An Act Regarding the Scope of Practice of Certified Professional Midwives and Certified Midwives
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1205
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: MEYER, CARNEY, ANDREWS, KUHN, PERRY, PRINGLE
Amends: 32 MRSA §12535, 32 MRSA §12537

Legislative Document
No. 1205
H.P. 765
House of Representatives, March 14, 2023
An Act Regarding the Scope of Practice of Certified Professional 
Midwives and Certified Midwives
Reference to the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 
suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MEYER of Eliot.
Cosponsored by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland and
Representatives: ANDREWS of Paris, KUHN of Falmouth, PERRY of Calais, PRINGLE of 
Windham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  32 MRSA §12535, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 502, §11, is amended 
to read:
2.  National standards.  A certified professional midwife shall at all times practice 
within the scope of practice and national standards as delineated by the national association 
of certified professional midwives American College of Nurse-Midwives and the American 
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or their successor organizations.
Sec. 2.  32 MRSA §12535, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 502, §11, is amended 
to read:
5.  Board rules.  Clarifications of The board shall adopt rules relating to the scope of 
practice of a certified professional midwife may be established by board rule consistent 
with subsection 2.  Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 3.  32 MRSA §12537, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 502, §11, is amended 
to read:
2.  Standards.  A certified midwife shall at all times practice within the scope of 
practice and national standards as delineated by the national college of nurse midwives 
American College of Nurse-Midwives and the American College of Obstetricians and 
Gynecologists or their successor organizations.
Sec. 4.  32 MRSA §12537, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 502, §11, is amended 
to read:
5.  Board rules.  Clarifications of The board shall adopt rules relating to the scope of 
practice of a certified midwife may be established by board rule, consistent with national 
standards subsection 2.  Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 5.  Board of Complementary Health Care Providers to amend rules.  
The Board of Complementary Health Care Providers shall amend its rules adopted pursuant 
to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, section 12535, subsection 5 related to 
circumstances under which certified professional midwives are required to recommend and 
facilitate modification of the care relationship to replace the terms "collaboration" and 
"consultation" with "referral."
SUMMARY
This bill amends the national standards by which certified professional midwives and 
certified midwives are required to practice and changes from permissive to mandatory the 
rulemaking of the Board of Complementary Health Care Providers relating to the scope of 
practice of certified professional midwives and certified midwives and directs the board to 
replace the terms "collaboration" and "consultation" with "referral" in the board's rules 
regarding certified professional midwives.