On February 17, 2026, Public Law Chapter 540 “An Act to Address Maine’s Health Care Workforce Shortage and Improve Access to Care” was enacted authorizing the State Board of Nursing to modernize current licensing requirements by establishing practice standards including the length of time a certified nurse practitioner must practice as an advanced practice registered nurse; any requirements for employment by a clinic or hospital that has a supervising nurse practitioner within the clinic or hospital serving in a mentorship role to a certified nurse practitioner; and any other factors determined necessary by the board.
The original proposed amendments to Chapter 8 included updating language for standardization, formatting, adding definitions, updating requirements for initial approval, adding practice standards for mentorship by a certified nurse practitioner, updating the requirement of evidence of an active RN license throughout licensure as an advanced practice registered nurse and updating requirements relating to temporary approval to practice pending certification.
On September 2-3, 2026, the Board reviewed prior submitted comments on the initial proposed amendment and chose to make additional changes to include the exception for a supervisory mentorship with a physician and updating the time required for clinical practice for a nurse practitioner under the exception section to reflect the same 1-year clinical practice requirement noted in Section 2(2)(A).
Please see attached document for full details. Comments are due by November 7, 2026, at 4:30pm.