Prof. licensing reporting

AN ACT Relating to expanding professional licensing reporting 1
requirements; and amending RCW 18.410.020. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 18.410.020 and 2023 c 412 s 4 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) Beginning in 2024, the department shall annually review and 6
analyze approximately 10 percent of the professional licenses 7
regulated by the department and prepare and submit an annual report 8
electronically to the chief clerk of the house of representatives, 9
the secretary of the senate, and each member of the house of 10
representatives and senate by August 31st of each year as provided in 11
this section. The department shall complete this process for all 12
professional licenses within its jurisdiction within 10 years and 13
every 10 years thereafter. Each report shall include the department's 14
recommendations regarding whether the professional licenses should be 15
terminated, continued, or modified. 16
(2) The department may require the submission of information by 17
the affected professional board or commission and other affected or 18
interested parties. The department shall provide notice to the 19
relevant professional board or commission and all licensees, not 20
H-0398.1
HOUSE BILL 1242
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Jacobsen, Barnard, Dye, and Penner
Prefiled 01/10/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Consumer Protection & Business.
p. 1 HB 1242
regulated under a board or commission, prior to commencing the 1
review. 2
(3) The department's report shall include, but not be limited to, 3
the following: 4
(a) The title of the professional license and, if applicable, the 5
name of the professional board or commission responsible for 6
enforcement of the professional license, if any; 7
(b) The statutory citation or other authorization for the 8
creation of the professional license and, if applicable, the 9
professional board or commission; 10
(c) If applicable, the number of members of the professional 11
board or commission and how the members are appointed;12
(d) If applicable, the qualifications for membership on the 13
professional board or commission; 14
(e) If applicable, the number of times the professional board or 15
commission is required to meet during the year and the number of 16
times it actually met during the preceding five calendar years;17
(f) Annual budget information for the five most recently 18
completed fiscal years , including a breakdown of expenses by 19
activities such as processing licensing applications, handling 20
complaints and discipline, and rulemaking;21
(g) For professions with an average hourly wage of less than 125 22
percent of the statewide minimum wage, options to reduce the license 23
renewal fee;24
(h) A review and analysis of the time frame for which a 25
professional license must be renewed. For licenses that must be 26
renewed annually, a cost analysis of moving to a two-year license 27
renewal period must be included; 28
(((g))) (i) For the immediately preceding five calendar years, or 29
for the period of time less than five years for which the information 30
is practically available, the number of government certifications, 31
professional licenses, and registrations the department, professional 32
board, or commission has issued, revoked, denied, or assessed 33
penalties against, listed anonymously and separately per type of 34
credential, and the reasons for such revocations, denials, and other 35
penalties; 36
(((h))) (j) A review of the basic assumptions underlying the 37
creation of the professional license; 38
(((i))) (k) A comparison of whether and how other states regulate 39
the profession; 40
p. 2 HB 1242
(((j))) (l) A review and analysis of the hours or other amount of 1
education, training, or experience required to obtain the license or 2
credential; 3
(((k))) (m) A summary of any regulatory changes made by the 4
department, professional board, or commission as a result of the 5
review; and 6
(((l))) (n) Any recommendations regarding whether the 7
professional license should be terminated, continued, or modified.8
(4) After the report in subsection (3) of this section is 9
submitted, if the relevant legislative committee determines further 10
analysis is needed it may request the department to conduct further 11
analysis. Specifically, the extended report shall include:12
(a) Whether the professional license meets the policies stated 13
and the following recommended courses of action for meeting such 14
policies: 15
(i) If the need is to protect consumers against fraud, the 16
recommended course of action should be to strengthen powers under 17
chapter 19.86 RCW, or require disclosures that will reduce misleading 18
attributes of the specific goods or services; 19
(ii) If the need is to protect consumers against unclean 20
facilities or to promote general health and safety, the recommended 21
course of action should be to require periodic inspections of such 22
facilities; 23
(iii) If the need is to protect consumers against potential 24
damages from failure by providers to complete a contract fully or up 25
to standards, the recommended course of action should be to require 26
that providers be bonded; 27
(iv) If the need is to protect a person who is not a party to a 28
contract between the provider and consumer, the recommended course of 29
action should be to require that the provider have insurance;30
(v) If the need is to protect consumers against potential damages 31
by transient providers, the recommended course of action should be to 32
require that providers register their businesses with the state;33
(vi) If the need is to protect consumers against a shortfall or 34
imbalance of knowledge about the goods or services relative to the 35
providers' knowledge, the recommended course of action should be to 36
enact government certification; and 37
(vii) If the need is to address a systematic information 38
shortfall such that a reasonable consumer is unable to distinguish 39
between the quality of providers, there is an absence of institutions 40
p. 3 HB 1242
that provide adequate guidance to the consumer, and the consumer's 1
inability to distinguish between providers and the lack of adequate 2
guidance allows for undue risk of present, significant, and 3
substantiated harms, the recommended course of action should be to 4
enact a professional license; and 5
(b) If education, training, or experience is a qualification in 6
the professional license under review, a review and analysis of the 7
hours or other amount of education, training, or experience required 8
to ensure such requirements are as least restrictive as necessary to 9
protect the public's health, safety, and welfare. 10
(5) If a lawful profession is subject to chapter 18.120 RCW, the 11
analysis under subsection (4)(a) of this section shall be made using 12
the least restrictive method of regulation as set out in RCW 13
18.120.010. 14
(6) If the department finds that it is necessary to change 15
professional licenses, the department shall recommend the least 16
restrictive regulation consistent with the public interest and the 17
policies in this section. 18
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p. 4 HB 1242