Respiratory Care Board to pursue emergency rulemaking after public outcry over LVN respiratory tasks

The Respiratory Care Board of California voted on Oct. 31, 2025, to schedule an expedited meeting to consider emergency regulatory revisions aimed at restricting the recently adopted basic respiratory tasks regulation (Cal. Code Regs. §1399.365) so it applies only in settings that are not currently statutorily exempt. The action followed hours of public comment from families, licensed vocational nurses, registered nurses, respiratory care practitioners and facility administrators who warned that immediate enforcement of the regulation as written had disrupted long-standing care arrangements for medically fragile patients. "This approach provides critical breathing room for all stakeholders," Executive Officer Christine Molina told the board, describing the option to file emergency regulations that would confine §1399.365 to nonexempt settings while the legislature considers statutory changes.

The board’s discussion focused on the interaction between the October 1, 2025, regulation defining which respiratory tasks are "basic" and a set of statutory exemptions in Business and Professions Code §3765 (commonly cited as subdivisions (i) and (j)). Molina told the board the statute requires the Respiratory Care Board to identify tasks LVNs may lawfully perform and that, "without the board identifying the tasks, no exemption exists." She described the board’s current enforcement posture as discretionary: the board has not actively pursued discipline for LVNs practicing in exempt settings since the 2023 statutory change, except in cases alleging gross negligence or patient harm.

Why this matters

Public speakers said the regulation’s current wording has left licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) uncertain about whether they may continue long‑standing duties such as oxygen administration, suctioning of upper and tracheal airways, CPAP/BiPAP management and selected airway‑clearance therapies in home health, pediatric day…