House 5021

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 5021

By Delegate Drennan

[Originating in the Committee on Health and Human Resources; Reported on February 9, 2026]

A BILL to amend and reenact §30-7-1 of the Code of West Virginia, as amended, 1931, relating to when a registered nurse may administer an anesthetic.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Article 7. Registerd Professional Nurses.

§30-7-1. Definitions.

As used in this article:

“Advanced practice registered nurse” means a registered nurse who has acquired advanced clinical knowledge and skills preparing him or her to provide direct and indirect care to patients as a certified nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or clinical nurse specialist, who has completed a board-approved graduate-level education program and who has passed a board-approved national certification examination;

“Board” means the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses;

“Collaborative relationship” means a working relationship, structured through a written agreement, in which an advanced practice registered nurse may prescribe drugs in collaboration with a qualified physician;

“Direct patient care” means the provision of services to a sick, injured, mentally or physically disabled, elderly or fragile patient that requires some degree of interaction with that patient. Direct patient care may include assessment, treatment, counseling, procedures, self-care, patient education, administration of medication, and implementation of a care plan;

“Practice of registered professional nursing” or “registered professional nursing” means the performance for compensation of any service requiring substantial specialized judgment and skill based on knowledge and application of principles of nursing derived from the biological, physical and social sciences, such as responsible supervision of a patient requiring skill in observation of symptoms and reactions and the accurate recording of the facts, or the supervision and teaching of other persons with respect to such principles of nursing, or in the administration of medications and treatments as prescribed by a licensed physician, a licensed dentist or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or the application of such nursing procedures as involve understanding of cause and effect in order to safeguard life and health of a patient and others; and a registered nurse may administer an anesthetic under the order of a physician in an acute care setting; and

“Temporary permit” means a permit authorizing the holder to practice registered professional nursing in this state until such permit is no longer effective or the holder is granted a license by the West Virginia State Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow a registered nurse to administer an anesthetic when ordered by a physician.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.