Physician assistants; revise related provisions to authorize licensure of anesthesiologist assistants.

S. B. No. 2443 *SS08/R1062* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G3/5
26/SS08/R1062
PAGE 1 (baf\tb)

To: Public Health and
Welfare
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Fillingane

SENATE BILL NO. 2443

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-26-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT" TO DELETE THE 2
PROVISION THAT NOTHING IN CHAPTER 26, TITLE 73, MISSISSIPPI CODE 3
OF 1972, AUTHORIZES THE LICENSURE OF ANESTHESIOLOGIST'S 4
ASSISTANTS; TO AMEND SECTION 73-26-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 5
INCLUDE PASSAGE OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CERTIFICATION OF 6
ANESTHESIOLOGIST ASSISTANTS (NCCAA) CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION AND 7
HAVING CURRENT NCCAA CERTIFICATION AS ACCEPTABLE ELIGIBILITY 8
OPTIONS FOR APPLICANTS FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT LICENSURE OR 9
LICENSE RENEWAL; TO AMEND SECTION 73-26-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 10
1972, TO DELETE THE PROVISION THAT NOTHING IN CHAPTER 26, TITLE 11
73, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, OR IN RULES ADOPTED BY THE STATE 12
BOARD OF MEDICAL LICENSURE SHALL AUTHORIZE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS TO 13
ADMINISTER OR MONITOR CERTAIN ANESTHESIA AS UTILIZED IN SURGICAL 14
PROCEDURES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 16
SECTION 1. Section 73-26-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 17
amended as follows: 18
73-26-1. As used in this chapter: 19
(a) "Board" means the State Board of Medical Licensure. 20
(b) "Physician assistant" means a person who meets the 21
board's criteria for licensure as a physician assistant and is 22
licensed as a physician assistant by the board. * * * 23
S. B. No. 2443 *SS08/R1062* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS08/R1062
PAGE 2 (baf\tb)

(c) "Supervising physician" means a doctor of medicine 24
or a doctor of osteopathic medicine who holds an unrestricted 25
license from the board, and who is in the full-time practice of 26
medicine and who has been approved by the board to supervise 27
physician assistants. 28
(d) "Supervision" means overseeing and accepting 29
responsibility for the medical services rendered by a physician 30
assistant in a manner approved by the board. 31
SECTION 2. Section 73-26-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 32
amended as follows: 33
73-26-3. (1) The State Board of Medical Licensure shall 34
license and regulate the practice of physician assistants in 35
accordance with the provisions of this chapter. 36
(2) All physician assistants who are employed as physician 37
assistants by a Department of Veterans Affairs health care 38
facility, a branch of the United States military or the Federal 39
Bureau of Prisons, and who are practicing as physician assistants 40
in a federal facility in Mississippi on July 1, 2000, and those 41
physician assistants who trained in a Mississippi physician 42
assistant program and have been continuously practicing as a 43
physician assistant in Mississippi since 1976, shall be eligible 44
for licensure if they submit an application for licensure to the 45
board by December 31, 2000. Physician assistants licensed under 46
this subsection will be eligible for license renewal so long as 47
they meet standard renewal requirements. 48
S. B. No. 2443 *SS08/R1062* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS08/R1062
PAGE 3 (baf\tb)

(3) Before December 31, 2004, applicants for physician 49
assistant licensure, except those licensed under subsection (2) of 50
this section, must be graduates of physician assistant educational 51
programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied 52
Health Educational Programs or its predecessor or successor 53
agency, have passed the certification examination administered by 54
the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants 55
(NCCPA) or by the National Commission for Certification of 56
Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA), have current NCCPA or NCCAA 57
certification, and possess a minimum of a baccalaureate degree. 58
Physician assistants meeting these licensure requirements will be 59
eligible for license renewal so long as they meet standard renewal 60
requirements. 61
(4) On or after December 31, 2004, applicants for physician 62
assistant licensure must meet all of the requirements in 63
subsection (3) of this section and, in addition, must have 64
obtained a minimum of a master's degree in a health-related or 65
science field. 66
(5) Applicants for licensure who meet all licensure 67
requirements except for the master's degree may be granted a 68
temporary license by the board so long as they can show proof of 69
enrollment in a master's program that will, when completed, meet 70
the master's degree requirement. The temporary license will be 71
valid for no longer than one (1) year, and may not be renewed. 72
S. B. No. 2443 *SS08/R1062* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS08/R1062
PAGE 4 (baf\tb)

