Senate committee reviews OPR bill that adds fees, enforcement surcharges and removes motor-racing oversight

The Senate Committee on Government Operations on April 9 heard testimony on H.472, the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) bill that would authorize new data‑feed fees, raise multiple licensing fees and enforcement penalties, require new training and inspection standards, and remove OPR oversight of motor vehicle racing.

Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert and Michael Warren, interim director of the Office of Professional Regulation, described the measure as a streamlined bill intended to address a set of technical and funding issues. "The OPR bill had some very simple goals. And as you guys, have noticed, it's a streamlined bill," Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert said. Michael Warren added, "We wanted to be able to focus on those other items and just, focused this OPR bill on the things that we thought would be necessary to change, this year."

Why it matters: The bill would shift some costs for services OPR now provides for free onto users (for example, commercial data feeds), restore fees omitted by prior legislation, and add a new disciplinary surcharge intended to recoup part of enforcement costs. It also proposes statutory changes with regulatory and consumer‑protection implications, including a transfer (by removal) of OPR's regulation of motor vehicle racing and new requirements for barbering and cosmetology schools on training for textured hair.

Major provisions and numbers

- Data feeds and business services: H.472 would authorize the Secretary of State to set, by policy, fees for delivery of licensing data feeds to outside entities (universities, associations, large employers and federal entities). OPR witnesses said those feeds previously were provided at no charge and the change is intended to generate revenue that would not be borne by licensees. Witnesses said only public fields would be shared after recent legislation to limit contact information disclosure.

- Verification and license fees: The bill would raise the official license verification fee from $20 to $30. It would (re)establish shop fees for electrology shops and set a default shop fee (witnesses said a previously intended shop fee had been omitted from a 2019 fee bill). OPR told the committee the default fee previously used was $240 and the office proposes a $200 shop fee to align with similar regulated shops.

- New and restored administrative fees: H.472 would create or restore smaller fees now charged in other states or omitted in prior bills, including a $50 apprenticeship application fee, a $50 partnership application fee, a $100 endorsement/endorsement‑to‑existing‑license fee, and a specialty‑license application/renewal fee (amount not specified in committee walk‑through). OPR staff said apprenticeship pathways remain a lower‑cost route into licensed trades.

- Disciplinary surcharge: The bill would add a $250 disciplinary action surcharge imposed after a finding of unprofessional conduct and deposit those proceeds into the professional regulatory fee fund. OPR testified that the enforcement division handles hundreds of complaints annually and that enforcement costs are substantial; the surcharge is intended to recover a small portion of those costs.

- Unauthorized practice and civil penalties: The administrative civil penalty for unauthorized practice would increase from a maximum of $2,500 to $5,000, consistent with the amount that may be sought in Superior Court. OPR described unauthorized practice as including persons who practice without ever having been licensed and those who continued practicing after a license lapsed in a way that triggers enforcement.

- Regulatory changes and program language: The bill includes several programmatic items: reinstating statutory authority to inspect and approve shops (electrology and cosmetology); adding a requirement that barbering and cosmetology schools include training on care, styling, and treatment of textured hair (defined in the bill to mean hair based, coiled, curly or wavy, and including cultural competency and historical education); a nursing assistant re‑licensure requirement that those seeking renewal of an expired or lapsed nursing‑assistant license after fewer than five years must repeat and pass the competency examination; and a repeal or removal of OPR oversight for motor vehicle racing (witnesses said the sunset/sunrise review recommended removal and the insurance market provides oversight in practice).

- Funeral prepaid arrangements and escrow agents: The bill removes a subdivision that had named categories of permitted escrow agents for prepaid funeral funds and repeals two related statutory sections; OPR staff told the committee they expect to review how the change will look on the ground.

- Staffing and reporting requirements: H.472 would create one permanent, full‑time exempt executive officer position for professional regulation and includes a fiscal appropriation of $170,000 for the position in fiscal year 2026. The bill also requires an OPR report (in consultation with stakeholders) on regulation of massage therapy establishments, due to the House and Senate committee on government operations by Nov. 15, 2025.

Discussion and concerns raised

Committee members and witnesses discussed several recurring themes: the cumulative effect of fee increases, equity concerns about imposing surcharges on disciplined practitioners, and the scope and consequences of removing motor‑racing oversight from OPR.

Senator Byulski raised an equity concern about surcharges and argued the practice of charging additional penalties can disproportionately affect people who already face financial instability. OPR witnesses responded that the surcharge is targeted at those found to have committed unprofessional conduct and that enforcement costs now fall on the entire regulated special fund (licensees), so the surcharge is intended to recoup a small portion of enforcement expenses. OPR reported it receives roughly 600–800 complaints a year, investigates about 500, and prosecutes about one‑third of investigations.

Several senators asked staff to provide statutory history and fiscal detail on when particular fees were last updated and how prior legislative changes had omitted intended fees; OPR asked the committee to allow time to supply that statutory research and fiscal information.

Votes and next steps

Representative Kate Leachie, who reported the bill out of the House Government Operations committee, told the Senate committee, "Committee vote was 8 2 1." She also reported the House floor action as a voice vote in favor. No final Senate committee vote on H.472 was recorded in the April 9 hearing; the committee chair said the bill would be back on the Senate agenda the following week for continued consideration.

Ending

Committee members asked OPR for follow‑up materials, including fee histories, the motor‑racing sunset report, and more precise fiscal notes. OPR and the Secretary of State's office said they will return with additional detail when the committee resumes consideration.