We all know that a felony Drug Act conviction requires the healthcare boards in Pennsylvania to suspend a license for 10 years. https://www.phila-criminal-lawyer.com/drug-act-issues/felony-drug-convictions/
However, in 2020, a new law came into effect. Act 53 of 2020 provides that “the addition of [Section 3113] … shall apply to official acts and matters, including disciplinary matters, related to the issuance of licenses, registrations or permits by licensing boards or licensing commissions beginning on or after [December 28, 2020].” The General Assembly clearly intended a broad application of Section 3113 to “official acts” of a licensing board. As discussed, reinstatement of a license under Section 43(b) is an official act of the Board that is separate and distinct from the act of the automatic suspension of a license. Given the breadth of the application of the amendment to official acts of the Board, reinstatement proceedings are subject to the requirement that only a drug trafficking conviction triggers the ten-year waiting period prior to seeking reinstatement.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stated on March 13, 2025 that at a more granular level, if reinstatement pursuant to Section 43(b) of the MPA is “a disciplinary matter, related to the issuance of licenses … by [a] licensing board,” then it is likewise true that the provisions of Section 3113, including its definition of a felony Drug Act conviction, apply to a reinstatement petition, which was filed on April 8, 2021. A “disciplinary matter” is defined in Act 53 as “[a] matter subject to a licensing board’s or licensing commission’s jurisdiction in which the licensing board or licensing commission has the authority to refuse, suspend, revoke or limit a license, registration, certificate or permit or to impose a civil penalty or other discipline under an act.” 63 Pa.C.S. § 3102 (“Disciplinary matter”).
In reinstatement proceedings, the Board has the authority to continue the discipline under the Act by refusing reinstatement if it concludes that the licensee has not made rehabilitative progress or that the licensee poses a substantial risk to the public. 63 P.S.
- 422.43(b). Accordingly, reinstatement under Section 43(b) is a disciplinary matter as defined in Act 53. This also comports with the general disciplinary powers afforded to the Board under the MPA. See 63 P.S. § 422.41(4) (explaining that “refus[ing]” “an application for a license or other authorization” falls within the Board’s disciplinary authority). “It is clear that at the time of the institution of the reinstatement proceeding in April 2021, a petitioner not suspended as a result of a drug trafficking offense and the ten- year waiting period attached to that conviction does not apply to him. The clear language of Act 53 makes the amendment applicable to a 2025 reinstatement proceeding. Thus, a licensee is entitled to consideration of his reinstatement petition by the Board.
The General Assembly made clear when enacting Act 53 that Section 3113 was to apply broadly to acts of licensing boards, which includes disciplinary matters, beginning on December 28, 2020. Reinstatement under Section 43(b) is broadly an action of the Board and a disciplinary matter subject to that application date. IT IS TIME TO FILE FOR REINSTATEMENT.
Call me if you health care license is suspended and would like to practice your profession again.
