j. Information related to any investigative reports prepared by or on behalf of or for use of the commission or other committee charged with responsibility of investigation or determination of compliance issues pursuant to the compact;
k. Legal advice;
L. Matters specifically exempted from disclosure to the public by federal or participating state law; and
m. Other matters as promulgated by the commission by rule.
5. If a meeting, or portion of a meeting, is closed, the presiding officer shall state that the meeting will be closed and reference each relevant exempting provision, and such reference shall be recorded in the minutes.
6. The commission shall keep minutes that fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in a meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of actions taken, and the reasons therefore, including a description of the views expressed. All documents considered in connection with an action shall be identified in such minutes. All minutes and documents of a closed meeting shall remain under seal, subject to release only by a majority vote of the commission or order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(e) Financing of the commission. 1. The commission shall pay, or provide for the payment of, the reasonable expenses of its establishment, organization, and ongoing activities.
2. The commission may accept any and all appropriate sources of revenue, donations, and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services.
3. The commission may levy on and collect an annual assessment from each participating state and impose fees on licensees of participating states when a compact privilege is granted, to cover the cost of the operations and activities of the commission and its staff, which must be in a total amount sufficient to cover its annual budget as approved each fiscal year for which sufficient revenue is not provided by other sources. The aggregate annual assessment amount for participating states shall be allocated based upon a formula that the commission shall promulgate by rule.
4. The commission shall not incur obligations of any kind prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the same; nor shall the commission pledge the credit of any participating state, except by and with the authority of the participating state.
5. The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the commission shall be subject to the financial review and accounting procedures established under its bylaws. All receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the commission shall be subject to an annual financial review by a certified or licensed public accountant, and the report of the financial review shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the commission.
(f) The executive board. 1. The executive board shall have the power to act on behalf of the commission according to the terms of this compact. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the executive board shall include:
a. Overseeing the day-to-day activities of the administration of the compact including compliance with the provisions of the compact, the commission’s rules and bylaws;
b. Recommending to the commission changes to the rules or bylaws, changes to this compact legislation, fees charged to compact participating states, fees charged to licensees, and other fees;
c. Ensuring compact administration services are appropriately provided, including by contract;
d. Preparing and recommending the budget;
e. Maintaining financial records on behalf of the commission;
f. Monitoring compact compliance of participating states and providing compliance reports to the commission;
g. Establishing additional committees as necessary;
h. Exercising the powers and duties of the commission during the interim between commission meetings, except for adopting or amending rules, adopting or amending bylaws, and exercising any other powers and duties expressly reserved to the commission by rule or bylaw; and
i. Other duties as provided in the rules or bylaws of the commission.
2. The executive board shall be composed of up to seven (7) members:
a. The chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer of the commission and any other members of the commission who serve on the executive board shall be voting members of the executive board; and
b. Other than the chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer, the commission may elect up to three (3) voting members from the current membership of the commission.
3. The commission may remove any member of the executive board as provided in the commission’s bylaws.
4. The executive board shall meet at least annually.
a. An executive board meeting at which it takes or intends to take formal action on a matter shall be open to the public, except that the executive board may meet in a closed, nonpublic session of a public meeting when dealing with any of the matters covered under par. (d) 4.
b. The executive board shall give five (5) business days’ notice of its public meetings, posted on its website and as it may otherwise determine to provide notice to persons with an interest in the public matters the executive board intends to address at those meetings.
5. The executive board may hold an emergency meeting when acting for the commission to:
a. Meet an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare;
b. Prevent a loss of commission or participating state funds; or
c. Protect public health and safety.
(g) Qualified immunity, defense, and indemnification. 1. The members, officers, executive director, employees and representatives of the commission shall be immune from suit and liability, both personally and in their official capacity, for any claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or other civil liability caused by or arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that the person against whom the claim is made had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties or responsibilities; provided that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to protect any such person from suit or liability for any damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or willful or wanton misconduct of that person. The procurement of insurance of any type by the commission shall not in any way compromise or limit the immunity granted hereunder.
2. The commission shall defend any member, officer, executive director, employee, and representative of the commission in any civil action seeking to impose liability arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or as determined by the commission that the person against whom the claim is made had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities; provided that nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit that person from retaining their own counsel at their own expense; and provided further, that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from that person’s intentional or willful or wanton misconduct.
