Veterinary examiners present fee‑funded budget; committee approves it for passage

Luke Drury, a senior fiscal analyst with the Kansas Legislative Research Department, presented the Board of Veterinary Examiners’ budget summary to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Committee on Oct. 7.

Drury said the board is a biennial, fee‑funded agency based in Wamego and that the agency submitted no enhancement requests for fiscal 2026. Key changes the board requested included a $21,100 increase for private‑vehicle‑mile reimbursements in FY 2026 and a $26,100 increase for FY 2027, which the agency attributes to two new board members who live in western Kansas and must commute farther for in‑person meetings.

Other changes cited in the presentation include an attorney‑fees increase of $1,500 in FY 2026 and a larger projected increase in FY 2027 (the budget summary lists a $25,100 increase for attorneys’ fees in 2027), modest increases for postage and communications ($1,300 in 2026 and $1,500 in 2027), and small additions for data and programming services ($1,700 in 2027). Drury noted the Legislative Budget Committee recommended no deletions to the agency’s requested adjustments.

Mark Olson, executive director of the Kansas Board of Veterinary Examiners, told the committee the agency has about 3.8 full‑time equivalent staff: a 0.8 FTE executive director, a full‑time office specialist, a full‑time inspector and a full‑time investigator. Olson said the board licenses practitioners, registers veterinary technicians and veterinary premises, and handles public complaints that go to a probable‑cause committee under the Practice Act.

Olson said the board had “a little over 28,100 licensed veterinarians” listed, of which 1,770 reside in Kansas; he said veterinarians reside in 99 of 105 counties and that there are roughly 630 registered premises and just over 700 veterinary technicians. He told the committee that nearly one‑third of practices are mobile ambulatory premises and explained the board charges a $150 initial application fee (which includes initial inspection) and $75 for renewals on mobile premises; other statutory fee caps cited in the presentation include a $100 cap on veterinarian renewal fees, $25 for veterinary‑technician renewals and $50 for premise registration renewals.

Committee members asked for clarifications about why vehicle‑mile reimbursements and attorney fees were increasing. Olson said the mileage increases reflect where new board members live and that attorney‑fee projections respond to a recent rise in complaints that sometimes require contracting outside legal help.

After discussion the committee voted to report the veterinary board’s budget out favorably for passage. The motion passed by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded on the transcript.