HSB 647

Topics:Health care Professional licensing

Same legislation: SF 2114, SSB 3122, HF 2470, SF 2393, HF 2627, SF 2418

Write your legislators about itWhat changed before it passed

Official bill page Lobbyist declarations One-pager to print

Where it is now

Done: IntroducedJanuary 29, 2020
Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 6, 2020
Done: House committeeFebruary 18, 2020
Done: Passes the HouseJune 12, 202062–35
Skipped: Senate committeeSkipped
Done: Passes the SenateJune 13, 202032–17
Done: To the GovernorJune 24, 2020
Done: Signed into lawJune 25, 2020

HF 2627 became law → The same legislation passed as HF 2627, so this version was set aside. Go to HF 2627 What’s a funnel?

What’s in it

_____ the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. This bill relates to the regulation of professional licenses in Iowa including the recognition of out-of-state licenses and disqualification provisions for criminal convictions. The bill provides that a person can only be disqualified from holding a professional license or have a professional license revoked for conviction of a crime under certain circumstances. In order for a conviction of a crime to serve as a disqualification from holding a professional license, the actions taken in furtherance of the crime must be actions which are customarily performed by the licensed profession or the offense must have been committed under circumstances that are customary to the profession.

Read the full explanation

The bill requires a licensing board that may disqualify an applicant on the basis of a criminal conviction to provide a list of the convictions that may disqualify an applicant. If an applicant would otherwise be disqualified from holding a professional license, the bill requires the issuing board to grant an exception if the board determines by clear and convincing evidence that the applicant is rehabilitated and an appropriate candidate for licensure. The bill allows a person to submit a form to the appropriate licensing board to determine whether that person’s conviction of the crime would serve to disqualify that person from holding a professional license. _____ and occupations). The bill requires a licensing board to grant a professional license to a person from out of state who: establishes residency in Iowa; currently holds a substantially equivalent license from another jurisdiction; is in good standing in all jurisdictions where the person is licensed; completed minimum educational, work, and clinical requirements; passed an examination required by the jurisdiction; has not had a license revoked or voluntarily surrendered a license while under investigation; has not had discipline imposed, unless the issue has been resolved; does not have a complaint, allegation, or investigation pending against the person; pays applicable fees; and does not have a disqualifying conviction. The bill allows a board to require a person licensed in another state to pass the relevant board’s licensing exam on Iowa law and submit fingerprints. A person who receives a license in Iowa pursuant to this process is not eligible to practice in another state under an interstate licensure compact. The bill requires a licensing board to waive the application fee for an applicant for a license if the applicant’s household income does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level and the person has not previously applied for the same license in Iowa. The bill takes effect January 1, 2021.

Changed since by amendments S-5150, H-8266, H-8250; see Amendments.

Full bill text · What changed before it passed¹

House subcommittee

Named February 6, 2020. On February 12, 2020 it recommended passage.

Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part

Fiscal note

AI summary This bill changes how professional licenses are regulated by limiting the criminal offenses that can lead to license denial, allowing for out-of-state license recognition, and providing fee waivers for low-income applicants. The Department of Public Health estimates a one-time cost of $40,000 to update licensing software and a revenue reduction ranging from $61,000 to $234,000 for fiscal year 2021 due to waived application fees.²

Read the fiscal note

Description

House File 2627 relates to the regulation of professional licensure in Iowa, including the recognition of out-of-state professional licenses and stated disqualification provisions for criminal convictions. The Bill does the following:

