House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 3rd edition.

Amends GS 93B-2 by making the annual financial audit requirements applicable only to occupational licensing boards with a budget of at least $100,000.

Adds the following.

Part V.

Enacts new GS 90-270.14A requiring the NC Psychology Board (Board) to place a license on inactive status when requested by a licensee and upon payment of the inactive status fee. Prohibits practicing psychology in the state without a current active license. Allows the Board to investigate complaints and discipline an inactive licensee. Limits issuance of inactive status licenses to a person who has previously been issued a license to practice psychology in the state. Prohibits inactive status licensees from holding themselves out to the public as licensed. Sets out the requirements for reactivating licensure.

Amends GS 90-270.15 to allow the Board to take disciplinary action against an individual who has had a license or certification for the practice of psychology or other mental health profession in this state (was, limited to the practice of psychology) or in another jurisdiction suspended or revoked. Deletes the provision concerning disciplinary action for failure to retain securely and confidentially the complete case record for three years from the date of the attainment of majority age by the patient or client or for at least seven years from the date of the last provision of psychology services, whichever is longer.

Amends GS 90-270.18(b) by increasing the fees for the renewal of licenses, late renewals, licensure reinstatement, duplicate licenses, temporary licenses, and applications for a health services provider certificate. Deletes the $100 application fee for licensed psychologists and psychological associates and instead requires that the cost of application be as set by the vendor, plus an additional fee not to exceed $300. Adds a fee of no more than $100 for placing a license on inactive status and a fee not to exceed $300 for the reactivation of an inactive status license.

Amends GS 90-270.22 to extend the instances when the Board may require criminal history checks to be included upon application for reactivation of a license. Makes conforming changes.

Amends GS 90-202.10 to raise podiatrists' annual license renewal fees from $200 to $350.

Amends GS 90-389 to raise the fee-based pastoral counselors' and counseling associates' annual certificate renewal fee from $100 to $300.

The above provisions are effective October 1, 2018.

Part VI.

Amends GS 150B-3 (Special provisions on licensing). Prohibits an occupational licensing agency from summarily suspending an occupational license unless the board has first adopted rules governing the conduct of its hearings.

Amends GS 93B-5 to raise the per diem compensation for occupational licensing board members from $100 to $200, and clarifies that this provision is given notwithstanding GS 138-5 (Per Diem and Allowances of State Boards). Requires board members to receive training in antitrust law and State action immunity within six months of appointment, and at least once within every two calendar years thereafter.

Enacts new GS 93B-17. Directs occupational licensing boards to adopt rules for the receipt and resolution of complaints, for taking disciplinary or enforcement actions against licensees, and for taking enforcement actions against persons not licensed by the board. Prohibits summary suspension of licenses without adopting rules governing the conduct of hearings. Requires interpretations, clarifications, or other delineations of the scope of practice of an occupational licensing board to be adopted as a rule.

Enacts new GS 93B-18. Authorizes occupational licensing boards to investigate unlicensed activity and notify unlicensed persons and entities of the possible violations of law and administrative rules, and penalties that may be imposed by a court. Provides requirements for the contents of the notification.

Enacts new GS 93B-19, specifying the appropriate superior court for a licensing board seeking a court order for injunctive relief or to show cause for failure to comply with a subpoena.

Enacts new GS 93B-20, authorizing an occupational licensing board to appear in its own name in superior court to restrain the violation of the provisions of a statute administered by the board or a rule or order of the board. Grants jurisdiction to the superior court to grant these injunctions or restraining orders or to take other appropriate action. Prohibits boards from issuing such orders independently of the superior court unless specifically authorized by law to do so.

Enacts new GS 93B-21, stating that state policy prefers informal resolution of jurisdictional disputes between boards, but authorizing an administrative proceeding with the Office of Administrative Hearings by an affected board in the event informal procedures cannot resolve a jurisdictional dispute.

Enacts new GS 93B-22, requiring occupational licensing boards to develop and implement a complaint process that meets three requirements, including electronic complaint submission via the board's website.

Requires occupational licensing boards to implement the required complaint procedure on their websites by January 1, 2019.

