Physical therapists could practice across member states through a compact

Eligible physical therapists and physical therapist assistants would be able to seek permission to practice in another compact member state without getting a separate license there. The pathway would apply to licensees with a current, unrestricted license in a compact member state who practice where the patient is located. The licensee must meet the compact's eligibility rules, pay required fees, meet the remote state's law and testing requirements, and report certain disciplinary actions. A remote state could remove the compact permission, impose fines, or take other lawful steps to protect patients. The compact would not take away a state's authority to regulate physical therapy or discipline licenses issued by that state. The compact would begin when its law is enacted in the tenth member state; permission would last through the home-state license's expiration unless removed earlier.

Applicants for an initial New Mexico physical therapy license or initial compact privilege would have to submit fingerprints for state and federal criminal-history checks. The requirement would cover applicants seeking initial licensure under the Physical Therapy Act and applicants seeking an initial privilege through the compact. The board would use the reports to evaluate whether an applicant qualifies for licensure. The criminal-history reports would be confidential and would not be public records. The board would not send criminal-history information to other states. The fingerprint submission would be required as a condition of initial licensure or an initial compact privilege.

An employer could not require a New Mexico-licensed physical therapist to use the compact as a condition of getting or keeping a job in New Mexico. The restriction would cover physical therapists licensed under the Physical Therapy Act and their employers. An employer could require a therapist to hold licenses in several states if the therapist could choose any lawful way to obtain and keep those licenses. The provision would address employment conditions and would not prevent a therapist from voluntarily seeking a compact privilege. The restriction would apply to both initial and continued employment as a physical therapist in New Mexico.

New Mexico board representatives would have to support full records for certain compact meetings, and the board would have to post compact rules, bylaws, covered actions, and released records online. These duties would apply to New Mexico commissioners and the New Mexico physical therapy board; the proposed repeal would cover the compact and related sections. The board could join joint investigations only under a written agreement with the other participating state boards. The compact and related sections would be repealed if a New Mexico court found that a compact rule, commission decision, or related court order unlawfully changed physical therapy's scope of practice or the definition of unprofessional conduct. A person affected, or potentially affected, by the challenged action could ask a district court to decide the issue. The board would post a covered commission action within thirty days. If the court finding occurs, repeal would trigger immediate withdrawal, subject to the compact's withdrawal rules.