CLEAR

Colorado: sunrise review - sign language interpreters

2009 Sunrise Review: Sign Language Interpreters recommends that "title protection may be warranted in a limited fashion."  The report includes a history of the profession, discusses the federal and Colorado regulatory environments, and includes an overview of sign language interpreter regulation in states bordering Colorado.

West Virginia: sunrise report recommends against CPMs

Licensing certified professional midwives would not signicantly enhance the health and welfare of the public compared to its costs concludes Sunrise Report: Licensing of Certified Professional Midwives. The nursing board opposed the proposal, saying the public is best served by licensed certified nurse midwifes.

Colorado: sunrise review - PV Solar Electric installers

2008 Sunrise Review: Photovoltaic Solar Electric Installers identifies regulation of this profession in eight states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. Practitioners install solar electric systems for both commercial and residential use, which are explained briefly in the report. A potential for both financial and physical harm resulting from assorted errors is acknowledged, but identified consumer complaints were very few. The recommendation is to impose no regulation on Photovoltaic Solar Electric Installers in Colorado.

Colorado: sunrise report on human trackers

Human Trackers are trained to locate lost or missing persons, typically in wilderness areas. 2008 Sunrise Review: Human Trackers recommends against establishing a program to oversee the profession because it found no related public harm. Further, an adequate system is already in place. Colorado sheriffs, who handle search and rescue operations, have access to privately credentialed trackers and may also draw on the Colorado Search and Rescue Board's resources roster. No other state currently regulates this profession.

Washington: sunrise review on speech language pathology assistants

The Washington State Department of Health has published a draft Speech Language Pathology Assistant Sunrise Review. The findings include that there is a growing shortage of speech-language pathologists and that 35 states now regulate speech-language pathology assistants or other support personnel. The recommendation is for regulation of speech language pathology assistants, but by certification, rather than the requested licensure.

Washington: sunrise review on colon hydrotherapists

The Washington State Department of Health has published a draft Colon Hydrotherapist Sunrise Review. The applicant was the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy, which requested that colon hydrotherapists be recognized as a new profession and practitioners permitted to practice independently. The review says that no state licenses colon hydrotherapists, although Florida permits licensed massage therapists to obtain certification in colonic irrigation. Under current Washington law, colon hydrotherapy is within the scope of practice for naturopaths, physicians, and osteopathic physicians. The finding is that the public is already protected by current state laws and further, that to introduce regulation of  a single medical procedure would be inefficient and not cost-effective.

West Virginia: recommendation against regulation of athletic trainers

The legislative auditor says that the cost of licensing athletic trainers would exceed the proposed program's benefit to the public. The report provides information on the 46 states that have some form of athletic trainer oversight. Read the report.

Colorado: sunrise report on naturopathic physicians

2008 Sunrise Review: Naturopathic Physicians is the fourth response since 1993 to applications submitted by the Colorado Association of Naturopathic Physicians. It is the third time that regulation is being recommended to the legislature. The report acknowledges that controversy surrounds this profession, but points out that the public is being demonstrably harmed by some individuals using the title naturopath. Protecting the public from such harm, not determining whether a practice actually works, is the only appropriate standard for regulation. The report provides detailed information on oversight in the fifteen states and the District of Columbia which currently regulate naturopaths. Read the report.

Colorado: sunrise report on qualified intermediaries

2008 Sunrise Review: Qualified Intermediaries first defines the profession: a "Qualified Intermediary (QI) (also known as an Exchange Facilitator) is a neutral third party who assists a property owner in deferring capital gains tax, to be paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), by holding the sale proceeds of an investment property, then transferring the funds for the purchase of a new investment property." The report concludes that evidence of harm to the public did not result from lack of education of QI practitioners, but from theft or inappropriate investment of client funds. The recommendation to the legislature is for the establishment of a QI registration program and for additional requirements such as bonding, dual signatures for transferring funds, and criminal background checks. Nevada is the only state that currently regulates QIs, but it has not yet begun issuing licenses. Read the report.

Colorado: sunrise report on funeral service practitioners

Colorado is the only state without direct regulation of funeral service practitioners. In 1983, its 70-year-old licensing board was abolished and the Colorado Funeral Directors Association continues to file application for its reinstatement. Today, the state's Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform released a sunrise report on Funeral Practitioners. It finds that if existing federal, state and local regulation of the four practice areas involved (Funeral Directors, Embalmers, Cremationists, and Mortuary Science Practitioners) were properly used, the public is already sufficiently protected from harm. It recommends requiring a Funeral Director at each funeral establishment to register with the Division of Registrations and each establishment to provide consumers with contact information for formal complaints. Read the report.