Amends GS 150B-45 (Procedure for seeking review; waiver). Provides that a petition for review of non-tax final decisions under GS Chapter 150B, Article 4 (Judicial Review), may be filed in the county where the agency has its principal place of business, in addition to the other authorized venue counties. Authorizes superior courts to order a change of venue, provided that improper venue may not be grounds for dismissal of the petition.

Directs the Committee to continue to monitor and study the effects of NC State Bd. of Dental Examiners v. Fed. Trade Comm'n and other related issues.

Amends GS 143B-68 to amend the membership of the Public Librarian Certification Commission, to remove the inclusion of the chairman of the North Carolina Association of Library Trustees, and to fill that seat with an individual named by the Governor upon nomination of the North Carolina Library Association. Makes technical changes.

Except as otherwise provided, effective when the bill becomes law, and applies to licensing board actions occurring on or after that date.

Part VII.

Requires the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee to study the three specified issues related to obstacles to entering licensed trades and professions and requires an interim report to the 2019 General Assembly and a final report to the 2020 Regular Session of the 2019 General Assembly.

Part VII-A.

Amends GS 88B-6 to require the North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners to maintain its office in Wake County (was, in Raleigh).

Makes conforming changes to the act's long title.

Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 1st edition.

Changes the act's long and short titles.

Deletes the proposed changes to GS 93B-1, which defined occupational licensing board by providing an exclusive list of occupational licensing boards. Instead, directs the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee (Committee) to study whether the definition of occupational licensing board under GS 93B-1 and the definition of occupational licensing agency under GS 150B-2 should be specific lists of occupational licensing boards in order to clarify which state agencies should be considered occupational licensing boards for purposes of GS Chapters 93B and 150B. Directs the Committee to recommend which state agencies should be included under each definition if that determination is made, and report the results of the study to the 2019 General Assembly. 

Modifies the proposed changes to GS 143B-426.39, requiring the State Controller to develop and prescribe a uniform format for financial statements of the annual financial audits (previously, for the reporting of the annual financial audits) required by each licensing board pursuant to GS 93B-2(b). Makes conforming changes.

Modifies the proposed directive to now direct the State Controller to consider whether to integrate occupational licensing board data reports (was, financial audit reports) into any new standard accounting system or accounting software acquired and utilized by the state.

Further amends GS 93B-2, adding to the information the annual report by each occupational licensing board must contain the number of applicants who applied for licensure and the number of the licenses granted pursuant to GS 93B-15.1(k) (licensure for individuals with military training and experience or their spouses, with initial application free of charge).

Makes organizational changes and places the previous provisions, as amended above, into new Part I. Makes conforming changes. Provides that Section 1.8 (effective date provisions) is effective January 1, 2018.

New Part II provides the following.

Repeals GS Chapters 86A (regarding Barbers) and 88A (Electrolysis Practice Act).

