South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard has made it official: the bill sent to him that eases restrictions on nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives is now law.

That means 22 states and the District of Columbia have updated their laws to give residents more options for health care by allowing nurses the right to practice to the full extent of their education and training.

This is a model of care “that has been proven to increase access, improve outcomes and control costs,” said the president of the president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in a statement saluting the modernized law.

Since the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action began, nine states have increased consumers’ access to care by removing legal barriers that prevented nurse practitioners from providing care to the full extent of their education and training.