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 current fees versus statutory caps. Staff noted the board currently has "wiggle room" to raise certain RN and LPN fees within existing statutory caps, while APRN fees have little room for increase; one example given was an RN multistate initial fee of $125 with a statutory cap of $300. Staff also said roughly 44 or 45 states now participate in the multistate licensure compact, increasing the use of multistate licenses.

On process and timing, staff told the committee that changing fees by regulation typically takes about nine months ("on the average, I would figure around 9 months"), and that changing statutory caps would require legislative action submitted in January. The committee discussed waiting until September to form a recommendation so staff can close out fiscal year 2025 and provide final fee-fund figures.

The meeting also covered the agency's licensure and investigative software project. Adrian (staff member) described a two-phase migration: phase 1 upgraded core infrastructure, and phase 2 is replacing the investigative and discipline system with Evoque. Adrian said the project is about two-thirds complete and tentatively on track for a fall go-live for discipline and investigative functions. He added that the vendor-supplied licensing system currently known as My License Office will reach end of life on June 30, 2027, which will require the agency to move to the new framework or another state system. Adrian said, "we're gonna be moving from a self hosted environment to a cloud environment," and warned that the agency will need to work through procurement, state IT security reviews and funding decisions before a full migration.

Funding and procurement were central concerns. Staff said the agency received about $225,000 in ARPA funds to help with the first phase of the project, but those funds are exhausted and additional ongoing costs will need to be identified. Committee members and staff noted potential scheduling constraints because other state agencies also plan migrations and the state licensing system has a backlog that may limit short-term options.

On cybersecurity, Adrian told the committee the agency has been selected for a legislative post-audit cybersecurity assessment scheduled to begin around July 7 and to continue for about two weeks. He said auditors will review the agency's cybersecurity posture and that portions of any final report would be considered confidential. Staff urged board members and employees to complete required cybersecurity assessments ahead of the auditors' visit. Andy (staff member) and other staff described recent tabletop training and other continuity-of-operations planning; staff said backup staffing to maintain continuity remains a notable gap for fiscal year 2025.

No committee motions were made on fee changes, the IT migration funding, or responses to the upcoming audit; members discussed options and directed staff to present formal recommendations and additional comparative data to the full board in September. Earlier in the meeting, the committee approved the agenda as amended and the March 26, 2025 minutes by voice vote; those motions carried without recorded opposition.

During the discussion members sought clarity about comparative fee levels in neighboring states, the timeline from decision to implementation, and whether proposed increases would require regulation or statutory change. Staff offered to compile a comparative table of surrounding states' fees and to return in September with fiscal year 2025 final figures and recommended options.

Ending: The committee set a path to present fee options and an update on the licensing-system project to the full Board of Nursing in September; staff will also report the outcome of the legislative cybersecurity audit when available. No formal policy changes were adopted at the committee meeting.