Education subcommittee advances chiropractic board budget, ratifies fee increases

The Education Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means on May 8 voted to move two measures affecting the Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners to the full Ways and Means Committee with due-pass recommendations: SB 5507, the board's budget bill, and SB 5544, a legislative ratification of fees the board adopted by administrative rule. Michael, a Legislative Fiscal Office analyst, presented the recommendations to the panel.

Why it matters: The actions change the board’s staffing, fee structure and performance targets. The measures are intended to align spending with available licensing revenue, restore some staff after cuts, and ratify fee increases that the board adopted administratively and that would otherwise lapse without legislative ratification.

LFO recommendation and budget changes: Michael, Legislative Fiscal Office analyst, told the committee the recommended budget for SB 5507 is $2,475,586 in other funds and includes five positions and 4.75 full-time equivalent positions. As he said, “Package 70 is a revenue shortfall package that reduces the board's expenditure limitation by $1,053,269 other funds to balance expenditures with available revenues. This package eliminates 3 positions, 3 FTE and various services and supplies including legal services, information technology, data processing, board member stipends, shift differentials, in…