HCS SCS SB 272 -- PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION

This bill changes the laws regarding the licensure of certain
professionals in the Division of Professional Registration within
the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions, and
Professional Registration.

PROFESSIONAL LICENSE RENEWALS

Deaf interpreters, occupational therapists, occupational therapy
assistants, clinical perfusionists, dietitians, massage
therapists, interior designers, acupuncturists, tattooists, body
piercers, and branders are added to the list of licensed
professionals who are allowed to extend their license renewal
with the division while on active military duty until up to 60
days after completing their service.

ENDOWED CARE CEMETERIES

As a condition of license renewal, operators of endowed care
cemeteries must file an annual trust fund report with the
division.  The definition of "funeral establishment" is expanded
to include a crematory.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

The Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers,
Professional Land Surveyors, and Landscape Architects is allowed
to establish continuing education requirements and authorize
inactive licenses under certain circumstances for landscape
architects.  License renewal fees are waived for landscape
architect licensees older than 75 years of age.

CHIROPRACTORS

An applicant for licensure as a chiropractor must furnish the
State Board of Chiropractic Examiners with evidence that he or
she has completed the minimum number of hours of course study
required by the Council on Chiropractic Education, or its
successor, prior to beginning any doctoral course of study in
chiropractic.  However, the applicant must have completed at
least 90 semester credit hours before beginning the doctoral
course.

PHYSICAL THERAPISTS

The bill allows a person in an entry level of a professional
education program approved by the Commission for Accreditation of
Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistant Education
who is satisfying the supervised clinical education requirements
while under the on-site supervision of a physical therapist or
practicing in the United States Armed Services, United States
Public Health Service, or Veterans Administration to practice as
a physical therapist.

The membership of the Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists
under the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts is
changed from five to four licensed physical therapists and one
licensed physical therapist assistant.

PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS AND SOCIAL WORKERS

The bill prohibits state and local agencies, including school
districts, from discriminating between licensed professional
counselors when establishing rules or when requiring or
recommending services that may be legally performed by licensed
professional counselors.

The reciprocity provision regarding professional counselors is
changed to allow a person licensed as a professional counselor in
another state who is at least 18 years of age, of good moral
character, and a citizen of or legally present in the United
States to receive a license without passing an examination.

The complaint procedure and document retention requirements are
revised when an inmate files a complaint against a licensed
professional counselor or licensed clinical social worker.  When
a complaint by an inmate is found to be lacking merit, no further
disciplinary action will take place, no documentation will appear
on file, and no notification will be given to the Committee for
Professional Counselors or the State Committee for Social Workers
within the department unless there are grounds for disciplinary
action to be taken against a counselor's license.  A licensee
subject to a claim without merit prior to the effective date of
the bill may request the committees to destroy documents
pertaining to the claim, to notify other state licensing boards
that the claim was unsubstantiated, and to supply him or her with
a letter stating that the claim was unsubstantiated.  Licensees
will not be required to disclose the existence of unsubstantiated
claims.

MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPISTS

The reciprocity provision regarding licensed marital and family
therapists is changed to allow a person holding a current,
unsanctioned license from another state whose requirements are
substantially the same as Missouri's to apply for a license with
the State Committee on Marital and Family Therapists without
passing an examination.

PHARMACISTS

The bill changes the laws regarding the State Board of Pharmacy
and pharmacists.  The bill:

(1)  Removes the one-year time limit for an intern pharmacist
license;

(2)  Repeals the provision authorizing the board to establish
rules restricting the practice of intern pharmacists;

(3)  Creates a veterinary class for pharmacy permits or licenses;
and

(4)  Specifies that the veterinary pharmacy permit will not
interfere with a licensed veterinarian when compounding or
dispensing his or her own prescriptions.

REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS

The bill changes the laws regarding the Missouri Real Estate
Appraisers Commission and real estate appraisers.  The bill:

(1)  Repeals the provision that requires members of the
commission to be members in good standing of a nationally
recognized real estate appraisal organization and the provision
regarding the term of office of initial members of the
commission;

(2)  Repeals the provisions authorizing the commission to decide
the location of future quarterly meetings and to waive continuing
education requirements for retired or disabled appraisers;

(3)  Authorizes the commission to administer oaths and issue and
enforce subpoenas;

(4)  Allows a person to renew his or her expired license within a
two-year period if evidence of the completion of all continuing
education requirements is provided and authorizes the commission
to issue inactive licenses; and

(5)  Establishes an inactive license for a licensee who requests
it.

DISQUALIFICATION LIST

The Department of Health and Senior Services is required to
provide the employee disqualification list to any school of
nursing, school of medicine, or school of any other health
profession to verify whether students participating in patient
care services are on the disqualification list.  The list
identifies individuals who have been determined by the department
to have recklessly, knowingly, or purposely abused or neglected
an in-home services or home health patient while employed by an
in-home services provider or home health agency.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am