A report from Idaho's Legislative Audits division has expressed concern that over fiscal years 2009-2012 (inclusive) "One-third of the boards served by the Bureau of Occupational Licenses report negative cash balances totaling almost $622,000." The report continues that "seven of the boards have had a negative balance for more than three years and, of those, the negative cash balance has increased for three of the boards. These negative cash balances are supported by the positive cash balances of the remaining boards. The total cash balance for all the boards in the Occupational Licenses is almost $3.1 million; over half of this positive cash balance is due to one board." In its response, the agency noted that "Simply stated, the current approach of using one account and one appropriation provides boards with a continuity of operations in carrying out their mandate to protect the public while ensuring stability in fees for licensees."
September 20, 2013
January 25, 2013
Ontario's Fairness Commissioner reflects on five years of fair access work, charts future course
A Fair Way to Go: Access to Ontario's Regulated Professions and the Need to Embrace Newcomers in the Global Economy, published by Ontario's Office of the Fairness Commissioner, provides an overview of five years of fairness work (2007-2012), outlining areas in which progress has been made, as well as twelve areas which require future improvement. The document concludes by suggesting a "fair access agenda" for the future, which includes items for regulatory bodies and registrants, for government and for research.
September 28, 2012
Washington state auditor reports on information agencies provide business, processes to streamline business rules
Washington state auditor's office recently published Regulatory Reform: Communicating Regulatory Information and Streamlining Business Rules as part of a broader performance audit of the state's regulatory system. The report finds that "Regulatory information on state websites is incomplete, and not all agency websites are easy to use" and "Agencies could improve their rule streamlining processes. Several agencies regularly reviewed their rules using specific criteria and a documented process, but agencies should do more to measure the results of streamlining efforts." Among other recommendations, the report calls for the creation of "a single, one-stop portal for all business transactions with state government," to guarantee that "all regulatory agencies provide complete and accurate information for all business licenses and permits on their websites," and require all agencies to "adopt streamlining processes." The next report will examine application processing times.
Regulatory Reform: Communicating Regulatory Information and Streamlining Business Rules.
July 15, 2011
California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, proposed regulations open for comment
The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians has submitted a regulation package to the Office of Administrative Law regarding Disciplinary Guidelines and Uniform Standards. The Notice, Initial Statement of Reasons, and Proposed Language can be found at http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/about_us/proposed_regulations.shtml
Instructions for submitting comments regarding the proposed regulations are included on page three of the Notice.
The public hearing will be September 6, 2011, 10:00 am, 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, 3rd floor conference room, Sacramento, CA 95833.
