SSB3077: Professional Licensing Regulation

Reorganizes and standardizes the regulation of more than 40 licensed professions in Iowa. Key changes include centralizing fee setting and licensing processes under the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing; updating terms, renewals, and reinstatement procedures for all licenses; modifying board compositions; expanding the department’s enforcement powers; clarifying confidentiality, data, and disciplinary processes; and repealing many outdated or redundant statutory sections. The bill also expands reciprocity, temporary licensing, and voluntary surrender processes, and makes technical and conforming changes throughout related Code chapters.

Key Points & Impacts:

• Centralizes the setting of all professional licensing, renewal, and related fees to the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, replacing individual board authority.

• Standardizes license terms, renewals, reactivations, and reinstatements for all regulated professions, with department rulemaking authority to set intervals (no license renewal interval to exceed five years).

• Expands and standardizes processes for temporary licenses, reciprocal licenses, and voluntary license surrender across all boards; adds new provisions for licensure by reciprocity and temporary licensure.

• Redefines board composition and quorum requirements for many professions, consolidating and updating membership criteria within Code chapter 147 and removing detailed composition provisions from individual chapters.

• Significantly expands the department’s enforcement and investigative authority, including the power to issue cease and desist orders, impose civil penalties, and employ personnel as peace officers for investigation and inspection.

• Moves accounting, architecture, engineering, land surveying, real estate, appraisers, landscape architecture, and interior design under health-related professions in the Code, and modernizes related definitions, board appointments, and title protections.

• Eliminates requirements for boards to keep licensee home addresses confidential in registries, strikes citizenship requirements for licensure, and removes requirements for photographs on applications.

• Repeals and strikes numerous sections relating to outdated board operations, reporting, application procedures, board member compensation, and examination logistics, streamlining the Code.