Section 279.1 - Professional and occupational affairs (Adm. Code Section 810)(a) The Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs shall be appointed by the Governor and have the power and his duty shall be-- (1) To establish reciprocity with other states as regards professional and occupational licenses issued by the department, unless otherwise provided by law;(2) To keep the records of all of the professional and occupational examining boards in the City of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania;(3) To issue all certificates and other official documents of the various professional and occupational examining boards in the department. The officers and members, or any of them, of any such examining board may sign such certificates and other documents, if the board shall have taken action authorizing such signatures;(4) To assist any professional and occupational examining board within the department, if, as and when requested by the board;(5) To cooperate with the several professions and occupations whose examining bodies are within the department in the determination and establishment of standards of professional education;(6) Whenever under any act of Assembly the right to practice any profession or work at any trade or occupation is conditioned upon examination, licensure or registration by or within the department, unless otherwise provided by law, to hold the examination, make such investigations, require such information and do and perform all other acts which may be necessary to determine whether applicants for licensure or registration are qualified to practice the profession or work at the trade or occupation within this Commonwealth, and in proper cases to issue licenses and certificates of registration: Provided, however, That the power and duty of the Department of Public Instruction to determine, value, standardize and regulate the preliminary education, both secondary and collegiate, of those to be hereafter licensed or registered to practice any profession or work at any trade or occupation in this Commonwealth shall remain as heretofore and any action so taken shall be made known to the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs;(7) Unless otherwise provided by law, to fix the fees to be charged by the several professional and occupational examining boards within the department;(8) To be responsible for all administrative affairs of each of the professional and occupational examining boards and to coordinate their activities;(9) To perform all the powers and duties relating to professional and occupational examining boards that heretofore were imposed upon the Superintendent or the Department of Public Instruction.(10) To assure that notice is published, in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the licensee, certificate holder or registrant of any professional or occupational licensing board or commission conducts or recently conducted his or her practice, of any order suspending or revoking his or her right to practice. This clause shall not apply in those cases in which a person enters into an agreement with a board or commission to participate in an approved treatment program for impaired professionals and the enforcement of that person's suspension or revocation is stayed in accordance with that agreement. This clause shall supersede any power or duty of a board or commission under any other provision of law to publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation of disciplinary action taken by that board or commission.(b) In addition to the powers and duties imposed under the provisions of subsection (a) hereof, the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs shall be a member of each of the said boards.(c) The Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs shall exercise his power and perform his duties in compliance with the provisions of section 503 of this act. 1929, April 9, P.L. 177, art. VIII, § 810, added 1963, June 3, P.L. 63, § 2, effective 7/1/1963. Amended 1986, March 21, P.L. 62, No. 18, § 1, effective in 45 days.