HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON TJEPKES)

A BILL FOR

An Act allowing the department of transportation to accept reports from advanced registered nurse practitioners disclosing a physical or mental condition that renders a person incompetent to operate a motor vehicle.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 321.186, subsection 4, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  A physician licensed under chapter 148, an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed under chapter 152 and registered with the board of nursing, or an optometrist licensed under chapter 154 may report to the department the identity of a person who has been diagnosed as having a physical or mental condition which would render the person physically or mentally incompetent to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. The physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or optometrist shall make reasonable efforts to notify the person who is the subject of the report, in writing. The written notification shall state the nature of the disclosure and the reason for the disclosure. A physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or optometrist making a report under this section shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the report. A physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or optometrist has no duty to make a report or to warn third parties with regard to any knowledge concerning a person’s mental or physical competency to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. Any report received by the department from a physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or optometrist under this section shall be kept confidential. Information regulated by chapter 141A shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions and remedies of that chapter.
EXPLANATION
   Under current law, the department of transportation has the authority to determine if an applicant for a driver’s license or a person who holds a valid driver’s license is physically or mentally incompetent to drive. The department may order an examination or may act on the confidential report of a licensed physician or optometrist disclosing the identity of a person who has been diagnosed with a physical or mental condition which would render the person incompetent to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. A physician or optometrist who makes such a report is required to attempt to notify the person who is the subject of the report in writing, stating the nature of the disclosure and the reason for the disclosure. The reporting physician or optometrist is immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the report.
   This bill allows a licensed advanced registered nurse practitioner who is registered with the board of nursing to make the same kind of report to the department regarding a diagnosis affecting a person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle. An advanced registered nurse practitioner who makes a report to the department has the same responsibilities and protections that currently apply to a physician or optometrist in connection with a report.