Authorizes the commissioner of education to impose a 15% surcharge on any professional fee imposed that is subject to deposit in the office of professions account

This bill is necessary to continue the effective and efficient operation of the Office of the Professions in meeting its annual responsibilities, including issuing approximately 50,000 professional licenses, processing more than 250,000 registrations, overseeing continuing education of licensed professionals, investigating and resolving over 7,000 profes- sional misconduct complaints annually, reviewing 300 educational programs, conducting 15,000 individual reviews of non-traditional educa- tion, responding to one million calls and emails on licensure and prac- tice issues, providing professional practice guidance, and monitoring 300 individuals in the Professional Assistance Program.

Summary of the provisions of the bill

Section 1 would add §6507-a to the Education Law to authorize the Commissioner of Education to impose a 15% surcharge, rounded upward to the nearest dollar, on any professional registration fee imposed on a profession pursuant to Title 8 of the Education Law.

Section 2 would amend subdivision 2 of §97-nnn of the State Finance Law to clarify that surcharges established by statute, such as the surcharge that would be established by section 1 of this act, are subject to deposit in the OP Account.

Section 3 is the effective date.

Statement in support of the bill

The Department's Office of the Professions currently licenses 48 professions. The OP Account was created by Chapter 436 of the Laws of 1997 to collect fees charged for the Office of the Professions' adminis- tration and regulation of the professions, which included fees for professional registration, licensing, continuing education, and limited permits. Currently, fees for registration range from $30 to $210, with

the majority of existing fees falling into the categories of $50, $155 or $210. These registration fees have not been raised since 1989, with the exception of the registration fee for physicians, which was increased in 1996. While the number of professions, licensees, and mandated oversight responsibilities continue to grow (for instance, there has been a 25% increase in the number of professions since 1997), revenues have not kept pace with inflation and are not adequate to accommodate newly required responsibilities. As such, this revenue account, which provides the entire funding source for the Office of the Professions, can no longer effectively sustain the fiscal viability of the Office, and a modest fee increase is necessary to continue the effective and efficient operation of the Office.

This bill will raise the additional revenue necessary to stabilize the Office of the Professions through the imposition of a surcharge on all registration fees imposed on licensed professionals providing profes- sional services, with the exception of fees dedicated for deposit to the Professional Medical Conduct Account. It will only impose minimal finan- cial impact on individual licensees. Specifically, each licensee would be required to pay an additional 15% surcharge on each fee required for professional registration. The majority of the increases for triennial registration fees would be $8, $24 or $32.

It is projected that this bill will provide an additional $4 Million in revenue to the OP Account for the continued efficient operation of the Office of the Professions. The Office of the Professions serves a very important role in regulating 48 professions and in doing so, helps ensure the proper preparation, quality of performance, and continued development of these licensed professionals. Moreover, the Office ensures the public's protection from professional misconduct and the unauthorized practice of a profession. The Office also ensures the qual- ity of professional education programs. The critical work of the Office of the Professions contributes to the well-being, stability, and econom- ic health of New York State.

Without this fee increase, investigations of professional misconduct and unauthorized practice of a profession will be seriously undermined and patients and clients may be harmed. Increased funding of the OP Account is necessary to protect the public from individuals who fraudulently represent themselves as licensees. This fee increase is not only neces- sary to protect the public from these unlicensed, untrained individuals, but also to preserve the public's confidence in the professions when seeking and obtaining services from licensed health, design, and busi- ness professionals.

Further, without this fee increase, evaluations of professional educa- tion programs will likely be delayed, harming both schools and students. Necessary information may not be provided to the public, hospitals, professionals, the legislature, and many other stakeholders. Productiv- ity across all of the Office of the Professions would be adversely affected, leading to the frustration of licensees, applicants, employers and the public. Therefore, this bill is necessary to preserve the quali-

ty of such educational programs and to promote effective communication with the public, licensees and other such constituencies.

Budgetary implications of the bill

This bill will not impose any additional costs on the State. We estimate that this bill will generate approximately $4 Million annually in addi- tional revenues for the OP Account. This bill is necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the Department's Office of the Professions, which includes the registration and licensing of 48 professions, the continuing education of such licensed professionals, the investigation and prosecution of professional misconduct, and other related functions of such Office.

Prior legislative history

This is a new bill.

Effective date

This bill would take effect immediately, provided that section 1 of the bill, which imposes the surcharge, would take effect 30 days after it becomes a law and would apply to fees received by the Department on or after such date.