Public Act 098-0837
 
SB2998 EnrolledLRB098 19576 ZMM 54766 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Nurse Practice Act is amended by changing
Section 65-5 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 65/65-5)   (was 225 ILCS 65/15-10)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2018)
    Sec. 65-5. Qualifications for APN licensure.
    (a) Each applicant who successfully meets the requirements
of this Section shall be entitled to licensure as an advanced
practice nurse.
    (b) An applicant for licensure to practice as an advanced
practice nurse must do each of the following:
        (1) Submit a completed application and any fees as
    established by the Department.
        (2) Hold a current license to practice as a registered
    professional nurse under this Act.
        (3) Have successfully completed requirements to
    practice as, and holds and maintains a current, national
    certification as, a nurse midwife, clinical nurse
    specialist, nurse practitioner, or certified registered
    nurse anesthetist from the appropriate national certifying
    body as determined by rule of the Department.
        (4) Have obtained a graduate degree appropriate for
    national certification in a clinical advanced practice
    nursing specialty or a graduate degree or post-master's
    certificate from a graduate level program in a clinical
    advanced practice nursing specialty.
        (5) Have not violated the provisions of this Act
    concerning the grounds for disciplinary action. The
    Department may take into consideration any felony
    conviction of the applicant, but such a conviction may not
    operate as an absolute bar to licensure.
        (6) Submit to the criminal history records check
    required under Section 50-35 of this Act.
    (b-5) A registered professional nurse seeking licensure as
an advanced practice nurse in the category of certified
registered nurse anesthetist who does not have a graduate
degree as described in subsection (b) of this Section shall be
qualified for licensure if that person:
        (1) submits evidence of having successfully completed
    a nurse anesthesia program described in item (4) of
    subsection (b) of this Section prior to January 1, 1999;
        (2) submits evidence of certification as a registered
    nurse anesthetist by an appropriate national certifying
    body; and
        (3) has continually maintained active, up-to-date
    recertification status as a certified registered nurse
    anesthetist by an appropriate national recertifying body.
    (b-10) The Department shall issue a certified registered
nurse anesthetist license to an APN who (i) does not have a
graduate degree, (ii) applies for licensure before July 1,
2018, and (iii) submits all of the following to the Department:
        (1) His or her current State registered nurse license
    number.
        (2) Proof of current national certification, which
    includes the completion of an examination from either of
    the following:
            (A) the Council on Certification of the American
        Association of Nurse Anesthetists; or
            (B) the Council on Recertification of the American
        Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
        (3) Proof of the successful completion of a post-basic
    advanced practice formal education program in the area of
    nurse anesthesia prior to January 1, 1999.
        (4) His or her complete work history for the 5-year
    period immediately preceding the date of his or her
    application.
        (5) Verification of licensure as an advanced practice
    nurse from the state in which he or she was originally
    licensed, current state of licensure, and any other state
    in which he or she has been actively practicing as an
    advanced practice nurse within the 5-year period
    immediately preceding the date of his or her application.
    If applicable, this verification must state:
            (A) the time during which he or she was licensed in
        each state, including the date of the original issuance
        of each license; and
            (B) any disciplinary action taken or pending
        concerning any nursing license held, currently or in
        the past, by the applicant.
        (6) The required fee.
    (c) Those applicants seeking licensure in more than one
advanced practice nursing specialty need not possess multiple
graduate degrees. Applicants may be eligible for licenses for
multiple advanced practice nurse licensure specialties,
provided that the applicant (i) has met the requirements for at
least one advanced practice nursing specialty under paragraphs
(3) and (5) of subsection (a) of this Section, (ii) possesses
an additional graduate education that results in a certificate
for another clinical advanced practice nurse specialty and that
meets the requirements for the national certification from the
appropriate nursing specialty, and (iii) holds a current
national certification from the appropriate national
certifying body for that additional advanced practice nursing
specialty.
    (d) Any person who holds a valid license as an advanced
practice nurse issued under this Act as this Act existed before
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General
Assembly shall be subject only to the advanced practice nurse
license renewal requirements of this Act as this Act exists on
and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th
General Assembly upon the expiration of that license.
(Source: P.A. 95-639, eff. 10-5-07; 96-189, eff. 8-10-09.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2015