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HOUSE BILL 26-1296
BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Bradley and Carter, Espenoza, Caldwell,
Duran, Flanell, Gonzalez R., Keltie, Winter T.;
also SENATOR(S) Ball and Rich, Coleman.
CONCERNING DISCIPLINE FOR ADV AN CED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES FOR
A FAILURE TO TIMELY COMPLETE A MEDICAL CERTIFICATION FOR A
CERTIFICATE OF DEATH.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 25-2-110, amend (4)
as follows:
25-2-110. Certificates of death - electronic death registration
system - amended certificate of death following a change in gender -
rules -definitions.
(4) (a) Except when inquiry is required by any provision of section
30-10-606 other than section 30-10-606 (l)(b), the physician, physician
assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse in charge of the patient's
care for the illness or condition that resulted in death shall complete the
medical certification for the certificate of death within seventy-two hours
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act.
after receipt of the electronic death registration request or, before March 1,
2024, only, for a physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice
registered nurse who is not yet registered to use and using the electronic
death registration system used by the department of public health and
environment and the state registrar pursuant to subsection ( 1 )(b )(1) of this
section, within seventy-two hours after receiving notice that a medical
certification for a certificate of death must be completed. In the absence of
the physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse or
with the physician's, physician assistant's, or advanced practice registered
nurse's approval, the certificate may be completed and signed by an
associate physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse,
the chief medical officer of the institution in which the death occurred, or
the physician who performed an autopsy upon the decedent, if such
individual has access to the medical history of the case, if said individual
views the decedent at or after the time of death, and if the death is due to
natural causes. If the death is or may be due to unnatural causes, a
physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse
required to complete a medical certification for a certificate of death in
accordance with this subsection ( 4) shall notify the coroner or the medical
examiner when an inquiry or an autopsy is required to be performed
pursuant to sections 30-10-606 and 30-10-606.5.
(b) (I) On and after March 1, 2024, a physician's OR A physician
assistant's 01 advanced practice 1egiste1ed nmse's repeated or willful failure
without reasonable cause to comply with timely completion of a medical
certification for a certificate of death in accordance with subsection (l)(a)
of this section and this subsection ( 4) constitutes unprofessional conduct,
as defined in section 12-240-121 (l)(hh).
(11) ON AND AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBSECTION
( 4 )(b )(II), AN ADV AN CED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE'S REPEATED OR
WILLFUL FAILURE WITHOUT REASONABLE CAUSE TO COMPLY WITH TIMELY
COMPLETION OF A MEDICAL CERTIFICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF DEATH IN
ACCORDANCE WITH SUBSECTION (l)(a) OF THIS SECTION AND THIS
SUBSECTION ( 4) IS GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION
12-255-120 (l)(ii).
(Ill) If an autopsy is performed, the MEDICAL certification shall
indicate whether the decedent was pregnant at the time of death, and the
information shall be reported on the death certificate as required by
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 26-1296
subsection (9) of this section. Except as otherwise provided in subsection
( 4.5) of this section, the physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice
registered nurse, or, in their absence, their designee in accordance with this
subsection ( 4 ), shall complete the medical certification for a certificate of
death required by this subsection ( 4) using the electronic death registration
system used by the department of public health and environment and the
state registrar pursuant to subsection ( 1 )(b )(1) of this section.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 12-255-120, amend
(l)(gg) and (l)(hh); and add (l)(ii) as follows:
12-255-120. Grounds for discipline -definitions.
( 1) "Grounds for discipline", as used in this part 1, means any action
by any person who:
(gg) Is diverting or has diverted a controlled substance, as defined
in section 18-18-102 ( 5), or any other drug having similar effects from the
person's place of employment; or
(hh) Has been convicted of an offense under section 18-13-131. For
purposes of this subsection (l)(hh), "convicted" includes the entry of a plea
of guilty or nolo contendere or the imposition of a deferred sentence; OR
(ii) REPEATEDLY OR WILLFULLY FAILS, WITHOUT REASONABLE
CAUSE, TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF COMPLETING A MEDICAL
CERTIFICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF DEATH IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY
APPLICABLE DEADLINE SET FORTH IN SECTION 25-2-110.
SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August
12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a
referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state
constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within
such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 26-1296
approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026
and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of
the vote thereon by the governor.
Ju~
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Vanessa Reilly
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
James Rashad Coleman, Sr.
PRESIDENT OF
THE SENATE
Esther van Mourik
SECRETARY OF
THE SENATE
APPROVED Ch -r W!.t otg VY\G\l S➔ ..... ?.02~ o..+ s: Oor
( ate an Time)
Jared S.
GOVE
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