Under existing law, occupational and professional licensing boards are responsible for regulating different professions and occupations. This bill would establish the Office of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Department of Labor to serve as a centralized entity providing leadership, support, and oversight to certain professional or occupational licensing boards operating within the state. This bill would provide for the appointment of an executive director, deputy directors, and other staff for the office, including investigators, and would provide uniformity for certain provisions relating to licensing, fees, funding, and expenses. Commencing on October 1, 2025, this bill would transfer to the office the Board of Examiners of Assisted Living Administrators, Alabama Athletic Commission, Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers, State Board of Auctioneers, Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board, Alabama Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, Board of Examiners in Counseling, Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors, Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure, State Board of Genetic Counseling, Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists, Board of Home Medical Equipment, Alabama Board for Registered Interior Designers, Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators, Alabama Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects, Alabama Board of Examiners in Marriage and Family Therapy, Alabama Massage Therapy Licensing Board, State Board of Midwifery, Alabama Board of Optometry, State Board of Podiatry, Alabama Private Investigation Board, Alabama State Board of Prosthetists and Orthotists, and the Alabama Security Regulatory Board. Commencing on October 1, 2026, this bill would transfer to the office the State Board for Registration of Architects, Alabama Board of Court Reporting, State Board of Examiners for Dietetics/Nutrition Practice, State Board of Registration for Foresters, Board of Hearing Instrument Dealers, Board of Nursing, Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators, Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy, Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board, Board of Physical Therapy, Polygraph Examiners Board, Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology, Alabama State Board of Respiratory Therapy, Alabama Board of Social Work Examiners, and the Alabama Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. This bill would maintain the validity of occupational and professional licenses issued before the transfer and the continuance of the rules of a transferred occupational or professional licensing board adopted before the transfer. This bill would transfer the Sickle Cell Oversight and Regulatory Commission and all documents, records, functions, and responsibilities of the commission to the Department of Public Health. This bill would also transfer the Alabama Drycleaning Environmental Response Trust Fund Advisory Board and all documents, records, functions, and responsibilities of the board to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 22-30D-8