Plain English Breakdown
The effective date is explicitly July 1, 2026, but no other dates are provided in the source.
Allowing Nurse Practitioners to Complete Death Certificates
Starting July 1, 2026, this law allows nurse practitioners last in attendance to complete medical sections of death certificates and report certain deaths.
What This Bill Does
- Allows a nurse practitioner last in attendance to complete the medical section and time of death on a standard death certificate starting July 1, 2026.
- Requires nurse practitioners to immediately notify the coroner if they know about a death under specific circumstances, such as suspected suicide.
- Permits nurse practitioners to prepare fetal death certificates and deliver them within 15 hours of the event.
- Authorizes nurse practitioners to file sworn declarations to amend records for deaths, fetal deaths, or live births.
Who It Names or Affects
- Nurse practitioners who care for patients at the time of their death.
- Local registrars of births and deaths who receive these certificates.
- Coroners who must be notified about specific types of deaths by nurse practitioners.
Limits and Unknowns
- The changes only take effect on July 1, 2026.
- Violating the requirement to notify a coroner is a crime under existing law.
- Filing false information in declarations carries penalties for perjury.