Florida 2026 Session Status: Introduced 5 D cosponsors

SB 36 — Use of Professional Nursing Titles

Last action — Died in Rules

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced September 08, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 36% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 5 sponsors

    1 primary, 4 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (5 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Use of Professional Nursing Titles; Providing that licensed advanced practice registered nurses who hold specified degrees may use titles and abbreviations associated with those degrees in a specified manner; prohibiting such persons from holding themselves out to patients or prospective patients as a doctor in advertising without also clearly denoting their licensed profession, etc.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

26 added · 46 removed

26 line(s) added, 46 removed.

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Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 36 By the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services;
Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 36 By the Committee on Health Policy;
the Committee on Health Policy;
and Senators Sharief, Osgood, Davis, Rouson, and Berman 588-02419-26 202636c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to the use of professional nursing titles;
and Senators Sharief, Osgood, Davis, Rouson, and Berman 603-02824-26 202636c2 A bill to be entitled An act relating to the use of professional nursing titles;
providing that licensed advanced practice registered nurses who hold specified degrees may use titles and abbreviations associated with those degrees in a specified manner;
authorizing licensed nurses who hold a doctoral degree to use specified titles and abbreviations in a specified manner;
prohibiting such persons from holding themselves out to patients or prospective patients as a doctor in advertising without also clearly denoting their licensed profession;
prohibiting nurses who hold a doctoral degree from using a specified title in the clinical setting without clearly specifying their profession;
providing for disciplinary action;
Subsections (8) and (10) of section 464.015, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
Present subsection (10) of section 464.015, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (11), and a new subsection (10) is added to that section, to read:
penalty.— (8) Only persons who hold valid licenses to practice as advanced practice registered nurses in this state may use the title “Advanced Practice Registered Nurse” and the abbreviation “A.P.R.N.” (a) A licensed advanced practice registered nurse who also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree or a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree may use the title “Doctor of Philosophy” and the abbreviation “Ph.D.,” or the title “Doctor of Nursing Practice” and the abbreviation “D.N.P.,” respectively, in a manner consistent with the doctoral degree such person holds.
penalty.— (10) A person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and holds a doctoral degree may use the title “Doctor of Nursing Practice” and the abbreviation “D.N.P.” or the title “Doctor of Philosophy” and the abbreviation “Ph.D.” in a manner consistent with the doctoral degree such person has obtained.
(b) A person authorized under paragraph (a) to use a title or abbreviation associated with a doctoral degree in a clinical Page 1 of 2 CODING:
A nurse who holds a doctoral degree may not use the title “doctor” in a clinical setting without clearly specifying his or her profession.
Words stricken are deletions;
words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 36 603-02824-26 202636c2 setting may not hold himself or herself out as a doctor to patients or prospective patients in advertising produced directly by the practitioner, including signage or written communication, using such title or abbreviation without also clearly denoting his or her licensed profession.
(10) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
775.082 or s.
775.083, except for violations of paragraph (8)(a) or paragraph (8)(b).
Violations of paragraph (8)(a) or paragraph (8)(b) constitute grounds for disciplinary action under s.
464.018(1)(o).
Page 2 of 2 CODING:
Page 1 of 1 CODING:
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Action History

  1. Died in Rules

  2. On Committee agenda-- Rules, 03/03/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building --Temporarily Postponed

  3. CS/CS by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services read 1st time

  4. Now in Rules

  5. Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

  6. CS/CS by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; YEAS 8 NAYS 1

  7. On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, 02/12/26, 2:30 pm, 412 Knott Building

  8. CS by Health Policy read 1st time

  9. Now in Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services

  10. Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

  11. CS by Health Policy; YEAS 9 NAYS 2

  12. On Committee agenda-- Health Policy, 02/02/26, 3:30 pm, 412 Knott Building

  13. Introduced

  14. Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Rules

  15. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 159 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (159)

159 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 159 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

healthcare labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 36 do?
Use of Professional Nursing Titles; Providing that licensed advanced practice registered nurses who hold specified degrees may use titles and abbreviations associated with those degrees in a specified manner; prohibiting such persons from holding themselves out to patients or prospective patients as a doctor in advertising without also clearly denoting their licensed profession, etc.
Who sponsors SB 36?
SB 36 is sponsored by Sharief, Barbara (Democrat), Osgood, Rosalind (Democrat), Davis, Tracie (Democrat), Rouson, Darryl Ervin (Democrat), and Berman, Lori (Democrat).
What is the current status of SB 36?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced September 08, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 36?
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