Bill Description: Senate Bill 1136 would enter Idaho into the respiratory care interstate compact.
Rating: -3
Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?
Senate Bill 1136 would create Section 54-4308A, Idaho Code, defining and entering the state of Idaho into the respiratory care interstate compact. While interstate licensing compacts can make it easier for licensed individuals to practice in multiple states, the compact itself is full of regulations, which are antithetical to a free market. Occupational licensure, at its core, violates the rights of individuals — both providers and consumers — to engage in voluntary interactions and transactions without intrusion by the state.
Specifically troubling in this compact is a provision that would "create and establish a joint government agency whose membership consists of all member states that have enacted the compact known as the respiratory care interstate commission."
The bill would task this commission with "the development, maintenance, operation, and utilization of a coordinated database and reporting system containing licensure, adverse action, and the presence of significant investigative information." It also says, "Notwithstanding any other provision of state law to the contrary, a member state shall submit a uniform data set to the data system as required by the rules of the commission." This language gives the commission authority to overrule Idaho law regarding what information must be provided about licensees.
It further states that the commission "shall have the power to … establish and amend rules, which shall be binding in all member states.” A different section of the compact states that "the rules of the commission shall have the force of law in each member state." Only "a court of competent jurisdiction" would be allowed to declare a rule invalid and only if "the commission exercised its rulemaking authority in a manner that is beyond the scope and purposes of the compact, or the powers granted hereunder, or based on another applicable standard of review."
In case there is any doubt remaining about the undesirable nature of this compact, the bill says, "Any laws, statutes, regulations, or other legal requirements in a member state in conflict with the compact are superseded to the extent of the conflict, including any subsequently enacted state laws."
Simply put, this bill would expand government. The better approach would be to simply extend "full faith and credit" to licensees in member states without creating a new interstate commission and giving it power to supersede Idaho law.
(-1)
Does it directly or indirectly create or increase any taxes, fees, or other assessments? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce any taxes, fees, or other assessments?
Among the powers granted to the commission by this bill is the power to "assess and collect fees."
These fees may be assessed both on member states and individual licensees. The bill says, "The commission may levy on and collect an annual assessment from each member state and impose fees on licensees of member states to whom it grants a compact privilege."
(-1)
Does it increase barriers to entry into the market? Examples include occupational licensure, the minimum wage, and restrictions on home businesses. Conversely, does it remove barriers to entry into the market?
Senate Bill 1136 would require that any state belonging to the compact "complete a criminal background check for each new licensee at the time of initial licensure" including "fingerprints or other biometric-based information on license applicants at the time of initial licensing for the purpose of obtaining that applicant's criminal history record information, as defined in 28 CFR 20.3(d) or successor provision, from the federal bureau of investigation and the state's criminal history record repository, as defined in 28 CFR 20.3(f) or successor provision."
Requiring a biometric-based background check creates a barrier to entry into the market that is not currently found in Chapter 43, Title 54, Idaho Code, which is Idaho's "Respiratory Care Practice Act."
(-1)
