Licensing and certification seeks exemption to transfer personnel dollars for contract survey nurses

The Department of Health and Welfare asked the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Jan. 13 for a supplemental exemption to allow permanent transfers from personnel cost (PC) to operating expenditures (OE) for its Licensing and Certification division.

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the division has historically hired contract nurses to perform facility surveys because it does not have enough in‑house staff. "Last year, licensing and certification asked for a request to transfer personnel costs to operating expenditures... to allow the division to hire contract nurses, to supplement their existing personnel," Williamson said. The division requests an exemption from the transfer limits set in section 8 of Senate Bill 1268 of 2024 so it can continue that practice as needed.

Director Alex Adams described why contract staff are used and the cost tradeoffs: the department must meet federal inspection timelines (for example, inspections of certain long‑term care facilities on roughly a 15.9‑month cycle). He said the division's vacancy rate had been as high as 80% during the pandemic and is now lower; staff turnover has fallen from about 21% (in earlier years) to roughly 7% in the most recent year. Adams told the committee that state employees doing the same survey work earn about $35 per hour, while contract nurses typically cost "about 90 to 95 an hour."

Why it matters: Licensing and certification enforces health and safety standards for licensed health care facilities. If the division lacks staff to meet required inspection schedules, the department relies on contract nurses to maintain oversight. The committee's transfer restriction in SB 1268 requires explicit approval to move PC to OE; the department requested an exemption so the division can continue to contract as necessary.

Fiscal and procedural details - The division requested a one‑time transfer (about $400,000 in 2024) to hire contract nurses; last year the department used about $300,000 of that request and reverted roughly $100,000, Williamson told the committee. - The governor recommended both the supplemental exemption and the related 2026 enhancement request, except the governor's recommendation zeroed out one line for cloud server capacity after the agency found other solutions.

Discussion vs. decision: the committee did not complete a final vote on the exemption during the Jan. 13 session; the item was presented as a supplemental request and will be part of the program maintenance/enhancement deliberations. Director Adams asked the legislature to restore the department's ability to transfer PC to OE in line with other state agencies, saying, "every other agency in the state has the legal ability to transfer PC to OE."

Next steps: the committee will consider the supplemental and enhancement requests during the program maintenance process and may ask the agency for more details on contracting costs and vacancy levels.