Board of Nursing committee weighs licensure fee increases, IT migration and cybersecurity audit

Members of the Board of Nursing finance committee discussed options for raising licensure fees, a planned migration from the agency's aging licensing database to a vendor system called Evoque, and preparations for a legislative post-audit of cybersecurity during a committee meeting. The committee agreed to bring fee options and updates to the full board in September for further consideration.

The committee received a fiscal update showing a cash-balance snapshot staff described as "like, 5,700,000.0," paired with a projection that the fee fund could finish fiscal year 2025 roughly $150,000 to $200,000 in deficit depending on licensing revenue. Carol (staff member) said salary savings from open positions have reduced expenditures this year but warned that filling vacancies and a recent pay raise will increase personnel costs next year by about $68,000.

Why it matters: licensure fees fund board operations and enforcement. Raising fees would affect thousands of license-holders and require either a regulatory change if under statutory caps or legislative action if the increase would exceed the state's statutory fee caps.

Committee staff presented several fee options and supporting data, including a comparison of the board's fees to other states and an exhibit listing…