3. Notwithstanding subd. 1., should any member, officer, executive director, employee, or representative of the commission be held liable for the amount of any settlement or judgment arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of that individual’s employment, duties, or responsibilities for the commission, or that the person to whom that individual is liable had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of the individual’s employment, duties, or responsibilities for the commission, the commission shall indemnify and hold harmless such individual, provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from the intentional or willful or wanton misconduct of the individual.
4. Nothing herein shall be construed as a limitation on the liability of any licensee for professional malpractice or misconduct, which shall be governed solely by any other applicable state laws.
5. Nothing in this compact shall be interpreted to waive or otherwise abrogate a participating state’s state action immunity or state action affirmative defense with respect to antitrust claims under the Sherman Act, Clayton Act, or any other state or federal antitrust or anticompetitive law or regulation.
6. Nothing in this compact shall be construed to be a waiver of sovereign immunity by the participating states or by the commission.
(8) Data system. (a) The commission shall provide for the development, maintenance, operation, and utilization of a coordinated database and reporting system containing licensure, adverse action, and the presence of significant investigative information on all licensees and applicants for a license in participating states.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of state law to the contrary, a participating state shall submit a uniform data set to the data system on all individuals to whom this compact is applicable as required by the rules of the commission, including:
1. Identifying information;
2. Licensure data;
3. Adverse actions against a licensee, license applicant or compact privilege and information related thereto;
4. Nonconfidential information related to alternative program participation, the beginning and ending dates of such participation, and other information related to such participation;
5. Any denial of an application for licensure, and the reason(s) for such denial, (excluding the reporting of any criminal history record information where prohibited by law);
6. The presence of significant investigative information; and
7. Other information that may facilitate the administration of this compact or the protection of the public, as determined by the rules of the commission.
(c) The records and information provided to a participating state pursuant to this compact or through the data system, when certified by the commission or an agent thereof, shall constitute the authenticated business records of the commission, and shall be entitled to any associated hearsay exception in any relevant judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative proceedings in a participating state.
(d) Significant investigative information pertaining to a licensee in any participating state will only be available to other participating states.
(e) It is the responsibility of the participating states to monitor the database to determine whether adverse action has been taken against a licensee or license applicant. Adverse action information pertaining to a licensee or license applicant in any participating state will be available to any other participating state.
(f) Participating states contributing information to the data system may designate information that may not be shared with the public without the express permission of the contributing state.
(g) Any information submitted to the data system that is subsequently expunged pursuant to federal law or the laws of the participating state contributing the information shall be removed from the data system.
(9) Rule making. (a) The commission shall promulgate reasonable rules in order to effectively and efficiently implement and administer the purposes and provisions of the compact. A commission rule shall be invalid and have no force or effect only if a court of competent jurisdiction holds that the rule is invalid because the commission exercised its rule-making authority in a manner that is beyond the scope and purposes of the compact, or the powers granted hereunder, or based upon another applicable standard of review.
(b) The rules of the commission shall have the force of law in each participating state, provided however that where the rules of the commission conflict with the laws of the participating state that establish the participating state’s scope of practice as held by a court of competent jurisdiction, the rules of the commission shall be ineffective in that state to the extent of the conflict.
(c) The commission shall exercise its rule-making powers pursuant to the criteria set forth in this subsection and the rules adopted thereunder. Rules shall become binding as of the date specified by the commission for each rule.
(d) If a majority of the legislatures of the participating states rejects a commission rule or portion of a commission rule, by enactment of a statute or resolution in the same manner used to adopt the compact, within four (4) years of the date of adoption of the rule, then such rule shall have no further force and effect in any participating state or to any state applying to participate in the compact.
(e) Rules shall be adopted at a regular or special meeting of the commission.
(f) Prior to adoption of a proposed rule, the commission shall hold a public hearing and allow persons to provide oral and written comments, data, facts, opinions, and arguments.
(g) Prior to adoption of a proposed rule by the commission, and at least thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting at which the commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule, the commission shall provide a notice of proposed rule making:
1. On the website of the commission or other publicly accessible platform;
2. To persons who have requested notice of the commission’s notices of proposed rule making, and
3. In such other way(s) as the commission may by rule specify.
(h) The notice of proposed rule making shall include:
1. The time, date, and location of the public hearing at which the commission will hear public comments on the proposed rule and, if different, the time, date, and location of the meeting where the commission will consider and vote on the proposed rule;
2. If the hearing is held via telecommunication, video conference, or other electronic means, the commission shall include the mechanism for access to the hearing in the notice of proposed rule making;
3. The text of the proposed rule and the reason therefor;
4. A request for comments on the proposed rule from any interested person; and
5. The manner in which interested persons may submit written comments.
(i) All hearings will be recorded. A copy of the recording and all written comments and documents received by the commission in response to the proposed rule shall be available to the public.
