ALC-Occupational Licensing Review Subcommittee

Go ahead and call the meeting to order for the occupational licensing review subcommittee I apologize about my tardiness I was reading about a data breach before I left and then I want to log into my banking account and I could not get into my banking account so. Yeah so I have a rebundance of caution or paranoia which ever had to run by my bank before coming down today so thankfully everything was in order they've just done a software update but anyways just can't be too too careful these days so we're going to jump right into this representative english is out this afternoon so just be me up here so we're gonna do a review of report starting in section c I think we got five items to review today the first one is the arts all state board of dental examiner so we have the representatives come up that's gonna be exhibit c one colleagues. The. The. Yeah. And then now when you all get settled in there if you would introduce yourself to the committee and then you're free to make any comments that you might have. Make your more department of health. The. Meredith rogers are consistent board of dental examiners so will the rogers just give a review of the board and and then take any questions that's okay sounds good. Thanks harder good afternoon again a meritous rogers and i'm the executive director for the arkansas state board of dental examiners. The asbd is a nine member board consisting of six dentist one hygienis into public members with one of those public members representing the senior citizen community currently the asbd has seven members. Uh consisting of six dentist and one public member we always the fulfilment of our vacancies as well as two member replacements for members who have been serving beyond their term. We of receive approximately seventy eight hundred licensees. We are in the process of finishing up our renewals for our denise and hyjonist. Dennis and hygiene's renew and are number years and assistance renew in even number years and they will renew at the end of this year. We are updating our rules to be compliant with x one thirty seven and forty two. And additionally we have implemented a reduction of our application fees by ninety five percent. Concerning life insurer are requirements or similar to many other states for a renewal we require a continuing education hours fifty hours for dentist forty hours for hygienist and two hours of an infection control course for assistance I receive your requirements or less restrictive than most states and that we do not limit the types of courses I e in person or live courses versus online courses thank you i'm just taking a look here very encouraged to see that with that large fund balance you all are being proactive and have have reduced your your fees to and i'm better max the need my question and I generally assess everyone that comes up as far as in your your occupation field having enough dentists and hijanis how are we doing in the state are we were we need to be as a shortage recruitment can you can I talk about that aspect of what we're out with industry in the state i'm not really aware of a shortage our licensing numbers have been going up every year. Especially with the deal assistance we we receive a lot of applications for dinner systems in they can practice dental assisting without having the jobs a lot of them just apply and they just keep their licenses up but yeah we we have received have a slight increase in the number of denison hygiene is coming by license by examination and credentials okay so we're all sounds pretty positive colleagues any questions. Yeah senator have one in this is from a colleagues it's a bank meeting that is now they will be here he had a concern like military are professional license from another state transfer yeah. Can you get that in one year. Absolutely yes. There are some kind of process he said some about five years II don't know where you come in after their to speak to the process of someone wanted to move here and it's in the military how that would how that would work ok so if someone is in the military and wants to obtain a license and arkansas if they have been practicing for five years or more they can come back license you're back credentials and that's just a matter of just filling out the application sending it to us we process the application and upon receipt of it there is a background check but once what's the application is completely issue license. What's a below fabric below five years then come back examination and it's usually for the ones who have less than five years of active practice experience so they have to retake the exam in arkansas get through taken another state never transferred. Two years after they got to professional license in another state that's not very conducive in. In military oh no they don't have to retake an exam what once they've taken the clinical exam decide do you have them take the jurish britain's exam though yes it's still the jurisbonus exam is just an open exam that are we sent to all of our licensees to take and they have to pay as they would seventy five percent but it just covers our are rules and regulations that specific targets are okay all right well that's all I can tell you we she was here. And college any others. Okay all right saying non thinking offer being here welcome that objection have this one reviewed thank you. Okay we're gonna go to c two now the statement of architects landscape architects in interior designers. The. You know again when you all get settled in if you would introduce yourself to the committee and then you're free to make any opening statement you have. The. I'm dan parker on the chief legal council for the department of labor and license saying the architect landscape architect in interior design board is one of our many licensing boarding commissions. Did you see everybody good heavy back and make sure you're mikes on there. Perfect area thank you i'm saying a brian the executive director of the arkansas state board of architects lance architects and into your designers okay and then any opening comments all have about the work you do. The. I'm getting older and I have to have these number coming from good afternoon again I am saying one the executive directive of the arkansas state board of architects and I ask if architects and interior designers a division of the department of labor in licensing and today in the gallery we have a julie kelso are landscape architect member and interim presidents in architect member dog early. The architects i'll stay bored of architects lance here worker takes an interior designers is a multi profession regulatory agency