AN ACT relating to occupational therapy; ratifying and entering into the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact; authorizing the sharing of certain information with the data system created pursuant to the Compact; providing a person practicing as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in this State under the Compact with the same legal status as a person practicing as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant under a license issued by the Board of Occupational Therapy; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Sponsored By: Elaine H. Marzola (Democratic)
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
9 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 5 mixed.
Occupational therapists gain interstate practice options
Beginning July 1, 2025, Nevada joins a compact allowing eligible occupational therapists and assistants to practice across member states, including telehealth. A Compact Privilege gives the same legal status as a Nevada license, unless a statute or context requires otherwise. Regular state licenses remain available but do not automatically grant Compact Privileges. The Compact starts when the tenth state enacts it; later states follow existing Commission rules. A state can leave six months after repealing the Compact, but must keep reporting investigations and discipline until then.
Therapists face interstate eligibility checks
Practitioners need a valid home-state license, no restrictions on any state license, and a valid Social Security or National Practitioner Identification number. They must notify the Commission, pay applicable fees, complete criminal checks, and meet the other state's legal-knowledge requirements. Nevada must use FBI fingerprint or biometric checks and state records for initial privileges, a recognized national licensing exam, and ongoing competence or education for renewal. After discipline, practitioners must complete all requirements, pay all fines, and wait two years before qualifying again. They must report discipline by a nonmember state within 30 days; privileges last only while the home-state license remains valid.
Interstate therapy brings oversight and penalties
To protect patients, practitioners must follow the state where they practice; the Compact overrides conflicting state law. Assistants need supervision by a therapist licensed or holding a Compact Privilege in that state. The home state controls discipline against its license, while other states can restrict privileges and impose fines under their due-process rules. States can investigate jointly, share findings under their own procedures, and issue cross-state subpoenas; moving does not end a pending home-state investigation. Home-state discipline deactivates other privileges, and states can charge investigation and case costs when discipline results and state law allows.
Military therapists can keep home licenses
Active-duty service members and their spouses can choose a home state where they hold a current occupational therapy license in good standing. They can keep that home-state choice while the service member remains on active duty. This supports licensing continuity during military moves.
Therapy Commission can charge operating fees
The Commission can collect annual assessments from member states or charge other parties fees to fund its work. These payments, together with other revenue, must cover its approved annual budget. The Commission must set a rule for dividing state assessments. The law sets no dollar amounts and does not require a specific household charge. The Commission must undergo an annual independent accountant's audit and include it in its report.
Moving therapists must update home licenses
Therapists and assistants moving their primary residence between member states must apply for a new home-state license. They must pay applicable fees and notify both states. The new state verifies eligibility and can require a background check and a test of state laws. Once the new license starts, the former home-state license becomes a Compact Privilege; only one home-state license is allowed for Compact purposes. Practitioners who do not qualify must follow the new state's regular licensing requirements.
States face therapy Compact enforcement
The Commission gives states written notice and training or technical help when they fail their Compact duties. After other compliance efforts fail, a majority vote can end membership; the state still owes obligations incurred through termination. At a member state's request, the Commission must try to resolve Compact disputes through mediation and, when appropriate, binding decisions. By majority vote, it can sue a defaulting member state in federal court for compliance, court orders, or damages. A winning member can recover litigation costs and reasonable lawyer fees; the Commission generally does not pay costs tied to a state's default.
Therapy Commission gains powers and protections
Member states create a shared public Commission, with one delegate chosen by each state's licensing board. Its rules have the force of law within the Compact's purposes and powers. A rule loses effect in every member state if a majority of member-state legislatures rejects it within four years. Commission officials and staff receive protection from civil suits for covered actions within their duties, limiting claims against them. The Commission must defend and cover them in qualifying cases, but intentional, willful, or wanton misconduct is not protected.
Therapy records shared with privacy limits
The Commission must maintain shared licensing, discipline, and investigation records, and member states must submit required information. Investigative information is available only to member states; contributing states can mark records nonpublic and must remove records when their laws require expungement. Beginning July 1, 2025, Nevada's public-records rule includes an exception for covered Compact information. Nevada Board complaints and investigation records stay confidential, subject to Compact and other exceptions; a person can request disclosure in writing. Charging papers and records used to decide discipline remain public, and the Board must retain complaints for at least 10 years.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Elaine H. Marzola
Democratic • House
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
Actions Timeline
(No further action taken.)
6/3/2025HouseRereferred to Committee on Ways and Means. Exemption effective. To committee.
4/15/2025HouseTaken from General File.
4/15/2025HouseRead second time.
4/15/2025HouseFrom committee: Do pass.
4/14/2025HouseNotice of eligibility for exemption.
3/2/2025HouseRead first time. To committee.
2/4/2025HouseFrom printer.
1/24/2025HousePrefiled. Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor. To printer.
1/21/2025House
Bill Text
As Introduced
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