Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Licensing Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee presses Board of Examiners and Counseling over repeated emergency contracts with Smith Warren
Summary
At a Joint Interim Committees work session, legislators questioned why the Board of Examiners and Counseling has operated for years under emergency management contracts—most recently with Smith Warren Management Services—after the board’s executive director resigned and the board failed to timely complete procurement and contracting steps.
Members of the Joint Interim Committees pressed the Board of Examiners and Counseling on its continued use of emergency administrative contracts, noting repeated procurement problems and financial costs.
Miss Thomas of the examiner's office told the committee that the board has operated under an emergency contract with Smith Warren Management Services for $31,500 per month since April 2025 while a new contract is put in place. "This board is still operating under an emergency contract now," she said.
Committee members pointed to a pattern of emergency renewals. Representative Pringle asked, "How do you have an emergency contract for 5 years running?" and criticized the quality of the vendor's work, saying Smith Warren "failed to properly deposit money" and "failed to do the contracts correctly." Senator Gavan and Representative Simpson both urged the committee to review the board's composition and appointment process; Gavan suggested the governor's appointments rely too heavily on association nominations and proposed examining whether the governor should be allowed to grant short extensions rather than restarting procurement.
Miss Thomas said the board had an annual contract for 10/01/2023–09/30/2024 but failed to submit its renewal to the contract review committee before it expired in 2024. After a restarted RFP and an award, she said protests forced another emergency contract; the board remained on emergency contract status as of the Friday before the hearing.
Committee members framed the repeated emergency contracting as an administrative failure rather than a one-time oversight. Representative Simpson said the board had repeatedly failed to address prior findings across multiple years and asked whether the committee should consider sunsetting the board if it continues to disregard procurement laws. Senator Gavan suggested the committee review board membership rules and potential statutory fixes to allow limited extensions to avoid restarting RFPs.
The board's basic governance facts were presented by Miss Thomas: the Board of Examiners and Counseling licenses professional counselors, was created in 1979, has seven governor-appointed members serving five-year terms, compensates members $300 per day plus travel, employed two staff, and reported 5,233 licensees as of Feb. 18, 2025. The board’s legal services come from the attorney general’s office and its funds are held in the state treasury.
Committee members requested follow-up in the next meeting to determine statutory or administrative changes to reduce reliance on repeated emergency contracts and to probe Smith Warren's performance and oversight.
Ending — Next steps: Committee members asked staff to assemble additional documentation and to prepare possible statutory language for consideration at a future session; Miss Thomas and other staff were expected to bring more details when the board returns for its next rollover review.