that overseas the examination registration. And professional regulation of architects last year barclay takes an interior designers. The arkansas legislature created the original arkansas architectural act and the arkansas state board of architects in nineteen forty one via x two seventy. I want you first of two thousand and nine the arkansas day board of architects merged with the arkansas state board of lanca march and the arkansas state board of registered interior designers. We are a nine liberboard with five architects one landscape architect one interior designer and two public member positions. We are a cohesive group with each member represented the others profession and opinion. We ensure those representing themselves as architects last year architects and registered interior designers in our state meet the standards of competency by way of education experience and examination. And enforce in the laws and regulations put in place by this government body in a fair and expeditions and uniform manner. Our mission statement remains to protect public health safety and welfare that the regulation of architects land so market takes and registered into your designers in the state of arkansas. Thank you and I would be happy to take any questions so first question that term I have is how was the profession doing overall I see here from your report there close the two thousand architects in the in the state are we and good shape as far as having enough architects and any shortages and can talk about that aspect of it we are in great shape we have plenty of architects but never enough I mean we could have bought and we have increased our numbers annually in state and out of state architects and lance he worked it takes an interior designers as well as the next question out looking at your your funds it looks like you're bringing in in fees little over five hundred thousand dollars your expenses are about half that so it looks like you're current fund balance is three point five million and growing can you talk about. What your plans are with that fund balance if there's educational opportunities or we're going to lower feature or are you just gonna you know we don't want that fun bounces to keep growing just to keep growing so how are we going to handle that yes or um initially before the transformation act of twenty nineteen the board was a remark in those dollars to purchase a building and since transformation of course we don't need that those funds for those dollars for their anymore the board is and we have been doing it strategic plan we are looking into. Scholarship exams and two wish in scholarships to use those dollars and give those two emerging professionals that's where we are working at the cap alright representative fortner europe sir thank you mister chairman do you guys have a. Ongoing problem with late renewals I see you hit a pretty hard for a. Missing a month or two. Well we don't have a necessary I wouldn't say a problem with it because of the exactly because of the fees that are our associated with those are life but we do have those they do miss the mark and have to pay those late fees and it goes for those three years up to three years after the three years and you have to reapply and of course you know you have to keep paying those dollars when they keep going up. Okay here's not a problem for say no sir okay i'd pay on time all right thank you do that do the architects have to do like any continuing education to renew those licenses or is it just you know we pay for you to renew a license or any requirements on that yes sir we have a annual renewal and a hundred dollars annual renewal and they do have to have twelve hours of her safety and welfare hours to renew their license so on so nothing as far as related to the field itself necessarily like any new technology user or whatever within the fields of architecture or interior design well the idiots laid out in our our statue what they can get those hours in and they do have to be related. Two ongoing continuing of your knowledge of the field yes perfect not anything else colleagues. All right saying none without objection will consider this review thank you all for being here today thank you next up we have the state board of registered professional sanitarians. The. Yeah again what you gentlemen get. Saddled in just introduce yourself to the committee and then you'll be free to make any opening comment you have thank you mister chair truck thompson attorney arkansas department of cherry paul environmental health branch chief of department hill correct smith attorney for deposit health. Thank you mister chair thank you members cheap staffed on adams could not make it today we is on the he's on the agenda but because of the change with the snow and the ice arm he is over handling our board of health quarterly statutory meeting so we were kind of having doing double duty today so he he sends his regards but he had to handle that so much terry pauls here in his dead what you have before you today is the review of the state board you know the registered sanitarians the register santarians are a unique way it's actually more about credential than it is a license it's been around since nineteen fifty seven it is actually not required to engage in any occupate for two engaged in an occupation per se however it does fit under the under the statutory definition for yalls review it is generally used mostly when when it comes to state government employees at the department of health though it is not limited to them in it is a uh it really is more big credentially credentialing matter mister terry paul can talk a little bit more on that and to answer any questions and then mister smith is here to assist as well. Okay mister. Again terrible I am the agency can't take for the board I do have the president I can't present the board I missed kerry grey is here as well mister adams is also serving on that board the board is made up a five members that are corporation sanitarians and one consumer advocate on that board there's about round a hundred registrants in the state right at the moment the again this is a a personal credential that encourages personal development and training and as require cause on a rotating basis we you know we are courage our staff we do have other staff and other state agencies is also take this registration and just for your acknowledged the word sanitary in a sort of a legacy term now days is more in line with the term of a region registered environmental health specialist or health center nationally are there many states to have a very similar credential it are similar. Program he had even some national