Could Louisiana's practical-nurse board use the national licensing exam and stay in an association that lobbied?

Plain-English summary

Louisiana's State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners had contracted with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to use its national practical-nurse licensing exam. The board asked whether it could remain a member of that organization when the organization also engaged in activities such as lobbying outside the board's regulatory mission. In Opinion 03-0018, the Attorney General said the exam contract served a lawful purpose and that he found no state law preventing the board from contracting with or remaining a member of the council on those facts.

The AG did not require the board to retain the relationship. He said renewal of the contract and continuation of membership were choices for the board. His answer concerned the board's authority to contract and belong to the organization; it did not assess particular lobbying acts by the national council.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Practical-nurse licensing board members

The AG read the board's power to examine and license qualified applicants as supporting a contract to use the national practical-nurse examination. He said the fact that the exam provider also spent resources on other activities did not create a state-law prohibition on the board's contract or membership that he could identify.

Applicants and public contract officers

The opinion addressed the board's authority to obtain and use the exam, not an applicant's individual eligibility. It described the exam arrangement as a contract with a lawful purpose and referred to the Civil Code definition and requirements for a valid contract.

Common questions

Q: Could the board contract for a national practical-nurse licensing exam? A: The AG said yes. He treated using the exam as a lawful purpose connected to the board's authority to examine and license applicants.

Q: Did the provider association's lobbying make board membership unlawful? A: The AG said he found no state law preventing the board from keeping the contract or membership even though the association used resources for activities beyond supplying the exam.

Q: Did the AG tell the board to renew its membership? A: No. He said whether to renew the contract or maintain membership was the board's decision.

Background and statutory framework

The request came from the board's executive director, Claire Doody Glaviano. The opinion cited R.S. 37:969 for the board's authority to examine and license qualified applicants, R.S. 37:977 concerning fees, and Civil Code Art. 1906 for the meaning of a contract. The PDF's February date stamp is OCR-damaged, so the exact issue date is left blank.

Citations and references

Authorities in the opinion: R.S. 37:969; R.S. 37:977; Civil Code Art. 1906. The opinion also cited a court decision in its contract discussion; this page does not rely on it for a separate holding.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0018

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

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One American Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P,O Box 94005
CIVIL DIVISION
TEL.: (504~ 342-7013
FAX: (S04) 342-2090
BATON ROUGE
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9095
ATTORNEY GENERAL
FEB .] 8 2003
OPINION NUMBER 03-0018

Ms. Claire Doody Glaviano
Executive Director, 75-A NURSES
LA State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners The LA State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners has lawfully entered into a contract with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing for 3421 North Causeway Boulevard, Suite 203 use of the national exam for practical nurses.
Metairie, Louisiana 70002-3711

Dear Ms. Glaviano:

Your request for an Attorney General’s opinion in regard to membership of the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners ("LSBPNE") in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing ("NCSBN") will be addressed herein. As we understand the issue, the LSBPNE has a contractual agreement with the NCSBN in order to utilize the national examination for practical nurses, called the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses®. The LSBPNE has concern over whether or not they should maintain membership in the NCSBN when the NCSBN participates in activities, such as lobbying, which are outside the scope of regulation and not within the mission of the LSBPNE.

The LSBPNE is created by state law and possesses the power to examine and license qualified applicants, as follows:

A. The board shall:

(3) Examine and license qualified applicants, and renew licenses; and

B. The board may:

(4)(b) Charge and collect from an applicant for any license or permit which the board is authorized to issue, including permission to enroll as a student in nursing courses, in addition to all other applicable fees and costs, such amount as may be incurred by the board in requesting and obtaining criminal history record information on the applicant.

R.S. 37:969.

It is our opinion that the LSBPNE has clear authority to examine and license qualified applicants for practical nurses and may charge a fee to do so, within the guidelines of R.S. 37:977. Further, the LSBPNE may contract under general law

Ms. Claire Doody Glaviano
Opinion Number 03-0018
Page -2-

with the NCSBN in order to utilize the national licensure exam for practical nurses. "A contract is an agreement by two or more parties whereby obligations are created, modified, or extinguished." Civil Code Art. 1906. For a contract to be valid, the parties must possess the capacity to contract, freely give their mutual consent, have an object certain for the contract, and have a lawful purpose to the contract. Wallace v. Shreve Memorial Library, C.A.5 (La.)1996, 79 F.3d 427, certified question denied 96-0792 (La. 5/17/96), 673 So.2d 602, appeal decided 97 F.3d 746.

The object of the contract between LSBPNE and NCSBN is for the use of the national exam for practical nurses, which is a lawful purpose between two parties with the capacity to contract and who have obviously freely given their mutual consent to do so. We do not find any state law which prevents the LSBPNE from continuing to contract with the NCSBN, nor do we find a violation of any state law by LSBPNE for contracting with and maintaining a membership with NCSBN, even when the NCSBN uses its resources for purposes other than providing a national exam for practical nurses.

In sum, it is LSBPNE’s decision as to whether it chooses to renew its contract with NCSBN and/or maintain its membership in the organization, but there is no state law which would prevent same. If our office can be of further assistance, please advise.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB

,~N(~IE ’ROGERS LAPLACE
Assistant Attorney General

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