Senate File 463 - Enrolled
Senate File 463
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY LICENSURE COMPACT AND THE
AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY INTERSTATE COMPACT.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 147E.1 Occupational therapy
2 licensure compact.
3 1. Purpose. The purpose of this compact is to facilitate
4 interstate practice of occupational therapy with the goal of
5 improving public access to occupational therapy services. The
6 practice of occupational therapy occurs in the state where
7 the patient or client is located at the time of the patient
8 or client encounter. The compact preserves the regulatory
9 authority of the states to protect public health and safety
10 through the current system of state licensure. This compact is
11 designed to achieve the following objectives:
12 a. Increase public access to occupational therapy services
13 by providing for the mutual recognition of other member state
14 licenses.
15 b. Enhance the states’ ability to protect the public’s
16 health and safety.
17 c. Encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating
18 multistate occupational therapy practice.
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19 d. Support spouses of relocating military members.
20 e. Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and
21 disciplinary information between member states.
22 f. Allow a remote state to hold a provider of services with
23 a compact privilege in that state accountable to that state’s
24 practice standards.
25 g. Facilitate the use of telehealth technology in order to
26 increase access to occupational therapy services.
27 2. Definitions. As used in this compact, and except as
28 otherwise provided, the following definitions shall apply:
29 a. “Active duty military” means full-time duty status in
30 the active uniformed service of the United States, including
31 members of the national guard and reserve on active duty orders
32 pursuant to 10 U.S.C. ch. 1209 or 1211, respectively.
33 b. “Adverse action” means any administrative, civil,
34 equitable, or criminal action permitted by a state’s laws which
35 is imposed by a licensing board or other authority against
1 an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant,
2 including actions against an individual’s license or compact
3 privilege such as censure, revocation, suspension, probation,
4 monitoring of the licensee, or restriction on the licensee’s
5 practice.
6 c. “Alternative program” means a nondisciplinary monitoring
7 process approved by an occupational therapy licensing board.
8 d. “Compact privilege” means the authorization, which
9 is equivalent to a license, granted by a remote state to
10 allow a licensee from another member state to practice as an
11 occupational therapist or practice as an occupational therapy
12 assistant in the remote state under its laws and rules. The
13 practice of occupational therapy occurs in the member state
14 where the patient or client is located at the time of the
15 patient or client encounter.
16 e. “Continuing competence or education” means a requirement,
17 as a condition of license renewal, to provide evidence
18 of participation in, and completion of, educational and
19 professional activities relevant to the practice or area of
20 work.
21 f. “Current significant investigative information” means
22 investigative information that a licensing board, after an
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23 inquiry or investigation that includes notification and an
24 opportunity for the occupational therapist or occupational
25 therapy assistant to respond, if required by state law, has
26 reason to believe is not groundless and, if proved true, would
27 indicate more than a minor infraction.
28 g. “Data system” means a repository of information about
29 licensees, including but not limited to license status,
30 investigative information, compact privileges, and adverse
31 actions.
32 h. “Encumbered license” means a license in which an adverse
33 action restricts the practice of occupational therapy by the
34 licensee or said adverse action has been reported to the
35 national practitioners data bank.
1 i. “Executive committee” means a group of directors elected
2 or appointed to act on behalf of, and within the powers granted
3 to them by, the commission.
4 j. “Home state” means the member state that is the
5 licensee’s primary state of residence.
6 k. “Impaired practitioner” means individuals whose
7 professional practice is adversely affected by substance abuse,
8 addiction, or other health-related conditions.
9 l. “Investigative information” means information, records,
10 or documents received or generated by an occupational therapy
11 licensing board pursuant to an investigation.
12 m. “Jurisprudence requirement” means the assessment of an
13 individual’s knowledge of the laws and rules governing the
14 practice of occupational therapy in a state.
15 n. “Licensee” means an individual who currently holds an
16 authorization from the state to practice as an occupational
17 therapist or as an occupational therapy assistant.
18 o. “Member state” means a state that has enacted the
19 compact.
20 p. “Occupational therapist” means an individual who is
21 licensed by a state to practice occupational therapy.
22 q. “Occupational therapy”, “occupational therapy practice”,
23 and “practice of occupational therapy” mean the care and
24 services provided by an occupational therapist or an
25 occupational therapy assistant as set forth in the member
26 state’s statutes and regulations.