organizations to do this but we're very economical in the sense and we do expect a. You know compliance in in a and we're trying to all the time trying to improve our work fortune. Can you give some examples of some career fields of other department health rules I did a a quick car a look yesterday just thinking of all the directional regulations that we deal with about twenty five percent of the rules that we have a senatory and some role here where the that's rabies whether that's public water systems we do have sanitarians or environmental whole specialists in their deal with our public water systems with our rest rights there some did in the public health service different different areas in again you don't. But this signals to us if we get an applicant it's registered somewhere with signal stuff that we're getting an applicant or a person that has this in their background and has a wide range of knowledge we dealt we dealt with all kinds of things are senatorians or environmental whole special as a whole we handle a lot of community complaints and and again try to sell through the rules to get AAA solution to the problem basically okay all right and similar question I asked with that others since this is more of a credentially it man out apply but do we have enough fee people in this field is is something that needs to be promoted fall for more can tell talk to us a little bit about that I do believe some of the confusion lies for that term racial registered sanitary and that's again legacy term there's something we've talked about trying to maybe change that worrying a little bit you know again represent environmental health field it's sometimes people believe it's only the health department but it's it's not so that would help us in the future I would saying that we're always again looking for people at registrants or people that are interested in and this endeavour as a profession a long term so. Colleagues any questions on this one. Okay. But i'm strong. Thank you mister chairman my questions for mr paul I was wondering is it still a record a requirement that I am participant have a degree in biology I think that's what was required before the rest of sanitary and I had to look it up exactly what see what it says but it's a degree in the natural sciences or public health I believe that the law extra of the rules actually says it can be a mathematics type degree or are or well I think math is what the natural status but are geology we said we have a lot of economy folks that are registered and. Chemistry all of those tax or or certainly. Physical yes I feel the environmental health physical and biological requirements are a section eight one in twelve of this act. And I was worrying have an hour ever given in consideration too people do not have those degrees but have worked for years and at hs sometime maybe for five years to make it eligible for them to uh participate. The. Yeah. As far as working from that yeah if you have any here's the term is working for you but does not have a degree in or those national sciences per the old did they have done the job for sit five years or so that that would be the time served in service would equate to the same as having had the degree to make an eligible to become a registered secretary. I'm not I think I know you can you tell me who you are you weng long while at a okay way ah about why he did work for the the health representative representative I don't remember what your degree what a person's degree if it's not and always wanted to take the registrative center in uh testing become one but was unable to because my degree wasn't in the senses but I wasn't sure that particular deal but but i'm certainly we could review it based on the statute and maybe take that as a thing to look forward to in the future in our next rule revision potentially reviewed among the appreciates you look at into it so I guess our right any others. Okay saying none of the gentleman thank you for being here this afternoon now without objection will consider this one reviewed next app number four of five we have the arkansas fire training academy. And what you get settled in in terms you would introduce yourself to the committee and in your free to make any opening comments. Good afternoon my name's james good one the deputy director dock software training academy and thank you for being here mister thank you for ever missing. I was going to very brief opening statement just want to give you that they don't who we are what we're doing we are the the soul. I guess credentialing body and the state of work and software firefighters. We handling where from twelve thousand twenty thousand students a year there are academy. Uh with the dual certifications on from probably an if sack. Oh the majority of our classes we have twenty two employees throughout the state that a ronnies. Twelve twenty thousand people or third fighters through these academies. So we are currently moving forward. Uh. With summer improvements thanks to the people in this body. And we look forward to those improvements in the future. And with that I will leave it with you and take any questions you would have okay i'm just looking at the the the report it says a number of regulated individuals are zero. Am I many firefighters the roughly since you're training academy do you do you register people to be certified firefighters or is that a separate we we certify them only the the cities will hire them send them to us for their training and then we will we train them well it be rookie firefighters which is majority of what we do and we certified them through website international and crediting agencies. And then go back to their cities where there they're employed and and how are we doing unless the state to your knowledge as far as the need for more firefighters only bigger classrooms universal we we have a classroom of forty five right now. Earlier rookies and we have thirty two EMT class across the the road that will be going to rook a school with a class of fifty plus I think most departments in the stateor in native people so so is it there's more applicants than the alcohol handle and that's creating a little bit of a backlog for our cities in. No so what so far we're able to handle everyone you're getting yes and had to turn into one down yet but we're if we get up to close to fifty then we have to start looking at moving people to another other classes okay colleagues any questions on this one bank representatively thank you mister chair could you I was reading on your the the forms that you submitted you talked about expansion with the department of defense is that correct yes they put a potential with