CLEAR

ADA and ADS file suit in Alaska superior court

The American Dental Association and the Alaska Dental Society filed a lawsuit in late January seeking to have the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the dental health aide therapists declared to be in violation of state licensing laws.  They allege that these practitioners are performing irreversible dental surgery which they are not adequately trained or licensed to perform.

Read press releases and press conference remarks.

First North American regulator of applied biologists

The College of Applied Biology of British Columbia is the first regulatory college for applied biologists in North America, and marks the first instance on the continent when applied biologists have been given full professional status through self-governing legislation.

The College Act was passed in November 2002 and signed into law in June 2003. A document explaining the purpose of the college is included on the organization's website, from which additional information can be found.

Condo managers may need license

The Illinois Legislative Action Committee of the Community Associations Institute proposed an amendment to the IL Condominium Property Act that would require licensure for property managers.  The licensing program would be administered by a Community Association Manager Regulatory Commission that could enact administrative rules, create the licensing exam, and initiate actions against managers who violate the standards of professional conduct.

Read the full article.

New South Wales questions regulatory burden

At the request of the New South Wales (NSW) government, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal prepared an issue paper: Investigation into the burden of regulation in NSW and improving regulatory efficiency (released January 2006).  The purposes of the investigation were to:

- undertake a public inquiry to identify areas of NSW Government regulation which are imposing a significant, unnecessary burden on business and the community,

- determine priority areas where there are good prospects of regulatory reforms which could provide significant immediate gains to business and the community, and

- develop recommendations for Government action to improve the efficiency of regulation and reduce unnecessary burdens, including consideration of non-regulatory or incentive-based options for achieving public policy outcomes.

In its discussion of professional regulation, the report discusses alternatives such as co-regulation, quasi-regulation, incentive-based regulation and market-based regulation. A final report will be forwarded to the premier in June 2006.