Licensing reciprocity for military dependents back in Alabama legislature

The Alabama legislature is considering a bill (HB 246) that would expand licensing reciprocity for military spouses and dependents working as cosmetologists and allow the state to join a new cosmetology interstate compact.

The legislation will allow military personnel and military dependents licensed as cosmetologists in other states to continue practicing their trade while stationed in Alabama. The state has expanded occupational licensing reciprocity for military spouses every year for the past five years since the passage of the Military Family Jobs Opportunity Act in 2018.

HB 246 is part of an effort to create a national “cosmetology compact” for military personnel and dependents. Legislatures in Georgia, Texas, Nebraska, Arizona, and California are currently considering the compact, which will soon be introduced in Delaware and Ohio. If passed, Alabama could join Kentucky as the second state to enter the compact. Read more from the Alabama Daily News.

Gartner announces the top 10 government technology trends for 2023

Gartner recently announced the top 10 government technology trends for 2023 that can guide public sector leaders in accelerating transformation to help them prepare for the next generation of digital government.

The top 10 trends identified were: adaptive security, cloud-based legacy modernization, sovereign cloud, hyperautomation, AI for decision intelligence, data sharing as a program, total experience (TX), digital identity ecosystems, case management as a service (CMaaS), and composable government applications.

According to Gartner, government CIOs should consider the impact of these technology trends on their organizations and apply insights to make a case for investments to improve business capabilities, achieve leadership priorities, and create a more future-ready government organization. Read more about the top 10 trends in Gartner’s press release.

Colorado’s regulatory board for psychedelics holds first meeting

Colorado’s Natural Medicine Board, which is responsible for developing regulations for Colorado’s psychedelics industry, met for the first time on April 13 to establish the framework for its regulatory work.

The 15-member board is tasked with making recommendations surrounding public health, harm reduction, training medical providers and first responders, and regulated access to natural psychedelic medicines by its September 30 deadline.

The board organized itself into six subcommittees to formulate regulations related to the core areas of public health, education, occupational licensing, public safety, harm reduction, and outreach to indigenous and religious communities. Subcommittees are expected to meet biweekly, with the full board meeting at least once a month to review their work.

Although equity and the inclusion of indigenous or religious voices was a central focus of the board’s first meeting, reaching consensus on how to best include those voices proved challenging. The board also discussed the challenge of data collection, as it will have to find meaningful ways to measure the efficacy of natural medicines and collect the necessary data without invading privacy. Read more in the Colorado Times Recorder.

Colorado county introduces licensure program for massage businesses to reduce human trafficking

On April 11, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners voted unanimously to establish business licensure requirements for massage facilities with the sole purpose of preventing human trafficking in the Colorado county.

Commissioner Abe Laydon, who chairs the board, called illegitimate massage parlors “a hotbed for human trafficking,” and said that licensing and inspections will help protect both the community and legitimate business owners.

According to the new rules, each new massage facility in Douglas County must obtain a license prior to operating and existing massage businesses must apply for a license by the end of this year. Among other requirements, applicants must disclose if they have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in any federal, state, or municipal court for offenses related to human trafficking and pass a background check.

License applications will be reviewed by the Sheriff’s Office and County staff. Existing businesses will be able to begin the licensing process once the ordinance goes into effect on May 20. Read full details on the Douglas County website.

West Virginia legislators consider adding new pathways to teacher licensure to address shortage

At a recent legislative interim meeting, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability heard about potential revisions to Virginia’s licensure requirements for public school teachers that aim to address the shortage of teachers in the state.

The revisions add temporary teaching certificates to the categories of licenses, which will allow individuals who have been hired by a public school but do not meet the requirements for a professional teaching certificate to receive a temporary certificate. A temporary renewable teaching certificate for applicants with an expired, out-of-state certificate is also included, along with a temporary teaching certificate for program completers. The revisions also provide an avenue for assistant teachers already authorized for grade levels pre-K and Kindergarten to add grades one through three to their authorization.

Robert Hagerman, director of the Office of Certification for the West Virginia Department of Education, explained that temporary teaching certificates will not lower standards for teaching in the state, but instead just add a new layer of licensing. “Instead of being so prescriptive that you can only meet the standard in one particular way, we’ll give you about three or four other options to meet that standard,” he said.

Public comment on the changes is open until May 15. Read more in WVNews.

More news:

• To help address the teacher shortage in Wisconsin private choice schools, School Choice Wisconsin and Concordia University announced a new initiative that will provide an affordable and accessible pathway for professionals from various backgrounds to earn a Concordia teaching certificate.
• The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill that will allow adults to buy marijuana online – which supporters say will help businesses that have depended largely on cash transactions that put them at risk of crime.
• Nevada free-market Latino advocacy groups are supporting Gov. Joe Lombardo’s January executive order that aims to phase out licensure requirements for certain occupations by July 1 if licenses are not required for such professions in a majority of states. It also freezes any new licensing regulations.
• The United Arab Emirates’ federal securities regulator announced it will start accepting applications from crypto companies in the country. The new mandatory licensing regime requires all virtual-asset service providers – except for companies that are already licensed in the UAE’s financial-free zones – to apply for approval with the Securities and Commodities Authority.
• A new study by the Finnish government recommends reforming the country’s monopoly gambling system. One option for reform calls for a licensing model of gambling regulation similar to those implemented by several of Finland’s neighbors.

Also noteworthy:

Interesting opinion, commentary, and analysis from the web:

• Some Washington nurses say they haven’t seen supplementation following their state’s inclusion in the Nurse Licensure Compact (State of Reform)
• Nursing employers look for credentials red flags (Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Blog)
• Editorial: Killing nursing compact bill a mistake (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Disclaimer: The thoughts, opinions, and commentary of the articles we share links to in Week in Brief do not necessarily reflect those of Ascend Magazine or Thentia.