Senate committee advances licensing cleanup for physical therapy (House Bill 255)

House Bill 255, a cleanup of Kentucky's physical therapy statutes, passed out of the Senate Standing Committee on Licensing and Occupations with a favorable recommendation on March 27, 2025.

The bill updates statutory language that presenters said dates to 1958, aligns regulatory and statutory terminology, clarifies disciplinary provisions, and creates explicit authority for the Kentucky Board of Physical Therapy to carry out administrative tasks such as purchasing liability insurance. Representative Amy Neighbors (sponsor) and Steven Curley, executive director of the Kentucky Board of Physical Therapy, told the committee the measure does not change the scope of practice for physical therapists.

Supporters said the measure is primarily a modernization and readability effort. "This bill will update the statutes governing the Commonwealth of Kentucky's physical therapy board," Representative Amy Neighbors said. Steven Curley told the committee the board has worked on revisions for more than 15 years alongside the American Physical Therapy Association's Kentucky chapter to "streamline language" and remove outdated phrases such as "lewd and immoral conduct." Curley said some items already exist in regulation and the bill moves them into statute for clarity.

Key provisions described to the committee include changing the statutory designation of some practitioner categories from "certified" to "licensed" to reflect current practice, creating explicit statutory authority for the board to purchase liability insurance and carry out other administrative functions, and moving caps for fines and application fee ceilings into regulation without changing current fee amounts. "It is not updating any of our application fees," Curley said; "We haven't changed fees in about 10 years." The bill also renames a "temporary permit" to a "provisional license," language supporters said is intended to address insurer reluctance to reimburse for services rendered under a permit label while preserving the existing requirements and operation.

The committee also heard provisions aimed at internationally trained physical therapists. Curley said the bill would allow the board discretion to waive parts of Kentucky's supervised-practice requirements for applicants who have practiced in other U.S. states for an extended period without disciplinary actions. "If you've been practicing in Indiana for the last 10 years with no issues, that's less of a necessity," Curley said, while noting the board may still require supervised practice when appropriate.

Committee members pressed for limits and assurances. Senator McDaniel asked whether the bill "add[s] additional training requirements" or "reduce[s] the amount of training required," and Curley replied, "No." McDaniel also asked whether the bill would affect Medicaid; Curley said it would not. Senators Berg and Howe asked about the comparability of out-of-state supervised practice; Curley said Kentucky would accept an out-of-state supervised practice only if the other state's requirements were "equal or more stringent" and that the existing supervised-practice statute (three to six months with required reporting) remains in place.

The committee moved the bill by voice vote and then completed a roll call. The committee chair announced, "House Bill 255 passes out with favorable expression."

Votes at a glance: committee reported House Bill 255 with a favorable recommendation (vote recorded as unanimous in the committee proceeding).