West Virginia HB 5681: Relating to empowering qualified certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives to prescribe, administer, and dispense prescriptions drugs without a collaborating physician.

Bill Text

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5681

By Delegates White, Parsons, Coop-Gonzalez, Eldridge, and Dillon

[Introduced February 17, 2026; referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources

A BILL to amend and reenact §30-7-1, §30-7-4, §30-7-6b, and §30-7-15b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to registered professional nurses; providing definitions; restricting certain rules and policies; and allowing qualified certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives to prescribe, administer, and dispense prescriptions drugs without a collaborating physician.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:



Article 7. registered Professional Nurses.



§30-7-1. Definitions.



As used in this article:

"Advanced practice registered nurse" means a registered nurse who has acquired advanced clinical knowledge and skills preparing him or her to provide direct and indirect care to patients as a certified nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or clinical nurse specialist, who has completed a board-approved graduate-level education program and who has passed a board-approved national certification examination;

"Board" means the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses;

"Collaborative relationship" means a working relationship, structured through a written agreement, in which an advanced practice registered nurse may prescribe drugs in collaboration with a qualified physician;

"Direct patient care" means the provision of services to a sick, injured, mentally or physically disabled, elderly or fragile patient that requires some degree of interaction with that patient. Direct patient care may include assessment, treatment, counseling, procedures, self-care, patient education, administration of medication, and implementation of a care plan; 

"Practice of registered professional nursing" or "registered professional nursing" means the performance for compensation of any service requiring substantial specialized judgment and skill based on knowledge and application of principles of nursing derived from the biological, physical and social sciences, such as responsible supervision of a patient requiring skill in observation of symptoms and reactions and the accurate recording of the facts, or the supervision and teaching of other persons with respect to such principles of nursing, or in the administration of medications and treatments as prescribed by a licensed physician, a licensed dentist or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or the application of such nursing procedures as involve understanding of cause and effect in order to safeguard life and health of a patient and others; and

"Temporary permit" means a permit authorizing the holder to practice registered professional nursing in this state until such permit is no longer effective or the holder is granted a license by the West Virginia State Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses.



§30-7-4. Organization and meetings of board; quorum; powers and duties generally; executive secretary; funds.

(a) The board has all the powers and duties set forth in this article, in §30-1-1 et seq. of this code and elsewhere in law, including the ability to:

(1) Hold meetings;

(2) Establish procedures for submitting, approving, and rejecting applications for a license and permit;

(3) Determine the qualifications of an applicant for a license and permit;

(4) Establish the fees charged under the provisions of this article;

(5) Issue, renew, restrict, deny, suspend, revoke, or reinstate a license and permit;

(6) Prepare, conduct, administer, and grade written, oral, or written and oral examinations for a license;

(7) Contract with third parties to administer the examinations required under the provisions of this article;

(8) Maintain records of the examinations the board, or a third party, administers, including the number of persons taking the examination and the pass and fail rate;

(9) Maintain an office and hire, discharge, establish the job requirements, and fix the compensation of employees, and contract with persons necessary to enforce the provisions of this article;

(10) Employ investigators, attorneys, hearing examiners, consultants, and other employees as may be necessary who are exempt from the classified service and who serve at the will and pleasure of the board;

(11) Delegate hiring of employees to the executive director;

(12) Investigate alleged violations of the provisions of this article and legislative rules, orders, and final decisions of the board;

(13) Conduct disciplinary hearings of persons regulated by the board;

(14) Determine disciplinary action and issue orders;

(15) Institute appropriate legal action for the enforcement of the provisions of this article;

(16) Maintain an accurate registry of names and addresses of all persons regulated by the board;

(17) Keep accurat