Enacts the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact. (BDR 54-568)
Summary
AB 230 ratifies Nevada’s entry into the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact. The bill allows audiologists and speech-language pathologists who hold an active, unencumbered home-state license in another member state to practice in Nevada through a compact privilege, including via telehealth, without obtaining a separate Nevada license. It also sets eligibility standards for compact practice, including education, supervised clinical experience, national examination passage, criminal background checks, and limits related to disciplinary history and encumbered licenses.
The compact is designed to improve access to audiology and speech-language pathology services while preserving state regulatory authority. It creates a multistate commission to administer the compact, adopt binding rules, coordinate investigations and discipline, and maintain a shared data system for licensure and adverse-action information. The bill also treats compact practice in Nevada as equivalent to holding the corresponding Nevada license for legal authority and protections, while preserving the ability of Nevada regulators to enforce state practice laws and take action against compact privilege holders practicing in the state.
Impact
AB 230 amends Nevada law in Chapter 637B to formally join the interstate compact and to create exceptions to existing confidentiality rules so the Board can share certain complaint and investigative information with the compact’s data system. It also adds a new provision deeming compact privilege practice equivalent to licensure for purposes of Nevada law, and makes conforming changes to public records law to account for compact-related confidentiality. The bill affects the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board, out-of-state licensees seeking compact privileges, and Nevada patients receiving in-person or telehealth services from compact practitioners.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the Assembly 41-0 and the Senate 21-0, indicating unanimous support in both chambers. The compact’s stated goals—expanding access to care, supporting telehealth, and easing practice for military families—likely contributed to the favorable reception.
Contention
No committee transcript or recorded floor debate was provided, and the vote totals show no formal opposition. The main policy issues inherent in the bill are the balance between interstate mobility and state oversight, the sharing of confidential investigative information across states, and the extent to which Nevada must follow compact commission rules. The compact addresses these concerns by preserving remote-state disciplinary authority, requiring background checks, and limiting data sharing of confidential information, suggesting that any contention centered more on regulatory coordination and privacy than on the bill’s overall purpose.