TCA § 4-29-118 — Termination date of governmental entities — Review of legislation creating governmental entities

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, each department, commission, board, agency or council of state government initially created after January 1, 1995, shall terminate on June 30 of the second calendar year following the year in which such governmental entity is created. The termination date of each such governmental entity shall be subject to the requirements of §§ 4-29-104 and 4-29-112. Notwithstanding subsection (a), any legislation that creates a new department, commission, board, agency or council of state government for the purpose of providing licensing or certification, or both, for occupational or professional groups, or both, shall be referred to the government operations committee by the speaker of each house, and shall be reviewed in accordance with this subsection (b) and §§ 4-29-105 and 4-29-106, and for the purposes of such review, the government operations committee of each house shall be considered an appropriate standing committee. In conducting the review of such legislation, the government operations committees shall take into consideration the following factors: The extent to which the unregulated practice of the profession or occupation can substantially harm or endanger the public health, safety or welfare, and the extent to which the potential for such harm is recognizable and not remote or dependent upon tenuous argument; The extent to which the profession or occupation possesses qualities that distinguish it from ordinary labor; The extent to which the practice of the profession or occupation requires specialized skill or training; The likelihood that a substantial majority of the public does not have the knowledge or experience to evaluate whether the practitioner of the profession or occupation is competent; and The degree to which the public is effectively protected by other means. The sponsor of the legislation shall have the burden of presenting to the government operations committees such data as they require to perform their evaluation of the criteria enumerated in subdivision (b)(2)(B), including, but not limited to, information as necessary to show: That the unregulated practice of the occupation or profession may be hazardous to the public health, safety or welfare; The approximate number of people who would be regulated and the number of persons who are likely to utilize the service of the occupation or profession; That the occupational or professional group has an established code of ethics, a voluntary certification program, or other measures to ensure a minimum quality of service; That other states have regulatory provisions similar to the one proposed; How the public will benefit from regulation of the occupation or profession; How the occupation or profession will be regulated, including qualifications and disciplinary procedures to be applied to practitioners; The purpose of the proposed regulation and whether there has been any public support for licensure of the profession or occupation; That no other licensing board regulates similar or parallel functions; That the educational requirements for licensure, if any, are fully justified; and Any other information the committee considers relevant to the proposed regulatory plan.