Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 18, 2007: AGO 2007-00236 (May 18, 2007)

Advisory Opinion Text

Tina Mabry MS, APRN BC, FNP

President

Mississippi Board of Nursing

c/o Rush Family Practice

P. O. Box 190

Lake, MS 39092

Re: Transient Vendor License Law

Dear Ms. Mabry:

Attorney General Hood has received your request for an official opinion and has assigned it to me for research and response. Your letter states:

We are currently seeking an Executive Director for the BON and according to Section 73-15-17(m) of the Mississippi Code of 1972 , amended, the Executive Director must meet specific criteria plus all of the qualifications of a Board member. Section 73-15-15(2) of the Mississippi Code of 1972 , as amended, also states that each registered nurse Board member must be currently registered to practice as a registered nurse in Mississippi and have been employed for at least the past 3 years as a RN in Mississippi.

This statute is very limiting as interpreted in that we will not be able to seek a candidate from outside the State of Mississippi. I have been advised to seek a formal Attorney General Opinion in this matter from my Board members. May we seek out of state applicants?

Section 73-15-17(m) , as you cited in your letter, states, in relevant part:

The executive director shall meet all the qualifications for board members, and shall in addition:

(i) Have had at least a master's degree in nursing, eight (8) years experience as a registered nurse., five (5) of which shall be in teaching or in administration, or a combination thereof; and

(ii) Have been actively engaged in nursing for at least five (5) years immediately preceding appointment.

Subsection (1) Section 73-15-15 of the Miss. Code Ann. (1972) sets out the qualifications that are required of all board members, and states in pertinent part :

(1) Each board member shall be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the State of Mississippi…

By reading the provisions of Sections 73-15-17(m) and 73-15-15 , giving both their common and ordinary meaning, we opine that the Executive Director of the Board of Nursing must be a Mississippi resident. Moreover, the Board of Nursing may seek out-of-state applicants, but such applicant must become a resident of this state before he can be hired as Executive Director.

Please contact our office if we may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Jim Hood, Attorney General

Margarette L. Meeks, Special Assistant Attorney General.