(Sept. 9, 2025) – Yesterday, the House Select Committee on Government Oversight, chaired by Representative Kristey Williams (R-Augusta), continued discussions on the topic of the Kansas Board of Nursing.

In the morning, the committee reviewed questions from previous meetings with staff of the Kansas Board of Nursing. In the afternoon, the committee heard from public conferees about personal experiences with the licensure processes. At the end of the day, a list of recommendations was made for the 2026 legislature to consider. These recommendations included:

• Updating statutes to include a three-month grace period and allowing the grace period to be considered licensed
• Providing for a requirement that the board provide to licensees digital notification 90, 60, 30,14 and seven days before the renewal deadline, and notification when the license is successfully renewed
• Updates to the statutes that would require some of the board members to be selected by the legislature, including performance measures
• Updates to statutes indicating that if a nurse prevails in the appeals process or isn't found in compliance by the board, they would be entitled to compensation for attorney fees and continuation of care plans will be required while licenses are suspended
• Considering the statutory requirements of changing the annual report to include that legislative committees review and consider performance measures
• Requiring attorneys to inform nurses of the databases on which they will be listed if they sign a consent agreement, and only allowing consent agreements to be sought if clinical or willful misconduct is proven
• Creating a separate statutory category for lapsed licenses that is not considered professional misconduct.
• Considering a statute of limitations to preclude the reopening of cases where consent agreements were signed
• A legislative review of the Kansas Nurse Assistance Program
• Restitution for previously affected cases and retroactive application for nurses to have the unprofessional conduct label removed in some instances
• Consideration of legislative review of diversion agreements
• The ability of the legislature to create a tracking status of complaints against the board

The committee approved submitting a resolution highlighting the work of the committee and concerns expressed with current processes, along with official recommendations for the 2026 legislature to consider.