Add Art 140-A §§6960 - 6965, amd §§6953 & 6954, Art 140 Art Head, Ed L; amd §571, Pub Health L
Establishes the professional practice of community midwifery; defines as the management in the home, birth center, or community setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, including newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for infants; sets requirements for license and practice.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5542
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 24, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. SALAZAR, ASHBY, BORRELLO, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE,
COMRIE, GALLIVAN, GONZALEZ, HELMING, HINCHEY, JACKSON, MAY, MURRAY,
MYRIE, OBERACKER, O'MARA, PARKER, SCARCELLA-SPANTON, SEPULVEDA, SKOUF-
IS, WALCZYK, WEBB, WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
to the practice of certified professional midwifery
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 140-A
2 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 140-A
4 CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIFERY
5 Section 6960. Introduction.
6 6961. Definition of practice of certified professional midwif-
7 ery.
8 6962. Practice of certified professional midwifery.
9 6963. Use of title "certified professional midwife".
10 6964. Requirements for a professional license.
11 6965. Exempt persons.
12 § 6960. Introduction. This article applies to the profession of certi-
13 fied professional midwifery. The general provisions for all professions
14 contained in article one hundred thirty of this title apply to this
15 article.
16 § 6961. Definition of practice of certified professional midwifery. 1.
17 The practice of the profession of certified professional midwifery is
18 defined as the management in the home, birth center, or community
19 setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, and
20 shall include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for
21 infants. A certified professional midwife may also provide precon-
22 ception care as defined by the commissioner. A certified professional
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00496-01-5
S. 5542 2
1 midwife shall have collaborative relationships with (a) a physician who
2 is board certified as an obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certi-
3 fying body or (b) a physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric
4 privileges at a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of
5 the public health law or (c) a hospital, licensed under article twenty-
6 eight of the public health law, that provides obstetrics through a
7 physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that
8 provide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to
9 address the health status and risks of the certified professional
10 midwife's patients and that include plans for emergency medical gyneco-
11 logical and obstetrical coverage. A certified professional midwife shall
12 maintain documentation of the collaborative relationships and shall make
13 information about the collaborative relationships available to the
14 certified professional midwife's patients. Failure to comply with the
15 requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to professional
16 misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred thirty of this
17 title.
18 2. A certified professional midwife shall have the authority, as
19 necessary, and limited to the practice of certified professional midwif-
20 ery, to prescribe and administer drugs, immunizing agents, diagnostic
21 tests and devices, and to order laboratory tests, as established and
22 limited by the board of midwifery in accordance with the commissioner's
23 regulations. A certified professional midwife shall obtain a certificate
24 from the department upon successfully completing a program including a
25 pharmacology component, or its equivalent, as established by the commis-
26 sioner's regulations prior to prescribing under this section.
27 3. Any reference to certified professional midwifery, or certified
28 professional midwife, under the provisions of this article, this chapter
29 or any other law, shall refer to and include the profession of certified
30 professional midwifery and a certified professional midwife, unless the
31 context clearly requires otherwise.
32 § 6962. Practice of certified professional midwifery. Only a person
33 licensed or exempt under this article or authorized by any other section
34 of law shall practice certified professional midwifery.
35 § 6963. Use of title "certified professional midwife". Only a person
36 licensed or exempt under this article shall use the title "certified
37 professional midwife" in connection with the practice of certified
38 professional midwifery in the state, provided, however, a person
39 licensed under article one hundred forty of this title and who has
40 obtained the credentials pursuant to subdivision two of section sixty-
41 nine hundred sixty-four of this article may also use the title "certi-
42 fied professional midwife".
43 § 6964. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a
44 license as a certified professional midwife, an applicant shall fulfill
45 the following requirements:
46 1. Application: file an application with the department.
47 2. Education: achieve and maintain the credential of certified profes-
48 sional midwife from a national certifying body specializing in the
49 certification of certified professional midwives and approved by the
50 commissioner and satisfactorily:
51 (a) complete an accredited educational program for the practice of
52 certified professional midwifery in accordance with the commissioner's
53 regulations; or
54 (b) if an applicant receives a certified professional midwifery
55 certification within twenty-four months of the effective date of this
56 article through another educational pathway, or if certification
S. 5542 3
1 includes current licensing from another state or country not requiring
2 accredited education, complete the Midwifery Bridge Certificate in
3 accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
4 3. Examination: pass an examination satisfactory to the department and
5 in accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
6 4. Age: be at least twenty-one years of age.
7 5. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart-
8 ment.
