Board staff to study fee structure; regulators plan to propose nonrefundable fees

At a Board of Nursing finance committee meeting (date not specified), staff told the committee that licensing revenue has been stable or slightly declining while expenses are increasing and recommended further study of fee structure ahead of the fiscal-year end.

Staff said the last fee increase occurred in February 2019 when the board joined the multi-state compact; that 2019 change covered single-state and multi-state fees and reinstatement fees but did not change fees for advanced practice registered nurses because APRNs were not part of the compact at that time. "It was when we joined the compact was 02/2019. Yeah. 02/2019. And that was for the RN and the OP," a staff member said.

Staff recommended bringing a fuller analysis to the committee in June, including the percent change for prior increases and comparisons of fee structures used by other state boards of nursing. A committee member suggested staff use available datasets to benchmark the state against other boards.

Separately, staff said they have drafted regulatory language to make listed fees nonrefundable and that language is on the full board agenda; staff recommended tabling the legislative/regulatory review for the committee at this time and returning with more direction during 2025. "It's pretty easy, but it's basically nonrefundable on all the fees listed," a staff member said of the proposed regulation, which staff said would cover common operational errors such as duplicate applications.

No fee increases were adopted at the meeting. Staff said, and committee members acknowledged, that any fee-change process could face pushback during the joint committee on administrative rules and regulations and that the ultimate decision rests with the board.

Staff will present comparative data and a proposed timeline at the committee's June meeting.