CLEAR

CLEAR invites conference proposals - December 1, 2007 deadline

CLEAR invites your involvement in our 28^th annual conference, “Promoting Regulatory Excellence,” to be held September 25-27, 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska.

At this time, we are accepting session proposals relating to critical issues in professional regulation that are designed to help our attendees carry out their vital shared mission of public protection. The conference features dynamic, interactive content in three core areas: professional discipline; policy and administration; and credentialing and exam issues.

Information on available sessions can be found online.  You can submit a proposal form online, or you can download and print the form: http://www.clearhq.org/2008_proposal_form.PDF.

New Jersey: action plan for improving 42 licensing boards

The Office of the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs are implementing an action plan to improve 42 licensing boards. The goals are to reduce the boards' response times while improving overall efficiency of operations and communication with the public. The plan is based on an internal review conducted this summer. Read the action plan.  Read more.

Wisconsin: AG says no licenses for illegal aliens

In a new opinion, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says that the Department of Regulation and Licensing may not issue professional licenses or credentials to illegal aliens. He holds as a basis for this opinion that the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996 preempts state law that may provide benefits such as professional licensing to illegal aliens. He continues that while states do have some flexibility to pass laws counter to this position, his opinion is consistent with laws passed in Wisconsin. Accordingly, he asks the department to put a procedure in place to verify the immigration status of all applicants for state licenses.
Read the press release. Read the Attorney General's opinion.

UK: legal services bill finalized

Almost a year after its introduction, a modified Legal Services Bill has passed Parliament and should receive Royal Assent this week. The law provides for a new regulatory body called the Legal Services Board (LSB) which will have full authority over both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board. It also allows law firms to form practices with members of other professions, such as accountancy. Read more.

CLEAR: Sunset, Sunrise and State Agency Audits updated

CLEAR's Sunset, Sunrise and State Agency Audits, an online resource, is now updated in preparation for the upcoming legislative sessions. Sunset is the automatic termination of a regulatory agency unless legislative action is taken to continue it. Sunrise is a process under which an occupation or profession seeking state regulation must propose model legislation, along with cost and benefit estimates of the proposed regulation. All state agencies periodically undergo performance audits, also known as legislative or evaluation audits, in addition to financial audits in some states. Many of these various reports are online and may be located through this CLEAR resource.

South Carolina: Auctioneers' Commission review

The state Legislative Audit Council has completed its Review of the Operations of the South Carolina Auctioneers' Commission. The report concludes that the commission is operating in compliance with its statute, but recommends that the biennial license fee of $300 be lowered by $50.

Texas: agency self-evaluation reports

Agency self-evaluation reports are on file with the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission for the  Polygraph Examiner's Board and the Board of Tax Professional Examiners. These will be followed by commission staff reports and member review.

Nursing: Canadian workforce trends reports

The Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) today released Workforce Trends of Registered Nurses in Canada, 2006. The report says the number of Canadian nurses is increasing slowly, as is the average age of nurses. Of the 252,948 RNs employed in Canada in 2006, 92.1% graduated from a nursing program in Canada. The remaining 7.9% were educated elsewhere, predominantly in the Philippines or the United Kingdom. Prince Edward Island and British Columbia attract the greatest proportion of out-of-province graduates (29.7% and 27.7% respectively). In contrast, 95.9% of Quebec’s RN workforce graduated from Quebec nursing programs. Read the CIHI press release. Three additional reports were also released:
Workforce Trends of Licensed Practical Nurses in Canada, 2006
Workforce Trends of Registered Psychiatric Nurses in Canada, 2006
Highlights from the Regulated Nursing Workforce in Canada, 2006

Illinois: medical license necessary for court health report

The plaintiff appealed a trial court's dismisal with prejudice of his malpractice suit. He said that the court erred by ordering him to reveal his health care professional report author's identity. Once identity was disclosed, it was determined that in 1990 the author lost his Illinois license to practice medicine and in 1999 had allowed his New Mexico license to lapse. Fourth District Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed the earlier decision because the health report required under the Code of Civil Procedure was not written by a person licensed to practice medicine.  Read Crull v. Sriratana (Case Number 4060952).

Notaries: EC urges non-discrimination compliance

To date, only Italy, Portugal and Spain have abolished a nationality requirement for notaries. Estonia and the Netherlands will soon join them, but other countries are not so willing. The European Commission (EC) will take the second step in its infringement procedure by sending reasoned opinions to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia for limiting notary professional practice to their own citizens. The EC will also take the third step in the process by referring Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg and Austria to the Court of Justice.  Read more.