1099 Notice of comments issued

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION

Notice of Comments Issued

[43 Pa.B. 3312]
[Saturday, June 15, 2013]

 Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) may issue comments within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The Commission comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b).

 The Commission has issued comments on the following proposed regulations. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted within 2 years of the close of the public comment period or it will be deemed withdrawn.

Reg. No.	Agency/Title	Close of the Public Comment Period	IRRC Comments Issued
16A-6110	State Board of Landscape Architects Continuing Education and Elimination of  Registration without Examination 43 Pa.B. 1859 (April 6, 2013)	5/6/13	6/5/13
16A-663	Navigation Commission for the Delaware  River & its Navigable Tributaries General Revisions 43 Pa.B. 1850 (April 6, 2013)	5/6/13	6/5/13
16A-4515	State Board of Cosmetology Fees—Cosmetology 43 Pa.B. 1855 (April 6, 2013)	5/6/13	6/5/13
16A-4627	State Board of Dentistry Fees 43 Pa.B. 1857 (April 6, 2013)	5/6/13	6/5/13
16A-428	State Board of Barber Examiners Fees 43 Pa.B. 1854 (April 6, 2013)	5/6/13	6/5/13

State Board of Landscape Architects

Regulation #16A-6110 (IRRC #2994)

Continuing Education and Elimination of Registration without Examination

June 5, 2013

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the April 6, 2013 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the State Board of Landscape Architects (Board) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

1. Section 15.56. Registration without examination.—Consistency with statute; Clarity.

 In the Preamble, the Board explains the deletion of Paragraph (a)(3) as follows:

. . . Also included in § 15.56(a)(3) is a provision which provides for individuals who have passed the examination in another state. Although not affected by Act 24, the Board is also proposing to delete this provision because it is already covered in § 15.57(a) (relating to registration by endorsement). . . .

 While we agree with the deletion of Section 15.56 in its entirety, the remaining provisions of Section 15.57 differ from the statutory provision at 63 P. S. § 906(c). For example, Subsection 15.57(a) does not explain the statutory provision that the applicant must establish that their qualifications from the other state are ''. . . at least equal to the standards of this Commonwealth existing at that time.'' We also question whether Subsection 15.57(c) is consistent with 63 P. S. § 906(c), which conditionally allows the Board to register and license an applicant without examination. Therefore, we ask the Board to review all of Section 15.57 with the statutory provision at 63 P. S. § 906(c) and either amend the regulation as necessary to reflect the statute or explain how Section 15.57 is consistent with the Landscape Architects' Registration Law.

2. Section 15.72. Requirement for biennial renewal.—Consistency with statute; Implementation procedure; Reasonableness.

 The increase of continuing education hours from 10 hours to 24 hours implements Act 24 of 2009 (Act 24), which also gave the Board discretion on when to implement this increase. Also, under 63 P. S. § 909.1(e) the Board must ''inform licensees of the continuing education requirement prior to the renewal period when continuing education is required.''

 The actual biennial period in which licensees must comply is not yet officially established in regulation. As of the date of these comments the biennial period commencing June 1, 2013 has already begun. Subsection (a), which implements the new requirement for 24 clock hours of continuing education, will not become effective until a final regulation is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Tied to these concerns is the economic impact on licensees who incur the costs, including time off from work to attend continuing education courses, which may or may not be necessary depending on the publication date of the final regulation. Therefore, we ask the Board to provide an explanation in the final regulation submittal of how the Board has sufficiently informed licensees of the new requirement for 24 hours of continuing education prior to the renewal period that requirement became effective on June 1, 2013.

3. Section 15.72. Requirement for biennial renewal.—Statutory authority.

 The Landscape Architects' Registration Law states that the Board:

. . . shall adopt, promulgate and enforce regulations consistent with this act establishing requirements to be met by individuals licensed as landscape architects under this act as a condition for renewal of their licenses . . . each person licensed under this act shall be required to obtain twenty-four hours of mandatory continuing education during each two-year license period. . . . 63 P. S. §§ 909.1(a) and (b). (Emphasis added.)

