FINAL BILL REPORT

                 SHB 2151

                         C 191 L 96

                     Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Establishing uniform licensing procedures.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representatives Dyer, Backlund, Cody and Murray; by request of Department of Health).

House Committee on Health Care

Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care

Background:  The Department of Health is the licensing and regulatory authority for 16 health professions and the central administrative agency for 15 other regulated health professions.

The Secretary of the Department of Health is responsible for setting all license, certification and registration fees.  By law, regulatory program costs are borne by licensees of the respective health professions, and the fees must be set at sufficient levels to defray administrative costs.

Administrative procedures and requirements relating to licensing application forms, renewal periods, late renewal periods and penalties, and scheduling and notice of examinations differ across professional regulatory programs.

Currently, there is no authority for the education or training of health providers in the dynamics of domestic violence.

Residential addresses and phone numbers of health providers will not be disclosed if alternative addresses and phone numbers are provided.

Summary:  The Secretary of the Department of Health, in consultation with the professional boards and commissions, is required to establish by rule uniform administrative procedures, administrative requirements, and fees for renewal of licenses, certifications, and registrations of the regulated health professions.  Administrative procedures and requirements do not include qualifications for licensure, scopes of practice, or the disciplinary authority granted to boards or commissions.

This rule-making authority expires July 1, 1998, unless extended by the Legislature.  The secretary must report to the Legislature by December 31, 1997, with recommendations regarding the extent to which the secretary's rule-making authority over administrative procedures and requirements should be preserved.

The Department of Health is required to establish, in consultation with the professional health disciplinary authorities and within available funds, an ongoing domestic violence education program.  The disciplinary authorities may also provide training, through continuing education, in the dynamics of domestic violence.

The residential addresses and phone numbers of health providers regulated by the state are not disclosable unless the provider authorizes the disclosure.  However, professional organizations may still receive lists of providers upon request.

Technical changes are made to conform to existing law.

Votes on Final Passage:

House     94 0

Senate    45 0 (Senate amended)

House     90 0 (House concurred)

Effective:  June 6, 1996