| 1 | Representative Garcia offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with directory and title amendments) |
| 4 | On page 46, between lines 20 and 21, |
| 5 | insert: |
| 6 | (1) |
| 7 | (c)1. The board, or the department when there is no board, |
| 8 | shall approve by rule the use of one or more national |
| 9 | examinations which the department has certified as meeting |
| 10 | requirements of national examinations and generally accepted |
| 11 | testing standards pursuant to department rules. Providers of |
| 12 | examinations seeking certification by the department shall pay |
| 13 | the actual costs incurred by the department in making a |
| 14 | determination regarding the certification. The name and number |
| 15 | of a candidate may be provided to a national contractor for the |
| 16 | limited purpose of preparing the grade tape and information to |
| 17 | be returned to the board or department; or, to the extent |
| 18 | otherwise specified by rule, the candidate may apply directly to |
| 19 | the vendor of the national examination and supply test score |
| 20 | information to the department. The department may delegate to |
| 21 | the board the duty to provide and administer the examination. |
| 22 | Any national examination approved by a board, or the department |
| 23 | when there is no board, prior to October 1, 1997, is deemed |
| 24 | certified under this paragraph. |
| 25 | 2. The board, or the department when there is no board, |
| 26 | shall approve and begin administering a national examination no |
| 27 | later than December 31, 2001. Neither the board nor the |
| 28 | department may administer a state-developed written examination, |
| 29 | except for physician assistants, after December 31, 2001, |
| 30 | notwithstanding any other provision of law, provided a national |
| 31 | examination has been certified by the department. For physician |
| 32 | assistants, beginning August 1, 2004, the board or the |
| 33 | department shall administer a state-developed written |
| 34 | examination at least three times. The examination dates shall be |
| 35 | offered not less than 9 months nor more than 12 months apart. |
| 36 | The examination may be administered electronically if adequate |
| 37 | security measures are used, as determined by rule of the |
| 38 | department. |
| 39 | 3. The board, or the department when there is no board, |
| 40 | may administer a state-developed practical or clinical |
| 41 | examination, as required by the applicable practice act, if all |
| 42 | costs of development, purchase, validation, administration, |
| 43 | review, and defense are paid by the examination candidate prior |
| 44 | to the administration of the examination. If a national |
| 45 | practical or clinical examination is available and certified by |
| 46 | the department pursuant to this section, the board, or the |
| 47 | department when there is no board, may administer the national |
| 48 | examination. |
| 49 | 4. It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce the costs |
| 50 | associated with state examinations and to encourage the use of |
| 51 | national examinations whenever possible. |
| 52 |
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| 53 | ============= D I R E C T O R Y A M E N D M E N T ============= |
| 54 | On page 46, lines 17-19, |
| 55 | remove: those lines |
| 56 |
|
| 57 | and insert: |
| 58 | Section 21. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and subsection |
| 59 | (2) of section 456.017, Florida Statutes, are amended, and |
| 60 | subsection (7) is added to said section, to read: |
| 61 |
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| 62 | ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================= |
| 63 | On page 3, line 13, |
| 64 | remove: that line |
| 65 |
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| 66 | and insert: s. 456.017, F.S.; providing for testing of physician |
| 67 | assistants; revising requirements for |