As of July 2, 2021, Engineers and Geoscientists BC will regulate professional engineering and professional geoscientist firms. All companies that engage in the practice of professional engineering or geoscience, including consulting firms, local government, manufacturers, and sole practitioners, will need to have a Permit to Practice.
July 07, 2021
June 16, 2021
Louisiana bill makes changes to Board of Massage Therapy
The Louisiana Legislature has approved a bill making changes to how the Board of Massage Therapy handles applications and complaints. The board will now be required to send applicants' fingerprints to the FBI and state law enforcement for a check of criminal history. The board will also be required to place priority on any complaints dealing with unlicensed practice in an attempt to more effectively identify cases of human trafficking. The board will need to proactively check news stories for potential illegal activity and offer training to employees on how to identify human trafficking.
April 14, 2021
Maine considers open air cremation bill
A bill under consideration in Maine would allow crematoriums to perform open air cremations. Such cremations would have to be performed in a three-sided crematory structure with specific requirements related to heat. The Maine Department of Business and Professional Regulation cautioned that rule development related to such facilities could be costly due to the need to bring in outside expertise.
January 27, 2021
Texas Anti-Trafficking Unit reports on first year
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's Anti-Trafficking Unit has been in operation for one year and reports receipt of 42 leads, resulting on closure of one unlicensed massage establishment and two criminal arrests. TDLR employees receive training on recognizing and responding to human trafficking situations. The ATU includes eight members, who partner with law enforcement and other agencies to conduct inspections of licensed facilities suspected on being part of human-trafficking.
January 13, 2021
Germany: changes to lawyer and law firm regulation
The Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in Germany has published proposed revisions to the Federal Lawyers' Act. The new Act would require both professional and entity regulation, with the law firm being subject to regulatory requirements in addition to regulation of the individual lawyer. Law firms would also be required to ensure that lawyers who work for the firm adhere to their individual professional duties.
November 24, 2020
Florida proposal for international prescription drug importation
The Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration has submitted a proposal to the US Department of Health and Human Services to allow a Canadian Drug Importation Program, which would allow wholesalers and pharmacies to import certain drug types from eligible Canadian suppliers. A similar International Prescription Drug Importation program to allow import from other countries would fall under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
September 30, 2020
Update: Illinois to allow resubmission of marijuana dispensary applications
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced that it will be accepting amended applications for marijuana dispensary licenses, with applicants receiving information about which sections of their application were denied points. IDFPR has assured that they will provide strong oversight of the rescoring process as conducted by the outside auditing form that conducted the first round of scoring.
September 17, 2020
Update: Illinois regulator to review questions about cannabis dispensary license process
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will review the questions raised about the licensing process for cannabis dispensaries before moving forward with a license lottery.
September 10, 2020
Illinois: requests to delay marijuana dispensary licenses
Some lawmakers are requesting a delay in the issuance of marijuana dispensary licenses due to concerns about the equity of the application process. Twenty-one applicants qualified with perfect scores for the first round of licenses, so a lottery system was established for distributing the licenses. Lawmakers have requested a delay in order to review more detailed information about the application scoring process.
March 04, 2020
Georgia considers tighter regulations for senior-care homes
A bill passed in the Georgia House and heading to the Senate would change staffing requirements for assisted-living and personal-care homes, requiring direct-care staff members to be on duty at all times. A licensed or registered professional nurse would have to be on site at least eight hours per week, and all staff would be required to take training in caring for elderly and disabled residents.
