§457-5 Duties and powers of board. (a) In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the board may:

(1) Adopt, amend, or repeal rules, pursuant to chapter 91, not inconsistent with the law, as may be necessary to enable it to carry into effect this chapter, including the definition of the scope of practice of nursing and the delegation of nursing tasks based upon professional nursing standards, which include but are not limited to the standards set forth by national certifying bodies recognized by the board;

(2) Prescribe standards for preparing persons for licensure as practical nurses, registered nurses, and advanced practice registered nurses under this chapter;

(3) Conduct surveys of educational programs as it may deem necessary and practical;

(4) Approve educational programs that meet the requirements of this chapter and the rules of the board;

(5) Deny or withdraw approval of educational programs for failure to meet or maintain the standards prescribed in this chapter;

(6) License qualified applicants by examination or endorsement, including advanced practice registered nurses, and renew, reinstate, reactivate, and restore licenses and shall conduct an investigation of the qualified applicant's background, character, competency, and integrity, as the board deems appropriate. The board shall:

(A) Request, beginning July 1, 2017, the criminal history records of qualified applicants, in accordance with section 846-2.7; and

(B) Request the criminal history records, pursuant to section 846-2.7, of licensees who were issued licenses by the board prior to July 1, 2017;

provided that the board shall request criminal history records under this paragraph not less than once for each individual qualified applicant or licensee; provided further that all requests for criminal history records required for licensees issued a license by the board prior to July 1, 2017, shall be made by the board no later than July 1, 2023. The Hawaii criminal justice data center shall provide the information on request to the director of commerce and consumer affairs;

(7) Conduct hearings upon request of a denied applicant or upon charges calling for discipline of a licensee;

(8) Exercise the power to issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of witnesses, and administer oaths to persons giving testimony at hearings;

(9) Cause the prosecution of all persons violating this chapter and incur necessary expenses therefor;

(10) Keep a record of all its proceedings;

(11) Provide consultation, conduct conferences, forums, studies, and research on nursing education and practice;

(12) Communicate with national organizations that promote the improvement of the legal standards of practice of nursing for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare;

(13) Authorize the administration of examinations to eligible applicants for licensure as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses, or other examinations required by the board as designated in its rules;

(14) Employ, contract, and cooperate, to the extent allowable by law, with any board-approved organization in the preparation and grading of an appropriate nationally uniform examination; provided the board shall retain sole discretion and responsibility for determining the standard of successful completion of such an examination. When such a national examination is used, access to questions and answers shall be restricted by the board; and

(15) Develop and adopt rules as necessary relating to the practice of nursing in telehealth.

(b) The board shall monitor and evaluate the scope of the practice of nursing in other states and make recommendations to the legislature, when deemed desirable, for appropriate amendment to the definitions under section 457-2 and any other provision of this chapter. [L 1970, c 71, pt of §1; am L 1981, c 57, §2; am L 1983, c 119, §3; am L 1984, c 182, §2; am L 1985, c 255, §5; am L 1992, c 202, §107; am L 1995, c 88, §1; am L 2000, c 9, §2; am L 2014, c 46, §6; am L 2016, c 97, §2]