ATHLETIC TRAINER LICENSURE H.B. 4263:
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 4263 (as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Andrea LaFontaine
House Committee: Regulatory Reform
Senate Committee: Regulatory Reform
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to decrease the yearly license fee for athletic trainers from $200 to $100, and change several requirements for renewing an athletic training license relating to continuing education.
Under the Act, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs may issue a license for athletic training only if certain criteria are met. These licenses are valid for a three-year cycle. The Act requires an individual to pay a license renewal fee and clock at least 80 hours of continuing education within each three-year license cycle in subjects related to athletic training and approved by the Department. The bill would decrease the 80-hour continuing education requirement to 75 hours.
The Act also requires that an individual, in addition to receiving and fulfilling the continuing education requirements, submit, along with his or her application for license renewal, proof displaying to the Department that he or she has competed a course in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and foreign body obstruction of the airway. These courses must be approved by the Department, as well as offered or approved by the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a comparable organization as determined by the Department. The bill would delete the requirement that individuals successfully complete a course in foreign body obstruction of the airway. Instead, the bill would require an individual to complete a course in automated external defibrillator use for health care professionals or emergency services personnel.
The bill would take effect 90 days after it was enacted.
MCL 333.16336 Legislative Analyst: Drew Krogulecki
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have a negative fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), and no fiscal impact on local units of government. The bill would reduce the annual license fee for athletic trainers by half, from $200 to $100. As of September 1, 2015, there were 1,279 licensed athletic trainers in Michigan. Assuming the number of licensees remained constant, the bill would reduce fee revenue received by the Bureau of Health Care Services within LARA by $127,900 annually. According to reports compiled by LARA regarding the costs to regulate various health professions, the reduced level of revenue under the bill would still be sufficient to cover the costs attributable to regulating athletic trainers, but would reduce revenue that is available to effectively subsidize the regulation of professions for which license fees are not sufficient to cover their regulatory costs. It should be noted, however,
that the Health Professions Regulatory Fund, which receives license fee revenue from all licensed health professions, had a $6.6 million balance as of the end of fiscal year 2013-14 and ran a surplus of $2.2 million in that year as well, so the reduction in revenue under the bill would likely not have a significant effect on the long-term solvency of the Fund.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.