(a) In addition to the other powers conferred by state law, a licensing board shall have the authority to do all of the following:
(1) Take adverse action against the multistate licensure privilege of a nurse to practice within that party state.
a. Only the home state shall have the power to take adverse action against the license of a nurse issued by the home state.
b. 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 the authority of a nurse to practice within that party state.
(3) Complete any pending investigations of a nurse who changes his or her primary state of residence during the course of such investigations. The licensing board may also take any appropriate actions and shall promptly report the conclusions of any 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 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 applicant for a multistate license, 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 the adverse action.
(b) If adverse action is taken by the home state against the multistate license of a nurse, the 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 the multistate license of a nurse shall include a statement that the multistate licensure privilege of the nurse is deactivated in all party states during the pendency of the order.
(c) Nothing in this compact shall override the decision of a party state 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 his or her participation in an alternative program.
Last modified: May 3, 2021