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S. B. No. 2193 *SS36/R160* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Public Health and
Welfare
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Blackwell
SENATE BILL NO. 2193
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-15-20, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO AUTHORIZE A NURSE PRACTITIONER TO DISPENSE A LEGEND DRUG OR 2
MEDICATION TO PATIENTS OF THE NURSE PRACTITIONER; TO CONFORM IN 3
ACCORDANCE WITH THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT; AND FOR 4
RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 73-15-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
73-15-20. (1) Advanced practice registered nurses. Any 9
nurse desiring to be certified as an advanced practice registered 10
nurse shall apply to the board and submit proof that he or she 11
holds a current license to practice professional nursing and that 12
he or she meets one or more of the following requirements: 13
(a) Satisfactory completion of a formal post-basic 14
educational program of at least one (1) academic year, the primary 15
purpose of which is to prepare nurses for advanced or specialized 16
practice. 17
(b) Certification by a board-approved certifying body. 18
Such certification shall be required for initial state 19
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certification and any recertification as a registered nurse 20
anesthetist, nurse practitioner or nurse midwife. The board may 21
by rule provide for provisional or temporary state certification 22
of graduate nurse practitioners for a period of time determined to 23
be appropriate for preparing and passing the National 24
Certification Examination. Those with provisional or temporary 25
certifications must practice under the direct supervision of a 26
licensed physician or a certified nurse practitioner or certified 27
nurse midwife with at least five (5) years of experience. 28
(c) Graduation from a program leading to a master's or 29
post-master's degree in a nursing clinical specialty area with 30
preparation in specialized practitioner skills. 31
(2) Rulemaking. The board shall provide by rule the 32
appropriate requirements for advanced practice registered nurses 33
in the categories of certified registered nurse anesthetist, 34
certified nurse midwife and advanced practice registered nurse. 35
(3) Collaboration. An advanced practice registered nurse 36
shall perform those functions authorized in this section within a 37
collaborative/consultative relationship with a dentist or 38
physician with an unrestricted license to practice dentistry or 39
medicine in this state and within an established protocol or 40
practice guidelines, as appropriate, that is filed with the board 41
upon license application, license renewal, after entering into a 42
new collaborative/consultative relationship or making changes to 43
the protocol or practice guidelines or practice site. The board 44
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shall review and approve the protocol to ensure compliance with 45
applicable regulatory standards. The advanced practice registered 46
nurse may not practice as an APRN if there is no 47
collaborative/consultative relationship with a physician or 48
dentist and a board-approved protocol or practice guidelines. 49
(4) Renewal. The board shall renew a license for an 50
advanced practice registered nurse upon receipt of the renewal 51
application, fees and protocol or practice guidelines. The board 52
shall adopt rules establishing procedures for license renewals. 53
The board shall by rule prescribe continuing education 54
requirements for advanced practice nurses not to exceed forty (40) 55
hours biennially as a condition for renewal of a license or 56
certificate. 57
(5) Reinstatement. Advanced practice registered nurses may 58
reinstate a lapsed privilege to practice upon submitting 59
documentation of a current active license to practice professional 60
nursing, a reinstatement application and fee, a protocol or 61
practice guidelines, documentation of current certification as an 62
advanced practice nurse in a designated area of practice by a 63
national certification organization recognized by the board and 64
documentation of at least forty (40) hours of continuing education 65
related to the advanced clinical practice of the nurse 66
practitioner within the previous two-year period. The board shall 67
adopt rules establishing the procedure for reinstatement. 68
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(6) Changes in status. The advanced practice registered 69
nurse shall notify the board immediately regarding changes in the 70
collaborative/consultative relationship with a licensed physician 71
or dentist. If changes leave the advanced practice registered 72
nurse without a board-approved collaborative/consultative 73
relationship with a physician or dentist, the advanced practice 74
nurse may not practice as an advanced practice registered nurse. 75
(7) Practice requirements. The advanced practice registered 76
nurse shall practice: 77
(a) According to standards and guidelines of the 78
National Certification Organization. 79
(b) In a collaborative/consultative relationship with a 80
licensed physician whose practice is compatible with that of the 81
nurse practitioner. Certified registered nurse anesthetists may 82
collaborate/consult with licensed dentists. The advanced practice 83
nurse must be able to communicate reliably with a 84
collaborating/consulting physician or dentist while practicing. 85
(c) According to a board-approved protocol or practice 86
guidelines. 87
(d) Advanced practice registered nurses practicing as 88
nurse anesthetists must practice according to board-approved 89
practice guidelines that address pre-anesthesia preparation and 90
evaluation; anesthesia induction, maintenance, and emergence; 91
post-anesthesia care; peri-anesthetic and clinical support 92
functions. 93
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(e) Advanced practice registered nurses practicing in 94
other specialty areas must practice according to a board-approved 95
protocol that has been mutually agreed upon by the nurse 96
practitioner and a Mississippi licensed physician or dentist whose 97
practice or prescriptive authority is not limited as a result of 98
voluntary surrender or legal/regulatory order. 99
(f) Each collaborative/consultative relationship shall 100
include and implement a formal quality assurance/quality 101
improvement program which shall be maintained on site and shall be 102
available for inspection by representatives of the board. This 103
quality assurance/quality improvement program must be sufficient 104
to provide a valid evaluation of the practice and be a valid basis 105
for change, if any. 106
(g) Nurse practitioners may not write prescriptions 107
for, dispense or order the use of or administration of any 108
schedule of controlled substances except as contained in this 109
chapter or in the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. 110
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a nurse 111
practitioner may dispense a legend drug or medication for which 112
the nurse practitioner possesses prescriptive authority, other 113
than a schedule of controlled substance, to patients of the nurse 114
practitioner. 115
(8) Prescribing controlled substances and medications. 116
Certified nurse midwives and certified nurse practitioners may 117
apply for controlled substance prescriptive authority after 118
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ST: Nurse practitioners; authorize to dispense
legend drugs to patients.
completing a board-approved educational program. Certified nurse 119
midwives and certified nurse practitioners who have completed the 120
program and received prescription authority from the board may 121
prescribe Schedules II-V. The words "administer," "controlled 122
substances" and "ultimate user," shall have the same meaning as 123
set forth in Section 41-29-105, unless the context otherwise 124
requires. The board shall promulgate rules governing prescribing 125
of controlled substances, including distribution, record keeping, 126
drug maintenance, labeling and distribution requirements and 127
prescription guidelines for controlled substances and all 128
medications. Prescribing any controlled substance in violation of 129
the rules promulgated by the board shall constitute a violation of 130
Section 73-15-29(1)(f), (k) and (l) and shall be grounds for 131
disciplinary action. The prescribing, administering or 132
distributing of any legend drug or other medication in violation 133
of the rules promulgated by the board shall constitute a violation 134
of Section 73-15-29(1)(f), (k) and (l) and shall be grounds for 135
disciplinary action. 136
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 137
and after July 1, 2026. 138