NOTICES
Notice of Comments Issued
[31 Pa.B. 2857] Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the designated standing committees may issue comments within 20 days of the close of the public comment period, and the Commission may issue comments within 10 days of the close of the committee comment period. The Commission comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.1(h) and (i) of the Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)).
The Commission has issued comments on the following proposed regulations. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulations. The final-form regulations must be submitted by the dates indicated.
Final-Form
Submission
Reg. No. Agency/Title Issued Deadline
16A-482 State Board of
Funeral Directors
Application Fees5/17/01 4/16/03 (31 Pa.B. 1468)
# 16A-656 State Board of
Physical Therapy
Sexual Misconduct5/17/01 4/16/03
(31 Pa.B. 1470)
State Board of Funeral Directors
Regulation No. 16A-482
Application Fees
May 17, 2001 We submit for consideration the following objections and recommendations regarding this regulation. Each objection or recommendation includes a reference to the criteria in the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)), which have not been met. The State Board of Funeral Directors (Board) must respond to these Comments when it submits the final-form regulation. If the final-form regulation is not delivered by April 16, 2003, the regulation will be deemed withdrawn.
1. Section 13.12. Fees. Reasonableness; Clarity.
There are two inconsistencies between the titles of the fees in this regulation and the supporting materials. These inconsistencies were also identified in the comments of the House Professional Licensure Committee.
First, the Board's description of the fees includes a fee for ''Preceptor Registration or Change.'' However, the fee for ''preceptor'' is missing from the regulation. The regulation should identify the fee amount that applies to preceptor registration or change.
Second, the regulation includes a fee for ''Address change without inspection.'' The fee report form indicates that this fee is also charged for other services including a change of director or name on an existing funeral establishment license. The fee title should indicate what other services the fee will apply to.
State Board of Physical Therapy
Regulation No. 16A-656
Sexual Misconduct
May 17, 2001 We submit for consideration the following objections and recommendations regarding this regulation. Each objection or recommendation includes a reference to the criteria in the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)) which have not been met. The State Board of Physical Therapy (Board) must respond to these Comments when it submits the final-form regulation. If the final-form regulation is not delivered by April 16, 2003, the regulation will be deemed withdrawn.
1. Section 40.301. Definitions.--Need; Clarity.
Patient
The definition of ''patient'' includes the term ''immediate family member.'' This term is not defined. Existing regulations for other licensure boards contain definitions for similar terms. For example, § 36.201 of the regulations for Certified Pennsylvania Evaluators defines the term ''immediate family'' as ''A parent, spouse, child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild and, when living in the family household (or under a common roof), all other individuals related by blood or marriage.'' A similar definition of ''immediate family member,'' in this regulation, would improve clarity.
Sexual impropriety
The last sentence of subparagraph (iv) states ''Discussion of a patient's sexual practices and preferences shall be fully documented in the patient's chart.'' This sentence contains a substantive requirement. Substantive requirements should not be included in definitions; rather, they should be contained in the body of the regulation.
Furthermore, the sentence is unnecessary because the documentation requirement is contained in § 40.302(c), relating to procedural matters. Therefore, the last sentence of subparagraph (iv) should be deleted.
2. Section 40.302. Procedural matters.--Clarity; feasibility.
Subsection (b) states, ''The Board may consider sexual relationships between the physical therapist or the physical therapist assistant or the certified athletic trainer and the patient occurring prior to the professional relationship.'' Is the intent of this provision to provide that a sexual relationship occurring prior to the professional relationship could be raised as a defense to sexual misconduct? Would this defense only apply in cases where the client consents to the sexual conduct after the professional relationship has begun? If so, wouldn't subsection (b) directly conflict with subsection (a), which provides that consent is not a defense? The Board should clarify its intent in subsection (b).
3. Section 40.304. Disciplinary action.--Clarity.
The first sentence of this section states ''A physical therapist, physical therapist assistant or certified athletic trainer who engages in sexual impropriety or violation. . . .'' For consistency, the word ''sexual'' should be inserted before the word ''violation'' to be consistent with the defined term ''sexual violation.''
JOHN R. MCGINLEY, Jr.,
Chairperson
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 01-970. Filed for public inspection June 1, 2001, 9:00 a.m.]
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