§60-L. Technical committee; fees; membership; duties; commissioner's recommendation

1.  Fees.  Any applicant group whose regulatory proposal has been directed to the commissioner for review by a technical committee shall pay a fee determined by the commissioner as required to administer the technical committee, which fee may not exceed $1,000. The administrative fee is not refundable, but the commissioner may waive all or part of the fee if the commissioner finds it in the public's interest to do so. Such a finding by the commissioner may include, but is not limited to, circumstances in which the commissioner determines that:

A. The applicant group is an agency of the State; or   [PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

B. Payment of the application fee would impose unreasonable hardship on members of the applicant group.   [PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

[PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

2.  Technical committee membership.  The commissioner shall appoint a technical committee consisting of 7 members to examine and investigate each proposal.

A. Two members must be from the profession or occupation being proposed for regulation or expansion of regulation.   [PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

B. Two members must be from professions or occupations with a scope of practice that overlaps that of the profession or occupation being proposed for regulation or expansion of regulation. If there is more than one overlapping profession or occupation, representatives of the 2 with the greatest number of practitioners must be appointed.   [PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

C. One member must be the commissioner or the commissioner's designee.   [PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

D. Two members must be public members. These persons and their spouses, parents or children may not be or ever have been members of, and may not have or ever have had a material financial interest in, the profession or occupation being proposed for regulation or expansion of regulation or another profession or occupation with a scope of practice that may overlap that of the profession or occupation being proposed for regulation.   [PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

The professional and public members serve without compensation. The chair of the committee must be the commissioner, the commissioner's designee or a public member. The commissioner shall ensure that the total composition of the committee is fair and equitable.

[PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

3.  Meetings.  As soon as possible after appointment, a technical committee shall meet and review the proposal assigned to it. Each committee shall investigate the proposed regulation and, on its own motion, may solicit public input. Notice of all meetings must be printed in the legislative calendar at an appropriate time preceding the meeting.

[PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

4.  Procedure for review.  Applicant groups are responsible for furnishing evidence upon which a technical committee makes its findings. The technical committee may also utilize information received through public input or through its own research or investigation. The committee shall make a report of its findings and file the report with the commissioner. The committee shall evaluate the application presented to it based on the information provided as required by section 60-J. If the committee finds that additional information is required to assist in developing its recommendations, it may require that the applicant group provide this information or may otherwise solicit information for this purpose. If the committee finds that final answers to the evaluation criteria are sufficient to support regulation of a profession or occupation not currently regulated, the committee must also recommend the least restrictive method of regulation to be implemented, consistent with the public interest. Whether it recommends approval or denial of an application, the committee may make additional recommendations regarding solutions to problems identified during the review.

[PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

5.  Commissioner report.  After receiving and considering reports from the technical committee, the commissioner shall prepare a final report, for the joint standing committee of the Legislature that requested the review, that includes any legislation required to implement the commissioner's recommendation. The final report must include copies of the committee report, but the commissioner is not bound by the findings and recommendations of the report. In compiling the report, the commissioner shall apply the criteria established in section 60-J and may consult with the technical committee. The recommendations of the commissioner must reflect the least restrictive method of regulation consistent with the public interest. The final report must be submitted to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over occupational and professional regulation matters no later than 9 months after the proposal is submitted to the technical committee and must be made available to all other members of the Legislature upon request.

The commissioner may recommend that no legislative action be taken on a proposal. If the commissioner recommends that a proposal of an applicant group be approved, the commissioner shall recommend an agency to be responsible for the regulation and the level of regulation to be assigned to the applicant group.

[PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1995, c. 686, §2 (NEW).