House File 2375 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2375
BY ISENHART, SIEGRIST, SIECK,
SCHOLTEN, and BERGAN
A BILL FOR
1 An Act enacting the dietitian licensure compact.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 147I.1 Dietitian licensure compact.
2 1. Purpose. The purpose of this compact is to facilitate
3 interstate practice of dietetics with the goal of improving
4 public access to dietetics services. This compact preserves
5 the regulatory authority of states to protect public health and
6 safety through the current system of state licensure, while
7 also providing for licensure portability through a compact
8 privilege granted to qualifying professionals. This compact is
9 designed to achieve all of the following objectives:
10 a. Increase public access to dietetics services.
11 b. Provide opportunities for interstate practice by licensed
12 dietitians who meet uniform requirements.
13 c. Eliminate the necessity for licenses in multiple states.
14 d. Reduce administrative burden on member states and
15 licensees.
16 e. Enhance the states’ ability to protect the public’s
17 health and safety.
18 f. Encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating
19 multistate practice of licensed dietitians.
20 g. Support relocating active military members and their
21 spouses.
22 h. Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and
23 disciplinary information among member states.
24 i. Vest all member states with the authority to hold a
25 licensed dietitian accountable for meeting all state practice
26 laws in the state in which the patient is located at the time
27 care is rendered.
28 2. Definitions. As used in this compact, and except as
29 otherwise provided, the following definitions shall apply:
30 a. “ACEND” means the accreditation council for education in
31 nutrition and dietetics or its successor organization.
32 b. “Active military member” means any individual with
33 full-time duty status in the active armed forces of the United
34 States, including members of the national guard and reserve.
35 c. “Adverse action” means any administrative, civil,
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1 equitable, or criminal action permitted by a state’s laws which
2 is imposed by a licensing authority or other authority against
3 a licensee, including actions against an individual’s license
4 or compact privilege such as revocation, suspension, probation,
5 monitoring of the licensee, limitation on the licensee’s
6 practice, or any other encumbrance on licensure affecting a
7 licensee’s authorization to practice, including issuance of a
8 cease and desist action.
9 d. “Alternative program” means a nondisciplinary monitoring
10 or practice remediation process approved by a licensing
11 authority.
12 e. “CDR” means the commission on dietetic registration or
13 its successor organization.
14 f. “Charter member state” means any member state which
15 enacted this compact by law before the effective date specified
16 in subsection 12.
17 g. “Compact commission” means the government agency whose
18 membership consists of all states that have enacted this
19 compact, which is known as the dietitian licensure compact
20 commission, as described in subsection 8, and which shall
21 operate as an instrumentality of the member states.
22 h. “Compact privilege” means a legal authorization, which is
23 equivalent to a license, permitting the practice of dietetics
24 in a remote state.
25 i. “Continuing education” means a requirement, as
26 a condition of license renewal, to provide evidence of
27 participation in, and completion of, educational and
28 professional activities relevant to practice or area of work.
29 j. “Current significant investigative information” means all
30 of the following:
31 (1) Investigative information that a licensing authority,
32 after a preliminary inquiry that includes notification and an
33 opportunity for the subject licensee to respond, if required
34 by state law, has reason to believe is not groundless and, if
35 proved true, would indicate more than a minor infraction.
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1 (2) Investigative information that indicates that the
2 subject licensee represents an immediate threat to public
3 health and safety regardless of whether the subject licensee
4 has been notified and had an opportunity to respond.
5 k. “Data system” means a repository of information about
6 licensees, including but not limited to continuing education,
7 examination, licensure, investigative, compact privilege, and
8 adverse action information.
9 l. “Encumbered license” means a license in which an adverse
10 action restricts a licensee’s ability to practice dietetics.
11 m. “Encumbrance” means a revocation or suspension of, or any
12 limitation on a licensee’s full and unrestricted practice of
13 dietetics by a licensing authority.
14 n. “Executive committee” means a group of delegates elected
15 or appointed to act on behalf of, and within the powers granted
16 to them by, this compact, and the compact commission.
17 o. “Home state” means the member state that is the
18 licensee’s primary state of residence or that has been
19 designated pursuant to subsection 6.
