Audiologists and speech therapists could practice across member states

Audiologists and speech-language pathologists would be able to seek permission to practice in other compact member states through their home-state license. The permission would apply to licensed audiologists and speech-language pathologists whose home state and practice state are both compact member states, including telehealth services. Applicants must keep an active, unencumbered home-state license and meet the compact's education, clinical experience, examination, criminal history, and identification requirements. Applicants must notify the compact commission and pay required state or compact fees. Practitioners must follow the laws of the state where the client is located, and that state's board may restrict or remove the compact permission. People who live outside a member state may still seek that state's single-state license, but it would not authorize practice in other member states. The compact would begin when its statute is enacted in the tenth member state; its initial provisions would then allow the commission to organize and adopt rules.

Member states would operate through a joint commission that adopts binding rules, shares licensing and disciplinary information, and coordinates investigations and enforcement. The commission would include representatives from each member state's licensing board, while member boards would report licensing, denial, investigation, and disciplinary information to a shared system. Commission rules would follow notice, comment, and requested-hearing procedures, except that emergency rules could be adopted first and reviewed later. The commission could charge member states or other parties enough to cover its approved operating budget when other revenue is unavailable. Investigative information would be limited to member states, and member states could restrict public release of information they submit. Only the home state could discipline the home-state license, while a remote state could discipline practice occurring within its borders. Commission rules would become binding on the date stated in each rule; a state joining later would generally follow rules already in effect when its compact law takes effect.

New Mexico employers could not require a state-licensed audiologist or speech-language pathologist to use the compact as a condition of employment. The restriction would cover initial and continued employment in New Mexico for audiologists and speech-language pathologists licensed under New Mexico law. An employer could still require licenses in several states if the worker may obtain and keep those licenses through any method allowed by state law. New Mexico's licensing board would post current compact rules, relevant commission actions, and released meeting records on its public website. The board could join joint investigations only under a written agreement with the other participating boards. The employment restriction and New Mexico board duties would apply if the related provisions take effect; the source does not state a separate start date for them.

New Mexico licensing applicants would have to submit fingerprints for state and national criminal-history checks before receiving an initial license. The requirement would apply to applicants for initial audiology, speech-language pathology, and hearing-aid-dispensing licenses under the New Mexico practices act. The board would set the fingerprint submission procedures and use the reports to evaluate licensing qualifications. State and national criminal-history reports would remain confidential and would not be public records. The board could not send criminal-history information across state lines. The fingerprint requirement would apply as a condition of eligibility for initial licensure if the provision takes effect; the source does not state a separate start date.