Bill > AB583

This bill expands the responsibilities of nurse practitioners in completing and certifying death certificates, beginning July 1, 2026. Currently, physicians and surgeons, and in some cases physician assistants, are primarily responsible for filling out death certificates, recording medical information, and notifying the coroner about deaths under specific circumstances. The bill will allow nurse practitioners to perform these same tasks, including stating the cause of death, specifying the time of death, depositing death certificates, and notifying the coroner about deaths that meet certain criteria (such as deaths without medical attendance, suspected suicides, or deaths following an injury). By expanding these responsibilities to nurse practitioners, the bill aims to provide more flexibility in medical documentation and potentially reduce administrative burdens on physicians. The bill also makes technical changes to existing law to accommodate these new provisions and includes a clause noting that because the bill expands the application of an existing crime to nurse practitioners, it imposes a state-mandated local program. The changes will become operative on July 1, 2026, and no state reimbursement will be required for implementing these modifications.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB583