81R14137 CBE-D

By: King of Taylor H.R. No. 947

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The Texas Board of Nursing has worked to protect and promote the welfare of Texans for 100 years; and

WHEREAS, On March 13, 1909, Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell signed into law the Nurses Registration Act, establishing the Board of Nurse Examiners, and during the board's first regular meeting later that year, more than 200 applications for nurse registration were considered and approved; and

WHEREAS, Licensed vocational nurses became regulated in the 1950s with the establishment of the Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners, and regulation of advanced practice nursing began in 1980; the Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners eventually merged with the Board of Nurse Examiners, which became the Texas Board of Nursing in 2007; and

WHEREAS, The board was granted authority over nursing education early on and instituted a requirement that applicants for nurse licensure be graduates of an accredited school approved by the board; in 1950, Texas began using the State Board Test Pool Examination to ensure that Texas nursing graduates were competent to practice in the field, and in 1982, the board adopted the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses; in addition to licensure examinations, the board conducts criminal background checks on all currently licensed Texas nurses, as well as candidates for nurse licensure; and

WHEREAS, Nurses are the second largest group of licensed professionals in the United States, and Texas alone is home to nearly 86,000 licensed vocational nurses and more than 210,000 registered nurses, including nearly 13,000 with advanced practice approval; the state's membership in both the Nurse Licensure Compact and the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Multi-State Compact permits Texas nurses to practice on a temporary basis in other signatory states and their nurses to practice on a temporary basis in Texas; and

WHEREAS, For a century, the Texas Board of Nursing has provided vital services in behalf of the state's residents, and it is indeed fitting to recognize this noteworthy organization on the occasion of its centennial year; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Texas Board of Nursing and extend to board members and all others associated with it sincere gratitude for their hard work and dedication; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the Texas Board of Nursing as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.