HB 1295: Physician Assistant Licensure Compact; enter into an interstate compact

Currently, a physician assistant (PA) who wants to work in Georgia generally has to obtain a Georgia license through the Georgia Composite Medical Board, even if already licensed elsewhere. This bill would have Georgia enter the Physician Assistant Licensure Compact, an interstate agreement that lets a PA who holds an unrestricted license in one member state gain a 'compact privilege' to practice in any other member state, including Georgia, without a separate license there. The bill rewrites the legal definition of 'physician assistant' to include those practicing under a compact privilege, and it requires all PA applicants for Georgia licensure to pass a state and FBI criminal background check using fingerprints submitted through the Georgia Crime Information Center. It also directs the Georgia Composite Medical Board to administer the compact. The compact itself sets up a national commission to manage a shared licensing database, handle discipline across states, and make rules binding on member states. The changes take effect July 1, 2027.

• Enrolls Georgia in the interstate Physician Assistant Licensure Compact, letting PAs licensed in other member states practice in Georgia through a 'compact privilege' instead of a separate Georgia license.
• Rewrites the definition of 'physician assistant' in Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-102) to cover people licensed in Georgia or holding a compact privilege under the new law.
• Requires anyone applying for a Georgia PA license to pass a state and FBI fingerprint-based criminal background check through the Georgia Crime Information Center, at the applicant's expense.
• Directs the Georgia Composite Medical Board to administer the new compact alongside its existing licensing duties (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-108).
• Creates a national Physician Assistant Licensure Compact Commission with rulemaking, discipline-tracking, and dispute-resolution powers over all participating states.
• Sets the effective date of the entire Act as July 1, 2027.

Physician assistants seeking to practice in Georgia or move between compact states, the Georgia Composite Medical Board, supervising physicians who employ PAs, patients receiving care from PAs, and the Georgia Crime Information Center, which will process new background checks.

PAs licensed in other compact states could start practicing in Georgia faster, without going through Georgia's full separate licensing process, which could ease staffing in Georgia's health care system. At the same time, every Georgia PA applicant would face a new mandatory criminal background check before being licensed.

• Section 1 amends the definition of 'physician assistant' (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-102) to include people licensed in Georgia or holding a compact privilege under the new Code Section 43-34-111.
• Section 2 amends licensure application rules (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103) to require a satisfactory criminal background check, including fingerprint submission to the Georgia Crime Information Center and FBI, before Georgia licensure is granted.
• Section 2 also states that background check results are confidential, not public records, and usable only by the board for licensing purposes.
• Section 3 amends the Georgia Composite Medical Board's powers (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-108) to add administering the Physician Assistant Licensure Compact to its duties.
• Section 4 creates new Code Section 43-34-111, adopting the full text of the 'PA Licensure Compact,' which defines terms like 'Compact Privilege,' 'Qualifying License,' and 'Adverse Action.'
• The compact requires member states to license PAs, share data through a national Data System, investigate complaints, and report disciplinary actions to a new national Commission.
• The compact takes effect once seven states enact it, and a state may withdraw by repealing the compact, with a 180-day wind-down period for existing compact privileges.
• Section 5 sets the Act's effective date as July 1, 2027, and Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
2. 2026-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
3. 2026-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
4. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
5. 2026-03-31Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
6. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)
7. 2026-03-16Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-12Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)
• John LaHood (R, HD-175)
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   157 yea, 3 nay (1 not voting, 16 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #644

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage As Amended: Senate Vote #949

• physician assistant licensing
• interstate licensing compact
• medical licensing
• criminal background checks
• health care workforce