20 p. “Investigative information” means information, records,
21 and documents received or generated by a licensing authority
22 pursuant to an investigation.
23 q. “Jurisprudence requirement” means an assessment of an
24 individual’s knowledge of the state laws and regulations
25 governing the practice of dietetics in such state.
26 r. “License” means an authorization from a member state to
27 do either of the following:
28 (1) Engage in the practice of dietetics, including medical
29 nutrition therapy.
30 (2) Use the title dietitian, licensed dietitian, licensed
31 dietitian nutritionist, certified dietitian, or other title
32 describing a substantially similar practitioner as the compact
33 commission may further define by rule.
34 s. “Licensee” or “licensed dietitian” means an individual
35 who currently holds a license and who meets all of the
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1 requirements outlined in subsection 4.
2 t. “Licensing authority” means the board or agency of a
3 state, or equivalent, that is responsible for the licensing and
4 regulation of the practice of dietetics.
5 u. “Member state” means a state that has enacted the
6 compact.
7 v. “Practice of dietetics” means the synthesis and
8 application of dietetics, primarily for the provision of
9 nutrition care services, including medical nutrition therapy,
10 in person or via telehealth, to prevent, manage, or treat
11 diseases or medical conditions and promote wellness.
12 w. “Registered dietitian” means a person who meets all of
13 the following requirements:
14 (1) Has completed applicable education, experience,
15 examination, and recertification requirements approved by CDR.
16 (2) Is credentialed by CDR as a registered dietitian or a
17 registered dietitian nutritionist.
18 (3) Is legally authorized to use the title registered
19 dietitian or registered dietitian nutritionist and the
20 corresponding abbreviations “RD” or “RDN”.
21 x. “Remote state” means a member state other than the home
22 state, where a licensee is exercising or seeking to exercise a
23 compact privilege.
24 y. “Rule” means a regulation promulgated by the compact
25 commission that has the force of law.
26 z. “Single state license” means a license issued by a member
27 state within the issuing state and does not include a compact
28 privilege in any other member state.
29 aa. “State” means any state, commonwealth, district, or
30 territory of the United States of America.
31 ab. “Unencumbered license” means a license that authorizes
32 a licensee to engage in the full and unrestricted practice of
33 dietetics.
34 3. State participation in the compact.
35 a. To participate in the compact, a state must currently do
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1 all of the following:
2 (1) License and regulate the practice of dietetics.
3 (2) Have a mechanism in place for receiving and
4 investigating complaints about licensees.
5 b. A member state shall do all of the following:
6 (1) Participate fully in the compact commission’s data
7 system, including using the unique identifier as defined in
8 rules.
9 (2) Notify the compact commission, in compliance with the
10 terms of the compact and rules, of any adverse action or the
11 availability of current significant investigative information
12 regarding a licensee.
13 (3) Implement or utilize procedures for considering the
14 criminal history record information of applicants for an
15 initial compact privilege. These procedures shall include the
16 submission of fingerprints or other biometric-based information
17 by applicants for the purpose of obtaining an applicant’s
18 criminal history record information from the federal bureau of
19 investigation and the agency responsible for retaining that
20 state’s criminal records.
21 (a) A member state must fully implement a criminal history
22 record information requirement, within a time frame established
23 by rule, which includes receiving the results of the federal
24 bureau of investigation record search and shall use those
25 results in determining compact privilege eligibility.
26 (b) Communication between a member state and the compact
27 commission or among member states regarding the verification
28 of eligibility for a compact privilege shall not include any
29 information received from the federal bureau of investigation
30 relating to a federal criminal history record information check
31 performed by a member state.
32 (4) Comply with and enforce the rules of the compact
33 commission.
34 (5) Require an applicant for a compact privilege to obtain
35 or retain a license in the licensee’s home state and meet
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1 the home state’s qualifications for licensure or renewal of
2 licensure, as well as all other applicable state laws.
3 (6) Recognize a compact privilege granted to a licensee
4 who meets all of the requirements outlined in subsection 4 in
5 accordance with the terms of the compact and rules.
6 c. Member states may set and collect a fee for granting a
7 compact privilege.
8 d. Individuals not residing in a member state shall continue
9 to be able to apply for a member state’s single state license
10 as provided under the laws of each member state. However, the
11 single state license granted to these individuals shall not be
12 recognized as granting a compact privilege to engage in the
13 practice of dietetics in any other member state.
