BILL NUMBER:A8219

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
to stabilizing the office of the professions account

PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to stabilize the Office of the Professions
Account (OP Account) by imposing a 15% surcharge on individual registra-
tion and re-registration fees for the professions overseen by the State
Education Department's Office of the Professions, with the exception of
fees dedicated for deposit to the Professional Medical Conduct Account.
The OP Account, which provides the entire funding source for the Office
of the Professions, can no longer effectively sustain the fiscal viabil-
ity of the Office despite strict fiscal controls and dramatic reductions
in operational expenses.

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.