Read first time 01/24/2007.   Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

     AN ACT Relating to fairness and equity in health professions licensing fees; amending RCW 43.70.250; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 43.70.250 and 2006 c 72 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, it shall be the policy of the state of Washington that the cost of each professional, occupational, or business licensing program be fully borne by the members of that profession, occupation, or business. The secretary shall from time to time establish the amount of all application fees, license fees, registration fees, examination fees, permit fees, renewal fees, and any other fee associated with licensing or regulation of professions, occupations, or businesses administered by the department. In fixing said fees, the secretary shall set the fees for each program at a sufficient level to defray the costs of administering that program and the cost of regulating licensed volunteer medical workers in accordance with RCW 18.130.360, except as provided in RCW 18.79.202 until June 30, 2013. All such fees shall be fixed by rule adopted by the secretary in accordance with the provisions of the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW.
     (2) For all credentials issued after January 1, 2008, in addition to the credentialing fee, the secretary shall impose an annual surcharge of one dollar and fifty cents on all credentialed health professionals operating under the health professions account created under RCW 43.70.320. The surcharge shall be placed in the health professions account and used to reduce the fee when the annual base renewal fee for any credentialed health profession exceeds five hundred dollars per year to conduct core credentialing and disciplinary activities. Annual base renewal fees do not include special surcharges that may also be collected at the time of the credential renewal. This provision does not apply to regulated business entities whose funds reside with the health professions account.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The department of health shall review the effectiveness of the equity surcharge established in RCW 43.70.250 with respect to eliminating inequities in the level of credentialing fees paid by health care providers regulated by the department of health. The review shall specifically consider the effect of the surcharge in reducing credentialing fees for professions with high fees and increasing the number of health care providers in those professions. The review shall provide any recommendations that would increase administrative efficiency and provide greater equity in credentialing fee amounts. The department of health shall submit its report to the legislature by November 15, 2010.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act expires July 1, 2011.