In its 2018 report, Operations and Performance of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) analysis determined several DPOR-regulated occupations either explicitly do not satisfy the criteria for regulation, or the current level of regulation is unnecessary because the public is otherwise sufficiently protected.

Additionally, JLARC cited existing statutory authority granted to the Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation (BPOR) pursuant to § 54.1-310 to evaluate whether currently unregulated occupations should be regulated, and noted in the past the legislature often directed the Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation (BPOR) to review proposed and existing regulatory programs using the guidelines enumerated in § 54.1-311.

“Greater use of this evaluation process would help ensure the General Assembly is able to make fully informed decisions about which occupations should be regulated," according to JLARC. Specifically, the report recommended BPOR review the need for continued regulation of the following occupations:

• Virginia licensed professional soil scientists

• Waste management facility operators

• Landscape architects

• Common interest community manager principal/supervisory employees

• Certified interior designers

• Backflow prevention device workers

• Virginia certified professional wetland delineators

This interim report offers initial information on the status of the occupations to be evaluated, with a final report and findings to be submitted to the General Assembly by December 31, 2020.