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27 r. “Occupational therapy assistant” means an individual
28 who is licensed by a state to assist in the practice of
29 occupational therapy.
30 s. “Occupational therapy compact commission” or “commission”
31 means the national administrative body whose membership
32 consists of all states that have enacted the compact.
33 t. “Occupational therapy licensing board” or “licensing
34 board” means the agency of a state that is authorized to license
35 and regulate occupational therapists and occupational therapy
1 assistants.
2 u. “Primary state of residence” or “home state” means the
3 state in which an occupational therapist or occupational
4 therapy assistant who is not active duty military declares a
5 primary residence for legal purposes as verified by a driver’s
6 license, federal income tax return, lease, deed, mortgage,
7 voter registration, or other verifying documentation as further
8 defined by commission rules.
9 v. “Remote state” means a member state other than the home
10 state, where a licensee is exercising or seeking to exercise
11 the compact privilege.
12 w. “Rule” means a regulation promulgated by the commission
13 that has the force of law.
14 x. “Single-state license” means an occupational therapist or
15 occupational therapy assistant license issued by a member state
16 that authorizes practice only within the issuing state and does
17 not include a compact privilege in any other member state.
18 y. “State” means any state, commonwealth, district, or
19 territory of the United States that regulates the practice of
20 occupational therapy.
21 z. “Telehealth” means the application of telecommunication
22 technology to deliver occupational therapy services for
23 assessment, intervention, or consultation.
24 3. State participation in the compact.
25 a. To participate in the compact, a member state shall do
26 all of the following:
27 (1) License occupational therapists and occupational
28 therapy assistants.
29 (2) Participate fully in the commission’s data system,
30 including but not limited to using the commission’s unique
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31 identifier as defined in rules of the commission.
32 (3) Have a mechanism in place for receiving and
33 investigating complaints about licensees.
34 (4) Notify the commission, in compliance with the terms
35 of the compact and rules, of any adverse action or the
1 availability of investigative information regarding a licensee.
2 (5) Implement or utilize procedures for considering the
3 criminal history records of applicants for an initial compact
4 privilege. These procedures shall include the submission of
5 fingerprints or other biometric-based information by applicants
6 for the purpose of obtaining an applicant’s criminal history
7 record information from the federal bureau of investigation
8 and the agency responsible for retaining that state’s criminal
9 records.
10 (a) A member state shall, within a time frame established
11 by the commission, require a criminal background check for a
12 licensee seeking or applying for a compact privilege whose
13 primary state of residence is that member state, by receiving
14 the results of the federal bureau of investigation criminal
15 record search, and shall use the results in making licensure
16 decisions.
17 (b) Communication between a member state, the commission,
18 and among member states regarding the verification of
19 eligibility for licensure through the compact shall not
20 include any information received from the federal bureau of
21 investigation relating to a federal criminal records check
22 performed by a member state under Pub. L. No. 92-544.
23 (6) Comply with the rules of the commission.
24 (7) Utilize only a recognized national examination as
25 a requirement for licensure pursuant to the rules of the
26 commission.
27 (8) Have continuing competence or education requirements as
28 a condition for license renewal.
29 b. A member state shall grant the compact privilege to
30 a licensee holding a valid, unencumbered license in another
31 member state in accordance with the terms of the compact and
32 rules.
33 c. A member state may charge a fee for granting a compact
34 privilege.
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35 d. A member state shall provide for the state’s delegate to
1 attend all occupational therapy compact commission meetings.
2 e. Individuals not residing in a member state shall continue
3 to be able to apply for a member state’s single-state license
4 as provided under the laws of each member state. However, the
5 single-state license granted to these individuals shall not
6 be recognized as granting the compact privilege in any other
7 member state.
8 f. Nothing in this compact shall affect the requirements
9 established by a member state for the issuance of a
10 single-state license.
11 4. Compact privilege.
12 a. To exercise the compact privilege under the terms and
13 provisions of the compact, the licensee shall do all of the
14 following:
15 (1) Hold a license in the home state.
16 (2) Have a valid United States social security number or
17 national practitioner identification number.
18 (3) Have no encumbrance on any state license.
19 (4) Be eligible for a compact privilege in any member state
20 in accordance with paragraphs “d”, “f”, “g”, and “h”.
21 (5) Have paid all fines and completed all requirements
22 resulting from any adverse action against any license or
23 compact privilege, and two years have elapsed from the date of
24 such completion.
