INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION Actions Taken by the Commission [26 Pa.B. 284] The Independent Regulatory Review Commission met publicly at 11 a.m., Wednesday, January 3, 1996, and took the following actions:
Regulation Approved:
Insurance Department #11-126: Medical Malpractice Insurance (deletes 31 Pa. Code §§ 113.41 through 113.43)
(Editor's Note: For the text of the regulations pertaining to this order, see 26 Pa.B. 230 (January 20, 1996).)
State Board of Cosmetology #16A-452: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code §§ 7.2(a) and (b))
State Board of Landscape Architects #16A-611: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code § 15.12)
State Board of Auctioneer Examiners #16A-643: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code § 1.23)
State Board of Medicine #16A-491: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code § 16.13)
State Board of Osteopathic Medicine #16A-534: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code Chapter 25)
State Board of Podiatry #16A-441: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code §§ 29.13 and 29.83)
State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators #16A-621: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code § 39.72)
State Board of Chiropractic #16A-435: Examination Fees (amends 49 Pa. Code Chapter 5)
Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996Insurance Department--Medical Malpractice Insurance; Doc. No. 11-126
Order On December 4, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the Insurance Department (Department). This rulemaking will delete 31 Pa. Code §§ 113.41--113.43. The authority for this regulation is in the Health Care Services Malpractice Act (Act 111) (40 P. S. § 1301.101--1301.1006) and section 3402 of the act of July 3, 1986 (P. L. 396, No. 86) (Act 86) (40 P. S. § 3402). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become efffective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
This final-omitted regulation proposes to eliminate 31 Pa. Code §§ 113.41--113.43. These sections require an insurance company which intends to cancel or not renew a policy covering medical malpractice to give advance notice to the Department 30 days prior to giving formal notice to the insured. The regulation also requires the insurance company to state the reason for cancellation or refusal to renew. The regulation also specifies where the notice is to be sent.
The repeal of these requirements does not affect the normal notices an insurance company is required to give the insured party and the Department. The repeal simply eliminates an advance notice between the insurance company and the Department in which the insured party was never required to be involved.
The repeal of these sections eliminates the requirement that notices of cancellations and nonrenewals of medical malpractice insurance policies be filed with the Department 30 days in advance of notice to the insured. The regulations were initially adopted in 1969 and were needed to keep the Department abreast of market trends in what was then a noncompetitive medical malpractice insurance market. However, Act 111 modified the notice requirements. The Department says it did not modify the advance notice regulations in response to changes to the statute due to an availability crisis in the medical malpractice insurance market at that time. The Department states that the medical malpractice market is now a voluntary, competitive marketplace and the Department has concluded that it is not necessary to continue to monitor cancellations prior to the notification of the insured.
The Department stated it has notified all medical malpractice insurers in the Commonwealth of the proposed repeal of the regulation and, therefore, omitted proposed rulemaking under 45 P. S. § 1204(2). The Department also found it to be unnecessary to take public comment because the proposed repeal of regulations will remove a regulatory burden on the affected parties without adversely affecting the insured parties or diminishing the Department's authority to challenge illegal policy terminations.
The Department and the insured will continue to be notified of cancellations and nonrenewals of medical malpractice insurance policies under 40 P. S. §§ 1301.1002 and 3403. Department policy will require review if the reasons for cancellation exceed those listed in 40 P. S. § 3402. In addition, the Department states that investigations will be undertaken upon receipt of a complaint by a health care provider.
There will be a positive fiscal impact on both the Department and insurers by repeal of these regulations. The Department will no longer have to receive, review or store nonrenewal notices. The insurers will no longer have to prepare and mail nonrenewal notices to the Department. We further see no harm to the insured parties because the repeal will not affect their notification requirements.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest because it eliminates an obsolete regulatory burden on both the insurance companies and the Department without affecting the notice requirements to insured parties.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 11-126 from the Insurance Department, as submitted to the Commission on December 4, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Cosmetology--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-452
Order On December 6, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Cosmetology (Board). This rulemaking would amend 49 Pa. Code §§ 7.2(a) and (b). The authority for this regulation is found in sections 812.1(b) and (e) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a) and section 16 of the Cosmetology Law (63 P. S. § 522). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
This rulemaking amends sections 7.2(a) and (b) to accomplish two objectives. First, the amendments to section 7.2(a) delete outdated fees and categories of examinations and replace them with current fees and categories of examinations. Second, the amendments to section 7.2(b) replace fees that became effective in April 1993 with new fees effective July 1996. The amended regulation will show the current examinations and fees in section 7.2(a) and the new fees to become effective in July 1996 in section 7.2(b). Section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 requires that examinations for professional licensure be prepared and administered by a professional testing organization under contract to the appropriate professional board. In September, the Boad entered into a new testing contract which resulted in the costs being adjusted for examination services. Consequently, the Board promulgated this final-omitted regulation so that the examination fees portion of their regulations will clearly reflect both the current contract and the new contract. The new examination fees will be applicable to the five different categories of licensure applicants for examinations given effective July 1996.
