BILL NUMBER: S6801
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, the education law, the vehicle
and traffic law, and the judiciary law, in relation to making conforming
changes reflecting the previously authorized scope of practice of nurse
practitioners
 
PURPOSE:
To conform various sections of law with the existing scope of practice
of nurse practitioners (NP), without, in any way, altering any scope of
practice.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Sections 1, 2, and 3 amend Public Health Law § 206 and Education Law §§
305 and 923 to harmonize the standards regarding certificates that may
be signed by NPs, in addition to physicians, to enable students to enter
and return to school.
Section 4 amends Education Law § 3624 to clarify that school drivers,
monitors, and attendants who are required to provide proof of physical
fitness for those job positions, may have their licensed physician or
certified nurse practitioner complete the examination and issue a
report.
Sections 5 and 6 amend Vehicle and Traffic Law ("VTL") §§ 1203-a and
1203-h to conform with VTL § 404-a, in relation to certificates of disa-
bility.
Sections 7, 8, and 10 amend VTL §§ 375, 509-k, and 1229-c with regards
to NPs certifying certain disabilities.
Section 9 amends VTL § 509-d to conform with VTL § 509-g(1), relating to
NPs providing bus driver health certificates.
Section 11 amends the Judiciary Law to clarify that a NP may present a
note for a prospective juror seeking to postpone service because the
juror is currently breastfeeding.
Section 12 reiterates that the preceding sections do not expand or
contract the NP scope of practice.
Section 13 provides an effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Subsequent to the enactment of the Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act
in 2014, the state approved a variety of conforming statutory amendments
to eliminate inappropriate references to agreements that are no longer
required and more appropriately reflect the NP scope of practice. As a
result of a further clarification enacted in 2022, NPs with over 3600
hours of practice experience are no longer required to maintain any form
of statutory collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Yet,
there are still outdated and inconsistent sections of law that in
certain instances permit nurse practitioners to sign certain forms
consistent with their scope of practice, while other statutes do not
recognize NPs. This legislation makes important conforming changes. For
example, existing Education Law section 903 expressly provides that a
nurse practitioner is authorized to conduct an examination and sign the
health certificate that a student must present in order to attend public
schools, and section 906 acknowledges that a NP may issue a certificate
confirming that a student may return to school after recovering from a
communicable disease. However, other provisions of the education law do
not allow a NP to execute certificates that confirm a student athlete
has returned to a health condition that would allow that student to
resume athletic activity following a concussion or cardiac issue,
despite that this type of diagnosis and treatment is wholly within the
existing scope of practice for a NP. Similarly, the VTL authorizes NPs
to execute forms in order for an individual determined to have a severe
disability to apply for handicapped designated licensed plates but does
not recognize that the NP may complete additional forms for the same
driver to obtain a handicapped parking permit (separate from the license
plate). These technical inconsistencies in the law need to be corrected
as they are identified.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This bill would have no fiscal impact on the State or local governments.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

Statutes affected:
S6801: 923 education law, 923(b) education law, 3624 education law, 509-k vehicle and traffic law, 1229-c vehicle and traffic law, 1229-c(7) vehicle and traffic law, 517 judiciary law