Article archive / July 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 7. Source pages: 7.
In an email on June 24 to licensed psychologists, the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (LSBEP) said it will force the Louisiana Psychological Association to conform to the LSBEP’s view of the law regarding how names are submitted to the governor for appointment.
The new policy, sent by Executive Director, Kelly Parker, noted “… the Louisiana Psychological Association shall report to the Governor’s Office the results of the entire election, including all nominees and the votes for each nominee.” The policy included the warning, “If the Louisiana Psychological Association fails to report the all of the information (sic), in one way or another, the Board will also notify the Governor’s Office with the accurate results of the board election.”
The policy conflicts with current law that gives the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA) the right to determine how the final list to the governor is composed. The Psychology Practice Act, LA R.S. 37:2353(2), is: “All appointments shall be from a list provided by the Louisiana Psychological Association.”
LPA’s current policy is to include the two top vote-getters, which officials have said is to support the democratic method.
The wording is common in laws for other Louisiana boards, some which vet the list by other methods.
The LSBEP held a special meeting on June 1 where they voted to force LPA to include the third vote getter on the list to the governor, which was the Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychology candidate Dr. Jesse Lambert. The vote and the meeting violated Open Meetings Law. ((See “Psychology Board Pushes to Include LAMP Candidate on List to Governor,” June PT issue.)
Two appointments are currently at stake, a 2014-15 election, in which Dr. Beverly Stubblefield received the top votes and Dr. Karen Boggs, second, and a recent vacancy left by Dr. Joe Comaty, who failed to be confirmed. Dr. Constance Patterson was the top vote getter in that election cycle.
In a letter to the LSBEP, LPA President Dr. Lacey Seymour reminded the board that the current law was still in effect, and asked, “We would like to respectfully request that the list of candidates submitted to the Governor’s office be derived from the 2014-2015 election conducted by the Louisiana Psychological Association.” It is not clear from the letter why LPA viewed that they needed to request from the board, a right already determined by law.
“We would also like to request that a Task Force be formed,” Seymour wrote, “in order to facilitate open discussion and communication between the Louisiana Psychological Association and the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists regarding the adoption of policies for future elections as we strongly feel as if it is in the best interest of psychologists across the state to have input regarding how these elections are conducted.”
According to Seymour, Parker said the board voted against the recommendations. A source right at press time, indicated that LPA may take further action to protect its rights.
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