2001 Minnesota Statutes

     148C.03 Duties of commissioner. 

    Subdivision 1.    General.  The commissioner shall, 
 after consultation with the advisory council or a committee 
 established by rule: 

    (a) adopt and enforce rules for licensure of alcohol and 
 drug counselors, including establishing standards and methods of 
 determining whether applicants and licensees are qualified under 
 section 148C.04.  The rules must provide for examinations and 
 establish standards for the regulation of professional conduct.  
 The rules must be designed to protect the public; 

    (b) develop and, at least twice a year, administer an 
 examination to assess applicants' knowledge and skills.  The 
 commissioner may contract for the administration of an 
 examination with an entity designated by the commissioner.  The 
 examinations must be psychometrically valid and reliable; must 
 be written and oral, with the oral examination based on a 
 written case presentation; must minimize cultural bias; and must 
 be balanced in various theories relative to the practice of 
 alcohol and drug counseling; 

    (c) issue licenses to individuals qualified under sections 
 148C.01 to 148C.11; 

    (d) issue copies of the rules for licensure to all 
 applicants; 

    (e) adopt rules to establish and implement procedures, 
 including a standard disciplinary process and rules of 
 professional conduct; 

    (f) carry out disciplinary actions against licensees; 

    (g) establish, with the advice and recommendations of the 
 advisory council, written internal operating procedures for 
 receiving and investigating complaints and for taking 
 disciplinary actions as appropriate; 

    (h) educate the public about the existence and content of 
 the rules for alcohol and drug counselor licensing to enable 
 consumers to file complaints against licensees who may have 
 violated the rules; 

    (i) evaluate the rules in order to refine and improve the 
 methods used to enforce the commissioner's standards; and 

    (j) set, collect, and adjust license fees for alcohol and 
 drug counselors so that the total fees collected will as closely 
 as possible equal anticipated expenditures during the biennium, 
 as provided in section 16A.1285; fees for initial and renewal 
 application and examinations; late fees for counselors who 
 submit license renewal applications after the renewal deadline; 
 and a surcharge fee.  The surcharge fee must include an amount 
 necessary to recover, over a five-year period, the 
 commissioner's direct expenditures for the adoption of the rules 
 providing for the licensure of alcohol and drug counselors.  All 
 fees received shall be deposited in the state treasury and 
 credited to the special revenue fund. 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1995 c 164 s 35 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1995 c 164 s 35 

    Subd. 4.    Professional accountability.  The 
 commissioner shall maintain and keep current a file containing 
 the reports and complaints filed against alcohol and drug 
 counselors within the commissioner's jurisdiction. 

    HIST: 1992 c 559 art 2 s 3; 1Sp1993 c 1 art 3 s 5-7; 1995 c 
 164 s 6,7; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 42; 1996 c 451 art 4 s 37; 1997 c 
 187 art 2 s 6; 1998 c 317 s 12; 2000 c 460 s 41; 2001 c 138 s 1