272C.3 Authority of licensing boards.

1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, each licensing board shall have the powers to:

a. Administer and enforce the laws and administrative rules provided for in this chapter and any other statute to which the licensing board is subject.

b. Adopt and enforce administrative rules which provide for the partial reexamination of the professional licensing examinations given by each licensing board.

c. Review or investigate, or both, upon written complaint or upon its own motion pursuant to other evidence received by the board, alleged acts or omissions which the board reasonably believes constitute cause under applicable law or administrative rule for licensee discipline.

d. Determine in any case whether an investigation, or further investigation, or a disciplinary proceeding is warranted. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 17A, a determination by a licensing board that an investigation is not warranted or that an investigation should be closed without initiating a disciplinary proceeding is not subject to judicial review pursuant to section 17A.19.

e. Initiate and prosecute disciplinary proceedings.

f. Impose licensee discipline.

g. Petition the district court for enforcement of its authority with respect to licensees or with respect to other persons violating the laws which the board is charged with administering.

h. Register or establish and register peer review committees.

i. Refer to a registered peer review committee for investigation, review, and report to the board, any complaint or other evidence of an act or omission which the board reasonably believes to constitute cause for licensee discipline. However, the referral of any matter shall not relieve the board of any of its duties and shall not divest the board of any authority or jurisdiction.

j. Determine and administer the renewal of licenses for periods not exceeding three years.

k. Establish a licensee review committee for the purpose of evaluating and monitoring licensees who are impaired as a result of alcohol or drug abuse, dependency, or addiction, or by any mental or physical disorder or disability, and who self-report the impairment to the committee, or who are referred by the board to the committee. Members of the committee shall receive actual expenses for the performance of their duties and shall be eligible to receive per diem compensation pursuant to section 7E.6. The board shall adopt rules for the establishment and administration of the committee, including but not limited to establishment of the criteria for eligibility for referral to the committee and the grounds for disciplinary action for noncompliance with committee decisions. Information in the possession of the board or the licensee review committee, under this paragraph, shall be subject to the confidentiality requirements of section 272C.6. Referral of a licensee by the board to a licensee review committee shall not relieve the board of any duties of the board and shall not divest the board of any authority or jurisdiction otherwise provided. A licensee who violates section 272C.10 or the rules of the board while under review by the licensee review committee shall be referred to the board for appropriate action.

2. Each licensing board may impose one or more of the following as licensee discipline:

a. Revoke a license, or suspend a license either until further order of the board or for a specified period, upon any of the grounds specified in section 100D.5, 105.22, 147.55, 148.6, 148B.7, 152.10, 153.34, 154A.24, 169.13, 455B.219, 542.10, 542B.21, 543B.29, 544A.13, 544B.15, or 602.3203 or chapter 151 or 155, as applicable, or upon any other grounds specifically provided for in this chapter for revocation of the license of a licensee subject to the jurisdiction of that board, or upon failure of the licensee to comply with a decision of the board imposing licensee discipline.

b. Revoke, or suspend either until further order of the board or for a specified period, the privilege of a licensee to engage in one or more specified procedures, methods, or acts incident to the practice of the profession, if pursuant to hearing or stipulated or agreed settlement the board finds that because of a lack of education or experience, or because of negligence, or careless acts or omissions, or because of one or more intentional acts or omissions, the licensee has demonstrated a lack of qualifications which are necessary to assure the residents of this state a high standard of professional and occupational care.

c. Impose a period of probation under specified conditions, whether or not in conjunction with other sanctions.

d. Require additional professional education or training, or reexamination, or any combination, as a condition precedent to the reinstatement of a license or of any privilege incident thereto, or as a condition precedent to the termination of any suspension.

e. Impose civil penalties by rule, if the rule specifies which offenses or acts are subject to civil penalties. The amount of civil penalty shall be in the discretion of the board, but shall not exceed one thousand dollars. Failure to comply with the imposition of a civil penalty may be grounds for further license discipline.

f. Issue a citation and warning respecting licensee behavior which is subject to the imposition of other sanctions by the board.

3. The powers conferred by this section upon a licensing board shall be in addition to powers specified elsewhere in the Code. The powers of any other person specified elsewhere in the Code shall not limit the powers of a licensing board conferred by this section, nor shall the powers of such other person be deemed limited by the provisions of this section.

4. a. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit informal stipulation and settlement by a board and a licensee of any matter involving licensee discipline. However, licensee discipline shall not be agreed to or imposed except pursuant to a written decision which specifies the sanction and which is entered by the board and filed.

b. All health care boards shall file written decisions which specify the sanction entered by the board with the Iowa department of public health which shall be available to the public upon request. All non-health care boards shall have on file the written and specified decisions and sanctions entered by the board and shall be available to the public upon request.

[C79, 81, §258A.3]

83 Acts, ch 186, §10064, 10201; 84 Acts, ch 1056, §1; 84 Acts, ch 1067, §27; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1880; 90 Acts, ch 1086, §16

C93, §272C.3

95 Acts, ch 72, §1; 2000 Acts, ch 1008, §10; 2001 Acts, ch 16, §2, 37; 2001 Acts, ch 55, §26, 38; 2002 Acts, ch 1108, §26; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §149; 2003 Acts, ch 78, §6; 2004 Acts, ch 1110, §2; 2004 Acts, ch 1176, §13; 2007 Acts, ch 198, §32; 2008 Acts, ch 1089, §10, 12; 2008 Acts, ch 1094, §15, 18; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263

Referred to in §147.106, 148.6, 153.34, 155A.18, 155A.39, 169.20, 272C.4, 272C.6, 543B.48, 543D.17

Civil penalty for real estate brokers and salespersons, see §543B.48