The committee voted to amend and advance House Bill 117, a bipartisan measure that would allow physician assistants (PAs) in specified circumstances to pronounce death and sign death certificates. The sponsor and supporters said the change responds to delays families face when the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) must handle cases that do not require OMI review.

Sponsor representatives said the amendment clarifies the relevant time window: a PA could sign a certificate if the decedent had been provided a medical exam, medical advice, or a prescription by a primary care physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner within the prior 365 days. That limitation is intended to direct unattended deaths and cases of uncertain cause to OMI while permitting clinicians familiar with a patient’s recent medical history to complete vital records more quickly.

The bill was presented as a recommendation from the Department of Health and the Office of the Medical Investigator; the sponsor said OMI supports the change as a backlog-relieving measure. Committee members asked whether a prior diagnosis would be sufficient and whether the diagnosis had to be terminal. The sponsor said the statutory text does not require the condition to be terminal; it requires the specified clinical contact within the prior year and appropriate documentation. Supporters said the bill would shorten family wait times for death certificates and help veterans and other families proceed with insurance and administrative tasks.

The committee adopted an amendment that set the relevant time window at 365 days and then recommended due pass by roll call (9–0). No public opposition was recorded in the hearing as amended.