An Act To Amend the Occupational Therapy Licensing Statutes
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1646
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: SANBORN
Amends: 32 MRSA §2272, 32 MRSA §2283, 32 MRSA §2286

Legislative Document
No. 1646
S.P. 531
In Senate, May 5, 2021
An Act To Amend the Occupational Therapy Licensing Statutes
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on May 3, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator SANBORN of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  32 MRSA §2272, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 294, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 2.  32 MRSA §2272, sub-§12-D is enacted to read:
12-D.  Occupational therapy.  "Occupational therapy" means the therapeutic use of 
everyday life activities and occupations with individuals or groups to enhance or enable 
participation, performance or function in roles and situations in home, school, workplace, 
community and other settings for the purpose of promoting health and wellness to those 
who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, 
impairment, disability, activity limitation or participation restriction. Occupational therapy 
addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory and other aspects of performance 
in a variety of contexts to support engagement in everyday occupations that affect physical 
and mental health, well-being and quality of life.  "Occupational therapy" includes:
A.  Methods and strategies selected to direct the process of interventions such as:
(1)  Facilitating establishment, remediation or restoration of a skill or ability that 
has not yet developed, is impaired or is in decline;
(2)  Compensation, modification or adaptation of an activity or environment to 
enhance performance or to prevent injuries, disorders or other conditions;
(3)  Maintenance and enhancement of capabilities without which performance of 
everyday life activities would decline;
(4)  Health promotion and wellness to enable or enhance performance in everyday 
life activities; and
(5)  Prevention or remediation of barriers to performance, including disability 
prevention;
B.  Evaluation of client factors affecting activities of daily living, instrumental 
activities of daily living, education, work, play, leisure and social participation, 
including:
(1)  Body functions such as neuromuscular, sensory, visual, perceptual, mental and 
cognitive functions; pain factors; bodily systems such as cardiovascular, digestive, 
integumentary and genitourinary systems; and structures related to movement;
(2)  Habits, routines, roles and behavior patterns;
(3)  Cultural, physical, environmental, social and spiritual contexts and activity 
demands that affect performance; and
(4)  Performance skills, including motor, process, emotional regulation, cognitive, 
sensory perceptual, communication and social interaction skills; and
C.  Interventions and procedures to promote or enhance safety and performance in 
activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, education, work, play, 
leisure and social participation, including:
(1)  Therapeutic use of occupations, exercises and activities;
(2)  Training in self-care, self-management, home management, community and 
work integration and reintegration, school activities and work performance;
(3)  Development, remediation or compensation of physical, mental and cognitive 
functions, neuromuscular and sensory functions, pain tolerance and management, 
developmental skills and behavioral skills;
(4)  Therapeutic use of self, including one’s personality, insights, perceptions and 
judgments, as part of the therapeutic process;
(5)  Education and training of other individuals, including family members and 
caregivers;
(6)  Care coordination, case management and transition services;
(7)  Consultative services to groups, programs, organizations and communities;
(8)  Modification of environments such as home, school, workplace and 
community settings and adaptation of processes, including the application of 
ergonomic principles;
(9)  Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting and training in assistive 
technology, adaptive devices and orthotic devices and training in the use of 
prosthetic devices;
(10)  Assessment, recommendation and training in techniques to enhance 
functional mobility, including seating and positioning and wheelchair 
management;
(11)  Driver rehabilitation and community mobility;
(12)  Management of feeding, eating and swallowing to enable eating and feeding 
performance; and
(13)  Application of physical agent modalities and use of a range of specific 
therapeutic procedures to enhance performance skills such as wound care 
management; techniques to enhance sensory, perceptual and cognitive processing; 
manual therapy techniques; and dry needling.
Sec. 3.  32 MRSA §2283, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.  Continuing education requirements for license renewal.  A licensee applying for 
license renewal must submit an active NBCOT certificate with the application for renewal 
or provide evidence of continuing education as governed by this subsection.
A.  For a licensee applying for license renewal who does not maintain NBCOT 
certification, evidence of at least 8 contact hours of approved continuing education 
during the preceding 12 months is required at the time of license renewal.
B.  A licensee applying for license renewal initially licensed within one year of a 
renewal date when evidence of continuing education must be submitted is not required 
to submit evidence of satisfactory completion of continuing education required by 
paragraph A for that first renewal period.  A licensee who was initially licensed or 
whose license has been reinstated for more than one year but less than 2 years from a 
renewal date when continuing education required by paragraph A must be submitted is 
required to submit evidence of satisfactory completion of at least 8 contact hours of 
approved continuing education. 