Enacts new GS Chapter 86B (Barbers and Electrolysis Act). Prohibits a person from practicing barbering, electrolysis, or laser, light source, or pulsed-light treatments; opening or operating a barbershop or electrologist or laser hair practitioner office; or teaching barbering, electrolysis, or laser, light source, or pulsed-light treatments in a school on or after January 1, 2019, without a state license issued pursuant to the new chapter, with specified exemptions. Makes practice without a license in violation of this Chapter a Class 3 misdemeanor. Defines barber, electrologist/electrolocist and laser hair practitioner, as well as six other terms related to the Chapter. Establishes the NC Board of Barber and Electrolysis Examiners (Board), with seven members appointed by the Governor, to be appointed for three-year terms with initial appointments to be made on or before October 1, 2018, and initial terms to begin on January 1, 2019. Provides Board members are subject to removal by the Governor for good cause. Provides for Board vacancies, the election of Board officers, Board meetings, and compensation of Board members. Prohibits the Board from issuing a license to teach barbering to any Board member during that member's term on the Board. Prohibits a Board member from being employed by the Board for at least one year after that member's term expires. Charges the Board with the administration of GS Chapter 86B and authorizes the Board to investigate violations of the Chapter. Sets forth qualifications for a certificate as a registered barber, a barber apprentice license, an electrologist license, a license as a laser hair practitioner, a barber instructor license, a certificate as an electrology instructor, and a license as a laser hair practitioner instructor. Provides for temporary employment permits for persons who have completed the required hours of a barber school, electrologist school, or laser hair practitioner school, but have not yet taken the required examination, allowing them to practice under the supervision of a registered barber, or an electrologist or laser hair practitioner, as appropriate. Provides for the licensure of applicants licensed and in good standing in other states. Provides for the licensure of barbershops. Authorizes the practice of barbering by licensed individuals outside of barbershops to attend to the needs of sick and disabled individuals, as specified. Provides for the licensing and regulation of barber schools. Requires specified bonds for private barber schools. Provides for certification requirements as a Board-approved school of electrology and as a Board-approved school of laser, light source, or pulsed-light treatments. Directs the Board to conduct examinations for licensure under this Chapter, and to adopt sanitary rules applicable to licensees under this Chapter, as specified. Details license renewal requirements and procedures for expired licenses and licenses with inactive status. Authorizes the Board to take disciplinary actions, including a civil penalty of up to $500, against licensees for violations of the Chapter or rules adopted by the Board. Provides for the Board or the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), or any county or district health director, to apply to superior court to enjoin illegal practices under the Chapter or the Board's rules. Specifies exemptions from the Chapter's requirements. Provides two schedules of maximum fees that the Board may charge to pay the costs of the administration of this Article, one related to barbering, and the other related to electrolysis and laser, light source, and pulsed-light treatment.

Provides for the initial appointments to the Board, with (1) four barbers serving on the State Board of Barber Examiners as of December 31, 2018, until their terms expire; (2) one electrologist designated by the Governor serving on the State Board of Electrolysis Examiners as of December 31, 2018, for a three-year term; (3) one physician appointed by the Governor for a two-year term; and (4) one public member appointed by the Governor for a one-year term. Effective when the act becomes law. 

Directs the Board to review the licensing fee limitations and licenses established in Section 2 of this Act, and the fees adopted by the State Board of Barber Examiners and the State Board of Electrolysis Examiners, and determine whether the fee limitations and fees should be reduced, and whether certain licenses should be consolidated or eliminated, and to report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee by March 1, 2019.

Licenses and registrations issued by the State Board of Electrolysis Examiners and the State Board of Barber Examiners, prior to the effective date of this act, remain in full force.

Vests and transfers all of the property and assets owned by the State Board of Electrolysis Examiners and the State Board of Barber Examiners in the newly established Board of Barber and Electrolysis Examiners.

Requires the Department of the State Treasurer to hold funds received in the name of the Board separate from funds received in the name of the Board of Electrolysis Examiners or the Board of Barber Examiners prior to the effective date of the act. 

Rules adopted by the Board of Barber Examiners and the Board of Electrolysis Examiners remain in effect as provided in GS 150B-21.7.

Effective January 1, 2019, and applies to applications for licensure, examination, and renewal submitted on or after that date. 

New Part III provides the following.

Changes the title of GS 150B-21.5 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to Circumstances when notice and rule-making hearing not required; circumstances when submission to the Commission not required.

Amends subsection (a) to provide that an agency is not required to publish a notice of text in the North Carolina Register, hold a public hearing, or submit the amended rule to the Rules Review Commission (Commission) for review (previously, did not except submission of the amended rule to the Commission for review) when the agency proposes to amend a rule to do one of the specified purposes in subsection (a). Provides changes to a few of the specified purposes for which notice, a public hearing, and submission to the Commission for review are not required, which include (1) when the rule is amended to change information that is readily available to the public, such as an address, telephone number, or a web site (previously, did not include a web site) and (2) when the rule is amended to correct a typographical error (previously, correct a typographical error in the North Carolina Administrative Code). Further, moves the sixth purpose excepted in subsection (a) to new subsection (a1) to provide that an agency is not required to publish a notice of text in the Register or hold a public hearing when it proposes to change the rule in response to a request or an objection by the Commission, unless the Commission determines that the change is substantial (note, not excepted from rule submission to the Commission in this circumstance).

