House Professional Licensure and Consumer Affairs Committees

Welcome to the Committee Corner! As chairwoman of the House Professional Licensure Committee, I want to provide you with a snapshot of the many meetings, public hearings and legislative measures that are handled by the two committees.

The Professional Licensure Committee essentially considers all legislation dealing with the 29 professional and occupational licensing boards and commissions in Pennsylvania. Professionals range from physicians and cosmetologists to real estate agents and funeral directors.

The committee is also charged with reviewing the various regulations put forth by the Pennsylvania Department of State on licensed professionals. 
 
For more information on the House Professional Licensure Committee, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

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During a recent public hearing of the House Professional Licensure Committee, which I chair, the committee members and I heard testimony about the impact licensing diabetes educators under the State Board of Nursing would have on the Commonwealth.

During a recent meeting of the House Professional Licensure Committee, which I chair, one of the bills we discussed would require licensure of naturopathic doctors under the State Board of Medicine.

The House Professional Licensure Committee held an information hearing March 12 on legislation that would require pharmacies located outside Pennsylvania to register with the State Board of Pharmacy if they fill prescription orders for residents of the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not already have this requirement.


The week of Aug. 26, Rep. Harhart held two public hearings on legislation aimed at improving patient care and ensure better consumer protection by making updates to the licensure requirements and scopes of practice regarding both audiologists and speech pathologists. For more information on the bills discussed during the hearing, click here.


On March 13, Rep. Harhart chaired a voting meeting of the House Professional Licensure Committee in which the committee took action on legislation pertaining to certain activities of certified public accountants, auctioneering house licenses, chiropractic licenses, and the collection of unpaid fines and related costs for the Common Pleas Court.


On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Rep.Harhart chaired a public hearing of the House Professional Licensure Committee to discuss House Bill 2274. The legislation would allow for the collection of unpaid fines imposed by the licensing boards under the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.


On Tuesday, Sept. 18, Rep. Harhart led a public hearing of the House Professional Licensure Committee on House Bill 1635, which would prohibit a pharmacist from substituting an opioid analgesic drug, either brand or generic, unless the pharmacist verifies that the substitution has substantially similar tamper-resistant properties to the originally prescribed drug, or the prescribing physician provides written consent for the substitution.


Rep. Harhart recently hosted a public hearing of the House Professional Licensure Committee on House Bill 817, which seeks to authorize pharmacists to provide immunizations to children. Currently, they are permitted to immunized adults.


On Jan. 19, the House Professional Licensure Committee held a public hearing on a bill that would allow for the licensing of naturopathic physicians in Pennsylvania. According to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, naturopathic doctors teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and cutting edge natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease. The committee heard from various professionals in the health care field, including naturopathic doctors, who offered testimony on why they were either for or against House Bill 1717.

On May 3, The House Professional Licensure Committee, chaired by Rep. Harhart, held a public hearing on House Bill 646, dealing with the expungement of disciplinary records.

On April 6, Harhart held a meeting of the House Professional Licensure Committee to vote on three separate House bills to establish licensing requirements for prosethetists, orthotists, pedorthists and orthotic fitters; to require a license to practice genetic counseling; and to require appraisal management companies to register with the State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers. All three bills were passed out of the committee.

A Feb. 24 hearing of the House Consumer Affairs Committee discussed a bill that would provide increased oversight of gas pipelines to increase safety.  Rep. Julie Harhart inquired about how the legislation may protect against pipeline accidents.  Watch a portion of the hearing below.




On Feb. 9, Rep. Harhart convened the first informational meeting of the House Professional Licensure Committee for the 2011-12 session.  Kim Kauffman, executive director of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, presented an overview of the agency's duties and relationship to the committee.