Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Architects Boards Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ohio Architects and Landscape Architects boards request modest increases, stress portable licensure
Summary
The Ohio Architects Board and Ohio Landscape Architects Board told the committee they are self-funded, manage nearly 20,000 combined licenses, and requested roughly $674,000 for FY26 and $690,000 for FY27 to cover minimal operating costs while expanding licensing efficiencies.
Shannon Himes, executive director for the Ohio Architects Board and the Ohio Landscape Architects Board, told the committee that the two boards operate under a single budget and are fully supported by licensing revenue. "We are completely self supported through revenue generated from our license applications and renewal fees," Himes said.
Himes described the boards' composition and responsibilities and said they license and register roughly 10,000 architects and nearly 10,000 landscape architects and firms. She highlighted efforts to make licensure portable: "professionals seeking to do business in Ohio can obtain a reciprocal license in mere days. We've been averaging 1 day for reciprocal licensure approvals." The boards also reimburse internship program fees for student architects, she said.
On budget numbers, Himes said the boards were requesting approximately $674,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $690,000 for fiscal year 2027, modest increases her testimony described as 1% and 3% over current costs; she said the funds would allow the boards to maintain licensing, renewal, investigations and enforcement functions.
Himes told senators that the boards' fees have been largely unchanged for about 20 years and that the General Assembly recently eliminated an initial $50 licensing fee for new architects effective April 9 of this year.
No committee action on the boards' request was recorded in the transcript.
