04/26/2018

Louisiana Bill Poses Threat to Credentialing Programs

The bill could pass before the legislature’s targeted mid-May adjournment

This week, American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) urged associations with members in Louisiana to weigh in with state legislators on a pending bill that would severely restrict the use of professional certifications or accreditations in the state.

Louisiana House Bill 748, the “Occupational Licensing Review Act,” would prohibit use of the terms “certification” and “registration” for nongovernmental professional credentialing unless state law requires certification or registration to work in the profession (as in the medical field, for example).

ASAE’s general counsel firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP concluded in a client memo that the proposed legislation “could be disastrous” for nongovernmental certification boards.

“In particular, HB 748’s definitions for the term ‘certification’ effectively prohibits certified professionals from holding themselves out as such unless such certification is a requirement for state occupational licensure,” Pillsbury writes.

ASAE is part of a coalition led by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) that is working to oppose the bill. The bill, authored by Louisiana State Rep. Julie Emerson (R), has already advanced through the Louisiana House of Representatives and is slated for consideration by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs Committee in the next several days. Without significant opposition, the bill could pass before the legislature’s targeted mid-May adjournment.

ASAE will deliver its own letter to Rep. Emerson this week and is urging members in Louisiana who concerned about this bill to contact their member of the state senate and voice their opposition to it. 

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.