C.  A licensee applying for license renewal who cannot meet the continuing education 
requirements of paragraph A or B may request an extension from the board.  The 
request must include a plan for completion of the continuing education requirements 
within the requested extension period.  An extension of not more than 6 months may 
be granted by the board for good cause shown by a substantiated medical condition, 
natural disaster, death of a spouse or an immediate family member or any other 
compelling reason that in the judgment of the board renders the licensee incapable of 
meeting the continuing education requirements of paragraph A or B.
D.  A contact hour under this subsection consists of 60 minutes of instruction, unless 
otherwise specified.  The content of the continuing education classes or literature must 
be related to the field and practice of occupational therapy.
E.  A licensee applying for license renewal who does not maintain NBCOT certification 
shall acquire at least 8 contact hours from one or more of the following activities in the 
following classifications:
(1)  Class I: attendance at or participation in an education presentation. Class I 
continuing education activities must include the following types of education 
offerings related to occupational therapy:
(a)  A lecture consisting of a discourse given for instruction before an audience 
or through a teleconference;
(b)  A panel consisting of the presentation of a number of views by several 
professional individuals on a given subject, with none of the views considered 
a final solution;
(c)  A workshop consisting of a series of meetings designed for intensive study, 
work or discussion in a specific field of interest;
(d)  A seminar consisting of directed advanced study or discussion in a specific 
field of interest;
(e)  A symposium consisting of a conference of more than a single session 
organized for the purpose of discussing a specific subject from various 
viewpoints and presented by various speakers;
(f)  A college or university course.  Five contact hours must be given for each 
college credit hour with a grade of at least C or a pass in a pass or fail course; 
and
(g)  A home study, correspondence or Internet course for which the provider 
of the continuing education activity evaluates the licensee's knowledge of the 
occupational therapy subject matter presented in the activity.  A maximum of 
contact hours may be acquired from these courses;
(2)  Class II: professional reading.  Reading professional literature, whether printed 
or provided by audiotapes, videotapes or electronic media.  A maximum of 4 
contact hours may be acquired from class II;
(3)  Class III: professional publication. The maximum number of contact hours that 
may be given for professional publication are as follows:
(a)  Fifteen hours for a book or original paper; and
(b)  Ten hours for a review paper, case report, abstract or book review;
(4)  Class IV: instructor preparation of class I programs.  A licensee who presents 
a class I continuing education activity or its equivalent may receive 3 contact hours 
for each hour of presentation.  Contact hours may not be acquired for any 
subsequent presentations on the same subject matter.  A maximum of 6 contact 
hours may be acquired from class IV; and
(5)  Class V: level II fieldwork supervision.  One contact hour per 4 weeks may be 
given for supervising full-time level II fieldwork.  For purposes of this 
subparagraph, "full-time" means at least 32 hours per week.  A maximum of 3 
contact hours may be acquired from class V.
F.  If audited by the board, a licensee shall submit documented evidence of attendance 
at, participation in or presentation to class I and class II continuing education activities, 
personal verification for class III activities and copies of publications for verification 
of class IV activities as appropriate.  Verification of class V level II fieldwork 
supervision must be submitted by the licensee's employer if the licensee is audited by 
the board.
Sec. 4.  32 MRSA §2283, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5.  Expired, canceled and revoked licenses; continuing education requirements.  If 
a license under this chapter has expired but has not been canceled, continuing education 
may not be required by the board in addition to the continuing education that would have 
been necessary if the license had been renewed before its expiration.  An applicant who 
wishes to reinstate a license that has been canceled shall submit proof of continuing 
education as follows:
A.  If the applicant has continuously held an active license in another state since the 
date on which the license in this State was canceled or the applicant currently holds a 
license that has been active for at least 2 years in a state that has licensing and 
continuing education requirements at least as strict as those of this State as determined 
by the board, the applicant shall submit proof of the applicant's current license, 
registration or certification from that state and current NBCOT certification;
B.  If the time since the applicant's license was canceled has been one year or less, no 
continuing education in addition to the continuing education that would have been 
necessary if the license had been renewed before cancellation may be required;
C.  If the time since the applicant's license was canceled has been more than one year 
but less than 2 years, the applicant must complete a minimum of 8 contact hours 
pursuant to subsection 4, paragraph E;
D.  If the time since the applicant's license was canceled has been at least 2 years but 
less than 3 years, the applicant must complete 16 contact hours pursuant to subsection 
4, paragraph E; or
E.  If the time since the applicant's license was canceled has been 3 years or more and 
the applicant has not held an active license in another state that has licensing and 
continuing education requirements at least as strict as those of this State as determined 
by the board, the applicant must complete 24 contact hours pursuant to subsection 4, 
paragraph E.
An applicant seeking reinstatement of a revoked license is required to successfully 
complete an initial license application and be approved by the board.
Sec. 5.  32 MRSA §2286, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 746, §2, is repealed.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing occupational therapy by expanding the description 
of occupational therapy services and establishing requirements for continuing education 
for license renewals and continuing education for reinstated licenses.