and positive image-building efforts for nursing; and

(10) routinely convene various groups representative of nurses, health care professionals,
business and industry consumers, lawmakers, and educators to:

(i) review and comment on data analysis prepared for the center;

(ii) recommend systemic changes, including strategies for implementation of
recommended changes; and

(iii) evaluate and report the results of these efforts to the legislature and other entities.

Subd. 3.

Board of Nursing.

(a) The Board of Nursing shall include on its initial and
renewal application forms a request for each applicant to voluntarily contribute to funding
the Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence, in addition to paying the fees imposed at the
time of licensure and licensure renewal. Revenues collected from contributions over and
above the required fees shall be transferred to the University of Minnesota, working in
collaboration with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and shall be used solely to
support and maintain the goals and functions of the center. Before giving a nurse the
opportunity to contribute to funding the center at the time of licensure renewal, the Board
of Nursing shall provide the nurse with a summary of the center's work and a link to the
center's website.

(b) The center may request from the Board of Nursing, and the board must provide to
the center upon its request, any information held by the board regarding nurses licensed in
this state or information reported to the board by employers of such nurses, other than
personal identifying information.

Subd. 4.

Report.

Beginning in 2025, by no later than January 15 of each year, the center
shall submit a report to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the
legislative committees having jurisdiction over higher education, health care, and workforce
development, providing details of the center's activities during the preceding calendar year
in pursuit of its goals and in the execution of its duties.

Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA; THE CENTER FOR
NURSING EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE.

$250,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the Board of
Regents of the University of Minnesota to perform the duties required to establish and carry
out the duties of the Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence.