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LLR seeks fee adjustments; funeral board among programs still in the red
Summary
The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation presented biennial fee schedule changes to rebalance board cash reserves, proposing increases for some boards and decreases for others; the committee voted to approve the agency recommendations.
The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) told the committee it is proposing biennial adjustments to licensing fees to better align revenues with expenses across professional licensing boards and to reduce the need to rely on fines as a funding source.
Emily Farr, agency director, told the panel that LLR is primarily funded by fees and that the agency has been building a financial model to project revenue and expenses and to avoid sharp fee swings. “All of the expenses … add cost. So the reason we're here today is because by statute, the agency is required every 2 years to review these fees,” Farr said. She said the agency worked closely with board members and that fee recommendations were unanimously approved by the boards that considered them.
Farr said the package includes decreases for medical examiners and the counselors board and increases for podiatry, funeral service and veterinarians. She emphasized the funeral board’s finances remain negative even after the proposed increase because inspector salaries and a rise in complaints have driven costs higher; inspectors must meet statutory experience and licensing qualifications and those costs were recently reallocated to the funeral board rather than shared across multiple boards.
“It's a pretty significant fee increase. … If it's not enough, come and ask for another one if necessary rather than doing a huge jump,” Farr said, describing the agency’s phased approach. Committee members pressed for clarity on which boards would still be negative after changes and asked for a follow-up on the funeral board’s expenses; Farr said LLR would continue to monitor cash balances at each fiscal-year end.
The agency also told committee members it is piloting an AI intake tool to reduce processing delays by automatically returning incomplete online applications before they reach staff queues. Farr said the product is relatively inexpensive and will initially check for required attachments (for example, a driver’s license) so only complete applications reach staff.
A committee motion to approve the fee schedule adjustments carried by voice vote. Farr and LLR staff agreed to provide additional financial detail to the committee as requested.
