MICHIGAN GOVERNOR SIGNS INTO LAW 
BILL REMOVING CGFNS QUALIFYING EXAMINATION IN THE U.S. STATE OF MICHIGAN  

21 June 2007 — Consul General Blesila C. Cabrera of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, USA reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Michigan Governor Jennifer Ganholm has signed into law House Bill 4207, allowing Filipino and other foreign nursing graduates who wish to work in the state of Michigan to apply to take the National Council Licensing Exam (NCLEX) without the need to pass the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Qualifying Examinations.  

“The new law on nursing in the state of Michigan is welcome news to thousands of Filipino nursing graduates in the Philippines who wish to apply for work as registered professional nurses in the United States as it has made it easier for foreign graduates of nursing, including the Filipino nurses, to apply and take the licensure exams for nursing in the state of Michigan without taking the usually required CGFNS Qualifying Examination,” Consul General Cabrera said.  

The Consul General reported that the law was the result of the efforts of the Philippine Nurses Association of Michigan (PNAM).  “The success of the PNAM in having the bill signed into law indicates the growing empowerment of Filipino-Americans in the American Midwest, especially on issues affecting the interests of the Filipino-American community,” she stated.  

House Bill 4207 was signed into law on 14 June 2007 at the Governor’s State Office in the State Capitol in Lansing , Michigan , and was witnessed by PNAM President Ellen Dioso, PNAM CGFNS Task Force Chairperson Remedios Solarte, and Representative Y. Hoon Hopgood.  Rep. Hopgood introduced the Bill in the Michigan State House of Representatives.  END

/jay

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