It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for a study of reporting mechanisms to the board so that it can identify methods of receiving timely information on nurses who may have violated this chapter. The California Research Bureau shall prepare and deliver a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2019, that evaluates to what extent employers voluntarily report disciplined nurses to the board and offers options for consistent and reasonable reporting mechanisms. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. (a) A review of existing mandatory reporting requirements that alert the board to nurses who may have violated this chapter.
2. (b) A review of existing laws permitting, prohibiting, encouraging, or discouraging voluntary reporting to the board.
3. (c) An analysis of the number of employer reports to the board, the number of those reports investigated by the board, and the final action taken by the board for each report.
4. (d) Employer reporting requirements of other boards within the department.
5. (e) Nursing reporting requirements of other states.