The number of applicants in Arizona that applied for nursing licenses or certificates between 1995 and 2008 increased by 1400%. The sheer volume of nursing applicants caused the Arizona Legislature to take action and create Senate Bill 1096 (“SB1096”) that bars nursing applicants from certification and licensure if they have prior felony convictions. However, the felony bar is lifted five years after their felony sentencing has been completed successfully.
Through this bill, the Arizona Board of Nursing (“Board”) may initiate disciplinary proceedings to revoke their application, renewal or reactivation against nurses who failed to disclose a felony conviction. SB1096 also give the Department of Public Safety the right to finger print nurses in order to obtain any state or federal criminal history on the person. The reasoning behind a five year bar from nursing is to allow the individual enough time to prove they are safe to practice, in addition to, handling restitution issues with their victim(s) resulting from their felony conviction.
In 2010 the state of Arizona made a slight change to SB1096 and Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) § 13-604(A). The change allows the Board to treat an undesignated offense that occurs/occurred after 23 July 2010 as a felony until the court actually enters an order designating the offense a misdemeanor.
If you have questions regarding how a past or present felony conviction can affect your status with the Arizona Board of Nursing contact us today.
