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Hospitals back bill to allow temporary student licenses for respiratory therapists
Summary
Hospitals told the committee that creating a temporary student license for respiratory therapy would help recruit trainees and reduce out-of-state losses; OPLC confirmed rulemaking would be required if the bill passes.
Representative Carol McGuire opened the public hearing on House Bill 85, a bill requested by the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification that would create a temporary license for respiratory therapy students to work in health-care settings under supervision and practice only the skills for which they have demonstrated competency.
Kathy Bazar Thornburg, executive vice president at the New Hampshire Hospital Association, testified that HealthForce New Hampshire and hospital employers support the bill because many neighboring states already permit similar student temporary licenses and New Hampshire loses students who choose to work out of state. Bazar Thornburg cited a hospital-compiled vacancy rate for hospital-employed respiratory therapists of 21.7% (October 2024 data) and said allowing students to work under a temporary student license could increase retention.
Testimony described the bill’s three principal elements: (1) a student temporary license that limits practice to skills the student has demonstrated and requires supervision; (2) a statutory distinction between clinical student activity and paid temporary licensed practice; and (3) a requirement that employers be able to verify a student’s temporary license. The sponsors emphasized that the measure would require OPLC rulemaking to define details such as renewal, termination if a student leaves school and the mechanism for demonstrating competency.
OPLC staff answered committee questions about operational details. Deanna Juris and Nicholas Fry, general counsel, told the committee that the office would implement the new license via rulemaking and suggested consistent terminology (for example, “temporary student license”) across the statute to avoid confusion with existing temporary-license categories. Juris said the office would revoke a student license when the individual no longer met the student enrollment requirement; if the student remained enrolled they could renew within the rule framework.
Online testimony showed two supporters and no online oppositions. Committee members asked for additional details about program length and compensation; witnesses noted there is one in-state program (River Valley) that is approximately a two‑year program and said compensation varies by employer.
The committee closed the hearing; staff and the sponsor said they would participate in rulemaking if the bill advances.
