APTA presented its 2012 State Legislative Leadership Awards December 1 at the State Policy and Payment Forum in Alexandria, Virginia. For their individual leadership on legislation advancing or defending Vision 2020 in the state arena, APTA's Board of Directors (Board) awarded the 2012 State Legislative Leadership Award to Phil Moe, PT, of South Dakota, and Emmett Parker, PT, MS, ATC, of Alabama. Moe was recognized for his work to successfully pass legislation to limit patient copays for physical therapy. Parker was recognized for his leadership on the passage of legislation that made Alabama the 47th state with direct access to physical therapy.

In recognition of their long-term commitment to their chapters' advocacy activities over several years and for consistently providing assistance in the statehouse, the Board awarded the 2012 APTA State Legislative Commitment Award to David Morris, PT, PhD, of Alabama, and Kathleen Picard, PT, of Minnesota. Morris was recognized for his many years of service supporting the Alabama Chapter's legislative efforts on a variety of issues, including infringement challenges, POPTS, and this year's direct access campaign. Picard's leadership has been invaluable to the Minnesota Chapter's success in advocating on a variety of state legislative and regulatory issues, including the recent repeal of a burdensome prior authorization process in the state's medical assistance program. Read more at www.apta.org/StateAdvocacy/LegislativeLeaderAward/.