Joint Ways and Means committee advances TSPC budget bill after debate over investigator capacity and fee increases

A joint committee on Ways and Means — Education on June 5 voted to move House Bill 50 37, the budget request for the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC), to the full Ways and Means Committee with a due-pass recommendation.

The Legislative Fiscal Office recommendation approved in the work session provides $769,493 in general fund and $18,046,699 in other funds limitation for a total budget of $18,816,192 for the 2025–27 biennium, and sets 37 positions (35.75 FTE). The package adds $2,100,000 in other funds expenditure limitation and establishes nine permanent positions (8.25 FTE) intended to address a backlog of investigations into complaints of educator misconduct, and it adds $1,500,000 in one-time other funds to complete a replacement educator data and licensing system.

Why it matters: Committee members said the measure is intended to reduce long delays in TSPC investigations that have left complaints unresolved for months. The bill also reflects cuts required by the May 2025 Oregon economic and revenue forecast from the Department of Administrative Services Office of Economic Analysis; that forecast reduced expected corporate activity tax resources for the 2025–27 biennium, forcing across-the-board reductions in education agency spending and eliminating a $2,000,000 transfer from the Educator Advancement Fund intended for the Administrator Scholar Program.

Packages and fiscal elements cited by staff and LFO: - Package 104 (Educator data system): $1,500,000 one-time other funds to complete the new educator licensing/data system, replacing the prior e-licensing system. - Package 581 (early literacy position reclass): $33,026 other funds to reclassify an existing 1.0 FTE operations and policy analyst 3 to an analyst 4 in educator preparation and pathways. - Package 801 (investigations capacity): $2,200,000 other funds limitation and nine permanent positions (8.25 FTE) to address investigation backlogs; LFO recommendation approved as modified. - Package 806 (FSS shortfall): adjustments made because the Fund for Student Success cannot sustain the 2025–27 current service level at the forecasted revenue.

Interim TSPC executive director Melissa Gough told the committee the nine positions are structured to support investigations and related functions and clarified staffing counts. "On July 1, we will have 4 investigator positions. We will have 2 legal liaison positions, and those are the individuals who work with the legal representatives on cases. We will have an assist[ant] director and we will have an Administrative Assistant," Gough said.

Gough and LFO staff also told members the agency has a structural revenue gap: licensing fees are the primary revenue source; absent a new revenue approach or general fund investment, TSPC cannot sustain operations beyond the current biennium. The director and staff said a roughly 28% fee increase (from $182 to about $232) would cover only the nine positions and not the larger operating shortfall. Gough added that fully implementing the long-term plan would require raising fees toward a cap of $350 per educator or securing general fund support.

Committee discussion mixed operational concerns about investigative capacity with broader policy disputes. Representative Wright said she would vote no, citing objections she described as related to program implementation and to what she called discriminatory elements in some TSPC programs; Wright said, "I will be a no on this bill." Several other legislators, including Senator Frederick, defended TSPC efforts and the role of diversity initiatives in teacher recruitment. Frederick said, "students do well if they have teachers who look like them," and urged investment in recruiting a more diverse teacher workforce.

The committee approved a budget note requiring TSPC to undertake a comprehensive review of its fees and to report to the interim joint committee on ways and means by January 2026. The budget note directs TSPC to include in that report: a list of all fees collected; current financial information and expenditure/revenue estimates; licensing fee history and volume; analysis of how funding levels affect customer service, licensure processing, and investigation backlogs; proposed fee structures and renewal timelines; and evaluation of alternative revenue sources.

Formal action: the committee adopted the LFO recommendation as reflected in a "-2" amendment and moved House Bill 50 37, as amended, to the Ways and Means Full Committee with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Juncker registered an objection during the final motion; the committee chair reported the motion carried and the bill will proceed to the full committee.

Next steps: The committee noted a related fee bill, House Bill 50 43 (a TSPC fee ratification bill posted to OLISS), was not able to be posted that day and will be taken up on Monday with fuller public notice. The Department of Education is scheduled for the Monday meeting as well.