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House committee approves 2.5% convenience fee for Louisiana veterinary licensing payments
Summary
The House Committee on Ways and Means approved a 2.5% convenience fee for online licensing and renewal payments to the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine, shifting the board's payment gateway to Elavon and adding ACH as a payment option. The approval came by voice vote with no objections.
The House Committee on Ways and Means on Oct. 29 approved a 2.5% convenience fee for online licensing payments to the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine, the committee chair said after a brief presentation by the board's executive director.
Director Gragnier, executive director of the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine, told the committee the board currently accepts credit cards and checks and is seeking to move its payment gateway to Elavon "to allow ACH payment as well." She said the board had previously secured approval from a Senate committee in early June.
Gragnier said the board currently pays processing charges that amount to about 2.8% plus 25 cents per transaction under its existing arrangement and that the Elavon agreement would reduce that to a flat 2.5%. "We're hoping to move to Elavon as well as our gate, payment gateway to allow ACH payment as well," Gragnier said.
Representative Billings asked which specific fees the percentage would apply to and for example dollar amounts so the committee could estimate the impact on applicants and licensees. Gragnier said the convenience fee would apply to both initial licensure applications and renewals. She provided examples: a $250 annual veterinary renewal would translate to about $6–$7 at 2.5%; the board expects a flat $14 charge for a particular application transaction under the new arrangement and roughly $5.50–$5.60 for some veterinary applicants depending on how exam scores are transferred.
Gragnier also said the board paid about $19,000 in bank processing fees last year and recouped $15,700, leaving the board covering roughly 20% of processing costs. She confirmed that applicants may still mail checks and that adding Elavon would add ACH as an additional payment option rather than removing existing methods.
Representative Chance Henry moved to approve the convenience fee. Chair Emerson announced "there's no objection," and the committee approved the fee by voice vote.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. The board will implement the 2.5% fee through Elavon and add ACH as a payment method; further implementation details and effective dates were not specified during the meeting.
