HB 744: Authorize speech-language pathology aides and audiology aides - Montana

HB0744_X(2).pdf → HB0744_X(3).pdf · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill text was updated to remove redundant words and correct punctuation in the title and summary sections. A minor formatting adjustment was made to split a long sentence about school district aide requirements into two sentences for better readability. These are technical and stylistic improvements that do not alter the bill's legal meaning, scope, or policy outcomes.

TECHNICAL

Removed redundant 'AND' and 'TO BE LICENSED' from the bill title and summary to improve clarity and reduce wordiness.

Split a sentence regarding school district aide rulemaking into two sentences to enhance readability without changing the legal requirements.

HB0744_2(11).pdf → HB0744_X.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was finalized and enrolled, moving from a draft version to an official state law. The core policy remains unchanged: it exempts speech-language pathology aides and audiology aides employed by school districts from needing a state license, provided they work under supervision and do not exercise independent judgment. The text was cleaned up to remove internal markup symbols and formatting artifacts present in the draft.

TECHNICAL

Removed internal legislative markup symbols (like 1...1) and formatting inconsistencies from the text to produce a clean, final version of the law.

Added official certification signatures and headers indicating the bill has been passed by the House and Senate and is now an enrolled bill.

Removed redundant headers and page markers that were part of the draft document but not part of the final legal text.

HB0744_2(2).pdf → HB0744_2(3).pdf · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was updated to use all capital letters for the amendment instruction, changing 'is amended' to 'IS AMENDED'. This is a stylistic or formatting adjustment rather than a substantive policy change.

TECHNICAL

The instruction to amend the statute was capitalized for consistency with other sections of the bill.

HB0744_2(1).pdf → HB0744_2(2).pdf · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill clarifies that speech-language pathology aides and audiology aides employed by school districts do not need a state license, provided they work under the supervision of a licensed professional for at least 20% of their time. It also mandates that these aides cannot perform tasks requiring independent professional judgment. Additionally, the bill sets a timeline where the licensing rules for these aides become effective only after the relevant board adopts specific regulations.

Scope change

The scope of the bill is narrowed to specifically exempt school district aides from licensing requirements, while maintaining strict supervision and activity limitations for them.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that school district aides must work under the supervision of a licensed professional for a minimum of 20% of their time.

Clarified that school district aides are prohibited from performing work that requires the independent judgment of a speech-language pathologist or audiologist.

ELIGIBILITY

Established that school district speech-language pathology and audiology aides are not required to hold a state license.

TIMELINE

Linked the effective date of the new licensing rules to the board's final adoption of those rules, creating a contingent effective date.

HB0744_1(5).pdf → HB0744_2.pdf · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and restructured to add two new sections that create a specific exemption for school district employees. Previously, all speech-language pathology and audiology aides required licensure; the new text exempts aides employed by school districts from licensure requirements. This change is contingent on the board adopting specific rules within 30 days, at which point the licensure requirement for these aides will automatically terminate.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a specific exemption for school district employees, removing the requirement for them to hold a board license while maintaining supervision requirements.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new exemption stating that speech-language pathology and audiology aides employed by school districts are not required to be licensed by the board.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that the board must adopt rules defining permitted activities for these aides, and these rules cannot be more restrictive than the existing statutory requirements.

TIMELINE

Added a contingent effective date and termination clause: the new exemption and related rules become effective 30 days after the board adopts the necessary rules, and the original licensure requirement for school aides terminates 30 days after that adoption.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized the bill structure by splitting the original single section into two separate sections and adding a new section for effective dates and a contingent termination clause.

LC3376.pdf → HB0744_1.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was renumbered and the header was updated from 'LC 3376' to 'HB 744.1', reflecting a change in the bill's official number or version. The core legal content regarding speech-language pathology and audiology aides remains identical, with no substantive changes to licensing rules, supervision requirements, or scope of practice.

Scope change

No change to the bill's scope or applicability; the text defines the same regulations for aides in Montana.

TECHNICAL

The bill number in the header was changed from LC 3376 to HB 744.1, likely indicating a new version or re-introduction of the legislation.

Line numbers were adjusted throughout the document to reflect the new layout and header changes.

The sponsor list was reformatted to include additional names (M. Nikolakakos, E. Tillman, E. Buttrey, L. Jones, J. Kassmier, G. Lammers, J. Etchart, L. Reksten, M. Romano, J. Lynch) compared to the previous version, though the specific names in the removed lines were not fully captured in the provided diff context.

Authorize speech-language pathology aides and audiology aides

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