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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky creates Athletic Trainer Compact to allow multi-state practice privileges
Last action · March 13, 2026: to Licensing & Occupations (S)Sponsors: Kevin Jackson and 9 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky House Bill 628 enacts the Athletic Trainer Compact, establishing a multi-state framework that allows qualified licensed athletic trainers to practice in remote member states through a recognized . The measure outlines criteria for state participation, background checks, data system reporting, and commission operations.
Licensed athletic trainers meeting uniform standards gain the legal authorization to treat patients in other member states without obtaining separate individual licenses, while member states retain regulatory authority over local practice scopes and disciplinary actions.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Licensed athletic trainers
Qualified athletic trainers can obtain compact privileges to practice in remote member states without acquiring separate individual licenses.
State athletic licensing authorities
Licensing boards must participate in the compact commission's data system, conduct criminal background checks, and report adverse actions.
Active military members and their spouses
Active military members and their spouses are exempt from paying commission fees for obtaining a compact privilege.
Key Facts
- The legislation establishes the Athletic Trainer Compact to enable mutual recognition of other member state licenses and eliminate the necessity for multiple state licenses.
- To participate, member states must require continuing competence standards, maintain complaint-handling mechanisms, and implement criminal background check procedures utilizing FBI fingerprint records.
- Eligible licensees must complete a background check, hold a valid certification through the Board of Certification, Inc. or an accredited degree, and have no license encumbrances within the previous two years.
- Licensees practicing in a remote state under a compact privilege must adhere to the scope of practice laws and regulations of the remote state where the patient is located.
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- Active military members and their spouses are exempt from paying fees to the compact commission for a compact privilege.
- The legislation creates the Athletic Trainer Compact Commission as a joint government agency with rulemaking, financial, and enforcement powers.
- The compact officially comes into effect on the date the statute is enacted into law in the seventh member state.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary purpose of the Athletic Trainer Compact?
Do athletic trainers need to pay fees for compact privileges if they are in the military?
Whose scope of practice must an athletic trainer follow when practicing in another state?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
8 actions- Mar 13, 2026SenateCommitteeto Licensing & Occupations (S)
- Mar 5, 2026SenateIntroducedreceived in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
- Mar 4, 2026HouseFloor3rd reading, passed 97-0 with Committee Substitute (1)
- Mar 3, 2026Houseposted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, March 04 2026
- Feb 26, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules
- Feb 25, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
Show 2 earlier actions
- Feb 20, 2026HouseCommitteeto Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H)
- Feb 12, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Interstate Professional Practice Framework
The bill shifts from single-state licensing requirements toward a multi-state mutual recognition model for athletic trainers.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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