St. Thomas — The Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure briefed senators on its FY2026 request Thursday, saying the agency needs additional support to expand testing, finish a records‑scanning effort and prepare for possible changes tied to multistate licensure.

Executive Director Carmen Van de Poele Romney told the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance the board’s FY2026 general fund request is $846,078. The agency reported year‑to‑date revenue of about $126,980.50 and said it anticipates continued year‑round licensing receipts under a new rule that staggers license expirations by birth month.

Van de Poele Romney and operations director Joycelyn MacFarlane told senators that the board has made several recent operational changes: it launched an online licensing portal (ORBS) to replace paper applications, contracted to scan paper records into the new electronic system with a National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) grant, and revised its Nurse Practice Act for legislative review.

Key points from the presentation and Q&A:
- Licensing and workforce snapshot: the board reported roughly 1,443 registered nurses, 78 advanced practice nurses, 76 licensed practical nurses and 172 certified nursing assistants in the territory during the 07/01/2024‑06/30/2025 period.
- Revenue trends: the board said total revenue was $119,191 in FY2023, $163,462 in FY2024, and about $116,000.70 year to date in FY2025; the board attributed prior variance to changes in the renewal schedule and to implementation timing for online collections.
- Scanning and IT: the board received an approximately $46,000 NCSBN grant to scan and upload 3,053 paper files; the first vendor payment is scheduled and scanning is ongoing. A remaining set of documents will be uploaded in a second phase.
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) preparations: the board said a nurse licensure compact statute is moving in the territory but noted two financial effects the board must manage: (1) an ongoing $6,000 annual membership/maintenance cost and (2) the possibility of losing some revenues if licensees licensed elsewhere stop holding a VI‑only license. The board said it would model the fiscal effect before full implementation.
- Testing and workforce development: the board reported a backlog of certified nursing assistant testing after two vendor sites were temporarily unavailable and said it is expanding a testing room and training space on St. Thomas. The board is also offering a small scholarship pilot with a local partner for nursing students.
- Contracts and operating needs: the board said it needs funds for HVAC, janitorial, and extermination contracts in both districts (it estimated about $42,295 in supplemental contracting needs) and that payables have been manageable; at the time of testimony board staff said they had no outstanding vendor payments that were not in process.

Senators pressed the board on: the monthly rent for St. Thomas and St. Croix offices (the board reported St. Thomas rent increased to about $7,337.50 monthly and St. Croix to about $1,648 monthly after recent rent adjustments); the capacity to establish Pearson VUE NCLEX testing on both islands (Pearson requires capital investment and a suitable testing center); and the implications of the NLC for territorial licensing revenue.

The board asked the committee for consideration of: modest supplemental contracting funds to secure HVAC and maintenance service contracts for both districts, $6,000 for NLC membership costs, and continued support for the records scanning project already underway with NCSBN funding.

The board closed by saying it will provide the committee with updated rental figures, the status of scanning payments and a projected fiscal impact analysis if the territory joins the Nurse Licensure Compact.