This bill creates a new regulatory framework in chapter 18.83 RCW for a certified "prescribing psychologist." It adds new sections that establish a prescriptive authority certificate, defines prescriptive authority and related terms, and amends multiple existing RCWs (including 18.83.010 and 18.64.011). The change is a new licensing/certification pathway and regulatory procedure rather than a criminal or penalty change: it authorizes a new category of prescriptive authority, imposes education, training, supervision, examination, renewal, and recordkeeping requirements, and directs the examining board of psychology and the secretary of health to adopt implementing rules, procedures, and fees. The bill specifies eligibility and training requirements for certification: an active Washington psychologist license, a doctorate from an integrated psychology program, completion of a designated master's program in clinical psychopharmacology (at least two years and a minimum of 400 contact hours or equivalent), at least 80 hours of supervised clinical experience in physical assessment, a clinical prescribing fellowship of at least 500 hours and 100 individual patients under qualified supervisors, and passing a board-approved national examination. Prescriptive authority is limited to psychotropic medications for disorders identified in a widely accepted mental disorder classification system as selected by the secretary; prescribing psychologists may order labs and imaging, must maintain collaborative oversight with a practitioner for patients’ general medical care, must keep prescription records, may not delegate prescribing, and may not prescribe opioid medications except for medications appropriate to treat opioid use disorder. The board’s composition and duties are amended to add an expert on psychiatric prescribing, set terms and appointment rules, require rules on certification, continuing education, ethics, discipline, and recordkeeping, and allow waivers, endorsement pathways, and consideration of out-of-state experience. The act also amends nursing delegation rules (RCW 18.79.260) to clarify when registered nurses may delegate tasks to registered or certified nursing assistants and certified home care aides in community-based and in-home settings, limits delegation to individuals with stable and predictable conditions, prohibits delegation of certain high-skill or sterile tasks (with a specific exception and training requirements for insulin injection), and provides nurse protections and rulemaking authority. The bill includes extensive amendments to controlled substances and pharmacy-related definitions (including RCW 69.50.101), expands the statutory definition of "practitioner" for controlled substances to expressly include prescribing psychologists and specified out-of-state practitioners, defines cannabis product thresholds and social equity plan elements, and sets several section-specific effective and expiration dates. Important implementation details are missing or truncated in the extracted text (for example, the full content of section 4 restricting prescribing psychologists, the secretary’s administrative fee procedures, some amended RCW texts, and the reason for duplicate or overlapping amendments), so those specifics and any other provisions not included in these extracts are uncertain.

If enacted, experienced psychologists who complete a substantial new training pathway (a doctorate plus a designated two‑year/400‑hour master's in clinical psychopharmacology, at least 80 hours of supervised physical assessment, a 500‑hour clinical prescribing fellowship with 100 patients, and a board‑approved exam) could get a certificate allowing them to prescribe psychotropic medications (with limits such as no opioid prescribing except for opioid use disorder). That will create a new career option but also immediate costs and time commitments for psychologists (tuition, supervision time, exam and certificate fees, and likely professional liability coverage), added supervision responsibilities for physicians, osteopaths, psychiatric nurse practitioners or other qualified supervisors, and new oversight and rulemaking duties for the psychology board and the Department of Health to implement licensure, renewals, continuing education, recordkeeping, and compliance with prescription laws. The bill also changes nursing delegation rules so RNs may delegate certain tasks to certified nursing assistants or home care aides in community and in‑home settings only for stable, predictable conditions and after core training and competence checks; high‑risk tasks (most injections, sterile and central line care) remain nondelegable except limited insulin injection rules, and nurses are protected from employer coercion to delegate. The definition of "practitioner" for controlled substances and other chapters is broadened to explicitly include prescribing psychologists, and multiple sections have phased effective and expiration dates (some provisions take effect or expire on October 1, 2025, or June 30, 2027). Important implementation details are missing from the extracted text — notably the specific prescribing restrictions in section 4, the secretary’s certificate fee procedures, and some duplicated or truncated amendments — so exact administrative costs, fee amounts, and enforcement mechanics remain unclear.