Candidates seeking to become licensed cosmetologists, manicurists, cosmeticians, cosmetology teachers or cosmetology shop managers must pass three examinations for registration or one complete examination. Each profession must take a practical exam, a written licensing exam and an exam on the applicable State laws, rules and regulations. The examinations may be taken at one sitting or separately.
The fees will be adjusted effective July 1996. The fees will be adjusted by $2.50 in order to make the administration fee charged by Local Government Research Corporation (LGR) consistent between the five professions ($10). In July, there will be four examinations with fees increasing by $2.50 and there will be six examinations with fees decreasing by $2.50. Between the five professions there are a total of 19 examinations which range in cost from $18.50 to $55.
The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee voted to approve this regulation on December 13, 1995. By letter dated December 21, 1995, Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee, expressed concern with the lack of advanced notice to applicants about the change in the format of the basic cosmetology exam.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. These amendments will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to clearly reflect both the current examination contract and the fee changes mandated by the new contract between the Commonwealth and LGR, the private sector testing service. We note that in the Preamble, the Board misstates several times that fees will increase for January 1996 and subsequent examinations. These misstatements do not affect the amendments to the regulation, but they do give the false impression that fees will increase effective January 1996 rather than July 1996 as reflected in the regulation. Therefore, we recommend that the Board modify the Preamble to be consistent with the amendments to the regulation for final publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. We also share the concerns of the House Professional Licensure Committee relating to the change to the examination format and urge that they do not impose an undue burden on applicants of Pennsylvania Schools.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-452 from the State Board of Cosmetology, as submitted to the Commission on December 6, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Landscape Architects--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-611
Order On December 6, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Landscape Architects (Board). This rulemaking would amend 49 Pa. Code § 15.12. The authority for this regulation is found in section 812.1(b) and (e) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a) and section 4(3) of the Landscape Architects Registration Law (63 P. S. § 940(3)). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
This rulemaking increases the testing fees for applicants taking the landscape architect registration examination beginning in December 1995. Section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 requires that examinations for professional licensure be prepared and administered by a professional testing organization under contract to the appropriate professional board. The Board entered into a new testing contract which will result in higher costs for examination services beginning in December 1995. Consequently, the Board promulgated this final-omitted regulation to increase the fees in the existing regulation to be commensurate with those in the new contract.
Candidates seeking to become licensed landscape architects must pass the landscape architect registration examination which consists of seven sections. The sections of the examination may be taken at one sitting or separately. The regulation increases the fee for taking the complete examination (all seven sections at one sitting) from $410 to $440 in 1995 and to $500 in 1996. The fees for the individual sections of the examination currently range from $22 to $93 and will increase to a range of $30 to $108 under this regulation.
The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure committee voted to approve this regulation on December 13, 1995. By letter dated December 21, 1995, Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee, expressed concerns with the timeliness of the submittal of the fee changes.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. These amendments will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to the fee changes mandated by the new contract between the Commonwealth and Local Government Research Corporation (LGR), the private sector testing service. We note, however, that the new fee amounts may have been collected from licensure candidates prior to the amendment of this regulation. As the Commission has recommended in previous Orders in similar situations, we strongly urge the Board to implement administrative procedures to ensure that all future fee changes are implemented only after it has amended the authorizing fee regulation, as required by statute.
We also have a concern which relates to the bidding process for the contract with LGR to administer examinations. In the proposal, the $45 cost for administering some individual sections of the examination exceeds the cost charged by the Board for developing, preparing and grading these sections of the examination. Furthermore, the $45 administration fee also applies if an applicant takes the complete exam. It is unlikely, however, that the true cost of administering a single section of the exam is the same as the cost of administering all seven sections at one sitting. The Department of State has explained that the contract with LGR applies to a group of 17 State licensing boards and that LGR's bid contained the same fee to administer each of the different examinations. We note that the actual cost of administering any examination will be a function of a number of factors, such as the length of time required for testing, the number of times an examination is given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examination.
