Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 998 By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Calatayud 588-03142-25 2025998c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to physician assistant and advanced 3 practice registered nurse services; amending s. 4 382.008, F.S.; revising who may file a certificate of 5 death or fetal death; revising who may note corrected 6 information on a permanent certificate of death or 7 fetal death; 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 (2) and subsections 12 (3) and (5) of section 382.008, Florida Statutes, are amended to 13 read: 14 382.008Death, fetal death, and nonviable birth 15 registration. 16 (2)(a)The funeral director who first assumes custody of a 17 dead body or fetus shall electronically file the certificate of 18 death or fetal death. In the absence of the funeral director, 19 the physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered 20 nurse registered under s. 464.0123, advanced practice registered 21 nurse providing hospice care pursuant to a written protocol with 22 a licensed physician, or other person in attendance at or after 23 the death or the district medical examiner of the county in 24 which the death occurred or the body was found shall 25 electronically file the certificate of death or fetal death. The 26 person who files the certificate shall obtain personal data from 27 a legally authorized person as described in s. 497.005 or the 28 best qualified person or source available. The medical 29 certification of cause of death must be furnished to the funeral 30 director, either in person or via certified mail or electronic 31 transfer, by the physician, physician assistant, advanced 32 practice registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, advanced 33 practice registered nurse providing hospice care pursuant to a 34 written protocol with a licensed physician, or medical examiner 35 responsible for furnishing such information. For fetal deaths, 36 the physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered 37 nurse registered under s. 464.0123, advanced practice registered 38 nurse providing hospice care pursuant to a written protocol with 39 a licensed physician, midwife, or hospital administrator shall 40 provide any medical or health information to the funeral 41 director within 72 hours after expulsion or extraction. 42 (3)Within 72 hours after receipt of a death or fetal death 43 certificate from the funeral director, the medical certification 44 of cause of death shall be completed and made available to the 45 funeral director by the decedents primary or attending 46 practitioner or, if s. 382.011 applies, the district medical 47 examiner of the county in which the death occurred or the body 48 was found. The primary or attending practitioner or the medical 49 examiner shall certify over his or her signature the cause of 50 death to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. As used in 51 this section, the term primary or attending practitioner means 52 a physician, a physician assistant, anoradvanced practice 53 registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, or an advanced 54 practice registered nurse providing hospice care pursuant to a 55 written protocol with a licensed physician, who treated the 56 decedent through examination, medical advice, or medication 57 during the 12 months preceding the date of death. 58 (a)The department may grant the funeral director an 59 extension of time upon a good and sufficient showing of any of 60 the following conditions: 61 1.An autopsy is pending. 62 2.Toxicology, laboratory, or other diagnostic reports have 63 not been completed. 64 3.The identity of the decedent is unknown and further 65 investigation or identification is required. 66 (b)If the decedents primary or attending practitioner or 67 the district medical examiner of the county in which the death 68 occurred or the body was found indicates that he or she will 69 sign and complete the medical certification of cause of death 70 but will not be available until after the 5-day registration 71 deadline, the local registrar may grant an extension of 5 days. 72 If a further extension is required, the funeral director must 73 provide written justification to the registrar. 74 (5)A permanent certificate of death or fetal death, 75 containing the cause of death and any other information that was 76 previously unavailable, shall be registered as a replacement for 77 the temporary certificate. The permanent certificate may also 78 include corrected information if the items being corrected are 79 noted on the back of the certificate and dated and signed by the 80 funeral director, physician, physician assistant, advanced 81 practice registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123, advanced 82 practice registered nurse providing hospice care pursuant to a 83 written protocol with a licensed physician, or district medical 84 examiner of the county in which the death occurred or the body 85 was found, as appropriate. 86 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.