Creates new subsection (e) to require any agency that adopts or amends a rule under subsection (a) or (c) of GS 150B-21.5 to notify the Codifier of Rules of its actions. Directs the Codifier of Rules to make the appropriate changes to the North Carolina Administrative Code when notified of such agency action.

Changes the title of GS 150B-21.20 of the APA to Codifier’s authority to revise rules.

Amends the Codifier of Rules’ authority to allow the Codifier, after consulting with the agency that adopted the rule, to revise a rule (previously, revise the form of a rule submitted for inclusion in the North Carolina Administrative Code) to do one or more of the specified objectives. Adds four objectives for which the Codifier may revise a rule: (1) to substitute one name for another when an organization or position is renamed; (2) to correct a citation in the rule to another rule or law when the citation has become inaccurate since the rule was adopted because of the repeal or renumbering of the cited rule or law; (3) to change information that is readily available to the public, such as an address, a telephone number, or a web site; or (4) to correct a typographical error.

Divides existing GS 150B-22 (Settlement; contested case) into two subsections. Additionally, clarifies that a party or person aggrieved cannot be required to petition an agency for rule making or to seek or obtain a declaratory ruling before commencing a contested case under GS 150B-23 (provisions for commencement of a contested case). Makes conforming change to GS 150B-43 (Right to judicial review).

Makes the following changes to the Administrative Procedure Act concerning the periodic review and expiration of existing rules. Eliminates the distinction between rules that are necessary with substantive public interest or necessary without substantive public interest under the provisions of GS 150B-21.3A. Eliminates those defined terms in subsection (a), and instead defines necessary rule to mean any rule other than an unnecessary rule. Makes conforming changes to the definition of public comment to include written comments objecting to an agency's determination of the rule as necessary or unnecessary. Makes conforming changes throughout GS 150B-21.3A to remove any language distinguishing necessary rules with or without substantive public interest. Amends subsection (c) of GS 150B-21.3A, which sets out the review process an agency must conduct of its existing rules at least once every 10 years. Step 1 now requires the agency to evaluate all of its existing rules and submit a report to the Rules Review Commission that includes the agency’s initial determination of whether an existing rule is necessary or unnecessary, all public comments the agency received during the comment period to the agency’s initial determination, and the agency’s response to the public comment. Step 2 of the rule review process requires the Rule Review Commission (Commission) to review the agency reports that are required in Step 1. In its review, the Commission must determine whether a public comment to a rule that the agency determined to be unnecessary in Step 1 has merit, and if the Commission determines that the public comment has merit, then the Commission must designate the rule as necessary. Currently, a public comment only has merit if it addresses the specific substance of a rule and relates to any of the standards for review of a rule by the Commission under GS 150B-21.9(a) (the four standards for review are whether the rule is within the agency’s authority, whether the rule is clear and unambiguous, whether the rule is reasonably necessary, and whether the rule was adopted in accordance with Part 2 of Article 2A of GS Chapter 150B, Adoption of Rules). This act removes the requirement that the public comment has to relate to any of the standards for review by the Commission under GS 150B-21.9(a) to have merit for purposes of Step 2 of the rule review process under GS 150B-21.3A(c)(2). Makes conforming changes. Makes organizational and technical changes to GS 150B-21.3A to combine subsections (e) and (e1), concerning exclusions from the statute's provisions. Makes conforming changes. Applies to agency rule reports submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings pursuant to GS 150B-21.3A(c)(1), as amended, on or after January 1, 2019.

New Part IV provides the following.

Amends GS 90-625, increasing the number of members on the NC Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy from seven to nine by adding two members who are persons licensed to operate a massage and bodywork therapy establishment under Article 36, appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of one member each by the Speaker and the President Pro Tempore. Provides for the initial appointments of the two new members to be made on or before October 1, 2018, with terms beginning on that date. Provides for the term of the initial member appointed and recommended by the Speaker to end on June 30, 2019, and the term for the initial member appointed and recommended by the President Pro Tempore to end on June 30, 2020. Effective July 1, 2018.