25 (6) Notify the commission that the licensee is seeking the
26 compact privilege within a remote state.
27 (7) Pay any applicable fees, including any state fee, for
28 the compact privilege.
29 (8) Complete a criminal background check in accordance with
30 subsection 3, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (5). The licensee
31 shall be responsible for the payment of any fee associated with
32 the completion of a criminal background check.
33 (9) Meet any jurisprudence requirements established by
34 the remote state in which the licensee is seeking a compact
35 privilege.
1 (10) Report to the commission adverse action taken by any
2 nonmember state within thirty days from the date the adverse
3 action is taken.
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4 b. The compact privilege is valid until the expiration date
5 of the home state license. The licensee must comply with the
6 requirements of paragraph “a” to maintain the compact privilege
7 in the remote state.
8 c. A licensee providing occupational therapy in a remote
9 state under the compact privilege shall function within the
10 laws and regulations of the remote state.
11 d. Occupational therapy assistants practicing in a remote
12 state shall be supervised by an occupational therapist licensed
13 or holding a compact privilege in that remote state.
14 e. A licensee providing occupational therapy in a remote
15 state is subject to that state’s regulatory authority. A
16 remote state may, in accordance with due process and that
17 state’s laws, remove a licensee’s compact privilege in the
18 remote state for a specific period of time, impose fines, or
19 take any other necessary actions to protect the health and
20 safety of its citizens. The licensee may be ineligible for
21 a compact privilege in any state until the specific time for
22 removal has passed and all fines are paid.
23 f. If a home state license is encumbered, the licensee shall
24 lose the compact privilege in any remote state until all of the
25 following occur:
26 (1) The home state license is no longer encumbered.
27 (2) Two years have elapsed from the date on which the
28 home state license is no longer encumbered in accordance with
29 subparagraph (1).
30 g. Once an encumbered license in the home state is restored
31 to good standing, the licensee must meet the requirements of
32 paragraph “a” to obtain a compact privilege in any remote state.
33 h. If a licensee’s compact privilege in any remote state is
34 removed, the individual may lose the compact privilege in any
35 other remote state until all of the following occur:
1 (1) The specific period of time for which the compact
2 privilege was removed has ended.
3 (2) All fines have been paid and all conditions have been
4 met.
5 (3) Two years have elapsed from the date of completing the
6 requirements of subparagraphs (1) and (2).
7 (4) The compact privilege is reinstated by the
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8 commission, and the compact data system is updated to reflect
9 reinstatement.
10 i. If a licensee’s compact privilege in any remote state
11 is removed due to an erroneous charge, privileges shall be
12 restored through the compact data system.
13 j. Once the requirements of paragraph “h” have been met, the
14 licensee must meet the requirements of paragraph “a” to obtain a
15 compact privilege in a remote state.
16 5. Obtaining a new home state license by virtue of compact
17 privilege.
18 a. An occupational therapist or occupational therapy
19 assistant may hold a home state license, which allows for
20 compact privileges in member states, in only one member state
21 at a time.
22 b. If an occupational therapist or occupational therapy
23 assistant changes primary state of residence by moving between
24 two member states:
25 (1) The occupational therapist or occupational therapy
26 assistant shall file an application for obtaining a new
27 home state license by virtue of a compact privilege, pay all
28 applicable fees, and notify the current and new home state in
29 accordance with applicable rules adopted by the commission.
30 (2) Upon receipt of an application for obtaining a new
31 home state license by virtue of compact privilege, the new
32 home state shall verify that the occupational therapist or
33 occupational therapy assistant meets the pertinent criteria
34 outlined in subsection 4 via the data system, without the
35 need for primary source verification except for all of the
1 following:
2 (a) A federal bureau of investigation fingerprint-based
3 criminal background check if not previously performed or
4 updated pursuant to applicable rules adopted by the commission
5 in accordance with Pub. L. No. 92-544.
6 (b) Any other criminal background check as required by the
7 new home state.
8 (c) Submission of any requisite jurisprudence requirements
9 of the new home state.
10 (3) The former home state shall convert the former home
11 state license into a compact privilege once the new home state
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12 has activated the new home state license in accordance with
13 applicable rules adopted by the commission.
14 (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this compact, if
15 the occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant
16 cannot meet the criteria in subsection 4, the new home state
17 shall apply its requirements for issuing a new single-state
18 license.
19 (5) The occupational therapist or the occupational therapy
20 a