1     
OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING AMENDMENTS

2     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Ryan D. Wilcox

5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies the review criteria for periodic review standards for occupational
10     licensing under Commerce and Trade.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     requires the Office of Professional Licensure Review to document its review of a
14     regulation of an occupation;
15          ▸     allows a person to petition the Office of Professional Licensure Review to repeal or
16     modify any occupational regulation within its jurisdiction; and
17          ▸     creates a process for a person to appeal the Office of Professional Licensure
18     Review's decision regarding a request to repeal.
19     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20          None
21     Other Special Clauses:
22          None
23     Utah Code Sections Affected:
24     AMENDS:
25          13-1b-302, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 413
26     ENACTS:
27          13-1b-401, Utah Code Annotated 1953
28     

29     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
30          Section 1. Section 13-1b-302 is amended to read:
31          13-1b-302. Review criteria.
32          (1) In conducting a sunrise review or a periodic review, unless otherwise directed in
33     accordance with Subsection 13-1b-203(3), the office shall consider the following criteria:
34          [(1)] (a) whether the regulation of the occupation is necessary to address a present,
35     recognizable, and significant harm to the health, safety, or financial welfare of the public;
36          [(2)] (b) for any harm to the health, safety, or financial welfare of the public, the
37     harm's:
38          [(a)] (i) severity;
39          [(b)] (ii) probability; and
40          [(c)] (iii) permanence;
41          [(3)] (c) the extent to which the proposed or existing regulation of the occupation
42     protects against or diminishes the harm described in Subsection (1)(a);
43          [(4)] (d) whether the proposed or existing regulation of the occupation:
44          [(a)] (i) affects the supply of qualified practitioners;
45          [(b)] (ii) creates barriers to:
46          [(i)] (A) service that are not in the public financial welfare or interest; or
47          [(ii)] (B) entry into the occupation or related occupations;
48          [(c)] (iii) imposes new costs on existing practitioners;
49          [(d)] (iv) affects:
50          [(i)] (A) license reciprocity with other jurisdictions; or
51          [(ii)] (B) mobility of practitioners; or
52          [(e)] (v) if the occupation involves a health care provider, impacts the health care
53     provider's ability to obtain payment of benefits for the health care provider's treatment of an
54     illness, injury, or health care condition under an insurance contract subject to Section
55     31A-22-618;
56          [(5)] (e) if the review involves licensing, the potential alternative pathways for a person
57     to obtain a license;
58          [(6)] (f) the costs to the state of regulating the occupation;
59          [(7)] (g) whether the proposed or existing administering agency has sufficient expertise
60     and resources;
61          [(8)] (h) the regulation of the occupation in other jurisdictions;
62          [(9)] (i) the scope of the proposed or existing regulation, including:
63          [(a)] (i) whether the occupation is clearly distinguishable from an already regulated
64     occupation; and
65          [(b)] (ii) potential for regulating only certain occupational activities;
66          [(10)] (j) the potentially less burdensome alternatives to the proposed or existing
67     regulation and the effect of implementing an alternative method of regulation on:
68          [(a)] (i) the health, safety, or financial welfare of the public;
69          [(b)] (ii) the occupation; and
70          [(c)] (iii) practitioners of the occupation; and
71          [(11)] (k) any other criteria the office adopts, including criteria suggested in a
72     stakeholder survey.
73          (2) The office shall:
74          (a) articulate with specificity the present, recognizable, and significant harm to the
75     health, safety, or financial welfare of the public addressed by the regulation; and
76          (b) document the office's responses to Subsections (1)(a) and (b).
77          (3) (a) A person may petition the office to repeal or modify an occupational regulation
78     within the office's jurisdiction.
79          (b) Within 90 days after the day on which a person files a petition under Subsection
80     (3)(a), the office shall either repeal the occupational regulation, modify the regulation to
81     achieve the standard described in Subsection (1)(a), or state the basis on which the office
82     concludes that the regulation conforms with the standard described in Subsection (1)(a).
83          Section 2. Section 13-1b-401 is enacted to read:
84          13-1b-401. Enforcement.
85          (1) If the office fails to timely comply with Subsection 13-1b-302(3)(b), or if the
86     person who filed the petition described in Subsection 13-1b-302(3)(a) disagrees with the action
87     taken by the office in response to the petition, the person may bring an action in a court with
88     jurisdiction, challenging the regulation upon which the petition is based, on or before the
89     earlier of:
90          (a) 90 days after the day on which the office timely complies with Subsection
91     13-1b-302(3)(a); or
92          (b) 180 days after the day on which the person files the petition described in Subsection
93     13-1b-302(3)(a).
94          (2) The court shall rule in favor of the plaintiff if the court finds that:
95          (a) the challenged occupational regulation is not necessary to address a present,
96     recognizable, and significant harm to the health, safety, or financial welfare of the public; or
97          (b) the present, recognizable, and significant harm to the health, safety, or financial
98     welfare of the public could be addressed by a less burdensome method than the challenged
99     occupational regulation.
100          (3) Upon ruling in favor of the plaintiff, the court shall:
101          (a) enjoin further enforcement of the challenged occupational regulation or public
102     service restriction; and
103          (b) award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the plaintiff.
104          Section 3. Effective date.
105          This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.