Excludes misdemeanors from the offenses that are grounds for professional license denial, revocation, or suspension for electrical and plumbing licenses.
Adds language providing that only certain felony convictions are grounds for professional licensure denial, revocation, or suspension, and only if an unreasonable risk to public safety exists because the offense directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession and the professional licensing board does not grant an exception. This language applies only to electrical and plumbing licenses.
Allows an applicant to petition a professional licensing board for a determination of whether the applicant’s criminal history results in the denial of a license, and allows the professional licensing board to charge a fee to the applicant for the administrative work involved in reviewing the petition. The fee cannot exceed $25.
Provides that professional licensing boards issuing licenses to apprentice and unclassified electricians cannot reject an application for professional licensure solely due to incarceration status or duration of time since the release of an applicant from incarceration.
Requires that specified professional licensing boards issue professional licenses to applicants with out-of-state licenses if the applicants have established Iowa residency and met specified conditions.
Requires specified professional licensing boards to extend license expiration dates to June 30, 2021.
Eliminates the Hospital Licensing Board.
Waives the initial application and background check fees for any professional licensure applicant if the applicant’s household income is at or below 200.0% of the federal poverty level and the applicant has not previously applied for that professional license in Iowa. The Bill is effective upon enactment.

Background

Background checks and criminal history record checks are provided by the Division of Criminal Investigation within the Department of Public Safety on the behalf of the entities conferring professional licenses in HF 2627. The following felony convictions are grounds for the denial of an electrical or plumbing professional license, in addition to the revocation and suspension of that license:

Sexual abuse in violation of Iowa Code section 709.4
Sexual violence as defined in Iowa Code section 229A.2
Dependent adult abuse in violation of Iowa Code section 235B.20
Domestic abuse assault in violation of Iowa Code section 708.2A

The Bill provides that these felony convictions are grounds for the denial, revocation, or suspension of a license only if an unreasonable risk to public safety exists because the offense directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession and the professional licensing board does not grant an exception. The Bill specifies that other felony convictions and all misdemeanor offenses are not grounds for license denial, revocation, or suspension.

Assumptions

Professional licensing system software changes will be necessary to accommodate the licensing changes in the Bill. The Department of Public Health (DPH) estimates a one-time cost of $40,000 to update its professional licensing software.
The number of new applications received in FY 2021 by DPH licensing boards will be similar to the average number of applications received for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
200.0% of the federal poverty level (FPL) is as follows for calendar year 2020:
For a household of 1: $25,520
For a household of 2: $34,480
For a household of 3: $43,440
For a household of 4: $52,400
For estimating purposes, it is assumed that between 1.0% and 5.0% of new applicants for DPH professional licenses will meet the 200.0% FPL criteria for fee waivers (Table 5).
Professional licensing boards will assess the maximum $25 fee for reviewing petitions.
For estimating purposes, it is assumed that between 1.0% and 5.0% of the new license applications received by the DPH will have petitions filed and be subject to the $25 petition fee (Table 6).
For estimating purposes, it is assumed that the majority of FY 2020 license renewals are paid
The Bill will not affect accountants, architects, engineers and land surveyors, landscape architects, and interior designers as these professions require an apprentice period before qualifying for licensure and it is assumed that the individuals in those positions will be earning more than 200.0% of the federal poverty level regardless of household size at the time of applying for licensure.
The following percentages of applicants will qualify for the fee waiver:
Real estate salespersons: 25.0% of applicants
Real estate appraisers: 75.0% of applicants
Certified residential appraisers: 50.0% of applicants
Certified general appraisers: 25.0% of applicants
A 2.0% growth rate was applied to provide Professional Licensing Bureau (PLB) calculations pertaining to real estate salespersons for FY 2021.
The number of new applications received annually by the PLB (with the exception of real estate salesperson license applications) will be similar to the number received in FY 2019.
For estimating purposes, it is assumed that between 1.0% and 5.0% of the new license applications received by the PLB will have petitions filed and be subject to the $25 petition fee (Table 9).

Fiscal Impact

Department of Public Health — Fiscal Impact Background Information Licensing boards under the purview of the DPH processed an average of 20,414 new professional license applications during FY 2018 and FY 2019, which generated an average of $2.1 million in new license fee revenue. The cost for administering the background checks for the new licenses averaged $329,000. License fee revenue is retained by the professional licensing boards to cover expenses.