We believe that grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department of State to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. We also encourage the Board to consider the reasonableness of charging the same administration fee for candidates taking an individual section of the exam as that charged to candidates taking the complete exam. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-611 from the State Board of Landscape Architects, as submitted to the Commission on December 6, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
____Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Auctioneer Examiners--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-643
Order On December 6, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners (Board). This rulemaking will amend 49 Pa. Code § 1.23 related to auctioneer licensure examination fees. The authority for this regulation is found in section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a) and section 6 of the Auctioneer and Auction Licensing Act (63 P. S. § 734.6). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The regulation establishes a new fee for the applicants for the auctioneer licensure examination in accordance with a new contract for examinations effective September 1, 1995. This regulation raises the fee from $66.25 to $87.
The regulation will have no fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions. Candidates for licensure are required to pay an increased fee to cover contract costs for the examination. The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) estimated the total number of candidates taking these examinations in a year at 130. The examination is offered at two different times during the year: March and September.
The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee (Senate Committee) voted to approve this regulation on December 13, 1995. However, Senator Clarence D. Bell, Chairperson of the Senate Committee, added the following comment:
Even with this vote of approval, several of my members are troubled by the contract process for these examinations. We are presented with regular fee increases from these professional testing organizations, without being a part of the bid evaluation process. Perhaps we ought to consider legislation to give the oversight committees a greater role in the contract process.
The Commission received a letter dated December 21, 1995, from Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee (House Committee). Although the House Committee was unable to schedule a meeting for action on this regulation, Chairperson Civera expressed sentiments similar to those of Senator Bell and he encouraged the Department of State (Department) to work with this Commission and the General Assembly ''to take steps to ensure that the appropriate review occurs at a meaningful point in the process.'' We also received a letter dated December 28, 1995, from Department Secretary Yvette Kane, in which she stated that all of the test development, administration and grading services for licensure examinations ''are provided under contracts that are awarded on a competitive-bid basis.''
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The amendment will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to the fee change mandated by the new contract between the Commonwealth and Local Government Research Corporation (LGR), the private sector testing service. We have, however, received reports that the new fee amounts have been collected from licensure candidates before final adoption of this amendment. As the Commission has recommended in previous Orders in similar situations, we strongly urge the Board to implement administrative procedures to ensure that all future fee changes are implemented only after final adoption of a fee amendment to the authorizing fee regulation, as required by section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929. We believe that finalizing regulations for fee increases and providing ample notice to applicants before the effective date of the contract establishing the fee increases will resolve many of the concerns voiced by legislators and the affected public.
We also have a concern with the bidding process for the contract with the LGR. In this fee increase, the $45 cost for administration of the examination exceeds the $42 cost charged by LGR for the development, preparation and grading of the examination. The Department explained that the contract with LGR is for a group of 17 licensing boards and LGR's bid contained the same fee, $45, to administer each of the different examinations. The actual cost of administering any examination is a function of a number of factors such as the length of time required for testing, the type of testing (written or performance), the number of times examinations are given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examinations.
We believe that grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-643 from the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners, as submitted to the Commission on December 6, 1995, approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Medicine--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-491
Order On December 7, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Medicine (Board). This rulemaking would amend 49 Pa. Code § 16.13. The authority for this regulation is section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a), and sections 6, 8 and 24 of the Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P. S. §§ 422.6, 422.6, 422.8 and 422.24). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in th Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Board has proposed to change examination fees by increasing the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 3 examination fee, deleting the FLEX series fees, and adding a fee for the Special Purpose Examination (SPEX)
The current and proposed amounts are as follows:
Category Current Fee Proposed Fee Flex I $280 No Longer Given Flex II $335 No Longer Given Complete Flex $490 No Longer Given USMLE Step 3 $370 $375 SPEX Not Previously Given $550 The FLEX examination is no longer available. Therefore, the Board is deleting the outdated FLEX fee provisions from section 16.13. The increased USMLE Step 3 amount represents administration costs paid directly to a professional testing organization selected through a bidding process. The Board estimates the USMLE Step 3, which assesses whether an examinee possesses the medical knowledge and understanding of biomedical and clinical science essential for unsupervised practice of medicine, will be administered to approximately 1,800 examinees per year.
