Committee approves Board of Examiners and Optometry budget, allows higher hospitality cap

The Committee on General Government Budget voted to accept the Legislative Research recommendations for the Board of Examiners and Optometry’s biennial budget and to raise the agency’s official hospitality spending limit to $1,000.

The move, made by Representative Riley and approved by voice vote, covers the agency’s current fiscal year and the two budget years 2026 and 2027. Amanda, a Legislative Research presenter, told the committee the optometry board is a fee-funded, biennial agency and has no State General Fund appropriation. "This is a biennial agency completely funded with licensing fees," she said.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed on whether the agency’s office would move to Topeka if a newly hired executive director were based there and on how recent one-time costs affect the agency’s ending balance. Jan Murray, executive officer for the board, said the board plans to post the executive-officer position in March with an April start and that the office move is not guaranteed. "It might help us find the correct person. And that's the reason we put that in there in the, the budget for the office to move to Topeka," Murray said.

Details: The budget includes cross-training costs for a new executive director—three months in fiscal year 2025 and three months in fiscal year 2026—as well as planning for higher rent, a board cellphone recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services (OITS), and increased estimates for OITS and legal counsel fees. Amanda said the agency is requesting the hospitality limit change to address inflation and that the cost would be covered by the licensing fee fund.

Committee discussion focused on operational details rather than major policy changes. Representative Turk noted the agency’s ending-balance trend and asked whether the board had a plan to stabilize reserves; Murray said hiring a single executive director and implementing a new licensing database that evens out renewal timing were expected to smooth revenues. Representative Riley asked whether the office would remain in Lawrence if the new hire lived there; Murray said the current office in Lawrence is adequate and that rent in Topeka could be substantially higher.

Action: The committee approved the recommendation and the hospitality cap increase by voice vote. The motion passed without recorded roll-call tallies.

Looking ahead: Murray and Legislative Research said they will return with further details if questions remain as recruitment and the licensing database project proceed.