Florida Law
April 2, 2006
Timothy M. Cerio, General Counsel
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A02
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1703
Dear Mr. Cerio:
According to your March 24, 2006 correspondence the “Florida legislature determines what professions require regulation.” It is obvious that the Florida Legislature has determined that naturopathy does not require regulation since it has ceased regulating the profession since 1985; consequently, they have also ceased to issue licenses for the practice of naturopathy. How can the State of Florida require naturopaths to also hold a Florida license when they do not offer a license for the profession? Furthermore, in reference to the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Dept. of Education the state is not the competent authority to recognize the qualifications of persons in the field of traditional naturopathy because they do not regulate the profession.
Additionally, Florida law Section 462.17 does not specify that a person must be licensed by the State of Florida; it only says that a person must be “lawfully licensed.” Therefore, individuals licensed by the Naturopathic National Council, Inc. are in compliance with Florida law because they do not obtain their license illegally or upon fraudulent representations. Individuals licensed by the NNC are lawfully licensed and authorized by the federal government under trademark registration # 3, 047, 099 to practice naturopathy in the United States including the State of Florida. Accordingly, only those naturopaths who are not licensed by the Naturopathic National Council, Inc. will be in violation of Section 462.17 of Florida’s naturopathy laws.
Sincerely,
Beverly Betancur, N.D.
Chief Executive Officer
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