Physical Therapy Practice Act Mods
House Bill 536 makes a broad set of updates to North Carolina’s Physical Therapy Practice Act. It revises definitions, licensure pathways, Board authority, renewal timing, fee caps, disciplinary standards, and exemptions. The bill also updates terminology throughout the chapter, including references to physical therapist assistants, foreign-trained applicants, and “non-CAPTE educated” applicants, and it authorizes the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners to adopt rules to implement the changes.
Substantively, the bill expands and clarifies the Board’s regulatory powers over licensing, investigations, subpoenas, continuing competence, and discipline. It changes the annual renewal window to November 1 through January 31, adds a continuing competence course approval fee, and adjusts several licensure and renewal provisions. It also modifies provisions governing graduate practice under supervision, licensure by endorsement from other states, criminal history checks, and unlawful practice and disciplinary grounds, including making certain violations criminal misdemeanors and refining the grounds for board discipline.
The bill amends multiple sections of Chapter 90, Article 18E of the North Carolina General Statutes governing physical therapy practice. It affects the authority and procedures of the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners, licensure applicants and licensees, physical therapist assistants, foreign-trained applicants, and individuals practicing under graduate or supervised status. The bill also updates fee schedules, confidentiality rules for investigations, and the statutory framework for enforcement, renewal, and discipline, with an effective date of October 1, 2025.
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill, as it passed second reading in the House by a 106-0 vote. No committee transcript excerpts are available, so there is no recorded debate in the provided materials. Overall, the bill appears to have been viewed as a technical and regulatory update to the physical therapy licensing framework rather than a controversial policy change.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided committee materials. Based on the text, potential areas of interest could include the Board’s expanded disciplinary and investigative authority, the criminal history check requirement, the updated renewal and fee structure, and the revised treatment of foreign-trained or non-CAPTE educated applicants. However, the unanimous House vote indicates that any concerns were not enough to generate recorded opposition at second reading.