Committee hears bill to raise auctioneer licensing fee cap; department says increase is a technical fix

Representative Amy Rader introduced LD 2035, which would raise the statutory fee cap for the Board of Licensure of Auctioneers from $200 to $400. Rader said the current license fee, set at the $200 cap, is "insufficient to support the board" and that the board has been spending down reserves since 2021.

Penny Valancourt, director of the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation (OPOR) within DPFR, testified that the bill is a "technical" change to provide the director and board flexibility to set a fee through the administrative rulemaking process. Valancourt described OPOR's structure (38 licensing boards), said the auctioneers' program is small (roughly three staff supporting the program under a shared board manager), and explained that rising administrative costs and a shrinking licensing pool have strained the program's special-revenue account.

Valancourt emphasized the bill would change only the cap; any fee above the current $200 would be set through a public APA rulemaking process and would not automatically move to $400. She said the department would use public comment and posted analysis to determine any new fee and that, while the cap permits up to $400, the department does not intend to immediately set the fee at that level. Committee members asked about estimated revenue (a member calculated roughly $35,600) and whether higher fees could deter potential licensees; Valancourt said she did not know if a fee increase would be a deterrent and noted that boards typically seek input during rulemaking.

There were no public witnesses in favor or opposition during the hearing and the chair closed the public hearing on LD 2035 for work-session follow up.

Next steps: the bill was heard in public session; analysts and sponsors will prepare work-session materials, and the committee did not take a final vote on LD 2035 during today's hearing.