HB1082 expands who may complete and sign certain parts of Colorado death certificates and related death-registration tasks. The bill adds physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to the list of professionals who may complete medical certifications for death certificates, and it defines these individuals as “qualified individuals” for purposes of the statute. It also requires physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to review department training materials before signing a death certificate for the first time, and it requires qualified individuals to register to use the state’s electronic death registration system before signing a medical certificate of death.
The bill also updates the rules for who is responsible for filing death certificates and obtaining authorization for final disposition of a body, including clarifying that a funeral director or an individual assisting in a nonprofessional capacity may perform certain duties. It preserves existing timelines, including the general 72-hour deadline for medical certification, and continues to require coroner or medical examiner involvement when a death may be unnatural. The measure includes a $25,000 appropriation to the Department of Public Health and Environment for operating expenses related to health statistics and vital records.
Impact
HB1082 amends Colorado Revised Statutes sections 25-2-110 and 25-2-111 governing death certificates, electronic death registration, and authorization for disposition of remains. It broadens the class of professionals authorized to complete medical certifications to include physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses, and it requires registration and training before those individuals may sign death certificates. The bill also makes conforming changes to terminology for funeral directors and nonprofessional assistants and provides a small cash-fund appropriation to support implementation through the vital statistics records system.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. Committee and floor votes in both chambers were unanimous or near-unanimous, and the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended it for the consent calendar, indicating little opposition. The absence of recorded dissent suggests the measure was viewed as a practical administrative update to improve death-certificate processing and access to qualified signers.
Contention
No major substantive contention is reflected in the available record. The main policy choice is whether to expand signing authority beyond physicians to physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses, but the unanimous votes suggest that any concerns were resolved or minimal. The bill also touches on administrative safeguards—training, registration, and continued coroner review for potentially unnatural deaths—which likely helped address any concerns about accuracy, oversight, or public-health recordkeeping.