Nurse Midwifery Advisory Committee approves BRN FAQ updates to reflect recent midwifery law changes, pending legal review

The Nurse Midwifery Advisory Committee (NMAC) voted to direct staff to update the Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) midwifery FAQs and website language to reflect changes made by recent legislation affecting certified nurse‑midwives. The committee approved the changes pending BRN legal review and requested a report on progress at its next meeting.

The vote followed a lengthy discussion about sections of the BRN website that still reference “standardized procedures” and other pre‑existing language that stakeholders said is out of date after enactment of bills such as SB 1375 (allowing nurse‑midwives to provide first‑trimester abortion care without physician supervision, enacted earlier) and SB 667 (updates to midwifery scope and related permissions). Committee chair Shaw Bautista opened the agenda item for discussion and legal staff and BRN program staff reviewed proposed edits.

Paris Malouf Burry, representing the California Midwives Association, urged faster action. “Every meeting that I’ve attended, we spend the entire meeting talking about how things could get done if we were going to get them done, but nothing has gotten done,” she said during public comment, adding that hospitals and employers still rely on outdated BRN language when setting institutional policies.

BRN staff emphasized the need for careful legal review before posting changes. Loretta (BRN staff) told the committee that staff had implemented many updates but that the FAQs require review to ensure they do not cross from explanation into regulatory interpretation: “We have to be careful when we’re updating that to make sure that it’s not directly interpreting or providing guidance or doing anything that should be done through the regulatory route,” she said.

Committee members and staff reviewed a list of proposed FAQ edits. Among the principal changes discussed were: - Removing references to “standardized procedures” and patient‑specific protocols where SB 667 or later statutory language eliminated those requirements for certified nurse‑midwives (CNMs); - Clarifying that CNMs may provide first‑trimester abortion care under the law that amended scope for midwives (SB 1375); - Updating wording about furnishing and dispensing drugs and devices to reflect statutory changes while noting that some pharmacy and DEA requirements may still apply and will be checked in legal review; - Adding or clarifying FAQs about hospital privileges, CNM roles as laboratory directors for waived CLIA tests and provider‑performed microscopy, and whether CNMs may certify disability claims when the condition falls within their statutory scope.

The committee voted to proceed with the edits “as suggested pending legal review” and added a request that staff return with a report on the status of the website updates at the next NMAC meeting. The motion passed on a roll‑call vote.

During the public comment period on the item, Paris Malouf Burry asked to be notified when the website updates are posted so employer policies can be revised; Loretta said BRN staff would notify stakeholders when the changes are completed.

The committee’s discussion also reiterated the division between guidance the BRN can provide online and any changes that would require formal rulemaking. Staff said that items that would alter statutory interpretation or implement new regulatory language must proceed through the agency’s formal legal and Office of Administrative Law review.

The committee did not adopt any regulatory changes at the meeting; it approved only the staff work to update FAQs and website language subject to legal review and asked for a follow‑up report at the next scheduled meeting.