OPINION: End to Occupational Regulation for Pharmacy is Not Worth the Risk By Naida Rivera, fourth-year doctor of pharmacy candidate, Florida A&M University
Abstract Occupational regulatory programs can have an adverse impact on professional licensed individuals in Florida. Feb. 17, my first day on the AssociaNaida Rivera tion management rotation, is a day I will always remember. It was the day I was able to witness firsthand the excitement of different bills being recognized in the state Legislature. One bill caught my attention. SB 1124 and its House companion, HB 707 caught my interest because of my status as student. Imagine losing the one thing that attests to your hard work and tenacity. The possibility of practicing in a profession that is licensed and controlled and having it taken away from you after eight challenging years of proving your determination. Pharmacy school is no walk in the park. Hard work, sleepless nights, sweat and tears have gone into my path of one day becoming a licensed pharmacist. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, just a few more months until graduation day and … another predicament to surmount. Introduction SB 1124, otherwise known as the Occupational Regulation Sunset Act, will have anyone with a professional license on the edge of their seat. Occupational licensure is a regulatory system that requires people to have some kind of 16
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FLORIDA PHARMACY TODAY
credential in order to be qualified to provide a service. These licenses are required by the state of Florida to practice certain trades and professions. When implemented efficiently, occupational licensure helps to protect the public’s health and welfare and enhances the quality of goods and services. Conversely, occupational licensure may create unintended consequences by creating obstacles for people who are not licensed and potential workers entering the labor market. Colorado was the first state to implement a sunset review process in 1976. Later, 36 states adopted sunset legislation. Thus far, Colorado performed two sunrise and 15 sunset reviews.1 In most of these states, the common results of sunset reviews were not terminations of agencies and boards as was projected and feared, but managerial and fundamental alterations. By 1990, six states had abolished their sunset laws and another six had postponed the process.2 There are more than 100 occupational regulatory programs in Florida. The bill’s intent is to have the legislature review each program before the scheduled effective date of repeal of the
program. The review will permit the program to be terminated, reinstated with or without revisions, or one of the other suitable measures.3 An example of an unintended consequence due to a sunset provision not being addressed is the health access dental license. Florida laws allowed out-of-state licensed people in good standing with no discipline to practice in the state of Florida without sitting for the board exam. The dental licensure did good for the community by increasing access to underserved public community health centers and county health departments. A sunset provision in Florida laws resulted in a removal of the out-of-state licensed dental services in our state. There are now efforts in place fighting to reinstate that section of Florida law. To avoid the troubling process of reinstatement, the matter of verbiage of SB 1124 should be addressed before history repeats itself. The bill provides: “Within 60 days after the date on which any occupational regulatory program is allowed to expire through scheduled repeal under this act, the personnel positions which are
IN MOST OF THESE STATES, THE COMMON RESULTS OF SUNSET REVIEWS WERE NOT TERMINATIONS OF AGENCIES AND BOARDS AS WAS PROJECTED AND FEARED, BUT MANAGERIAL AND FUNDAMENTAL ALTERATIONS. BY 1990, SIX STATES HAD ABOLISHED THEIR SUNSET LAWS AND ANOTHER SIX HAD POSTPONED THE PROCESS.2
