51 N.J.R. 943(a)

VOLUME 51, ISSUE 12, JUNE 17, 2019
RULE PROPOSALS

Reporter
51 N.J.R. 943(a)
NJ - New Jersey Register  >  2019  >  JUNE  >  JUNE 17, 2019  >  RULE PROPOSALS  >  LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY -- DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Interested Persons Statement

INTERESTED PERSONS

Interested persons may submit comments, information or arguments concerning any of the rule proposals in this issue until the date indicated in the proposal. Submissions and any inquiries about submissions should be addressed to the agency officer specified for a particular proposal.

The required minimum period for comment concerning a proposal is 30 days. A proposing agency may extend the 30-day comment period to accommodate public hearings or to elicit greater public response to a proposed new rule or amendment. Most notices of proposal include a 60-day comment period, in order to qualify the notice for an exception to the rulemaking calendar requirements of    N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3. An extended comment deadline will be noted in the heading of a proposal or appear in a subsequent notice in the Register.
At the close of the period for comments, the proposing agency may thereafter adopt a proposal, without change, or with changes not in violation of the rulemaking procedures at    N.J.A.C. 1:30-6.3. The adoption becomes effective upon publication in the Register of a notice of adoption, unless otherwise indicated in the adoption notice. Promulgation in the New Jersey Register establishes a new or amended rule as an official part of the New Jersey Administrative Code.

Agency


LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY > DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS > AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Administrative Code Citation

Proposed Amendment: N.J.A.C. 13:44C-6.3
Text

Continuing Education Certificates

Authorized By: Paul R. Rodriguez, Acting Director, Division of Consumer Affairs.

Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.

Proposal Number: PRN 2019-082.

Submit written comments by August 16, 2019, to:

   Renee Clark, Executive Director
   Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee
   Division of Consumer Affairs
   124 Halsey Street
   PO Box 45002
   Newark, New Jersey 07101
   or electronically at: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Proposals/Pages/default.aspx.

The agency proposal follows:

Summary

N.J.A.C. 13:44C-6.3 requires licensed audiologists and licensed speech-language pathologists to maintain certificates of completion, which document the continuing education courses the licensees have completed. The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee (Committee) reviews such certificates when it audits the continuing education completed by licensees. The Committee sometimes receives hand-written certificates that do not provide the information necessary to accurately assess the validity of the continuing education courses completed. In order to ensure that certificates of completion accurately provide the information necessary to assess continuing education courses, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs (Director) proposes to amend N.J.A.C. 13:44C-6.3 to require that certificates of completion not be hand-written and that such certificates indicate when a continuing education course is presented at a licensee's place of employment.

The Director has determined that the comment period for this notice of proposal shall be 60 days; therefore, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement.

Social Impact

The Director does not anticipate that this rulemaking will have any social impact.

Economic Impact

The Director does not anticipate that this rulemaking will have any economic impact.

Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards statement is not required because there are no Federal standards or requirements applicable to this rulemaking.

Jobs Impact

The rulemaking will not increase or decrease the number of jobs in New Jersey.

Agriculture Industry Impact

The Director does not believe that the proposed amendment will have any impact on the agriculture industry of this State.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Since the holders of audiology and speech-language pathology licenses are individually licensed by the Committee, under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq., they may be considered "small businesses" for the purposes of the Act.

The proposed amendment will not have any economic impact and the Director does not believe that licensees will need to employ professional services in order to comply with the proposed amendment. The proposed amendment does not impose any reporting or recordkeeping requirements but does impose compliance requirements as detailed in the Summary above.

The Director believes that the proposed amendment protects the health, safety, and welfare of individuals receiving audiology and speech-language pathology services from licensees by ensuring that the Committee is able to assess the validity of continuing education courses completed by licensees. As the proposed amendment protects public health, safety, and welfare, it should be applied uniformly to all licensees regardless of the size of the business.

Housing Affordability Impact Analysis

This rulemaking will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendment would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed amendment concerns continuing education requirements for licensed audiologists and speech-language pathologists.

Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis

The proposed amendment will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendment would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the proposed amendment concerns continuing requirements for licensed audiologists and speech-language pathologists.

Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice and Public Safety Impact

The Director has evaluated this rulemaking and determined that it will not have an impact on pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, or parole policies concerning adults and juveniles in the State. Accordingly, no further analysis is required.

Regulations

Full text of the proposal follows (additions indicated in boldface thus):

SUBCHAPTER 6.   CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

13:44C-6.3    Documentation of continuing education credits

(a)-(c) (No change.)

(d) Certificates of completion maintained pursuant to (a)1 above shall not be hand-written and shall indicate whether the program, course, seminar, webinar, teleconference, lecture, or in-services workshop was presented at the licensee's place of employment.