The panel agreed to exempt the revolving fund of the Commonwealth Board Nurse Examiners from the suspension of earmarked funds identified by the fiscal year 2009 budget bill.
The board will be allowed to recruit an executive director and additional employees needed to generate additional revenues for the CNMI government.
Even though foreign nurses may take the National Council Licensure Examination in places such as the Philippines, applicants must still get approval from a U.S. nursing board before taking the exam.
“This creates the potential for the CNMI to generate revenues,” the committee stated.
Revenues generated in processing the applicants’ documents on island amounts to $100,000 in the last fiscal year, which ended last Sept. 30.
The committee said there is a potential for as much as $1 million in annual revenues from the program if it will be properly manned.
The committee also noted that there are local nurse practitioners who have not received relief from the salary cap restriction.
Raising additional revenues should allow these employees to get pay raises, the committee stated.
All nursing graduates are required to get a certification from a nursing board in any U.S. jurisdiction before they can take the NCLEX.
Currently, the CNMI nursing board charges $110 for each certification and $50 per renewal.
