Legislative counsel outlines licensure changes for speech‑language pathology and APRN renewal language in H.588 amendment
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Summary
A committee amendment to H.588 would add licensure provisions for speech‑language pathologist assistants and proposes striking a renewal practice‑hour documentation requirement for APRNs; legislative counsel characterized assistant requirements as placeholders for further testimony.
Legislative counsel Tim Devlin briefed the Government Operations & Military Affairs committee on a 'strike‑all' amendment to H.588 that would revise Title 26 to add licensure language for speech‑language pathologist assistants and adjust the bill’s structure to match Title 26 ordering.
"The title now reads speech language pathologists and speech language pathologists assistants," Devlin said, describing a set of changes that add a definition of "speech language pathologist assistant" and add assistants to the registry duties under the director's responsibilities. He said the draft includes placeholder requirements for assistants’ education and experience and recommended the committee take additional testimony to determine appropriate qualifying criteria.
Devlin also described a proposed amendment affecting advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). He said OPR suggests striking the subdivision that currently requires documentation of completion of APRN practice‑hour requirements from the renewal statute identified as "26 16 14." "APRN is advanced practice registered nurses," Devlin noted as he walked members through the statute; he characterized the drafting change as a matter of policy discretion and said he would defer policy justification to OPR.
Devlin flagged minor drafting cleanups in the amendment (reordering sections, fixing a missing subsection reference) and noted that effective dates had been adjusted in the revised draft posted to the committee page. He told members the updated draft had been circulated earlier that day and that the committee should consider the placeholder language for assistants as a starting point for testimony and refinement.
Committee members agreed further testimony would be appropriate and discussed timing for a follow‑up session to resolve outstanding drafting choices. Devlin said he would update the overview language so the committee has aligned references for the next meeting.
