House Bill 438 establishes a new Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals, which will oversee the licensing and regulation of athletic trainers, occupational therapy practitioners, physical therapy examiners, and speech-language pathologists and audiologists. The board will consist of 12 members, including professionals from each of these fields and a public member, ensuring that only qualified individuals are permitted to practice in these health professions. The bill also includes provisions for standard organizational duties and rulemaking authority for the new board.

In addition to creating the board, the bill amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to replace references to the previous boards for these professions with the new board's name. It repeals multiple existing sections of the MCA that pertained to the old boards, streamlining the regulatory framework. The effective date of the changes is set for January 1, 2026, allowing for a smooth transition, and the bill directs the code commissioner to update references to the old boards in future legislation.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_1(1): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_1(2): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_1(3): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_1(4): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_1(5): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_1: 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(1): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(2): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(3): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(4): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(5): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(6): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(7): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(8): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X(9): 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201
HB0438_X: 37-11-101, 37-15-102, 37-24-103, 37-36-101, 37-36-201