The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/SB 56
INTRODUCER: Health Policy Committee; Senator Harrell and others
SUBJECT: Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact
DATE: April 24, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Stovall Brown HP Fav/CS
2. Barr Money AHS Favorable
3. Stovall Yeatman FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 56 establishes Florida as a member state in the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact
(PSYPACT or compact). Pursuant to the compact, and with appropriate authorizations, a
licensed psychologist may engage in the practice of interjurisdictional telepsychology and also
obtain a temporary authorization to practice psychology in-person, face-to-face for up to 30 days
per calendar year with clients and patients in member states other than the one in which he or she
is licensed.
The bill also amends statutes to facilitate implementation of the PSYPACT to:
 Require the Department of Health (DOH) to report any significant investigatory information
relating to a psychologist practicing under the PSYPACT to the coordinated licensure
information system.
 Require the monitoring contract of a psychologist practicing under the PSYPACT who is in
the impaired practitioner program to withdrawal from all practice under the compact.
 Require the board of psychology to appoint an individual to be the state’s commissioner on
the PSYPACT commission.
 Exempt from licensure in this state a psychologist licensed in another state who is only
practicing within the scope and pursuant to the PSYPACT.
 Authorize the Board of Psychology to take adverse action against a psychologist’s credentials
to practice pursuant to the PSYPACT and to impose any other applicable penalties for
violation of the compact.
BILL: CS/SB 56 Page 2
 Designate the state’s commissioner on the PSYPACT commission and others, when acting in
this state within the scope of his or her compact responsibilities, an agent of the state for
purposes of the limited waiver of sovereign immunity and providing that the commission
shall pay any claims or judgments pursuant to the waiver of sovereign immunity.
The bill has a negative fiscal impact on the Department of Health. See Section V of this analysis.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Practice of Psychology
“Practice of psychology” means the observations, description, evaluation, interpretation, and
modification of human behavior, by the use of scientific and applied psychological principles,
methods, and procedures, for the purpose of describing, preventing, alleviating, or eliminating
symptomatic, maladaptive, or undesired behavior and of enhancing interpersonal behavioral
health and mental or psychological health. Psychological services may be rendered to
individuals, couples, families, groups, and the public without regard to place of service.
 The use of specific modalities within the practice of psychology is restricted to psychologists
appropriately trained in the use of such modalities.
 The practice of psychology shall be construed within the meaning of this definition without
regard to whether payment is requested or received for services rendered.1
The Board of Psychology is responsible for the licensure and regulation of the practice of
psychology in Florida. There are two pathways for licensure to practice psychology in Florida:
 Licensure by examination2 – The applicant must:
o Have a doctoral degree from an American Psychological Association accredited program;
or the equivalent from a school or university located outside the U.S.;
o Have had at least two years or 4,000 hours of experience in the field of psychology in
association with or under the supervisions of a licensed psychologist;
o Pass the psychology licensure examination;
o Pass the Florida law and rules examination; and
o Complete the application and pay the applicable fees.
 Licensure by endorsement3 – The applicant must:
o Be a diplomate in good standing with the American Board of Professional Psychology,
Inc.; or
o Possess a doctoral degree in psychology and have at least 10 years of experience as a
licensed psychologist within the past 25 years;
o Pass the Florida law and rules examination; and
o Complete the application and pay the applicable fees.
1
Section 490.003(4), F.S.
2
Section 490.005, F.S.
3
Section 490.006, F.S.
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Telehealth
Section 456.47, F.S., authorizes certain health care practitioners, including licensed
psychologists, persons licensed under a multistate health care licensure compact of which Florida
is a member state, or a licensed practitioner in another state who registers with the applicable
board in Florida, to provide services to patients in Florida through telehealth. Telehealth means
the use of synchronous or asynchronous telecommunications technology by a telehealth provider
to provide health care services, including, but not limited to, assessment, diagnosis, consultation,
treatment, and monitoring of a patient; transfer of medical data; patient and professional health-
related education; public health services; and health administration. The term does not include
audio-only telephone calls, e-mail messages, or facsimile transmissions.
A telehealth provider and a patient may be in separate locations when telehealth is used to
provide health care services to a patient; however, a practitioner licensed in another state and
registered to provide health care services through telehealth may not provide in-person services
to patients located in this state. Florida’s law authorizing the use of telehealth to provide services
does not authorize a Florida-licensed practitioner, including a Florida-licensed psychologist, to
use telehealth to provide services to out-of-state patients.4
Sovereign Immunity
Sovereign immunity bars lawsuits against a state or its political subdivisions for torts committed
by an officer, employee, or agent of such governments unless the immunity is expressly waived.
Section 768.28, F.S., provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for liability for torts up to
$200,000 per person for any claim or judgment and up to $300,000 in total for liability arising
out of the same incident or occurrence.
Interstate Compacts Generally
An interstate compact is a contract between two or more states. It carries the force of statutory
law and may establish uniform guidelines, standards, or procedures for agencies in the compact’s
member states. Interstate compacts addressing regulatory matters may be structured quite
differently. Currently, there are several professions utilizing an interstate compact to address
regulatory matters and each profession has taken a different approach when writing its compact
language. The professions of medicine, nursing, and physical therapy are examples.5
Florida has enacted two health care practitioner compacts – the Nurse Licensure Compact
enacted in 20166 and the Professional Counselors Licensure Compact enacted in 2022.7
4
Section 456.47, F.S.
5
See What is a Compact? Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, available at: https://aslpcompact.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/08/80057-What-is-a-Compact_Final.pdf (last visited March 29, 2023).
6
Section 464.0095, F.S.
