Advocacy

Current NCAA Legislative and Policy Issues

Update to NC Audiology Statutes

Heading into the 2023 legislative session our primary focus is, once again, passage of our “statutory update” legislation. Senator Jim Burgin has agreed to sponsor the legislation in the Senate and we have asked legislators to “fast track” the bill. This session’s version of the bill incorporates definitional language on “over the counter” hearing aids as a result of FDA rulings made last fall.

Audiologists should be able to practice at the top of their license and serve their patients will all the knowledge, training and experience at their disposal. Current statutes were written 40 years ago and do not come close to covering the profession as it is currently practices.

Exciting updates are available for NCAA members only both on this website and via your lobbyist’s periodic legislative/policy updates.

Interstate Compact

As you may recall, your NCAA was instrumental in North Carolina passing Interstate Compact language that allowed our state to be a “founding” member. Since that time the “Audiology and Speech Language Pathology” interstate compact has been enacted into law in 23 states.

The ASLP-IC Commission held its first meeting in January 2022 to establish rules and bylaws to implement the compact. Committees are now meeting on a monthly basis to continue these meetings on a monthly basis. The meetings are open to the public, and you can find more information about those meetings at this address: https://aslpcompact.com/meetings/
The process of standing up the commission can last a year or longer. Once the commission is fully operational and the member states are fully integrated in the compact’s data system, compact privileges to practice will become available. We currently anticipate that applications for compact privileges will open in 2023.

The interactive state map lists the current ASLP-IC member states and other states proposing to join the ASLP-IC.

The current member states are: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Privilege to Practice
Once the Compact is fully operational, licensed audiologists and speech-language pathologists will be able to apply for a privilege to practice in-person and through telehealth in ASLP-IC states.

The ASLP-IC offers several benefits to the public.

Improves continuity of care
Improves portability for military spouses
Improves access to audiology and speech-language pathology providers
Increases choice of audiology and speech-language pathology providers
Facilitates alternate delivery methods (Telehealth)
Simplifies/speeds up the current process
Addresses portability & barriers to access
Practice of audiology and speech-language pathology occurs in the state where the patient/client is located at the time of the patient/client encounter

Stay tuned to these pages for more updates.

Access the Bill

Read the Bill here.

NCAA Action

Getting this legislation passed presents a good example of opportunistic lobbying on the part of your NCAA. Originally, we thought we would work to pass the Compact during the 2021 legislative session. But an opportunity presented itself when Representative Horn introduced House bill 1053, "PED/Military Licensure." The bill would allow the spouses of active military duty members moving into the state to practice Audiology without having to re-license in North Carolina.

We saw this as a vehicle to try and pass the Interstate Compact language as well. We approached Representative Horn with the idea and he agreed to add the Compact language to the bill. We were joined in our effort by the North Carolina Speech Hearing and Language Association whose lobbyist Ashley Perkinson worked closely with us. Also joining the effort was Nahale Kalfas Counsel to the Council of State Governments and Rick Masters who literally wrote the book on Interstate Compacts. The Department of Defense also supported our efforts and wrote letters to that effect.

The Bill passed unanimously in both Houses and was signed into law by Governor McCrory on July 2nd 2020!

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