 The addition of Subsection (d) to the regulation would state:

If a licensee exceeds the required number of clock hours of continuing education in a renewal period, the licensee may carry forward a maximum of 12 continuing education clock hours into the subsequent renewal period.

 By allowing licensees to carry forward credits, Subsection (d) would form the basis to allow the renewal of a license in the subsequent renewal period if the licensee completed less than the statutorily required 24 hours of mandatory continuing education during the subsequent renewal period. The Board should either delete Subsection (d), explain its authority under the Landscape Architects' Registration Law to allow licensees to carry forward continuing education credits, or seek amendments to the Landscape Architects' Registration Law to accommodate the carry forward of continuing education credits prior to adding this provision to its regulation.

Navigation Commission for the Delaware River & its Navigable Tributaries

Regulation #16A-663 (IRRC #2995)

General Revisions

June 5, 2013

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the April 6, 2013 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (RRA) (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the RRA (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the Navigation Commission for the Delaware River & its Navigable Tributaries (Commission) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

1. Section 405.12. Renewal of license.—Clarity.

 Subsection (b) includes notice that the continuing education requirements contained in the subsection shall become effective July 6, 2004. The Commission is deleting similar language in Section 405.7(b)(1) because the date has already passed. The Commission should delete this obsolete language, as well, in the final-form regulation.

2. Section 405.36. Federal license.—Clarity.

 Subsection (b) states that if a pilot's federal license is suspended, revoked or surrendered (i.e., inactive), ''the Commission may . . . revoke, suspend, limit or otherwise restrict the pilot's state license.'' (Emphasis added.) It is unclear as to how subsection (b) is consistent with new language in Section 405.7(a)(10) which requires an applicant for a pilot's license to ''hold and maintain an active Federal first-class pilot's license'' (emphasis added) and Section 405.12(a)(1) which requires an applicant renewing a pilot's license to satisfy the requirements in Section 405.7(a)(10).

 We recognize the need for the Commission to provide notice and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Agency Law before taking action against a pilot's state license; however, subsection (b) appears to allow for a circumstance in which a pilot can hold an active state pilot's license without an active Federal pilot's license. We ask the Commission to explain how these provisions are consistent, or to address this circumstance in the final-form regulation.

State Board of Cosmetology

Regulation #16A-4515 (IRRC #2996)

Fees—Cosmetology

June 5, 2013

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the April 6, 2013 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (RRA) (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the RRA (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the State Board of Cosmetology (Board) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

Comments of the House Professional Licensure Committee

 In a letter dated May 24, 2013, Representative Julie Harhart, Majority Chair of the House Professional Licensure Committee (Committee), and Representative Harry Readshaw, Minority Chair of the Committee, submitted a comment on behalf of the Committee requesting information pertaining to the major cost centers of the Board and any significant increases in the Board's expenditures. We will review the Board's response as part of our determination of whether the final regulation is in the public interest.

State Board of Dentistry

Regulation #16A-4627 (IRRC #2997)

Fees

June 5, 2013

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the April 6, 2013 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the State Board of Dentistry (Board) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

Comments of the House Professional Licensure Committee

 In a letter dated May 24, 2013, Representative Julie Harhart, Majority Chair of the House Professional Licensure Committee (Committee), and Representative Harry Readshaw, Minority Chair of the Committee, submitted a comment on behalf of the Committee requesting information pertaining to the major cost centers of the Board and any significant increases in the Board's expenditures. We will review the Board's response as part of our determination of whether the final regulation is in the public interest.

State Board of Barber Examiners

Regulation #16A-428 (IRRC #2998)

Fees

June 5, 2013

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the April 6, 2013 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the State Board of Barber Examiners (Board) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

Comments of the House Professional Licensure Committee

 In a letter dated May 24, 2013, Representative Julie Harhart, Majority Chair of the House Professional Licensure Committee (Committee), and Representative Harry Readshaw, Minority Chair of the Committee, submitted a comment on behalf of the Committee requesting information pertaining to the major cost centers of the Board and any significant increases in the Board's expenditures. We will review the Board's response as part of our determination of whether the final regulation is in the public interest.

SILVAN B. LUTKEWITTE, III, 
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-1099. Filed for public inspection June 14, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]