HB336 Alabama 2025 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Kenyatte HassellRepresentative

Democrat

Session

2025 Regular Session

Title

Interstate Compact, respiratory therapists

Summary

Alabama would adopt the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact to let licensed respiratory therapists practice across member states and establish a governing commission to oversee multi-state licensure and discipline.

What This Bill Does

It would adopt the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact as part of Alabama law to standardize licensing and interstate practice among member states. It would create the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact Commission, establish participation rules, disciplinary and joint-investigation procedures, and set up a data system to track licenses, adverse actions, and significant investigative information. It would define how a compact privilege works and include provisions for enforcement, dispute resolution, and military member and spouse accommodations.

Who It Affects

• Licensed respiratory therapists in Alabama, who could obtain a compact privilege to practice in other member states by meeting home-state requirements (active home-state license, NBRC credential, jurisprudence, background checks) and maintaining compliance.
• Active military members and their spouses in Alabama, who would designate a home state, may receive fee relief or waivers for the compact privilege in some states, and can maintain their home-state designation during active duty.

Key Provisions

• Adopts the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact as Article 2 of Chapter 27B of Title 34, aligning Alabama with a multi-state framework while preserving state licensure authority.
• Establishes the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact Commission with one commissioner from each member state, giving it rulemaking, budgeting, enforcement, and governance powers.
• Creates a uniform data system for licensure, adverse actions, and significant investigative information, and defines key terms such as home state, remote state, compact privilege, and licensee.
• Requires participating states to enact the model compact, license respiratory therapists, share data, maintain complaint and adverse-action reporting, and notify the commission of actions and information.
• Sets conditions for obtaining and keeping a compact privilege: active home-state license, NBRC credential, no adverse action in the last two years, payment of fees, jurisprudence requirements, and domicile/address reporting.
• Authorizes cross-state practice under the remote state's scope of practice and requires compliance with the remote state's rules while the licensee remains under home-state status.
• Provides for adverse actions, joint investigations, subpoenas, cost recovery, and confidential information sharing among states, with protections and limitations on what can be shared.
• Gives the Commission authority to enforce rules, conduct hearings, and coordinate disputes, while granting immunity and providing for defense and indemnification of officials and staff; Alabama law can supersede commission rules if conflicts arise.
• Specifies funding through member-state assessments and licensee fees, with annual financial reviews, and sets an effective date for Alabama to be October 1, 2025; also allows withdrawal with notice and 180-day transition for licenses.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Occupational Licensing Boards