7
Section 491.017, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 56 Page 4
Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact
The PSYPACT is an interstate compact designed to facilitate the practice of telepsychology and
the temporary in-person, face-to-face practice of psychology across state boundaries.8 The
PSYPACT was created by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB),
a membership organization composed of state and provincial psychology regulatory authorities
that are responsible for the licensure and registration of psychologists throughout the United
States and Canada. Thirty-six states and territories have enacted the PSYPACT.9 Once enacted
into law, a state joins the PSYPACT Commission (commission) and designates one voting
member to the commission. The commission is the governing body of the compact.
If a psychologist wishes to practice through telepsychology under the PSYPACT, the
psychologist must obtain an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) at
an initial cost of $40 with a $20 annual renewal fee from the PSYPACT Commission. It also
requires an active ASPPB e-passport at an initial cost of $400 with a $100 annual renewal fee.10
If a psychologist wants to practice in a temporary, in-person, face-to-face mode for up to 30 days
per calendar year under the PSYPACT, the psychologist must obtain a Temporary Authorization
to Practice (TAP) from the PSYPACT Commission at a cost of $40, with an annual renewal of
$20. It also requires an Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC) of $200, with an annual
renewal fee of $50.11
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 creates s. 490.0075, F.S., the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact.
Article I – Purpose
The stated purposes and objectives of the compact are:
 Increase access to psychologists through telepsychological practice across state lines and
temporary, in-person, face-to-face services in a state where the psychologist is not licensed.
 Enhance a member state’s ability to protect a client’s or patient’s safety.
 Encourage the cooperation of compact states in the areas of licensure and regulation.
 Facilitate the exchange of information between compact states regarding licensure, adverse
actions, and disciplinary history.
 Promote compliance with the laws governing the practice of psychology in each compact
state.
 Invest all compact states with the authority to hold psychologists accountable through the
mutual recognition of compact state licenses.
8
PSYPACT Overview, available at: https://psypact.org/page/About (last visited March 29, 2023).
9
PSYPACT Map, available at: https://psypact.org/mpage/psypactmap (last visited March 29, 2023). The 36 states include
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Connecticut, Delaware, District of
Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Rhode Island has enacted the PSYPACT but it is not yet effective).
10
PSYPACT Fees available at: https://psypact.org/page/fees (last visited March 29, 2023).
11
Id.
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Article II - Definitions
The following terms used in the compact are defined.
 “Adverse action” means any disciplinary action that is a matter of public record and that is
taken by a state’s psychology regulatory authority against an individual’s license to practice
psychology in that state.
 “Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards” means the membership
organization composed of state and provincial psychology regulatory authorities that are
responsible for the licensure and registration of psychologists throughout the United States
and Canada.
 “Authority to practice interjurisdictional telepsychology” “APIT” means a licensed
psychologist’s authority to practice telepsychology, within the limits authorized under the
compact, in a compact state other than the one in which he or she is licensed.
 “Bylaws” means those rules established by the compact commission pursuant to article X for
its governance, or for directing and controlling its actions and conduct.
 “Client or patient” means the recipient of psychological services, whether psychological
services are delivered in the context of health care, corporate, supervision, or consulting
services.
 “Commissioner” means the voting representative appointed by each state psychology
regulatory authority pursuant to article X.
 “Compact state” means a state, the District of Columbia, or a US territory that has enacted
the compact legislation and that has not withdrawn pursuant to subsection (3) of article XIII
or been terminated pursuant to subsection (2) of article XII.
 “Confidentiality” means the principle that data or information is not made available or
disclosed to unauthorized persons or processes.
 “Coordinated licensure information system” or “coordinated database” means an integrated
process administered by the ASPPB for collecting, storing, and sharing information on
psychologists’ licensure and enforcement activities related to psychology licensure laws and
the Compact.
 “Day” means any part of a day in which a psychologist practices psychology.
 “Distant state” means the compact state, which is not the home state, where a psychologist is
physically present, not through the use of telecommunication technologies, to provide
temporary in-person, face-to-face psychological services.
 “E-passport” means a certificate issued by the ASPPB which allows a licensed psychologist
to provide telepsychological services across state lines.
 “Executive board” means a group of directors elected or appointed to act on behalf of, and
within the powers granted to them by, the commission.
 “Home state” means a compact state where a psychologist is licensed to practice psychology,
as provided in article III.
 “Identity history summary” means a summary of information retained by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, or another designee with similar authority, in connection with arrests and, in
some instances, federal employment or military service.
 “In-person, face-to-face” means interactions in which the psychologist and the client or
patient are in the same physical space and does not include interactions that may occur
through the use of telecommunication technologies.
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 “Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate” or “IPC” means the certificate issued by the ASPPB
which grants a psychologist temporary authority to practice based on notification to the state
psychology regulatory authority of one’s intention to practice temporarily and verification of
one’s qualifications for such practice.
 “License” means authorization by a state psychology regulatory authority to engage in the
independent practice of psychology, which would be unlawful without such authorization.
 “Noncompact state” means a state that is not a compact state.
 “Psychologist” means an individual licensed by a state psychology regulatory authority to
independently practice psychology in that state.
 “Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact Commission” or “commission” means the national
administration of which all compact states are members.
 “Receiving state” means a compact state where the client or patient is physically located
when the telepsychological services are delivered.
 “Rule” means a written statement by the commission adopted pursuant to article XI which
has the full force and effect of statutory law in a compact state and which implements,
interprets, or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact or is an organizational,
procedural, or practice requirement of the commission. The term also includes the
amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule.
 “Significant investigatory information” means:
o Investigative information that a state psychology regulatory authority, after a preliminary
inquiry that includes notification and an opportunity to respond if required by state law,