Select laws passed during Minnesota's 2018 legislative session will take effect this weekend, with the start of July.
Beginning Sunday, athletic trainers will be required to obtain a state license. The licensure process will be almost the same as the current registration system, but will also require those applying to complete a background check.
Licensing athletic trainers will subject them to regulation by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and protect their professional titles.
"You can't call yourself an athletic trainer if you are not licensed to be one," said Amy Brugge, a member of the Minnesota Athletic Trainers' Association, which backed the bill. "We felt that we should be on par with other peer health care providers in the state."
Three other laws relating to state finances also go into effect Sunday. Those laws will address operational tweaks to the Legislative Budget Office created in 2017, changes in the Taconite Economic Development Fund and the funding of claims against the state.
