N.M. Stat. Ann. § 61-3-10
History: 1953 Comp., § 67-2-7, enacted by Laws 1968, ch. 44, § 7; 1977, ch. 220, § 4; 1991, ch. 190, § 6; 1997, ch. 244, § 6; 2003, ch. 276, § 4; 2003, ch. 307, § 7; 2022, ch. 39, § 14; 2025, ch. 101, § 4.
The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, required the board of nursing to promulgate a rule creating a retired registered nurse license category and rules establishing standards for the use of artificial intelligence in nursing, required the board of nursing to ensure that New Mexico nursing data collected by the board is owned by the board, to develop and maintain a system that assists all schools of nursing with the coordination of pre-licensure clinical placements, to provide the option for a single or multistate license for nurses applying for a first-time license or upon renewal of a license, authorized the board to designate an inactive reserve category for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses for activation during an emergency, and made technical amendments; in Subsection G added "shall" preceding "conduct hearings"; in Subsection O, after "licensed practical nurses" added the remainder of the subsection; in Subsections Q and S, added "certified" preceding "clinical nurse specialists"; and added Subsections U through Y.
The 2022 amendment, effective May 18, 2022, provided that the board of nursing is subject to the provisions of the State Rules Act for promulgating rules and to the Uniform Licensing Act for licensing and disciplinary matters, required the board of nursing to determine by rule, and to post on its website, which states and territories of the United States or the District of Columbia from which the board will not accept an applicant for expedited licensure and those foreign countries from which the board will accept an applicant for expedited licensure, required that the list of disapproved licensing jurisdictions include a reason for disapproval, and required the board to review the lists annually to determine if amendments to the rule are needed; in Subsection A, after "shall", deleted "adopt and revise such" and added "promulgate", and after "rules", deleted "and regulations" and added "in accordance with the State Rules Act"; redesignated former Subsections G through R as Subsections H through S, respectively; in Subsection G, added "conduct hearings upon charges related to an applicant or discipline of a licensee"; in Subsection H, after "prosecution of", deleted "all", after "persons", deleted "including firms, associations, institutions and corporations", and after "is necessary", deleted "therefor" and added "for the prosecution"; and added Subsection T.
Temporary provisions. — Laws 2022, ch. 39, § 104 provided that a board that is required by Laws 2022, ch. 39 to change its licensing provisions to allow for new or different expedited licensure shall have rules in place and operational by January 1, 2023.
2003 Amendments. — Laws 2003, ch. 307, § 7, effective January 1, 2004, substituted "if" for "provided that" following "prescribed standards" near the end of Subsection D; inserted "or nurse not licensed to practice in New Mexico who is permitted to practice professional registered nursing or licensed practical nursing in New Mexico pursuant to a multistate licensure privilege as provided in the Nurse Licensure Compact" following "discipline of a licensee" near the middle of Subsection F; and added a new Subsection Q and redesignated former Subsection Q as Subsection R.
Laws 2003, ch. 276, § 4, effective June 20, 2003, at the end of Subsection Q inserted "and certified registered nurse anesthetists".
The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, substituted "who" for "and" preceding "shall define" in Subsection J, added "and shall study methods of monitoring continuing competence" at the end of Subsection L, substituted "license qualified" for "endorse the qualifications of" at the beginning of Subsection P, and added Subsection Q.
The 1991 amendment, effective June 14, 1991, substituted "educational" for "education" in Subsections D and L; substituted "at least one member who is a board member and at least two members" for "at least three members" in Subsection M; added Subsections O and P; and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection J and a related stylistic change in Subsection M.
Volunteers for the board of nursing would likely be covered under the liability policies for the state of New Mexico. — The New Mexico Tort Claims Act explicitly contemplates that volunteers acting on behalf of the government may be considered public employees subject to its protections and to its waivers of those protections, 41-4-3(F)(3) NMSA 1978, and therefore, volunteers charged with reviewing complaints and making recommendations to the nursing board regarding potential disciplinary action against licensees would likely be deemed public employees acting on behalf or in service of a governmental entity, and liability policies of the state of New Mexico likely would cover negligent acts by these volunteers. Use of Volunteers at the New Mexico State Board of Nursing (11/26/18), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2018-09.
The nursing board's use of volunteer committee members to assist the board in the approval of nursing programs does not violate the law. — The Nursing Practice Act provides that the nursing board is authorized to prescribe standards and approve curricula for educational programs preparing persons for licensure under the Nursing Practice Act and is authorized to appoint advisory committees consisting of at least one member who is a board member and at least two members expert in the pertinent field of health care to assist it in the performance of its duties, and the New Mexico board of nursing employee policies set forth qualifications of committee members for each of the board's advisory committees. The board of nursing's practice of allowing volunteer committee members to make site visits for the purpose of assisting the board in approval of nursing programs, therefore, appears to comply with the law and is appropriate based on the required qualifications of the committee members. Use of Volunteers at the New Mexico State Board of Nursing (11/26/18), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2018-09.
Applicability of the Open Meetings Act to volunteer nursing board advisory committees. — The Open Meetings Act, 10-15-1 to 10-15-4 NMSA 1978, applies to a quorum of members of any board or commission or other policy making body of any state agency held for the purpose of formulating public policy or taking any action within the authority of, or the delegated authority of, any board or commission or other policymaking body, and therefore, meetings of a volunteer advisory committee appointed by the nursing board to provide advice and recommendations to the nursing board on various topics would not implicate the Open Meetings Act, unless the advisory committee includes among its members a quorum of the nursing board, in which case the committee meeting would need to be noticed as a public meeting and the minutes would need to be taken, and any minutes that are taken must be open to public access. Use of Volunteers at the New Mexico State Board of Nursing (11/26/18), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2018-09.
Duplicate certificate. — The board could establish regulations for issuing a duplicate certificate, but no fee could be charged therefor. 1966 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-99.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 70 C.J.S. Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Health-Care Providers §§ 22 to 24.