Committee hears OPR bill: new fees, massage-therapist testimony and proposed early childhood licensure

Legislative counsel Tim Devel and OPR staff presented the Senate Finance Committee with a miscellaneous regulatory bill that would change several professional fees, add staff and create a new licensing chapter for early childhood educators. Joint Fiscal Office staff provided preliminary budget estimates and representatives of the Vermont chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association urged fee reductions.

The bill includes fee changes across many regulated professions, a new executive-level position to coordinate regulation of mental health professions, and a separate, substantive section creating a four-tier early childhood educator licensure structure that would regulate individuals working in programs overseen by the Child Development Division (CDD).

Tim Devel said the OPR portion of the bill would authorize the agency to charge for certain data subscriptions, raise several flat fees (for example, verification of licensure and some renewal fees) and add a new $250 disciplinary surcharge to be assessed after findings of professional misconduct. The bill also contains profession-specific changes, including fee increases for peer-recovery providers and a civil penalty increase for unauthorized practice.

On the early childhood licensure proposal, legislative counsel and committee staff described four license…