9 6. Fee: pay a fee of one hundred fifteen dollars for an initial
10 license and a fee of one hundred dollars for each triennial registration
11 period.
12 § 6965. Exempt persons. Nothing in this article shall (a) affect,
13 prevent, expand, or limit any duty or responsibility of a physician,
14 midwife, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within the
15 professional's scope of practice, from practicing certified professional
16 midwifery; or (b) affect or prevent a medical student, midwifery
17 student, certified professional midwifery student, physician assistant
18 student, or nurse practitioner student from engaging in clinical prac-
19 tice in an educational program registered by the department, under the
20 supervision of a physician or board certified obstetrician/gynecologist
21 or midwife, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within
22 the professional's scope of practice.
23 § 2. Section 6953 of the education law, as added by chapter 327 of the
24 laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
25 § 6953. Use of title "midwife". Only a person licensed or exempt under
26 this article shall use the title "midwife". Only a person licensed
27 under both this article and article one hundred thirty-nine of this
28 [chapter] title may use the title "nurse-midwife". Only a person
29 authorized to use the title "certified professional midwife" under arti-
30 cle one hundred forty-A of this title may use the title "certified
31 professional midwife".
32 § 3. Section 6954 of the education law, as added by chapter 327 of the
33 laws of 1992, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 328
34 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
35 § 6954. State board of midwifery. 1. The state board of midwifery
36 shall be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the
37 commissioner for the purpose of assisting the board of regents on
38 matters of professional licensing and professional conduct in accordance
39 with section sixty-five hundred eight of this title. The board shall be
40 composed of [thirteen] eleven individuals. Initial appointments to the
41 board shall be such that the terms shall be staggered. However, no
42 members shall serve more than two terms. However, a vacant seat on the
43 board designated for an individual licensed to practice under article
44 one hundred forty-A of this title shall not be counted for purposes of a
45 quorum until it has been initially filled.
46 2. (a) [(1) Seven] Five members of the board shall be persons licensed
47 [or exempt] under this [section] article.
48 [(2)] (b) One member of the board shall be an educator of midwifery.
49 [(b)] (c) Two members of the board shall be persons licensed under
50 article one hundred forty-A of this title.
51 [Two members] (d) One member of the board shall be [individuals who
52 are] a licensed [physicians who are also] physician certified as
53 obstetrician/gynecologists by a national certifying body who demon-
54 strates collaboration with persons licensed under articles one hundred
55 forty and one hundred forty-A of this title.
S. 5542 4
1 [(c)] (e) One member of the board shall be an individual licensed as a
2 physician who practices family medicine including obstetrics.
3 [(d) One member of the board shall be an individual licensed as a
4 physician who practices pediatrics.
5 (e)] (f) One member of the board shall be an individual not possessing
6 either licensure or training in medicine, midwifery, pharmacology or
7 nursing and shall represent the public at large.
8 3. For purposes of this article, "board" means the state board of
9 midwifery created under this section unless the context clearly indi-
10 cates otherwise.
11 § 4. The article heading of article 140 of the education law, as added
12 by chapter 327 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
13 [PROFESSIONAL] MIDWIFERY [PRACTICE ACT]
14 § 5. Subdivision 6 of section 571 of the public health law, as amended
15 by chapter 444 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
16 6. "Qualified health care professional" means a physician, dentist,
17 podiatrist, optometrist performing a clinical laboratory test that does
18 not use an invasive modality as defined in section seventy-one hundred
19 one of the education law, physician assistant, specialist assistant,
20 nurse practitioner, [or] midwife, or certified professional midwife, who
21 is licensed and registered with the state education department.
22 § 6. Subdivision 6 of section 571 of the public health law, as amended
23 by section 1 of part C of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
24 read as follows:
25 6. "Qualified health care professional" means a physician, dentist,
26 podiatrist, optometrist performing a clinical laboratory test that does
27 not use an invasive modality as defined in section seventy-one hundred
28 one of the education law, pharmacist administering COVID-19 and influen-
29 za tests pursuant to subdivision seven of section sixty-eight hundred
30 one of the education law, physician assistant, specialist assistant,
31 nurse practitioner, [or] midwife, or certified professional midwife, who
32 is licensed and registered with the state education department.
33 § 7. This act shall take effect eighteen months after it shall have
34 become a law, provided however that the amendments to subdivision 6 of
35 section 571 of the public health law made by section six of this act
36 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision
37 pursuant to section 8 of part C of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, as
38 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section five of this act
39 shall take effect. Effective immediately, the commissioner of education
40 shall make regulations and take other actions reasonably necessary to
41 implement this act on the effective date of this act.
