Idaho S 1136: OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING – Adds to existing law to provide for Idaho’s participation in the respiratory care interstate compact.

Bill Text

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2025
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1136
BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
AN ACT1
RELATING TO THE RESPIRATORY CARE INTERSTATE COMPACT; AMENDING CHAPTER2
43, TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 54-4308A,3
IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH PROVISIONS REGARDING THE RESPIRATORY CARE4
INTERSTATE COMPACT, TO PROVIDE A TITLE AND PURPOSE, TO DEFINE TERMS,5
TO PROVIDE FOR STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPACT, TO PROVIDE COM-6
PACT PRIVILEGE, TO PROVIDE FOR ACTIVE MILITARY MEMBERS AND SPOUSES, TO7
PROVIDE FOR ADVERSE ACTIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE8
RESPIRATORY CARE INTERSTATE COMPACT COMMISSION, TO PROVIDE FOR A DATA9
SYSTEM, TO PROVIDE FOR RULEMAKING, TO PROVIDE FOR OVERSIGHT, DISPUTE10
RESOLUTION, AND ENFORCEMENT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE, WITH-11
DRAWAL, AND AMENDMENT, TO PROVIDE FOR CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY,12
AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONSISTENT EFFECT AND CONFLICT WITH OTHER STATE LAWS;13
AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:15
SECTION 1. That Chapter 43, Title 54, Idaho Code, be, and the same is16
hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-17
ignated as Section 54-4308A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:18
54-4308A. RESPIRATORY CARE INTERSTATE COMPACT. The respiratory care19
interstate compact is enacted and entered into law with all other jurisdic-20
tions joining in the compact in the form substantially as follows:21
RESPIRATORY CARE INTERSTATE COMPACT22
SECTION 123
TITLE AND PURPOSE24
A. The purpose of this compact is to facilitate interstate practice of25
respiratory therapy with the goal of improving public access to respiratory26
therapy services by providing respiratory therapists licensed in a member27
state the ability to practice in other member states. This compact preserves28
the regulatory authority of states to protect public health and safety29
through the current system of state licensure.30
B. This compact is designed to achieve the following objectives:31
1. Increase public access to respiratory therapy services by creating32
a responsible, streamlined pathway for licensees to practice in member33
states with the goal of improving outcomes for patients;34
2. Enhance the states' ability to protect the public's health and35
safety;36
3. Promote the cooperation of member states in regulating the practice37
of respiratory therapy with those member states;38

2
4. Ease administrative burdens on states by encouraging the cooper-1
ation of member states in regulating multistate respiratory therapy2
practice;3
5. Support relocating active military members and their spouses; and4
6. Promote mobility and address workforce shortages.5
SECTION 26
DEFINITIONS7
As used in this compact, unless the context requires otherwise, the fol-8
lowing definitions shall apply:9
A. "Active military member" means any person with a full-time duty sta-10
tus in the armed forces of the United States, including members of the na-11
tional guard and reserve.12
B. "Adverse action" means any administrative, civil, equitable, or13
criminal action permitted by a state's laws that is imposed by any state14
authority with regulatory authority over respiratory therapists, such as15
license denial, censure, revocation, suspension, probation, monitoring of16
the licensee, or restriction on the licensee's practice, not including par-17
ticipation in an alternative program.18
C. "Alternative program" means a non-disciplinary monitoring or prac-19
tice remediation process applicable to a respiratory therapist approved by20
any state authority with regulatory authority over respiratory therapists.21
This includes but is not limited to programs to which licensees with sub-22
stance abuse or addiction issues are referred in lieu of adverse action.23
D. "Charter member states" means those member states who were the first24
seven (7) states to enact this compact into the laws of their state.25
E. "Commission" or "respiratory care interstate compact commission"26
means the government instrumentality and body politic whose membership con-27
sists of all member states that have enacted the compact.28
F. "Commissioner" means the individual appointed by a member state to29
serve as the member of the commission for that member state.30
G. "Compact" means the respiratory care interstate compact.31
H. "Compact privilege" means the authorization granted by a remote32
state to allow a licensee from another member state to practice as a respira-33
tory therapist in the remote state under the remote state's laws and rules.34
The practice of respiratory therapy occurs in the member state where the35
patient is located at the time of the patient encounter.36
I. "Criminal background check" means the submission by a member state37
of fingerprints or other biometric-based information on license applicants38
at the time of initial l