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This act summary is provided for the convenience of the public and members of the General
Assembly. It is intended to provide a general summary of the act and may not be
exhaustive. It has been prepared by the staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel without
input from members of the General Assembly. It is not intended to aid in the interpretation
of legislation or to serve as a source of legislative intent.
Act No. 64 (S.48). Health; professions and occupations; nurse licensure
An act relating to Vermont’s adoption of the interstate Nurse Licensure
Compact
This act enters Vermont into the multistate Nurse Licensure Compact as
amended by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. By entering into
the Compact, Vermont agrees to the multistate compact terms of licensure for
Registered Nurses (RNs) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) / Vocational
Nurses (VNs).
The Compact contains these main provisions:
• Multistate license. A Compact multistate license authorizes a nurse to
practice in each state that is a party to the Compact.
• One compact license. A nurse can only hold one Compact license, and
that license can only be issued by the nurse’s “home state.”
o A nurse’s “home state” means the nurse’s primary state of
residence, and that primary state of residence must be a Compact
state.
o Once a nurse moves to a new home state, the nurse must apply for
a new license in that home state, and the prior home state Compact
license is deactivated.
o If the new home state is not a Compact state, the prior home state
license converts to a single-state (standard) license.
• Requirements for licensure. A nurse must meet the Compact requirements
in order to obtain a Compact multistate license, including a criminal
background check, meeting education and exam requirements, meeting the
home state’s qualifications for licensure, and having a valid U.S. social
security number.
• Compliance with state laws. A nurse is required to comply with a
Compact state’s laws governing the practice of nursing when providing
care to a client in that Compact state.
• Discipline of nurses. Each Compact state may discipline a nurse’s license
in that state.
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o This includes the ability to discipline based on the factual findings
of another Compact state.
o However, if a home state disciplines the nurse’s license, the
nurse’s ability to practice under the Compact license is suspended
until all encumbrances have been removed from the home state
license.
• Compact Licensure Information System. Compact states are required to
share licensure information —including any disciplinary actions— in the
Compact’s Coordinated Licensure Information System.
• State administrator. Each Compact state has one representative (the head
of the state licensing board or designee) on the Compact’s Interstate
Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators, which has
rulemaking authority to administer the Compact. The state administrator
for Vermont will be the Executive Director of the Vermont State Board of
Nursing or designee.
• Withdrawal from Compact. A state may withdraw from the Compact by
repealing the enabling law, but the withdrawal does not take effect until
six months after that repeal, and the state must comply with the Compact
terms until that time.
This act also requires the Office of Professional Regulation to submit a report
by January 15, 2024, concerning the costs of implementing the Compact, the
number of licenses issued annually, and a proposal for managing any reduction in
revenues available to the Vermont Board of Nursing as a result of implementation
of the Compact.
Effective Date: February 1, 2022
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