that bring out about a need for expansion and you indicated that that could be helped make a self sustaining yesterday will generate considerably more revenue if we can get. The. Uh significant contract with the we have two right now different basis that we go to quite regular those those happens bring in some revenue and generate some money. Are there other facilities around the country that are providing something similar would this be an opportunity to do something at least regionally to stand out yes sir there's a few other fire academies in the in the country that the branch out to the DOD basis and we're we're trying to get into that poculative money to help sustain I can't and this would be for military with that specific moss yes okay thank you thank you mister chair. And collecting others. Okay saying none thank you for your attendance today we'll consider that reviewed without objection and last but not what east we have the arkansas live stock and poultry commission. And now when you get settled surgery more nor come to introduce yourself and in any opening comments yes a patrick first with the part of agriculture on the director of the last start portrait alright thank you for being here today. The last time poetry is a division of the the part of agriculture. Our promoting mission statement is safeguarding human health animal animal health are assuring food safety and quality and promoting the last dark and poetry industries of the state our role is to provide oversight for rules and walls in regards to food safety as well as a permitting a preventing outbreaks from diseases or potential food born illnesses. Anything that threatens the state in regards to animals coming in together and we have staff we also have not individuals that are. A listened to assist the agency tomorrow to those movements inside and outside the state for choice billy so we can trace the disease back to a potential source and to prevent an account up with outlook. And we have retail inspectors that go to restaurants as well as retail outlets are for food safety are looking at quality grading and making sure the temperatures are correct and making sure the date in inspected as well so we prevent also services to our processing plants in grading services. That's a service there at each state through usda provides for those companies it's a voluntary program but once they're in that program then they're regulated by those federal estate laws in account food product at least make that. That are taking questions self first question that i've asked everybody i'll throw it out to you so how are we doing in the industry as far as having enough people to be able to for fall the the role that you were doing very well and we do have a love our biggest concerns we're still in the middle of that we have even through winter is a huge threat to our state into our industry and we have have downside some of our staff and I but we are doing well and regards to handling those events so I don't see any need right now that we could add warner to hear and there are as as a programs expand but currently right now we're doing this okay all right looks like senator hill you're up sir could you share a light to the only thing for us is for is the concerns that that i've heard on the the chicken houses in north central arkansas. The utilization. Sure. Therefore chris a day before thanksgiving actually I had gotten a notification that a plant or a company it is a free range. Different business model and what you would expect are in the industry this company had closed doors it had folded this force financially so they had sent notice out to their producers. And then they notified us of of the concerns their concerns is they they had a variety of age paltry throughout the state. So we work with them to try to get some cover assistance in feeding those words also as far as processing those birds. Because they are of a different model these are free range boards does not mean the others and the fact that they were actually in a control area for even in the windsor no process in plant and the weather company will willing to take those birds. So the only option that we had at this point was the birds were going to start a death. There was no real reason that any other idea company would take those birds because that's not their model that's not their top it's a different market that couldn't accept those birds over over half of those birds were under the age of three weeks. Those cannot be processed in an order for those burgess to leave that property they have to be going through a testing process for the safety of our industry and we did still feel like that that was possible. To our only course of action through meaning meaning trial and error to find out what we could do only model for a thing was to depop those words there was only alternative we did have some scheduling for some older birds that will do for a process in plant those deals feel through and we couldn't process those older birds that could be processed so those words had to be used in this as well it was a foods it was a industry safety effort as well it is a welfare effort when you have bowlers their own continuous feed every single day and their curt back to a third of a ration or even run out of feed they will they are cannibalistic and they will start eating each other and we had a part in had several cases where they were doing that. So it was system it was a. A great decision on my part i'll take full responsibility but that was the rat thing for us to do because there was no other all tractors but the depopulations were. But thank you very much you really clarify something one thing that was in I did not realize that they were i've heard a lot of things about this but I do not realize that they were free ranging that's correct. Thank you mister. Alright. Senator king young limit clear up something since that was mostly in my district in a do you know anything that may have been spent over three decades in this business being a grower so I fully understand this there are some things that were not clear that we're here these things were free range but they had the option of free range so that's not totally correct they were in houses they have little doors it's different than our confinement situation in our most growing situations that they're not allowed to go outside so that's not totally correct first they were in houses they were allowed to be in houses then they go out they were not free range like you would think in your in your backyard or something like that so when this process started happening this could company was having trouble paying bills they did notify