July 19, 2011 Edit
in Announcements, News, OSLAB
OSLAB Newsletter (June 2011)
POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE RULE FOR REGISTRATION BY RECIPROCITY:
Board staff, the Licensure Review Committee, and the full Board have recently been struggling with the existing rule for registration by reciprocity and have determined there is a need to develop rule revisions. The Board solicits your input about this issue. For reference, the reciprocity requirements are contained in OAR 804 Division 22.
The current reciprocity rule applies the same criteria to a reciprocity request as are applied to applications for initial registration. The idea behind the rule is not bad – to set uniform standards for registration in Oregon. Certainly the Board does need to ensure sufficient education, passage of professional examinations, and demonstrated proficiency in the field. The primary problem with the rule is the requirement for documenting work experience under the supervision of a registered landscape architect (RLA).
The reciprocity rule essentially treats all reciprocity applicants, regardless of years of experience as RLAs in other states, as if they are at the beginning of their careers. Some applicants for reciprocity gained the required work experience many years ago. The companies or supervisors they worked for may not be available to sign-off on work verification forms. This makes documentation of supervised work experience difficult or sometimes even impossible for an applicant to obtain. The current rule does not allow the Board to consider how long the applicant has been successfully working as a RLA in another state as an alternative to supervised work experience.
The Board has asked the Administrative Rules Committee to work with the Licensure Review Committee and staff to consider alternatives to the current rule. Members of the Administrative Rules Committee will be called into service over the summer to early fall to help shape rule revisions. All are encouraged to share ideas and concerns with the reciprocity rule by sending comments by e-mail to oslab.info@state.or.us or by US mail to the Board office at 707 13th St. SE, Salem, OR 97301. The Board will be briefed at upcoming meetings in August and November of this year on input received via the Administrative Rules Committee or directly from registrants and other interested parties
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