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DLI-sponsored bill would standardize licensing rules, move nonroutine reviews to screening panels
Summary
House Bill 414 would standardize 'provisional' and 'temporary' license definitions across Title 37 and route most 'nonroutine' licensing applications to screening panels to speed decisions. Commissioner Sarah Swanson said the change saves staff time and preserves due process; small boards urged exemptions for very small panels.
Representative Jodie Etchart presented House Bill 414 as a Department of Labor and Industry initiative to make licensing processes more consistent across Montana’s 29 occupational boards. The bill would clarify terminology (provisional versus temporary), define nonroutine license applications and let screening panels consider most nonroutine matters rather than full boards, speeding determinations.
Commissioner Sarah Swanson testified that DLI licenses nearly 180,000 people and administers about 200 unique license types. She said screening panels meet more frequently than full boards, and routing nonroutine applications to panels would save staff and legal time while preserving contested‑case rights. "Time to licensure matters," she said, and DLI presented counts of boards and the expected efficiency gains.
Small boards and several massage‑therapy witnesses opposed the blanket change, arguing some boards meet infrequently or have too few members to split into screening and adjudicatory panels; they asked for a small‑board exemption or rulemaking flexibility. O'Connor and Swanson said boards already have screening panels for complaints and the bill extends that existing mechanism to nonroutine license applications, but pledged DLI would monitor implementation and report updates to the Legislature.
Committee members asked about privacy protections, frequency of panel meetings and whether the change might produce inconsistent outcomes for small boards. Swanson proposed quarterly check‑ins during implementation and an annual report to Legislative Interim Committees.
