HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS WORKFORCE DATA COLLECTION - 324.001

This act provides that the State Board of Nursing, Board of Pharmacy, Missouri Dental Board, State Committee of Psychologists, State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, State Board of Optometry, State Board of Occupational Therapy, and State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts may enter into contractual agreements with the Department of Health and Senior Services, public institutions of higher education, and nonprofit entities in order to collect and analyze workforce data from its licensees for the purpose of future workforce planning and to assess the accessibility and availability of qualified health care services and practitioners in Missouri.

Data collection is controlled by the applicable state board requesting the collection, and the boards may release identifying data to the contractor to facilitate data analysis of the health care workforce. The data collected is the property of the board requesting the data, and shall be maintained as provided in existing law. Data shall only be released in the aggregate form in a manner that cannot be used to identify a specific individual. A board cannot request or collect income or other financial earnings information. Contractors shall maintain the confidentiality of data received and shall not release any data without approval from the applicable board.

This provision is identical to SS/SCS/HB 1816 (2016), HCS/HB 1850 (2016), and HCS/SB 831 (2016), substantially similar to a provision in HCS/HB 1465 (2016) and CCS/HCS/SB 635 (2016), and is similar to HCS/HB 112 (2015), HCS/SCS/SB 197 (2015), HCS/SCS/SB 230 (2015), and HCS/SS/SCS/SB 354 (2015).

PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING LICENSING INFORMATION AND PAYMENT - 324.003

This act provides the acceptable ways in which a professional licensee may submit payment, application, requests for educational time extensions, or notify his or her licensing board for changes to items required as part of licensure to the Division of Professional Registration or its component boards, committees, offices, and commissions.

This provision is identical to SB 831 (2016).

REGULATING PREVIOUSLY UNREGULATED PROFESSIONS - 324.004, 621.280

This act provides that the state shall not impose a substantial burden on an individual's pursuit of his or her occupation or profession unless there is an important governmental interest for the state to protect the general welfare. If an important governmental interest does exist, then the regulation adopted shall be the least restrictive type of regulation consistent with the public interest to be protected.

The act establishes certain criteria under which to review all bills purposing to regulate an occupation or profession not previously regulated. If the legislature determines that the state has an important interest in regulating the occupation or profession then the least restrictive type of regulation shall be implemented, such as providing for stricter civil actions and criminal prosecutions, inspection requirements, registration, certification, or licensing.

The General Assembly cannot pass any law regulating a previously unregulated profession except by bill, which has received a committee hearing and voted upon in favor by a majority of the committee members. Any amendment offered to regulate a previously unregulated profession cannot be adopted unless the language contained in the amendment is identical to language in a bill which has received a committee hearing and received a favorable vote by a majority of the committee members in the house where the amendment is being proposed.

An applicant group, defined as an organization or individual that proposes that an occupation or profession be regulated, shall submit a written report to the applicable standing committees in the Senate and House of Representatives containing certain information as specified in the act including a definition of the problem and why regulation of the profession is necessary, harm to the public by not regulating the profession and efforts to address the harm caused, alternatives to the regulation, the benefit to the public if the regulation becomes law, and the expected costs of regulation. This report shall be submitted to the appropriate committee prior to the hearing on the bill containing the new proposed regulations.

The act states that practitioners actively engaged in a newly regulated occupation or profession for at least one year prior to the effective date of the regulation statute shall have a property right in their continued legal ability to engage in their occupation or profession. The decision of any newly created board or commission charged with regulating or licensing an occupation or profession to refuse licensure to a pre-existing practitioner shall be in writing, specify the reasons for denial, and inform the practitioner of the right to appeal before the Administrative Hearing Commission.

These provisions are similar to SB 829 (2016) and to provisions contained in HCS/SB 831 (2016), HCS/SB 835 (2016), HB 634 (2015), HCS/SCS/SB 107 (2015), HCS/SS/SB 416 (2015), HCS/SCS/SB 146 (2015), and HCS/SS/SCS/SB 517 (2015).

JESSI BAKER