Table 1 — DPH Average New License Fee Revenue — Current Law ADPER/EH = Acute Disease Prevention and Emergency Response/Environmental Health PL= Bureau of Professional Licensure

DPH License Renewal Extension

In addition to revenue from new license fees, DPH professional licensing boards generate revenue by renewing existing licenses. The Bill specifies that licenses under Iowa Code section 147.13 that are set to expire in 2020 are extended to June 30, 2021.

Table 2

Bureau of Professional Licensure

Total Active Licenses

As slightly fewer than 5,000 licenses under the DPH Bureau of Professional Licensure (BPL) are new licenses, approximately 46,000 licenses are renewed licenses.Division/Board New Applications New License Revenue Background Check Costs ADPER/EH 4,078 284,815$ 70,950$ BPL 4,690 473,849 30,000 Pharmacy 4,073 326,690 37,980 Nursing 4,578 305,369 162,750 Dental 1,430 102,225 12,788 Medicine 1,565 593,100 14,040 Total 20,414 2,086,048$ 328,508$Board Licenses Cosmetology Arts and Sciences 18,640 Physical and Occupational Therapy 7,202 Social Work 4,170 Massage Therapy 3,256 Respiratory Care and Polysomnography 1,989 Behavioral Science 1,984 Chiropractic 1,882 Speech Pathology and Audiology 1,819 Physician Assistants 1,609 Dietetics 1,206 Psychology 1,114 Barbering 1,047 Mortuary Science 934 Nursing Home Administrators 857 Athletic Trainers 827 Optometry 713 Podiatry 387 Sign Language Interpreters and Transliterators 377 Hearing Aid Specialists 376 Total Licenses 50,389 The number of active licenses renewed by the remaining boards under Iowa Code section 147.13 are as follows:

Table 3

DPH Active Licenses

Carryforward Funds

The BPL does not receive a General Fund appropriation; instead, the Bureau relies on carryforward funds to cover expenses at the beginning of the fiscal year before license fee revenue is received. Carryforward funds are also sometimes required for covering costs of larger ongoing projects, such as information technology updates. Additionally, some of the licenses under the BPL are set to be renewed in the same time frame; for example, the licenses to practice acupuncture are all renewed in October of even-numbered years. A license renewal extension to June 30, 2021, would indicate a greater reliance on carryforward funds to mitigate cash flow issues throughout FY 2021. As shown in Table 4, the FY 2021 estimated carryforward balances for the BPL and the Dental Board are particularly low. The amount of carryforward balance as a percentage of total annual expenses varies by board. Table 4 — Carryforward Balances for DPH Boards

LSA estimate

Department of Public Health — Estimated FY 2021 Impact The revenue reduction to the DPH in the first year of implementation of HF 2627 ranges from $61,000 to $234,000, as the percentage of waived application fees will determine the fiscal impact. To implement the license fee and background check waiver provision in the Bill, the Department estimates a one-time cost of $40,000 will be incurred to update the professional licensing system software. Table 5 shows the estimated decrease in fee revenue the Department may experience, depending on the percentage of applicants qualifying for the fee waiver.Board Licenses Board of Medicine 12,009 Board of Nursing 65,215 Dental Board 6,090 Board of Pharmacy 8,044 Total Licenses 91,358Professional Licensing FY 2021 Carryforward Entities Carryforward Estimate Percentage of Total Expenses Professional Licensure 160,566$ 5.9% Pharmacy 1,478,557 48.2% Nursing 572,713 16.7% Dental 238,727 21.9% Medicine 1,262,663 37.9% Total Carryforward Funds 3,713,226$ Table 5 — DPH Fiscal Impact Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Petition Fees

A professional licensing board can administer a maximum fee of $25 to applicants petitioning the licensing board for a determination of whether the applicant’s criminal history results in the denial of a license for the administrative work involved in reviewing the petition. Table 6 shows the range of the estimated increase from petition fee revenue to be generated by applicants filing petitions for the awarding of licenses based on a fee of $25. The fiscal estimate for increased administrative fee revenue from petitions to the DPH ranges from $5,000 to $77,000 annually.