(6) For new graduate physician assistants and all physician 73
assistants receiving initial licenses in the state, except those 74
licensed under subsection (2) of this section, supervision shall 75
require the on-site presence of a supervising physician for one 76
hundred twenty (120) days. 77
(7) To qualify for a Mississippi physician assistant 78
license, an applicant must have successfully been cleared for 79
licensure through an investigation that shall consist of a 80
determination as to good moral character and verification that the 81
prospective licensee is not guilty of or in violation of any 82
statutory ground for denial of licensure. To assist the board in 83
conducting its licensure investigation, all applicants shall 84
undergo a fingerprint-based criminal history records check of the 85
Mississippi central criminal database and the Federal Bureau of 86
Investigation criminal history database. Each applicant shall 87
submit a full set of the applicant's fingerprints in a form and 88
manner prescribed by the board, which shall be forwarded to the 89
Mississippi Department of Public Safety (department) and the 90
Federal Bureau of Investigation Identification Division for this 91
purpose. 92
Any and all state or national criminal history records 93
information obtained by the board that is not already a matter of 94
public record shall be deemed nonpublic and confidential 95
information restricted to the exclusive use of the board, its 96
members, officers, investigators, agents and attorneys in 97
S. B. No. 2443 *SS08/R1062* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS08/R1062
PAGE 5 (baf\tb)

evaluating the applicant's eligibility or disqualification for 98
licensure, and shall be exempt from the Mississippi Public Records 99
Act of 1983. Except when introduced into evidence in a hearing 100
before the board to determine licensure, no such information or 101
records related thereto shall, except with the written consent of 102
the applicant or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, be 103
released or otherwise disclosed by the board to any other person 104
or agency. 105
The board shall provide to the department the fingerprints of 106
the applicant, any additional information that may be required by 107
the department, and a form signed by the applicant consenting to 108
the check of the criminal records and to the use of the 109
fingerprints and other identifying information required by the 110
state or national repositories. 111
The board shall charge and collect from the applicant, in 112
addition to all other applicable fees and costs, such amount as 113
may be incurred by the board in requesting and obtaining state and 114
national criminal history records information on the applicant. 115
SECTION 3. Section 73-26-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 116
amended as follows: 117
73-26-5. (1) The board shall promulgate and publish 118
reasonable rules and regulations necessary to enable it to 119
discharge its functions and to enforce the provisions of law 120
regulating the practice of physician assistants. Those rules 121
shall include, but are not limited to: qualifications for 122
S. B. No. 2443 *SS08/R1062* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS08/R1062
PAGE 6 (baf\tb)
ST: Physician assistants; revise related
provisions to authorize licensure of
anesthesiologist assistants.
licensure for physician assistants; scope of practice of physician 123
assistants; supervision of physician assistants; identification of 124
physician assistants; grounds for disciplinary actions and 125
discipline of physician assistants, which shall specifically 126
include discipline for violation(s) of the provisions of Sections 127
41-121-1 through 41-121-9 relating to deceptive advertisement by 128
health care practitioners; and setting and charging reasonable 129
fees for licensure and license renewals for physician 130
assistants. * * * In addition, the board shall not adopt any rule 131
or regulation or impose any requirement regarding the licensing of 132
physician assistants that conflicts with the prohibitions in 133
Section 73-49-3. The board shall promulgate rules for licensure 134
and license renewals in accordance with Section 33-1-39. 135
(2) If the board appoints a task force or committee to 136
address physician assistant regulation, at least one (1) member of 137
the task force shall be a nurse practitioner who is a member of 138
the Mississippi Board of Nursing or a nurse practitioner appointee 139
selected by the board from a list of three (3) recommendations 140
submitted by the Mississippi Nurses Association, and at least one 141
(1) member shall be a physician assistant selected by the board 142
from a list of three (3) recommendations submitted by the 143
Mississippi Academy of Physician Assistants. 144
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 145
and after July 1, 2026. 146