Bill
HSB 120
Creates the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact to enable licensure portability for respiratory therapists across participating states, effective after seven states adopt and join.
Status and timeline
- Introduced: February 3, 2025
- Current status: Committee report approving the bill; renumbered as HF 547
- Legislative actions:
- Feb 3, 2025: Introduced and referred to State Government
- Feb 3, 2025: Subcommittee appointed (Jeneary, Johnson, C., Srinivas)
- Feb 11, 2025: Subcommittee meeting and reassignment
- Feb 11, 2025: Subcommittee recommends passage
- Feb 19–20, 2025: Subcommittee and committee reports favoring passage; committee report on Feb 20, 2025 renumbers as HF 547
Purpose and intent
- Create the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact to enable mutual recognition and cooperative regulation of respiratory care professionals (respiratory therapists) across participating states.
- Establish a governing framework to promote licensure portability, consistent professional standards, and coordinated enforcement among states that adopt the compact.
Key provisions and changes (as reflected in the bill’s structure)
- Commission and governance
- Establish a compact Commission to administer the pact.
- Adopt bylaws and formal rules for operation.
- Organize committees to support governance and implementation.
- Manage Commission finances.
- Data system
- Establish a centralized data system to support licensure, enforcement, and inter-state coordination.
- Compliance and dispute resolution
- Provide mechanisms for state compliance with compact provisions.
- Specify a venue for judicial proceedings related to compact enforcement and disputes.
- Legal protections and governance
- Provisions for defense and indemnification related to compact activities.
- Address amendments to the compact and processes for updating terms.
- Include withdrawal, default, and expulsion provisions for member states.
- Include severability and construction provisions to preserve effectiveness of the compact.
- Clarify the binding effect of the compact and its relationship with other laws.
- Effective date and activation
- The compact becomes effective upon the adoption of the compact by the seventh participating state.
Who is affected
- Respiratory care professionals (respiratory therapists) seeking licensure or practice across state lines within participating states.
- State licensing boards and regulatory authorities overseeing respiratory care.
- Employers and healthcare facilities employing respiratory care professionals.
- Patients and the public, who may benefit from (a) increased licensure portability and (b) more consistent professional standards across states.
Key procedural/timeline aspects
- The bill requires multiple steps before becoming effective:
- Adoption by seven participating states triggers the compact’s effectiveness.
- Ongoing governance and data-sharing arrangements are to be established by the Commission through bylaws and rules.
- The legislative process shows rapid progression in February 2025, with subcommittee recommendations and committee reports favoring passage, culminating in renumbering to HF 547.
Notes
- The “Version Content” indicates broad structural provisions (commission, data system, compliance, venue, defense/indemnification, amendments, withdrawal/default/expulsion, severability, binding effect) and confirms the effectiveness condition tied to seven-state adoption. Specific operational details (e.g., exact standards, fee structures, or participating states) are not provided in the summary.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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