HB 4080

REFERENCE TITLE: artificial intelligence; nursing tasks; pilot
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 4080
Introduced by
Representatives
  Wilmeth: Willoughby
AN
ACT
Establishing the artificial intelligence
nursing innovation pilot program.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Department of
health services; artificial intelligence nursing innovation pilot program;
advisory committee; reports; delayed repeal; definitions
A. The artificial
intelligence nursing innovation pilot program is established within the
department of health services to develop and test innovative artificial
intelligence that performs nursing-adjacent
tasks or workflows in a clinical setting.� The pilot program's goals are to
test solutions that can uphold current standards in patient safety and privacy,
support improvements in patient health outcomes and assist the nursing
workforce.� The department of health services shall:
1. Administer the pilot
program established by this section.
2. On or before October 1,
2026, establish an advisory committee that is composed of not more than seven
members, including representatives from the department of health services and
the Arizona state board of nursing, at least one representative from an
accredited Arizona school of nursing and one nursing professional who is
licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, and who
has recent bedside nursing experience or clinical experience of at least five
years.
3. Provide staff and
meeting space for the advisory committee.
4. Notwithstanding title
41, chapter 23, Arizona Revised Statutes, on or before January 1, 2027, select
not more than five technology vendors that provide artificial intelligence
services and that are recommended by the advisory committee for participation
in the pilot program.
B. The advisory committee
shall:
1. At its first meeting,
select one member to serve as chairperson.
2. Develop and recommend to
the department of health services an application for technology vendors to
apply to participate in the pilot program that requires at least the
information prescribed in subsection C of this section.
3. Develop and recommend to
the department of health services policies, procedures and guidelines for
reviewing and approving technology vendor applications that fulfill the purpose
of the pilot program and that ensure patient safety and compliance with
applicable state and federal laws.
4. On or before December 1,
2026, review all technology vendor applications submitted under this section
and recommend up to five qualified applicants to the department of health
services.
5. Monitor each pilot
program participant to ensure that patient safety and privacy are protected and
that the pilot program operates in compliance with this section.
C. The
application to participate in the pilot program shall require a technology
vendor to submit at least the following information:
1. A
description of the proposed artificial intelligence agent's model and the
expected outcomes.� The artificial intelligence agent must be designed to
perform nursing-adjacent tasks or workflows.
2. The technology vendor's
agreement with an accredited Arizona school of nursing that defines the
school's role in education, evaluation and oversight during the pilot program.
3. Specific goals and all
methods the technology vendor will use to evaluate progress and outcomes,
including patient safety and privacy metrics and health care workforce
compatibility outcomes.
4. A timeline for
implementing the artificial intelligence agent within a health care setting.
5. A detailed explanation
of the artificial intelligence agent's safety mechanisms, including:
(a) Human involvement,
including a description of the role of a licensed or appropriately credentialed
health care professional's ability to intervene in, modify or override the
outputs or actions of the artificial intelligence agent as necessary to protect
patient safety and privacy.
(b) Escalation, including a
description of the processes by which the artificial intelligence agent
identifies circumstances that require review, confirmation or intervention by a
human health care professional.
(c) Audibility and
documentation, including a description of the methods used to record, log and
retain information related to the operation of the artificial intelligence
agent.
(d) Controls and guardrails
to ensure patient safety, including a description of the technical, operational
and procedural safeguards implemented to limit the scope of the artificial
intelligence agent's operation of authorized nursing-adjacent tasks or
workflows, to prevent unauthorized or unsafe use and to ensure compliance with
applicable patient safety and privacy requirements.
6. A plan for each of the
following:
(a) Sustaining the model
after the termination of the pilot program.
(b) Obtaining licensure of
the artificial intelligence agent.
(c) Terminating the model
on the termination of the pilot program or as directed by the department of
health services.
D. The following reports
shall be submitted by the following entities:
1. On or before December 1,
2027 and December 1, 2028, the advisory committee shall prepare and submit a
report to the department of health services that includes at least the
following:
(a) A description of the
pilot program and the progress from implementation to the current date.
(b) Program outcomes since
the implementation of the pilot program.
2. On or before July 1,
2029, the advisory committee shall submit a final report to the department of
health services that includes policy implications of the pilot program,
findings and legislative recommendations, including a recommendation on the
regulatory framework for ongoing registration or licensing of artificial
intelligence in health care.
3. On or before January 1,
2028, January 1, 2029 and August 1, 2029, the department of health services
shall review the advisory committee reports submitted pursuant to this
subsection, approve each report, in whole or in part, and submit each approved
report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the
president of the senate and a copy of the report to the secretary of state.
E. This section is repealed
from and after December 31, 2029.
F. For the purpose of this
section:
1. "Artificial
intelligence agent" means a machine-based
system that, for a given set of human-defined
objectives, makes predictions and recommendations, generates outputs or takes
actions using data, including personal health information, that is designed to
operate as a functional participant within nursing practice or health care
delivery and that may operate autonomously or semi-autonomously within the pilot program.
2. "Nursing-adjacent tasks or workflows":
(a) Includes functions that
support or supplement the work of licensed nurses.
(b) Does not include
functions that independently assess or treat patients.