§ 5-34.3-8. Additional authorities invested in party state nurse licensing boards. [Expires January
1, 2027]
(a) Notwithstanding any other powers conferred by state law, party state nurse licensing
boards shall have the authority to:
(1) Take adverse action against a nurse's multistate licensure privilege to practice within
that party state.
(i) Only the home state shall have the power to take adverse action against a nurse's
license issued by the home state.
(ii) For purposes of taking adverse action, the home state licensing board shall give the
same priority and effect to reported conduct received from a remote state as it would
if such conduct had occurred within the home state. In so doing, the home state shall
apply its own state laws to determine appropriate action.
(2) Issue cease and desist orders or impose an encumbrance on a nurse's authority to practice
within that party state.
(3) Complete any pending investigations of a nurse who changes primary state of residence
during the course of such investigations. The licensing board shall also have the
authority to take appropriate action(s) and shall promptly report the conclusions
of such investigations to the administrator of the coordinated licensure information
system. The administrator of the coordinated licensure information system shall promptly
notify the new home state of any such actions.
(4) Issue subpoenas for both hearings and investigations that require the attendance and
testimony of witnesses, as well as, the production of evidence. Subpoenas issued by
a licensing board in a party state for the attendance and testimony of witnesses or
the production of evidence from another party state shall be enforced in the latter
state by any court of competent jurisdiction, according to the practice and procedure
of that court applicable to subpoenas issued in proceedings pending before it. The
issuing authority shall pay any witness fees, travel expenses, mileage, and other
fees required by the service statutes of the state in which the witnesses or evidence
are located.
(5) Obtain and submit, for each nurse licensure applicant, fingerprint or other biometric-based
information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for criminal background checks,
receive the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation record search on criminal
background checks, and use the results in making licensure decisions.
(6) If otherwise permitted by state law, recover from the affected nurse the costs of
investigations and disposition of cases resulting from any adverse action taken against
that nurse.
(7) Take adverse action based on the factual findings of the remote state, provided that
the licensing board follows its own procedures for taking such adverse action.
(b) If adverse action is taken by the home state against a nurse's multistate license,
the nurse's multistate licensure privilege to practice in all other party states shall
be deactivated until all encumbrances have been removed from the multistate license.
All home state disciplinary orders that impose adverse action against a nurse's multistate
license shall include a statement that the nurse's multistate licensure privilege
is deactivated in all party states during the pendency of the order.
(c) Nothing in this compact shall override a party state's decision that participation
in an alternative program may be used in lieu of adverse action. The home state licensing
board shall deactivate the multistate licensure privilege under the multistate license
of any nurse for the duration of the nurse's participation in an alternative program.