Florida Senate - 2026 SB 138 By Senator Truenow 13-00379-26 2026138__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to advanced practice registered nurse 3 autonomous practice; amending s. 464.0123, F.S.; 4 authorizing certain advanced practice registered 5 nurses to engage in autonomous practice to provide 6 mental health services as defined by rule of the Board 7 of Nursing; providing an effective date. 8 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10 11 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 12 464.0123, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 13 464.0123 Autonomous practice by an advanced practice 14 registered nurse.— 15 (3) PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 16 (a) An advanced practice registered nurse who is registered 17 under this section may: 18 1. Engage in autonomous practice only in primary care 19 practice, including family medicine, general pediatrics, and 20 general internal medicine, as defined by board rule. If an 21 advanced practice registered nurse is certified as a psychiatric 22 mental health advanced practice nurse, he or she may engage in 23 autonomous practice to provide mental health services, as 24 defined by board rule. 25 2. For certified nurse midwives, engage in autonomous 26 practice in the performance of the acts listed in s. 27 464.012(4)(c). 28 3. Perform the general functions of an advanced practice 29 registered nurse under s. 464.012(3) related to primary care. 30 4. For a patient who requires the services of a health care 31 facility, as defined in s. 408.032(8): 32 a. Admit the patient to the facility. 33 b. Manage the care received by the patient in the facility. 34 c. Discharge the patient from the facility, unless 35 prohibited by federal law or rule. 36 5. Provide a signature, certification, stamp, verification, 37 affidavit, or endorsement that is otherwise required by law to 38 be provided by a physician, except an advanced practice 39 registered nurse registered under this section may not issue a 40 physician certification under s. 381.986. 41 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.