GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 620

Short Title:  Foreign Physical Therapists.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Baddour; and Russell.
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Referred to:  Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.
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March 29, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ALLOW A TEMPORARY PERMIT PENDING LICENSURE EXAMINATION TO FOREIGN-TRAINED PHYSICAL THERAPISTS WORKING IN STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  (a) The General Assembly finds that, once a foreign-trained physical therapist's credentials are determined to be substantially equivalent to the United States-trained physical therapist, the foreign-trained physical therapist should be allowed a temporary permit to work in certain employment.  The General Assembly finds that such a permitting process would help many of the State facilities for persons with mental retardation, public schools, nursing homes, and other services sites that are currently understaffed in the area of physical therapy because there are not enough physical therapists being produced by our university physical therapy programs.  Currently, institutions that are understaffed must hire physical therapy consultants at a high hourly rate.
(b) The General Assembly intends to amend the Physical Therapy Practice Act to permit foreign-trained physical therapists to be granted a temporary license pending licensure examination similar to the permits now issued prior to examination to the United States-trained physical therapists, upon determination by a Physical Therapy Board-approved credentialling service.  This temporary license shall allow practice only in the employing State government agencies.
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.