Board greenlights legislative proposal to clarify retired license rules and ease retirement for recently expired licenses

The Board of Behavioral Sciences on March 14 approved a legislative proposal to clarify its retired‑license provisions and to make it easier for practitioners whose licenses expired within three years to elect retired status without first reactivating the license.

Roseanne Helms told members the board’s retired license status (created in 2011) currently allows licensees to retire a current or inactive license by paying a one‑time fee. Staff reviewed retired‑license policies used by other boards and proposed changes to resolve practical problems the board hears from licensees—most commonly that a practitioner who missed a renewal then calls to retire the license but would have to reactivate and pay renewal fees before using the retirement option.

Under the proposed statutory amendments the board would allow an applicant to convert a license that expired less than three years prior into retired status without first reactivating the license, specify the content of retirement and restoration applications, prohibit retirement as a way to evade disciplinary proceedings, limit the number of times a license may be reactivated from retired status (one time), and clarify that a license retired for three or more years cannot be restored and instead requires a new application.

The board voted to pursue the proposal; staff said they will prepare legislative language and return as the bill moves through the legislative process. Public commenters from professional associations expressed general support for clarifying the rules and for reducing barriers to retirement.