MONTGOMERY — On Thursday, the Senate delayed a vote on legislation that would consolidate 25 licensing boards into a new office within a state agency.
The bill by State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) would establish the Office of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Department of Labor to "serve as a centralized entity providing leadership, support, and oversight to certain professional or occupational licensing boards operating within the state."
After some discussion, the bill was carried over by the Senate because State Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham) indicated he was going to filibuster it.
“I think that despite my best efforts meeting with our caucus and theirs, two public hearings, etc., I have not gotten the engagement of my colleagues on the other side, so we’re going to try to do that some over the weekend,” Elliott told reporters on Thursday. “I’d like to have it back next week to get that moving again. Again, it’s been supported by the Governor, by her task force, my colleagues on my side of the aisle are very supportive of it and so it’s incumbent upon me to make sure my colleagues on the other side understand what we’re trying to do and more importantly why.”
Drew Harrell, director of legislative affairs for Gov. Kay Ivey, and Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer spoke in favor of the legislation at a public hearing earlier in April. However, multiple board representatives consolidated under the plan said they opposed the bill at the hearing.
Licensing boards are managed by individual state employees or private companies in Alabama.
The original version of the bill consolidated 38 boards into the office. However, the amended version passed by the committee on April 2 narrowed the number of boards.
If passed into law, boards that would be consolidated into the Office of Occupational and Professional Licensing on Oct. 1, 2025 are the: Board of Examiners of Assisted Living Administrators, Alabama Athletic Commission, Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers, State Board of Auctioneers, Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board, Alabama Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, Board of Examiners in Counseling, Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors, Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure, State Board of Genetic Counseling, Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists, Board of Home Medical Equipment, Alabama Board for Registered Interior Designers, Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators, Alabama Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects, Alabama Board of Examiners in Marriage and Family Therapy, Alabama Massage Therapy Licensing Board, State Board of Midwifery, Alabama Board of Optometry, State Board of Podiatry, Alabama Private Investigation Board, Alabama State Board of Prosthetists and Orthotists, and the Alabama Security Regulatory Board.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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