Senator Elizabeth Stefanics
IAL 11262018
New Mexico Attorney General Opinion
State of New Mexico Office of The Attorney General
November 26, 2018
HECTOR
H. BALDERAS ATTORNEY GENERAL
Senator
Elizabeth Stefanics
New
Mexico State Senate
P. O.
Box 720
Cerrillos,
NM 87010
Re:
Opinion request - Use of volunteers at the New Mexico State
Board of Nursing
Dear
Senator Stefanics:
You
requested an Attorney General opinion regarding use of
volunteer committee members at the New Mexico State Board of
Nursing (the "Board"). More specifically, you
asked:
1) Are
volunteers covered under the liability policies for the State
of New Mexico when reviewing complaints and making
recommendations for a disciplinary charge against licensed
RN, LPH, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered Nurse
Anesthetist, or Medication Aide?
2) Are
volunteers making site visits for the purposes of approval of
nursing programs, both State and proprietary, appropriate
given the proprietary nature of the information involved?
3) Are
volunteer advisory committees and the complaint committee
subject to the Open Meetings Act in the State of New Mexico
including access to minutes?
Based
on our examination of the relevant New Mexico statutes, case
law authorities, Board policies, and the information
available to us at this time, we conclude:
1) It
is likely that a court would find that a volunteer, appointed
by the Nursing Board to serve on one of its committees, is a
public employee, as defined by the Tort Claims Act, working
within the scope of his/her duties and therefore this
volunteer would be covered by the liability policies of the
State of New Mexico.
2)
State law allows volunteers, appointed by the Nursing Board
to serve on one of its committees, to make site visits for
the purposes of approval of nursing programs.
3) The
Open Meetings Act, and the requirement of minutes, is
applicable only if a quorum of the...