The SPEX, which focuses on core clinical knowledge, is administered to medical doctors required to pass the examination coincident to a disciplinary or corrective measure under 49 Pa. Code § 17.12d to assess current competence requisite for medical practice by physicians.
The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee (Senate Committee) met on December 13, 1995, and approved the regulation. However, Senator Clarence D. Bell, Committee Chairperson, indicated in his December 13th letter that several Committee members have concerns with the contract process. Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee (House Committee) submitted a letter on December 21, 1995, offering general concerns with delays in conveying regulations to the House Committee.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. This proposal will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to the fee changes mandated by new contracts. We note, however, the new fee amounts for the USMLE Step 3, resulting from the contract between the Commonwealth and Local Government Research Corporation (LGR), the private sector testing service, may have been collected from licensure candidates prior to the amendment of this regulation. As the Commission has recommended in previous Orders in similar situations, we strongly urge the Board to implement administrative procedures to ensure that all future fee changes are implemented only after it has amended the authorizing fee regulations, as required by statute.
We also have a concern which relates to the bidding process for the contract with LGR to administer examinations. The Fee Report Form for the USMLE Step 3 exam indicates a rate of $45 to administer the examination. The Department of State (Department) has explained that the contract with LGR applies to a group of 17 State licensing boards and that LGR's bid contained the same fee to administer each of the different examinations. We note that the actual cost of administering any examination will be a function of a number of factors, such as the length of time required for testing, the number of times an examination is given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examination.
We believe that grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-491 from the State Board of Medicine, as submitted to the Commission on December 7, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Osteopathic Medicine--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-534
Order On December 7, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine (Board). This rulemaking would amend 49 Pa. Code Chapter 25. The authority for this regulation is contained in sections 13.1 and 16 of the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act (63 P. S. §§ 271.13a and 271.16) and section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. §§ 279.3a). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Administrative Code of 1929 provides that all examinations shall be prepared and administered by a qualified and approved professional testing organization under contract to the appropriate board or commission within the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and that each board or commission shall have the discretionary power to charge a fee for the administration and cost of each examination.
The Board is proposing to decrease the examination fee for the Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) exam from $103.75 to $87. This fee was effective for the November 1995 exam. The Board is also deleting the fees for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) exam because the Board is no longer contracting directly with the National board to provide the NBOME exam. Instead, applicants will pay the required examination fee for the NBOME exam at the direction of the National Board.
The Senate Consumer Affairs and Professional Licensure Committee approved this rulemaking on December 13, 1995. By letter dated December 21, 1995, Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House of Professional Licensure Committee, expressed concern over the timeliness of the submittal of this and other fee changes.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The amendments will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to the fee changes mandated by the new contract between the Commonwealth and the Local Government Research Corporation (LGR) Examinations, the private sector testing service. We note, however, that the new fee amounts have been collected from licensure candidates prior to the amendment of this regulation. As the Commission has recommended in previous Orders in similar situations, we strongly urge the Board to implement all future fee changes only after it has amended the authorizing fee regulations, as required by statute.
We also have a concern relating to the bidding process for the contract with LGR to administer the exam. In the proposal, the $45 cost for administering the exam exceeds the $42 fee charged by the Board for developing, preparing and grading the exam. The Department of State has explained that the contract with LGR is for a group of 17 licensing boards and LGR's bid contained the same $45 fee to administer each of the different exams. The actual cost to administer any examination is a function of a number of factors such as the time required for testing, the number of times the examination is given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examination.
We believe grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-534 from the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine, as submitted to the Commission on December 7, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Podiatry--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-441
Order On December 7, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Podiatry (Board). This rulemaking would amend 49 Pa. Code §§ 29.13 and 29.83. The authority for this regulation is found in sections 812.1(b) and (e) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a) and sections 4, 14 and 21.2 of the Podiatry Practice Act (63 P. S. §§ 42.4, 42.14 and 42.21(c)). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
This rulemaking increases the testing fees for applicants taking the podiatry radiology examination and the podiatric medical licensing examination. Section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 requires that examinations for professional licensure be prepared and administered by a professional testing organization under contract to the appropriate professional board. In September, the Board entered into a new testing contract which will result in higher costs for both examinations. Consequently, the Board promulgated this final-omitted regulation to increase the fees in the existing regulation to be commensurate with those in the new contract.
