New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVI,
Issue 19 / October 7, 2025
NOTICE
OF PUBLIC RULE HEARING AND PHYSICAL THERAPY BOARD MEETING
The New Mexico Physical Therapy
Board and the Regulation and Licensing Department will hold a rule hearing on
Monday November 10, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., immediately followed by a meeting of
the Physical Therapy Board for adoption of the proposed rules listed below. The
hearing and subsequent board meeting will take place at the Regulation and
Licensing Department, located at 2550 Cerrillos Rd. Santa Fe, NM, 87505,
Hearing Room 1 Conference Room.
The hearing and
subsequent Physical Therapy Board meeting may also be accessed virtually via
Microsoft Teams. Meeting Link:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzliY2E3M2UtNWY4Ni00ZmMxLTkwN2MtZDFkNDcwMTJkNWJj%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2204aa6bf4-d436-426f-bfa4-04b7a70e60ff%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22d3fe0eed-1d12-48f7-a361-c27ae097daa2%22%7d
Login (meeting by
ID): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting
Meeting ID: 232
073 678 075 7
Passcode: UQ3c8Sx6
Dial in by phone
+1 505-312-4308,
United States, Albuquerque
Phone conference
ID: 706 737 185#
The purpose of the rule
hearing is to consider the initiation of rulemaking for the following rules:
Rule
16.020.0001 NMAC - General Provisions
Rule
16.020.0003 NMAC - Issuance of Licenses
Rule
16.020.0004 NMAC - Temporary Licenses
Rule
16.020.0005 NMAC - Schedule of Fees
Rule
16.020.0007 NMAC - Supervision
Rule
16.020.0008 NMAC - Renewal Requirements
and Continuing Education
Rule
16.020.0009 NMAC - Education Criteria
for Foreign-Educated Applicants
Rule
16.020.0012 NMAC - Expedited Licensing
Requirements
Rule
16.020.0013 NMAC - Dry Needling
Provision
Rule
16.020.0014 NMAC - Imaging
On Wednesday, October 8,
2025, copies of the proposed rules may be obtained through the New Mexico
Physical Therapy Board website at
https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/physical-therapy/board-information/physical-therapy-board-meetings/
or by contacting the
Board Administrator, Evan Ortega at physical.therapy@rld.nm.gov or (505)
476-4622.
The New Mexico Physical
Therapy Board and the Regulation and Licensing Department will begin accepting
written public comment regarding the proposed rule changes beginning Wednesday,
October 8, 2025, 8:00 a.m. and ending Monday, November 10, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
Written public comment may be submitted either by email to physical.therapy@rld.nm.gov
or by postal mail to the following address:
Attn: New Mexico Physical
Therapy Board
P.O. Box 25101
Santa Fe, NM 87504
Written comments received
during the public comment period (October 8, 2025 November 10, 2025) will be
posted to the website page linked above. Public comments will also be accepted
during the rule hearing and may be submitted in writing or presented orally by
those attending in-person. The members of the New Mexico Physical Therapy Board
will not enter substantive discussion of public comments during the rule
hearing but will consider and deliberate any public comment during the regular
board meeting immediately following the conclusion of the public rule hearing.
The agenda for the New
Mexico Physical Therapy Board regular meeting, which will begin immediately
after the public rule hearing, will be available no less than 72 hours prior to
the meeting, and available on the website listed above or by contacting the
Board Administrator Evan Ortega.
If you are an individual
with a disability who needs a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language
interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or
participate in the hearing or the regular board meeting, please contact the
Board Administrator Evan Ortega at physical.therapy@rld.nm.gov or (505)
476-4622 at least 7 days prior to the rules hearing and regular board meeting.
Public documents, including the proposed rules, meeting agenda and minutes, can
be provided in various accessible formats.
For inclement weather: If
the New Mexico state offices are placed on a two-hour delay to inclement
weather, the rule hearing will be pushed back two hours from the noticed
hearing time. If New Mexico state offices are closed due to inclement weather,
the rule hearing will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
Statutory Authority: The
rule changes are authorized by the Physical Therapy Practice Act (Act), Section
61-12D-1 through 61-12D-19 NMSA 1978, which provides explicit authority for the
Physical Therapy Board to protect public health and safety and adopt rules for
the administration of the Act. The rulemaking and public rule hearing is
governed by the State Rules Act, Sections 14-4-1 through 14-4-11 NMSA 1978, and
the Default Procedural Rule for Rulemaking promulgated by the New Mexico
Department of Justice, Parts 1.24.25 through 1.24.25.16 NMAC
Purpose of Proposed
Rules: The proposed rule changes are intended to address
changes to the Physical Therapy Practice Act, to provide greater clarity and
align rules with the process for online applications, implement process for CE
Audit, update the schedule of fees, improve process for Temporary License
holders, clarify supervision protocol, and provide guidelines for Dry Needling
and Imaging in Physical Therapy Practice. More generally, the proposed rule
changes are intended to provide greater clarity in existing regulatory and
statutory requirements, ensure continued high levels of professionalism among
licensees and certificate holders, and to generally satisfy the Boards
statutory obligation to promote, preserve and protect the public health, safety
and welfare.
Summary of Proposed
Changes: The Board summarizes its proposed changes to its
administrative rules as follows:
Rule 16.020.0001 NMAC -
General Provisions Changes to grammar and form of titles, and inclusion of
American Physical Therapy Association Code of Ethics.
Rule 16.020.0003 NMAC -
Issuance of Licenses Updates to the background check requirement.
Rule 16.020.0004 NMAC -
Temporary Licenses Amending the definition language for Temporary Licenses
and supervisory protocol.
Rule 16.020.0005 NMAC - Schedule
of Fees Changing the price of licenses and renewals to include an
administrative electronic processing fee, and changing
the price of returned checks and e-checks.
Rule 16.020.0007 NMAC
Supervision Including language for telehealth supervision to align with the
New Mexico Telehealth Act.
Rule 16.020.0008 NMAC -
Renewal Requirements and Continuing Education Including the definition for a
Qualified Individual, clarifying the process for continuing education approval
and annual renewals.
Rule 16.020.0009 NMAC -
Education Criteria for Foreign-Educated Applicants Clarifying the
requirements for the application process
for Foreign Educated applicants.
Rule 16.020.0012 NMAC -
Expedited Licensing Requirement Amending requirements for expedited licensure
for military service members and their families.
Rule 16.020.0013 NMAC -
Dry Needling Provision Clarifying language for qualifications for
administering Dry Needling for Physical Therapists.
Rule 16.020.0014 NMAC
Imaging Creating a new section for Part 20 of Title 16 for Physical
Therapists seeking justification for ordering imaging.