(j) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring a separate hearing on each commission rule. Rules may be grouped for the convenience of the commission at hearings required by this subsection.
(k) The commission shall, by majority vote of all commissioners, take final action on the proposed rule based on the rule-making record.
1. The commission may adopt changes to the proposed rule provided the changes do not enlarge the original purpose of the proposed rule.
2. The commission shall provide an explanation of the reasons for substantive changes made to the proposed rule as well as reasons for substantive changes not made that were recommended by commenters.
3. The commission shall determine a reasonable effective date for the rule. Except for an emergency as provided in par. (L), the effective date of the rule shall be no sooner than thirty (30) days after the commission issuing the notice that it adopted or amended the rule.
(L) Upon determination that an emergency exists, the commission may consider and adopt an emergency rule with 24 hours’ notice, with opportunity to comment, provided that the usual rule-making procedures provided in the compact and in this subsection shall be retroactively applied to the rule as soon as reasonably possible, in no event later than ninety (90) days after the effective date of the rule. For the purposes of this provision, an emergency rule is one that must be adopted immediately in order to:
1. Meet an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare;
2. Prevent a loss of commission or participating state funds;
3. Meet a deadline for the promulgation of a rule that is established by federal law or rule; or
4. Protect public health and safety.
(m) The commission or an authorized committee of the commission may direct revisions to a previously adopted rule for purposes of correcting typographical errors, errors in format, errors in consistency, or grammatical errors. Public notice of any revisions shall be posted on the website of the commission. The revision shall be subject to challenge by any person for a period of thirty (30) days after posting. The revision may be challenged only on grounds that the revision results in a material change to a rule. A challenge shall be made in writing and delivered to the commission prior to the end of the notice period. If no challenge is made, the revision will take effect without further action. If the revision is challenged, the revision may not take effect without the approval of the commission.
(n) No participating state’s rule-making requirements shall apply under this compact.
(10) Oversight, dispute resolution, and enforcement. (a) Oversight. 1. The executive and judicial branches of state government in each participating state shall enforce this compact and take all actions necessary and appropriate to implement the compact.
2. Venue is proper and judicial proceedings by or against the commission shall be brought solely and exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction where the principal office of the commission is located. The commission may waive venue and jurisdictional defenses to the extent it adopts or consents to participate in alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Nothing herein shall affect or limit the selection or propriety of venue in any action against a licensee for professional malpractice, misconduct or any such similar matter.
3. The commission shall be entitled to receive service of process in any proceeding regarding the enforcement or interpretation of the compact or commission rule and shall have standing to intervene in such a proceeding for all purposes. Failure to provide the commission service of process shall render a judgment or order void as to the commission, this compact, or promulgated rules.
(b) Default, technical assistance, and termination. 1. If the commission determines that a participating state has defaulted in the performance of its obligations or responsibilities under this compact or the promulgated rules, the commission shall provide written notice to the defaulting state. The notice of default shall describe the default, the proposed means of curing the default, and any other action that the commission may take, and shall offer training and specific technical assistance regarding the default.
2. The commission shall provide a copy of the notice of default to the other participating states.
(c) If a state in default fails to cure the default, the defaulting state may be terminated from the compact upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the commissioners, and all rights, privileges and benefits conferred on that state by this compact may be terminated on the effective date of termination. A cure of the default does not relieve the offending state of obligations or liabilities incurred during the period of default.
(d) Termination of participation in the compact shall be imposed only after all other means of securing compliance have been exhausted. Notice of intent to suspend or terminate shall be given by the commission to the governor, the majority and minority leaders of the defaulting state’s legislature, the defaulting state’s state licensing authority or authorities, as applicable, and each of the participating states’ state licensing authority or authorities, as applicable.
(e) A state that has been terminated is responsible for all assessments, obligations, and liabilities incurred through the effective date of termination, including obligations that extend beyond the effective date of termination.
