HB 981: Professions and businesses; expand certain advanced practice registered nurse and physician assistant prescriptive authorizations

Under current Georgia law, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) who have a nurse protocol or job description agreement with a supervising physician can prescribe hydrocodone, oxycodone, or related compounds in emergencies, but only as an initial prescription capped at a five-day supply, and only for patients 18 or older. House Bill 981 rewrites parts of Georgia's law on physicians, assistants, and others (O.C.G.A. Chapter 34 of Title 43) to raise that cap to a 30 day supply and to remove the requirement that the patient be an adult. The bill also adds a legal definition of 'stimulant' tied to Georgia's Controlled Substances Act (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-26) and extends the same emergency prescribing authority, continuing education requirements, and 30 day supply limit to stimulant prescriptions for both APRNs and PAs. It also changes how the state medical board handles nurse protocol agreements when a new supervising physician or new APRN is added, calling board sign-off 'authorized' rather than 'approved,' and removes a carve-out that had excluded benzodiazepines and most Schedule II drugs from a 14-day emergency supply rule for certain EMS medical directors.

• Raises the maximum emergency prescription supply that APRNs and PAs can issue for hydrocodone, oxycodone, or related compounds from five days to 30 days.
• Removes the current requirement that emergency prescriptions for these drugs only go to patients 18 years of age or older.
• Adds a new legal definition of 'stimulant' and lets APRNs and PAs with the right training prescribe stimulants under the same emergency rules as hydrocodone and oxycodone.
• Requires APRNs and PAs authorized to prescribe stimulants to complete an extra hour of continuing education every two years on their proper use.
• Removes a carve-out that had excluded benzodiazepines and most Schedule II drugs from the 14-day emergency supply limit for certain EMS medical directors.
• Changes board language on nurse protocol agreements involving a new supervising physician or new APRN from automatically 'approved' to automatically 'authorized.'

Advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants who prescribe under physician-delegated authority, the physicians who supervise them, patients (including minors) who receive emergency prescriptions for painkillers or stimulants, the Georgia Composite Medical Board, and emergency medical services systems run by counties, cities, or hospital authorities.

Patients, including minors, in emergency situations could receive a month's supply of certain opioids or stimulants from an APRN or PA rather than a five-day supply requiring a quick follow-up, changing how often patients need to return for a new prescription and expanding who can receive these drugs without a physician's direct order.

• Section 1 adds a definition of 'stimulant' tied to O.C.G.A. § 16-13-26 and applies it throughout the APRN prescribing rules in O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25.
• Section 1 raises the emergency prescription cap for hydrocodone, oxycodone, and now stimulants from a five-day to a 30 day supply for qualifying APRNs.
• Section 1 removes the requirement that these emergency prescriptions be limited to patients 18 or older.
• Section 1 removes an exclusion for benzodiazepines and most Schedule II drugs from the 14-day emergency drug supply rule for certain EMS medical directors.
• Section 1 changes automatic board sign-off on certain nurse protocol agreement changes from 'approved' to 'authorized.'
• Section 2 makes matching changes for physician assistants in O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103, raising their emergency prescription cap to 30 days and removing the adult-patient requirement.
• Section 2 requires PAs authorized to prescribe stimulants to complete an extra hour of continuing education every two years on proper stimulant use.

1. 2026-01-27House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-16House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-15House Hopper (House)

• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)Primary sponsor
• Ginny Ehrhart (R, HD-036)
• Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
• Mack Jackson (D, HD-128)
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Sandy Donatucci (R, HD-105)

• nurse practitioners
• physician assistants
• prescription drugs
• opioid prescribing
• medical licensing