SLS 21RS-2546 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 73
BY SENATOR MCMATH
STATE AGENCIES. Authorizes and directs health care professional licensing boards to
evaluate potential models for an independent scope of practice review for this state.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To authorize and direct each health care professional licensing board of this state to evaluate
3 the independent scope of practice review programs of Connecticut and Nebraska as
4 potential models for such a program in this state and to report its evaluation to the
5 Senate and House committees on health and welfare.
6 WHEREAS, the legislature hereby recognizes the necessity of establishing an
7 independent body to objectively assess proposals affecting the scope of practice of licensed
8 health care professions before those proposals become enshrined in legislation; and
9 WHEREAS, the term "scope of practice" refers to services and procedures that a
10 health care professional may and may not deliver or perform; and
11 WHEREAS, Louisiana's health professions are regulated by several state licensing
12 boards, each of which receives from the legislature its specific regulatory powers, including
13 the power to enforce the requirements and limitations of a scope of practice; and
14 WHEREAS, state laws creating and providing for licensing and regulatory boards
15 for health care providers and other professions and occupations are found in Title 37 of the
16 Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, which provides for licensure and regulation of no less
17 than thirty-five distinct health-related professions in this state; and
18 WHEREAS, duties of health care professional licensing boards in promoting and
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1 protecting public health and safety are longstanding requirements of state law, and
2 legislative involvement with these boards is typically confined to minor revisions and
3 updates to board-related statutes and occasional oversight of administrative rules that the
4 boards promulgate; however, when health professions oppose and compete with each other,
5 associations representing opposing provider groups bring these matters to the legislature in
6 the form of requests for legislation to either expand one group's scope of practice or diminish
7 another's, and even the small minority of legislators with a background in health care find
8 it extremely challenging to make policy decisions that truly serve the public interest when
9 dealing with scope of practice legislation; and
10 WHEREAS, by playing out in such a public setting as the state legislature, conflicts
11 over scope of practice proposals, which can be among the most heated that legislators ever
12 experience, reflect negatively on the parties involved; and
13 WHEREAS, several other states have seen fit to create independent scope of practice
14 review programs as mechanisms for obtaining objective evaluations of proposals relating to
15 health professions' scope of practice prior to those proposals going before those states'
16 legislative bodies; and
17 WHEREAS, two of the most successful initiatives of this type are the Scope of
18 Practice Determinations for Health Professions Program of the Connecticut Department of
19 Public Health and the Credentialing Review Program of the Nebraska Department of Health
20 and Human Services.
21 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
22 authorize and direct each of the following health care professional licensing boards to
23 evaluate the Scope of Practice Determinations for Health Professions Program of the
24 Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Credentialing Review Program of the
25 Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services as potential models for such a program
26 in this state:
27 (1) The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.
28 (2) The Louisiana State Board of Nursing.
29 (3) The Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners.
30 (4) The Louisiana State Board of Dentistry.
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1 (5) The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy.
2 (6) The Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners.
3 (7) The Louisiana Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
4 (8) The Louisiana Physical Therapy Board.
5 (9) The Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy.
6 (10) The Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and
7 Audiology.
8 (11) The Louisiana Board of Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition.
9 (12) The Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
10 (13) The Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners.
11 (14) The Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners.
12 (15) The Louisiana Behavior Analyst Board.
13 (16) The Louisiana Addictive Disorder Regulatory Authority.
14 (17) The Louisiana Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
15 Board of Examiners.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each board listed shall determine its position
17 concerning each of the following matters:
18 (1) Whether the Scope of Practice Determinations for Health Professions Program
19 of the Connecticut Department of Public Health is a suitable model for a program of this
20 type in Louisiana.
21 (2) Whether the Credentialing Review Program of the Nebraska Department of
22 Health and Human Services is a suitable model for a program of this type in Louisiana.
23 (3) Whether any other established program or any potential system not yet
24 established would serve as a suitable model for an independent scope of practice review
25 program for Louisiana.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each board which is subject to the provisions of
27 this Resolution shall submit a report to the House Committee on Health and Welfare and the
28 Senate Committee on Health and Welfare on or before December 31, 2021 which includes
29 all of the following:
30 (1) Its position concerning whether or not the Scope of Practice Determinations for
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1 Health Professions Program of the Connecticut Department of Public Health is a suitable
2 model for a program of this type in Louisiana and the rationale for this position.
3 (2) Its position concerning whether or not the Credentialing Review Program of the
4 Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is a suitable model for a program of
5 this type in Louisiana and the rationale for this position.
6 (3) Information on other established programs or potential systems, if any, which
7 would serve as a suitable model for an independent scope of practice review program for
8 Louisiana.
9 (4) The current scope of practice of each health care profession that it licenses.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each board which is subject to the provisions of
11 this Resolution may provide in the report required by this Resolution any information and
12 commentary it deems appropriate for the Senate and House committees on health and
13 welfare to consider on the matter of the potential establishment of an independent scope of
14 practice review program for this state.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
16 executive director and the chairperson of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners,
17 the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse
18 Examiners, the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the
19 Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners, the Louisiana Board of Chiropractic
20 Examiners, the Louisiana Physical Therapy Board, the Louisiana Board of Massage
21 Therapy, the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology,
22 the Louisiana Board of Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition, the Louisiana State Board of
23 Examiners of Psychologists, the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of
24 Examiners, the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners, the Louisiana Behavior
25 Analyst Board, the Louisiana Addictive Disorder Regulatory Authority, and the Louisiana
26 Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Board of Examiners.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
SCR 73 Original 2021 Regular Session McMath
Authorizes and directs each state health care professional licensing board to determine its
position concerning each of the following matters:
(1)Whether the Scope of Practice Determinations for Health Professions Program of the
Connecticut Dept. of Public Health is a suitable model for a program of this type in
La.
(2)Whether the Credentialing Review Program of the Nebraska Dept. of Health and
Human Services is a suitable model for a program of this type in La.
(3)Whether any other established program or any potential system not yet established
would serve as a suitable model for an independent scope of practice review program
for La.
Requires that each such licensing board to report its determination to the Senate and House
committees on health and welfare on or before Dec. 31, 2021.
"Health care professional licensing board of this state" for this Resolution, includes the La.
State Board of Medical Examiners, La. State Board of Nursing, La. State Board of Practical
Nurse Examiners, La. State Board of Dentistry, La. Board of Pharmacy, La. State Board of
Optometry Examiners, La. Board of Chiropractic Examiners, La. Physical Therapy Board,
La. Board of Massage Therapy, La. Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology, La. Board of Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition, La. State Board of Examiners
of Psychologists, the La. Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, La. State
Board of Social Work Examiners, La. Behavior Analyst Board, La. Addictive Disorder
Regulatory Authority, and La. Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
Board of Examiners.
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