Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1708-A is enacted to read:

§1708-A.__Nursing agency staff rate control

1.__Definition.__As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, "nursing staff agency" means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association engaged for hire in the business of providing or procuring temporary employment in health care and assisted living facilities for medical personnel, including, but not limited to, nurses, nursing assistants, nurse's aides and orderlies.__"Nursing staff agency" does not include an individual who engages only in providing that individual's own services on a temporary basis to health care facilities, or a person engaged in providing temporary services only to health care facilities affiliated with that person.

2.__Registration.__This subsection governs the registration of a nursing staff agency.

A.__A person who operates a nursing staff agency shall register the agency with the department.__Each separate location of the business of a nursing staff agency must have a separate registration.

B.__The department, by rule, shall establish forms and procedures for the processing of nursing staff agency registration applications, including the payment of a reasonable registration fee.

C.__The department, by rule, shall establish minimum standards for the registration and operation of a nursing staff agency.__The rules must be designed to protect the public's right to high-quality health care by ensuring that nursing staff agencies employ competent and qualified nursing personnel and that such nursing personnel are provided to health care facilities in a way that meets the needs of residents and patients.

3.__Rates.__This subsection governs rates charged by a nursing staff agency.

A.__The department, by rule and in cooperation with the Department of Labor, shall establish reasonable rates of payment pursuant to this section for services provided by a nursing staff agency registered under this section with the department.__In establishing these rates, the department shall take into consideration the reasonable administrative