Committee backs H.472 to let Office of Professional Regulation charge new fees, directs further study

The House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday voted to report H.472 favorably after hearing testimony on a package of changes that would let the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) charge new fees for services, reestablish a previously removed electrology-shop license, add a disciplinary surcharge and fund a new mental-health executive officer.

The bill, which the committee voted out 10-1, would allow OPR to charge for data feeds to third parties, add or reinstate several targeted fees (including a $50 apprenticeship-application surcharge and a $100 specialty-endorsement application fee), and authorize a disciplinary-action surcharge and a higher maximum penalty for unauthorized practice.

The measure is intended to reduce pressure on OPR's budget, which Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Kippert said remains in deficit. "We're still at a $1,500,000 deficit," Kippert told the committee as she walked members through fee and policy changes in the bill. She said the office is seeking modest, targeted fees for services it now provides for free or at low cost and is collecting two years of cycle-based workload data to inform any future, broader restructuring.

Why it matters: OPR regulates dozens of professions and tens of thousands of licensees in the state; the bill would shift some costs to applicants and to disciplined licensees and generate fee revenue for the professional regulation fund. Ted Barnett of the Joint Fiscal Office presented a revenue table the committee used to weigh fiscal impacts: he estimated about $220,000 net additional fee revenue per year for the professional regulation fund, driven largely by specialty endorsements, and noted some small offsets and a one-time appropriation request.

Key details and debate

- Data feeds and verification fees: Section 1 would let the Secretary of State charge for data feeds to third parties; Kippert said fees likely will differ for setup versus maintainance. The bill also raises the fee for printed, mailed license verifications (often requested by licensees seeking reciprocity in other states) from $20 to $30.

- Apprenticeship application fee: The bill would add a $50 charge for apprenticeship-pathway applications; OPR said review of apprenticeship records is more administratively intensive than standard transcript review, though the office chose a modest fee so as not to create a barrier to nontraditional training pathways.

- Specialty endorsements: The bill would permit a $100 application fee for specialty endorsements (for example, an optometrist seeking authorization for advanced therapeutic procedures). Barnett said OPR currently issues specialties for multiple professions and the Joint Fiscal Office used OPR's estimate of roughly 2,000 specialty endorsements annually to project about $200,000 in recurring revenue at $100 each.

- Disciplinary surcharge and penalties: The proposal would create a $250 disciplinary-action surcharge to be assessed after an individual is investigated, prosecuted and adjudicated as having committed unprofessional conduct. The bill would also raise the administrative penalty for unauthorized practice from $2,500 to $5,000 to align it with the superior-court penalty.

- Electrology shop license: OPR asked to reestablish a shop license for electrology (hair removal businesses and providers) after an earlier fee reorganization removed that authorization and the office did not charge for two renewal cycles. Reinstating the shop license was projected to add modest revenue.

- Motor vehicle racing: Following a sunset review, OPR recommended repealing the state's motor-vehicle-racing chapter; the committee was told repeal is a public-policy decision that reduces OPR fee revenue by a small amount.

- Mental-health licensing reorganization and staff: OPR described plans to consolidate many mental-health licenses under a single board and requested a one-time general fund appropriation to hire an executive officer to lead that work. Barnett noted a budgeted appropriation in section 12 (reported to the committee as roughly $170,000) to create the position; OPR said extensive rulemaking and stakeholder engagement would follow in the next legislative session.

- Massage therapy: Testimony from Hercules Leotard, a board member of the Vermont chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association and a practicing massage therapist, urged attention to the profession's fees. Leotard said current annual registration fees (which he cited at $275) and rising costs have led about 400 registrants to allow registrations to lapse and asked the committee to align fees with the lower level of regulation that registration (rather than full licensure) provides.

What the fiscal office presented

Ted Barnett of the Joint Fiscal Office summarized the revenue impact table OPR provided: an expected increase of about $20,000 in FY2027 from higher verification fees, a $3,000 increase from reinstating electrology-shop fees, about $7,500 from apprenticeship applications, and roughly $200,000 annually from specialty-endorsement application fees (2,000 units at $100 each). Repeal of motor-vehicle-racing regulation reduces receipts by a small amount. Barnett said fines and penalties were not forecast in the JFO table.

Committee action and next steps

A committee member moved that the committee find H.472 favorable as presented. After brief discussion the committee voted to report the bill favorably by a roll call vote of 10-1. Representative Higley was recorded as voting no; other recorded yes votes included Representative Brannigan, Representative Burkhart, Representative Feltes, Representative Holcomb, Representative Kimball, Representative Masland, Representative Odey, Representative Lazarzak, Representative Canfield and Representative Kornheiser.

OPR and JFO members said the fee changes are intended as measured steps while the office gathers more complete workload and cost data; OPR asked for an additional two-year study period tied to renewal cycles so the agency can recommend any larger structural funding changes later.

The bill will now proceed from committee with a favorable report; OPR and stakeholders expect additional rulemaking, stakeholder engagement and follow-up legislative proposals next year on the mental-health licensing consolidation and on any regulation or fee structure for massage establishments.

Ending note

Committee materials and testimony remain available on the committee record; OPR officials told members they will return with more data after collecting two years of renewal-cycle workload information and with stakeholder-developed proposals on mental-health licensing and establishment regulation for massage therapy.