SB38 Summary

• Enables Alabama Board of Nursing to participate in the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, allowing registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to obtain multistate licenses that permit practice across participating states.

• Establishes multistate vs. single state licensing options, where multistate licenses allow interstate practice under a multistate licensure privilege, while single state licenses restrict practice to Alabama only.

• Requires criminal background checks via fingerprints for all applicants seeking multistate licenses or initial licensure by endorsement, with costs borne by applicants.

• Creates the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators to coordinate licensing, enforce rules, manage disciplinary information sharing, and oversee the coordinated licensure information system across party states.

• Maintains state regulatory authority by allowing remote states to take adverse action against multistate licensure privileges while only home states can discipline the actual license, and ensures nurses comply with practice laws of the state where care is provided.