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House panel hears competing testimony on bill to join Nurse Licensure Compact
Summary
Representative Phil Green’s bill to allow Michigan to join the Nurse Licensure Compact drew supportive testimony from hospital and academic leaders and opposition from multiple nursing organizations that warned of weakened state oversight, lower continuing‑education standards and workforce instability.
The House Health Policy Committee heard more than two hours of testimony on House Bill 4246, introduced by Representative Phil Green, which would authorize Michigan to join the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and allow nurses with a compact multistate license to practice in Michigan without obtaining a separate Michigan license.
Representative Phil Green, sponsor of the bill, framed the proposal as a practical fix to cross‑state licensure barriers. He said the measure is “personal to me,” describing family experience with license transfer delays and saying, “This piece of legislation would solve these problems,” by expanding mobility for nurses and enabling telehealth across state lines.
Supporters included Amy Brown, chief nursing officer for the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, who said the compact would help hospitals recruit amid what the MHA’s spring 2025 survey found as more than 4,900 registered‑nurse openings in Michigan hospitals. “The nurse licensure compact allows nurses licensed in a compact member state to practice in any compact state,” Brown told the committee, adding that 41 states and two territories already participate. Dr. Leigh Small, dean of the College of Nursing at Michigan State University and a representative of the Michigan Association of Colleges of Nursing, said the compact would ease clinical placements for students and help address faculty shortages by enabling cross‑state instruction without multiple licenses.
Patrick Miller, president and CEO of Northstar Care Community (Hospice of Michigan), also spoke in favor, saying his organization hires nurses who must be licensed in multiple states and that compact membership would make recruitment easier for hospice care that often serves patients in their homes.
Opponents — including Aaron McCormick, a registered nurse at Michigan Medicine and a Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) leader; Katie Pontifex, associate executive director for healthcare practice at MNA; and Michelle Mahan, director of nursing practice for National Nurses United — warned the compact would weaken Michigan’s regulatory control and put patient safety at risk. McCormick said a “primary concern for me is the fact that with the compact nurses from states with lower standards to Michigan could work here,” and cited Michigan’s continuing‑education requirements as an example of standards that could be bypassed in practice.
MNA witnesses and National Nurses United pointed to the Operation Nightingale investigation, which uncovered the sale of thousands of fraudulent diplomas and transcripts; witnesses said about 7,600 fraudulent credentials were involved and approximately 2,400 of those individuals subsequently passed the national licensing exam and obtained licensure in multiple states. Katie Pontifex said the compact “forces Michigan to recognize out of state licenses without the ability to independently verify a nurse's education or up to date disciplinary history.” Michelle Mahan added that under the compact Michigan would cede regulatory authority to an interstate commission that can issue binding rules, and she warned that disciplinary reporting and action could be delayed across jurisdictions.
Committee members asked questions about continuing education, workforce impacts, border communities and whether the compact would worsen staffing in rural areas. Supporters said the compact would help border‑region hospitals coordinate staffing with neighboring compact states (Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio) and expand telehealth access; opponents said the compact does not create new nurses, only makes it easier for existing nurses to relocate or travel, and expressed concern that it could favor temporary staffing agencies over building stable, local workforces.
No committee vote was recorded on House Bill 4246 in this session; the hearing concluded after witnesses both for and against testified and members asked follow‑up questions. Several organizations submitted “not wishing to speak” cards in support or opposition and were read into the record.
The committee chair said members who were not reached to testify would be given an opportunity to return the next week to complete testimony.