the growers originally they told these growers not to understand the contract growing situation in this thing they on the chickens they provide the chickens to grow or provides the housing all that so cooks was night pay in for the feed bills some of the companies that were providing the feed out their own pocket no and probably weren't going to get paid so whenever they were notified the deporting back culture you had some conversations with the poetry federation correct before this happened all started this group so what did they were they the first ones to call you that's correct what did they say that they just informed us that a company had fallen walked away from their roaders and just to notify us at that time so no action was taken that the day before thanksgiving so did they recommend you de populate them into in there in in the forms and other it was unclear at that time because we had no idea what always conspiring it was only until thanks given day after that we spoke with the company themselves and to try to figure out what their dollars originally they had again half of the birds were under age and could be processed they had some arrangements with another company to process the other half so our doll was. To try to find that to try to feed those smaller birds. And they just know that came to provision okay that's that's not correct you went out depopulated like twelve day or chickens with a hundred and seven thousand pounds feed out there that could have lasted two weeks while you let other older chickens start to dare and you didn't do those to last in those growers did not want these chickens they didn't want seventy thousand dead chicken stopped out there they these growers took care of these chickens and vital added on all that no one they were not going to get paid. And in what you should have done is i've said before that would have been best for the industry written de population and put the taxpayers on the hook for having to do this for the company and bail them out is that this company should have been done it should have been like the ex on all spiel the stopped up fire the things are illustrated you guys that should have been a clean up situation you'll talk about one point eight million chickens out here I think this last week you're out heard that you depopulated at least one point five million one point three one point three okay the original figures in some of the emails was one point five one point eight but what should have done is this company should it took responsibility to state should we need like a clean up situation and then required them because right now the taxpayers are in the book for a lot of money to go out there and depopulate these chickens and phone one and what they do is they rush him at the end of the house we have to do that in disease situations so that's what should have happened but you guys never called me and let me know about any of this in try to help the situation and one of the situations that you've left out here you said whether grower didn't have his equipment rolled up that standard in our industry my brother not last time when chickens went out we didn't we don't roll the equipment at most of time until almost always until they get there that's just standard. In this idea that you were going to leave the seventy thousand chickens out there originally and and when I got after you guys within cooks was going to pay for the clean up cooks is not paid for the cleaner in the lobbies we still got dead rotten chickens out here that is done on these people and you made some top agreement never made it running you had no written agreement with cooks and you were just making stuff up on the floor. You have an end we have to have permeates whenever you go out there to win a situation like this to bear these chickens you're supposed to have permits you guys did not permit you just went ahead and said you get now according to newspapers from what I hear you just had burble agreements we did have permits we don't have to have a verbal agreement for a company to about by the state laws it require the burial or composting of those birds you don't have to have a written agreement that you have a permit on bearing and seventy thousand chickens out there you don't have it we do issue permits. But we don't have to have a written agreement for someone to follow the law. You don't have to have a per I was when we did this several years if if I can interject here that this is definitely an important topic that does need to be discussed just brought by him and i'm clarified in the instructions there's a lot of inaccuracies that's going on the taxpayers have been on the hoop with this thing sure not and I fully get that and and open you know given you plenty of attitude and and i'm happy to give you a little bit more but just remember or here for license saying and not to dig into this issue in our that that it does need to be dug into and maybe the agricultural committee is the place where it needs to happen it absolutely needs to be dug into course right now the the the state of arkansas on the hook because of their decision population i've been in this business in you went out there to indeed populate a twelve day old chickens with a hundred and seven thousand pounds of feed and you let other chicken starving and all growers but you kept telling people on growers that you didn't have originally at the meeting up there you said we don't have the law now you come up with the law and say it's saving into answer I mean so at the meeting up there you said I don't we don't have a law that says we can do this now your back tracking though so that's not what must your own video up there say and I don't you yourself is on video up there say in that I don't have the law that's the one video you want to specific servation for us to deep op those birds we did it based off of our authority to go in in a sister company with a situation in that and the that conservative stances which it's more different but we did it for the human reason as well as these birds were in a see that's are getting stuck in this thing folks in wedia's need to get the truth out there all right thank you and again I understand this is a very contentious issue it does need to be me looked at but this is just not the proper committee for that to take place then so okay any other questions from the committee on this topic. The. Okay saying not thank you for being here without objection this will stand reviewed colleagues if anybody does have any recommendations for any changes to the ones that we have reviewed today please get those to staff by february fifteenth there being no further business