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Committee approves fee increase for Physical Therapy board to avert projected deficit
Summary
The Senate Health & Welfare Committee approved Docket No. 24-1301-2501, raising fees for licensed physical therapists by $15 and physical therapy assistants by $10 after DOPL warned the board faces a projected deficit and a cash balance below statutory limits.
The Senate Health & Welfare Committee approved a rule to raise licensure fees for Idaho's Physical Therapy Licensure Board after state regulators said the board's cash balance had fallen below statutory thresholds and was projected to enter a deficit.
Orin Duffin, Health Professions Bureau Program Director at the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, told the committee that "the Physical Therapy Licensure Board had a cash balance of $23,521, which represented 16 percent of the Board's average five-year rolling expenditures," and that even with cost reductions DOPL anticipated a $50,000 shortfall by the end of fiscal year 2029. DOPL proposed increasing license fees by $15 for physical therapists and $10 for physical therapy assistants to stabilize revenues.
Senators pressed DOPL on drivers of the deficit. Duffin said the agency's move to a new facility and the transition from paper applications to an online licensing system contributed to reduced cash balances; he also said the Board had reduced personnel costs by about 20 percent. Senator Zuiderveld and others asked whether applicant numbers had changed; Duffin reported a 7.16 percent decrease in applicants from 2024 to 2025 and acknowledged the decreased base of licensees factored into revenue projections.
Johnathan Gardunia, president of the Idaho Physical Therapy Association, testified in support of the fee increase and said the Association preferred a fee increase to consolidating the board with another licensing body. After debate — during which several senators said they had concerns about alternatives and the adequacy of financial analysis — Senator Wintrow moved to approve the docket. On a roll call vote Senators Harris, Shippy, Blaylock, Wintrow, Vice Chair Bjerke, and Chair VanOrden voted aye; Senators Zuiderveld, Lenney, and Keyser voted nay. The motion carried and the rule was approved.
The committee record shows DOPL performed finance reviews and that auditors and members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee supported a 10–20 percent approach to fee increases for boards running deficits. The action allows the Board to raise fees as proposed; the rule's implementation dates and administrative steps were not specified in the committee minutes.
