Del. Nick Freitas

Exempts from requirements related to restaurants, including licensure requirements, any bed-and-breakfast operation that prepares food for and offers food to guests, regardless of the time the food is prepared and offered, so long as (i) the premises of the bed-and-breakfast operation is a home that is owner occupied or owner-agent occupied, (ii) the bed-and-breakfast operation prepares food for and offers food to guests only, (iii) the number of guests served by the bed-and-breakfast operation does not exceed 18 on any single day, and (iv) guests for whom food is prepared and to whom food is offered are informed in a manner established by the State Board of Health in regulations that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not licensed as a restaurant and is not subject to regulations governing restaurants. This bill contains technical amendments.

Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses, permits, and identification cards displaying an indicator signifying that the holder is a veteran, provided that the applicant requests such indicator and provides proof of veteran status. The bill repeals the authority of the Department to issue veterans identification cards.

Eliminates the requirement for a practice agreement with a patient care team physician for a licensed nurse practitioner who has completed the equivalent of at least five years of full-time clinical experience and submitted an attestation from his patient care team physician stating (i) that the patient care team physician has served as a patient care team physician on a patient care team with the nurse practitioner pursuant to a practice agreement; (ii) that while a party to such practice agreement, the patient care team physician routinely practiced with a patient population and in a practice area included within the category for which the nurse practitioner was certified and licensed; and (iii) the period of time for which the patient care team physician practiced with the nurse practitioner under such a practice agreement. The bill requires that a nurse practitioner authorized to practice without a practice agreement (a) only practice within the scope of his clinical and professional training and limits of his knowledge and experience and consistent with the applicable standards of care, (b) consult and collaborate with other health care providers based on the clinical conditions of the patient to whom health care is provided, and (c) establish a plan for referral of complex medical cases and emergencies to physicians or other appropriate health care providers. The bill requires (1) the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to jointly promulgate regulations governing the practice of nurse practitioners without a practice agreement; (2) the Department of Health Professions, by November 1, 2020, to report to the General Assembly a process by which nurse practitioners who practice without a practice agreement may be included in the online Practitioner Profile maintained by the Department of Health Professions; and (3) the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to report information related to the practice of nurse practitioners without a practice agreement that includes certain data, complaints and disciplinary actions, and recommended modifications to the provisions of this bill to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the Chairman of the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1, 2021.