On July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law House Bill 2200 (“HB 2200”). HB 2200 is an Act amending Title 63 relating to State-licensed Professions and Occupations, providing for criminal history background checks.

By way of background, in July 2021, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a law which began the process of adding Pennsylvania to the interstate Nurse License Compact (“NLC”). The NLC allows registered nurses (“RNs”) and licensed practical nurses (“LPNs”) to have one multistate license, with the ability to practice in person or via telehealth, in both the primary state of residence and other NLC jurisdictions. Then Pennsylvania announced partial implementation of the NLC, which would allow RNs and LPNs who hold multistate licenses through the NLC to be permitted to practice in the Commonwealth without obtaining a Pennsylvania license, starting on September 5, 2023. This partial implementation was viewed to help ease Pennsylvania’s severe nursing shortage, alleviate burdens on overworked nursing staffs, make conditions safer for both patients and healthcare workers, and increase patients’ access to in-person and telehealth care. However, this partial implementation became a source of frustration because it gave benefits to out-of-state nurses while leaving Pennsylvania nurses at a disadvantage, unable to practice in other NLC states.

In Pennsylvania, further preconditions needed to be met to allow the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing to issue multistate licenses to Pennsylvania nurses who wanted to be able to practice in NLC states. Among these preconditions was the ability to certify to other NLC states that Pennsylvania’s State Board of Nursing had performed an FBI criminal background check on Pennsylvania applicants, a process that required the Pennsylvania Department of State access to the FBI background check fingerprint database, which undoubtedly requires FBI authorization. Finally, the passage of HB 2200 provides a solution to this step.

HB 2200 establishes a process for the Pennsylvania State Police to obtain fingerprints from people applying for new or interstate licenses and forward them to the FBI for comparison with state and federal databases. The state police would then report the results to the Department of State, which oversees professional licensure. The requirement to provide fingerprints would apply only to applicants seeking multi-state and new licenses. Those with existing licenses would not be required to give fingerprints.

HB 2200 becomes effective on January 13, 2025. Pursuant to HB 2200, the Department of State shall adopt policies and procedures necessary to carry out the process specified therein within 6 months (i.e., by July 13, 2025).

Importantly, HB 2200 applies to all health care practitioners, marking a major step towards Pennsylvania’s ultimate participation in multistate Licensure Compacts for each healthcare profession, including but not limited to physicians, dentists, chiropractors, occupational therapists, physical therapists, podiatrists, psychologists, social workers.

If you have any questions or if we may be of further assistance regarding licensure, compliance, or other health law matters, please feel free to contact Bill Kalogredis, Esq. or Sonal Parekh, Esq.

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Vasilios J. (Bill) Kalogredis, Esq. has been advising physicians, dentists, and other healthcare professionals and their businesses as to contractual, regulatory and transactional matters for 50 years. He is Chairman of Lamb McErlane PC’s Health Law Department. Bill can be reached by email at bkalogredis@lambmcerlane.com or by phone at 610-701-4402.

Sonal Parekh, Esq., is an associate at Lamb McErlane PC who focuses on healthcare transactional matters and a broad range of healthcare regulatory-related issues on behalf of healthcare systems, physicians, dentists, and other healthcare providers, and is a pharmacist by education and training. Sonal can be reached by email at sparekh@lambmcerlane.com or by phone at 610-701-4416.

*This alert is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. Should you require legal advice on this topic, any health care matter, or have any questions or concerns, please contact Vasilios J. (Bill) Kalogredis, Esq. or Sonal Parekh, Esq.