Nevada committee holds hearing on AB 230 to join audiology and speech‑language compact

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor held a hearing March 7 on Assembly Bill 230 (AB 230), a measure to enact the Audiology and Speech Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLPIC) and allow licensed audiologists and speech‑language pathologists from other compact states to obtain a privilege to practice in Nevada.

Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola, sponsor of AB 230, told the committee the compact would protect public health while improving access to care by allowing eligible practitioners licensed in a compact member state to practice in Nevada under a “compact privilege.”

The bill drew broad support from professional organizations, providers, parents and allied health groups during the roughly 44‑minute hearing. Matt Schafer of the Council of State Governments described interstate compacts as a tool to reduce duplicative licensure steps and facilitate multi‑state practice. “Compacts are built on the premise of mutual recognition,” Schafer said, explaining that the compact allows a licensee in one member state to be authorized to practice in other member states without obtaining a separate state license.

Kelly Mae Douglas of the Defense State Liaison Office, U.S. Department of Defense, told the committee the compact would help military families by easing relicensing during frequent moves and could improve workforce availability for Nevada. “By enacting AB 2 30, Nevada would have the opportunity to increase its workforce available to serve the local community while also supporting military families,” Douglas said.

Multiple Nevada providers and advocacy organizations said the state faces a notable shortage of clinicians. Jennifer Pierce, executive director of the Nevada Speech Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board, provided board support for the bill. Shanna Ross, a licensed speech‑language pathologist and advocacy chair for the Nevada Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association, said Nevada currently has about 1,397 licensed speech‑language pathologists and 63 licensed audiologists for a state population she cited as about 3.2 million. Ross said Nevada’s rate of 32.7 SLPs per 100,000 residents is well below the national average she cited of 60.8 per 100,000.

Supporters told the committee the compact could expand telehealth access, increase continuity of care when families relocate, and make it easier for private practices, schools and health systems to recruit clinicians. Several allied health groups — including the Vegas Chamber, the Nevada Occupational Therapy Association and the Nevada chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association — spoke in favor of the bill.

Committee member questions focused on workforce drivers and educational pipeline limits. Ross said the University of Nevada, Reno graduates about 25 master’s‑level clinicians a year in Northern Nevada and noted audiologists must pursue a doctoral degree out of state, which contributes to local shortages.

The bill text presented section‑by‑section details that include eligibility criteria for compact privileges, telehealth practice rights, a requirement that practitioners have an active, unencumbered license and background checks, a data‑sharing database for member states, and creation of a compact commission to govern operations and adopt rules once a threshold of member states has enacted the compact. Committee staff explained that the compact becomes effective in a state after the compact is adopted and rules are in place as described in the bill.

No members of the public testified in opposition during the hearing; multiple individuals and organizations testified in support either in person, remotely from Las Vegas, or by telephone. The committee did not take a vote on AB 230 at the hearing and closed the public testimony portion after hearing from supporters.

The hearing record includes witnesses who described long wait times for evaluations and treatment in Nevada and cited examples of families traveling from rural counties for services. Testimony also noted the compact had been enacted in numerous other jurisdictions, though speakers gave differing counts during the hearing: earlier testimony referenced 34 states and 1 territory as having enacted the ASLPIC, while another witness described a smaller count of states with active legislation in the current session. Both statements were recorded in the hearing transcript.