politics

Less than two weeks after a Star Tribune report exposed a legal loophole that allows convicted sex offenders to work as chiropractors, the state Senate is moving quickly on a bill that would overturn the policy.

Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes, DFL-Winona, introduced a bill Tuesday that would expand a law that currently governs just the state Board of Medical Practice, which is prohibited from issuing a medical license to anyone convicted of a felony-level sexual offense. The bill was unanimously approved in a committee vote Wednesday night. It will be heard before the State Senate Judiciary committee on Friday.

"It's certainly a high standard that we also want applied to chiropractors," said Erickson Ropes, a registered nurse. "I think citizens would be surprised to find out that there were two sets of expectations. ... It's a no-brainer to me that we're equalizing those expectations."

Gary Hill, the Senate DFL caucus spokesman, said the measure has widespread support and is expected to pass in the Senate.

Erickson Ropes said she drafted the bill after reading the newspaper's report about Dr. Scott Fredin, who was granted a license by the state Board of Chiropractic Examiners last month even though Fredin spent two years in jail after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two patients at his practice in Owatonna, Minn.

The board revoked Fredin's license when he was convicted in 2003, but board officials approved his request to start over. He is not allowed to treat female patients without another person in the room, but he doesn't have to tell patients about his conviction. Fredin has been working in Minneapolis. His license is registered at Human Interfaces on Willow Street. Larry Spicer, executive director of the chiropractic board, told the Star Tribune in February that he thought the board would support extending the revocation requirement to chiropractors.

The move to eliminate the license loophole is supported by the Minnesota Chiropractic Association, whose executive director, Debra Hurston, is circulating a letter in favor of Erickson Ropes' bill.

"Having a professional license in Minnesota is a privilege and a trust," Hurston wrote. "We believe this bill is consistent with previous legislative policy regarding licensed professions."

David Kunz testified on behalf of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association at Wednesday's committee hearing. He said even if chiropractors are restricted in their practice, there is no guarantee that they won't reoffend. Kunz said a companion measure was introduced in the House this week.

"With the severity of this charge, this is the appropriate response," he said.

Dr. Adam Schotzko, a Woodbury chiropractor, also testified at the committee hearing. He said chiropractic doctors want to be held to the same standards as medical doctors.

If the bill becomes law, Erickson Ropes said, legislators should consider extending the ban to other state-regulated professions, including dentists, psychologists and nurses. "Now that we have this awareness, we're going to have to follow up on it," she said.

Lora Pabst • 612-673-4628