14 e. Nothing in this compact shall affect the requirements
15 established by a member state for the issuance of a single
16 state license.
17 f. At no point shall the compact commission have the power
18 to define the requirements for the issuance of a single state
19 license to practice dietetics. The member states shall retain
20 sole jurisdiction over the provision of these requirements.
21 4. Compact privilege.
22 a. To exercise the compact privilege under the terms and
23 provisions of the compact, the licensee shall do all of the
24 following:
25 (1) Satisfy one of the following:
26 (a) Hold a valid current registration that gives the
27 applicant the right to use the term registered dietitian.
28 (b) Complete all of the following:
29 (i) An education program that is either of the following:
30 (A) A master’s degree or doctoral degree that is
31 programmatically accredited by ACEND or a dietetics accrediting
32 agency recognized by the United States department of education,
33 which the compact commission may by rule determine, and from a
34 college or university accredited at the time of graduation by
35 the appropriate regional accrediting agency recognized by the
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1 council on higher education accreditation and the United States
2 department of education.
3 (B) An academic degree from a college or university in
4 a foreign country equivalent to the degree described in
5 subparagraph part (A) that is programmatically accredited by
6 ACEND or a dietetics accrediting agency recognized by the
7 United States department of education, which the compact
8 commission may by rule determine.
9 (ii) A planned, documented, supervised practice experience
10 in dietetics that is programmatically accredited by ACEND or a
11 dietetics accrediting agency recognized by the United States
12 department of education which the compact commission may by
13 rule determine and which involves at least one thousand hours
14 of practice experience under the supervision of a registered
15 dietitian or a licensed dietitian.
16 (iii) Successful completion of either the registration
17 examination for dietitians administered by CDR or a national
18 credentialing examination for dietitians approved by the
19 compact commission by rule; such completion being no more than
20 five years prior to the date of the licensee’s application for
21 initial licensure and accompanied by a period of continuous
22 licensure thereafter, all of which may be further governed by
23 the rules of the compact commission.
24 (2) Hold an unencumbered license in the home state.
25 (3) Notify the compact commission that the licensee is
26 seeking a compact privilege within a remote state.
27 (4) Pay any applicable fees, including any state fee, for
28 the compact privilege.
29 (5) Meet any jurisprudence requirements established by
30 the remote state in which the licensee is seeking a compact
31 privilege.
32 (6) Report to the compact commission any adverse action,
33 encumbrance, or restriction on a license taken by any nonmember
34 state within thirty days from the date the action is taken.
35 b. The compact privilege is valid until the expiration date
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1 of the home state license. To maintain a compact privilege,
2 renewal of the compact privilege shall be congruent with the
3 renewal of the home state license as the compact commission may
4 define by rule. The licensee must comply with the requirements
5 of paragraph “a” to maintain the compact privilege in the remote
6 state.
7 c. A licensee exercising a compact privilege shall adhere to
8 the laws and regulations of the remote state. A licensee shall
9 be responsible for obtaining education on, and complying with,
10 any and all state laws relating to the practice of dietetics in
11 such remote state.
12 d. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary provided in this
13 compact or state law, a licensee exercising a compact privilege
14 shall not be required to complete continuing education
15 requirements required by a remote state. A licensee exercising
16 a compact privilege is only required to meet any continuing
17 education requirements as required by the home state.
18 5. Obtaining a new home state license based on a compact
19 privilege.
20 a. A licensee may hold a home state license, which allows
21 for a compact privilege in other member states, in only one
22 member state at a time.
23 b. If a licensee changes home state by moving between two
24 member states, the following shall occur:
25 (1) The licensee shall file an application for obtaining a
26 new home state license based on a compact privilege, pay all
27 applicable fees, and notify the current and new home state in
28 accordance with the rules of the compact commission.
29 (2) Upon receipt of an application for obtaining a new home
30 state license by virtue of a compact privilege, the new home
31 state shall verify that the licensee meets the criteria in
32 subsection 4 via the data system, and require that the licensee
33 complete all of the following:
34 (a) Federal bureau of investigation fingerprint-based
35 criminal history record information check.
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