Jenny Barnhouse, Executive Director
Oklahoma Board of Nursing
P.O. Box 52926
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73152
Re: Miramontes Lukens, Case No. 10.2025120315.26
Dear Executive Director Barnhouse:
This office has received your request for a written Attorney General Opinion regarding action that the Oklahoma Board of Nursing (“Board”) intends to take in the above-referenced case. On November 13, 2025, Zenia Miramontes Lukens (“Applicant”) submitted a complete Advanced Unlicensed Assistant Certification Examination Application (“Application”) to the Oklahoma Board of Nursing.
The Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act (“Act”) authorizes the Board to impose discipline, including denying a license, when a nurse “[i]s guilty of a felony, or any offense . . . an essential element of which is fraud, dishonesty, or an act of violence, whether or not sentence is imposed;” 59 O.S.Supp.2023 §567.8(B)(2).
On April 6, 2026, Applicant was notified of a criminal conviction with a plea of guilty that may disqualify her for certification. On or about June 28, 2002, Applicant was found guilty of 2 counts of aggravated assault felonies in Maricopa County, State of Arizona, Case No. CR2001-014636. Based on Applicant’s criminal conviction of aggravated assault, a felony listed in OAC 485:10-11-4(d)(4)(A) and (d)(4)(B) that substantially relates to the practice of nursing and poses a reasonable threat to public safety, Applicant is disqualified from becoming certified pursuant to OAC 485:10-11-4(b)(6), (d)(4)(A), and (d)(4)(B), 59 O.S.Supp.2024, § 4000.1(C)(3)(a), and 57 O.S.Supp.2024 § 571(2)(a). For that reason, the Board proposes to deny the Application.
It is, therefore, the official opinion of the Attorney General that the Oklahoma Board of Nursing has adequate support for the conclusion that this action advances the State’s policy to protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring nurses meet minimum standards of professional conduct.
Cheryl Dixon
Deputy General Counsel