Table 6 — DPH Fee Revenue from Petition Fees Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Division of Banking — PLB Fiscal Impact Background Information In FY 2019, licensing boards under the purview of the PLB processed 922 new applications. These applications generated $119,000 in fee revenue, and the cost for background checks was approximately $17,000.

Table 7 — FY 2019 PLB Licensing Fee Revenue Division of Banking — PLB — FY 2021 Estimated Impact Table 8 shows the estimated decrease in licensing fee revenue the PLB may experience as a result of the fee waiver in the Bill during the first year of implementation, after a 2.0% growth rate in new real estate salesperson license applications has been applied. The annual revenue decrease to the PLB as a result of the fee waiver in the Bill is estimated to be $35,000.Division/Board New Applications 1.0% Meet FPL Criteria 3.0% Meet FPL Criteria 5.0% Meet FPL Criteria ADPER/EH 4,078 2,848$ 8,544$ 14,240$ PL 4,690 4,738 14,215 47,383 Pharmacy 4,073 3,267 9,801 32,670 Nursing 4,578 3,054 9,161 30,535 Dental 1,430 1,022 3,067 10,223 Medicine 1,565 5,931 17,793 59,309 One-Time Software Update 40,000 40,000 40,000 Total Revenue Reduction 20,414 60,860$ 102,580$ 234,360$Division/Board New Applications 1.0% Petition 5.0% Petition 15.0% Petition ADPER/EH 4,078 1,020$ 5,098$ 15,293$ PL 4,690 1,173 5,863 17,588 Pharmacy 4,073 1,018 5,091 15,274 Nursing 4,578 1,145 5,723 17,168 Dental 1,430 358 1,788 5,363 Medicine 1,565 391 1,956 5,869 Total Revenue Increase 20,414 5,104$ 25,518$ 76,553$License Type New Applications Fee Revenue Background Check Costs Real Estate Salespersons 892 51,290$ 16,056$ Real Estate Appraisers 27 37,910 486 Certified Residential Appraisers 2 22,300 36 Certified General Appraisers 1 7,680 18 Total 922 119,180$ 16,596$ Table 8 — PLB Licensing Fee Revenue Loss FY 2021 Compared to Estimated FY 2020 Table 9 shows the estimated administrative fee revenue to be generated by a certain percentage of applicants filing petitions for reinstatement of licenses based on a fee of $25. The estimate ranges from $300 to $1,000.

Table 9 — PLB Fee Revenue from Petition Fees Summary of FY 2021 Impact Table 10 summarizes the FY 2021 fiscal impact for the DPH and the PLB in the Division of Banking.

Table 10 — Summary of Fiscal Impact

Hospital Licensing Board

The elimination of the Hospital Licensing Board will not have a significant fiscal impact.License Type Revenue Loss Real Estate Salespersons 13,973$ Real Estate Appraisers 10,328 Certified Residential Appraisers 6,075 Certified General Appraisers 4,810 Total Revenue Reduction 35,185$License Type New Applications 1.0% Petition 3.0% Petition 5.0% Petition Real Estate Salespersons 1,058 275$ 800$ 1,325$ Real Estate Appraisers 24 0 25 25 Certified Residential Appraisers 3 0 0 0 Certified General Appraisers 1 0 0 0 Total Revenue Increase 1,086 275$ 825$ 1,350$FY 2021 FY 2021 Board Fee Revenue Impact - Low Estimate Board Fee Revenue Impact - High Estimate

DPH

Revenue Reduction -$60,860 -$234,360 One-time Software Cost -40,000 -40,000 Petition Fee Revenue 5,104 76,553 Net Revenue Reduction -$95,756 -$197,807

PLB

Revenue Reduction -$35,185 -$35,185 Petition Fee Revenue 1,350 275 Net Revenue Reduction -$33,835 -$34,910 Total Revenue Reduction -$129,591 -$232,717