Rep. Thompson tells committee HB 4901 would move nurse and speech‑pathologist license renewals to three‑year cycle

Representative Thompson told the House Rules Committee that House Bill 4901 would change the licensing renewal cycle for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and speech‑language pathologists from every two years to every three years.

“Moving from a two‑year license to a three‑year license is practical,” Representative Thompson said. “It’s not going to change your continuing education. It’s going to be less burdensome on the state, and it’s going to be less burdensome on health care professionals.”

Thompson said the bill would not alter existing continuing‑education requirements: the state currently requires 25 contact hours for nurses and 20 hours for speech‑language pathologists per renewal cycle. Thompson provided a statewide snapshot, saying there are about 175,000 registered nurses, roughly 21,000 licensed practical nurses and nearly 6,000 speech‑language pathologists licensed in Michigan; she said the change could affect thousands of these professionals.

On costs, Thompson said nurses currently pay a $131 renewal fee each two‑year cycle and that speech‑language pathologists have a $187 renewal fee; she characterized the bill as reducing the frequency of those renewal expenses and lowering administrative burden for the licensing agency and professionals. Thompson emphasized that the bill does not change continuing‑education hour requirements or specialty certification obligations.

After testimony, Representative Wenzel moved to report HB 4901 with recommendation. The clerk called the roll and the chair announced the tally as 7 ayes, 0 nays and 0 pass; the motion prevailed and the bill was reported with recommendation to the House.

The committee did not debate amendments or alter continuing‑education requirements during the hearing. The next procedural step is for the bill to be scheduled for consideration by the full House.