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Committee hears bill to join audiology and speech‑language interstate compact; board says participation fee unlikely
Summary
Assembly Bill 230 would enact the Audiology and Speech‑Language Pathology interstate compact. The sponsoring lawmaker and board representatives told the committee no state participation fee is currently planned and implementation is not expected until late fiscal year 2026 or later.
Assembly Bill 230, sponsored by Assemblymember Elaine Marzola, would enact the Audiology and Speech‑Language Pathology Interstate Compact in Nevada. Marzola presented the bill and noted a fiscal note originally submitted by the Nevada Speech Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board indicated many details were unknown; the board later submitted an update (May 20, 2025) that staff said eliminates the fiscal note.
Jennifer Pierce, executive director of the Nevada licensing board, testified that the board does not plan to assess a state participation fee and that the compact is not expected to be implemented until late FY2026 or later. Pierce also said the board believes current resources are sufficient to cover initial costs associated with implementation and that the earlier fiscal note could be eliminated based on updated information.
Pierce told the committee the compact staff advised that a state participation fee would be unlikely in the foreseeable future; if a fee were needed it would likely use a sliding scale and would probably not exceed $6,000 annually (the example cited was the nursing compact fee). Pierce also said that grant funding (including from DOD and professional organizations) may be available to support compact startup costs.
Supporters on the record included the Vegas Chamber, the Nevada Speech Language Hearing Association, the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, a private therapy practice (Tilton Therapy), and student representatives from the University of Nevada, Reno, who said the compact would reduce administrative barriers for graduates seeking interstate portability of licensure and help retain Nevada‑trained clinicians.
Why it matters: Enacting the compact would change the licensure mobility framework for audiologists and speech‑language pathologists in Nevada. Proponents argued it reduces administrative burden for new graduates and helps retain practitioners. The committee closed the hearing after proponents spoke and no opposition was recorded in the transcript.