The regulation increases the podiatry radiology examination fee from $73.45 to $87, an increase of $13.55 effective October 1995. The fee for the podiatric medical licensing examination is increased from $328.75 to $345, an increase of $16.25 effective December 1995. The fee for this examination will increase again in June 1996 to $395.
The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee voted to approve this regulation on December 13, 1995. By letter dated December 21, 1995, Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee, expressed concerns with the timeliness of the submittal of the fee changes.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. These amendments will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to the fee changes mandated by the new contract between the Commonwealth and Local Government Research Corporation (LGR), the private sector testing service. We note, however, that the new fee amounts may have been collected from licensure candidates prior to the amendment of this regulation. As the Commission has recommended in previous Orders in similar situations, we strongly urge the Board to implement administrative procedure to ensure that all future fee changes are implemented only after it has amended the authorizing fee regulation, as required by statute.
We also have a concern which relates to the bidding process for the contract with LGR to administer examinations. In the proposal, the $45 cost for administering the podiatry radiology examination exceeds the $42 cost charged by the Board for developing, preparing and grading the examination, and for examination-related services. The Department of State has explained that the contract with LGR applies to a group of 17 State licensing boards and that LGR's bid contained the same fee to administer each of the different examinations. We note that the actual cost of administering any examination will be a function of a number of factors, such as the length of time required for testing, the number of times an examination is given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examination.
We believe that grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department of State to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-441 from the State Board of Podiatry, as submitted to the Commission on December 7, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
____Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-621
Order On December 7, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators (Board). This rulemaking will amend 49 Pa. Code § 39.72 Fees to increase fees for various examinations. The authority for this regulation is found in sections 812.1(b) and (e) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a) and section 7.1 of the Nursing Home Administrators License Act (63 P. S. § 1107.1). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Through this rulemaking, the Board will increase the fees for applicants taking the N.A.B. examination from $153.75 to $170, the State rules and regulations examination from $73.45 to $87 and the complete nursing home administration examination from $198.45 to $212. The Board is also proposing the deletion of extraneous language relating to the last fee increases in 1993. Section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a.) requires that candidate fees cover the cost of the examination. The fees established by this regulation represent the contract cost negotiated by the Commonwealth for examination services. No costs other than the cost of the testing service are included in these fees. Consequently, the Board found no need for public comment.
On December 13, 1995, the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee voted to approve this regulation. By letter dated December 21, 1995, Representative Mario J. Civera, Jr., Chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee expressed concern over the timeliness of the submission of these fee changes.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The amendment will conform the Board's regulation on examination fees to the fee changes mandated by the new contract between the Commonwealth and Local Government Research Corporation (LGR), the private sector testing service. We note, however, that the new fee amount may have been collected from licensure candidates prior to the amendment of this regulation. As the Commission has recommended in previous Orders in similar situations, we strongly urge the Board to implement administrative procedures to ensure that all future fee changes are implemented only after it has amended the authorizing fee regulation, as required by statute.
We also have a concern which relates to the bidding process for the contract with LGR to administer examinations. In the proposal, the $45 cost for administering the State rules and regulations examination exceeds the $42 component charged by the Board for developing, preparing and grading the examination, and for examination-related services. Furthermore, the $45 administration charge is the same for all three examinations even though the complete nursing home administration examination consists of both the NAB examination and the State rules and regulations examination. The Department of State has explained that the contract with LGR Examinations applies to a group of 17 State licensing boards and that LGR's bid contained the same fee to administer each of the different examinations. We note that the actual cost of administering any examination will be a function of a number of factors, such as the length of time required for testing, the number of times an examination is given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examination.
We believe that grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department of State to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-621 from the State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators, as submitted to the Commission on December 7, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
____Commissioners Present: Robert J. Harbison, III, Vice-Chairperson; John F. Mizner; Irvin G. Zimmerman
Public meeting held
January 3, 1996State Board of Chiropractic--Examination Fees; Doc. No. 16A-435
Order On December 8, 1995, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this regulation from the State Board of Chiropractic (Board). This rulemaking would amend 49 Pa. Code Chapter 5. The authority for this regulation is contained in section 502(d) of the Chiropractic Practice Act (63 P. S. § 625.502(d)) and section 812.1 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 279.3a). Notice of proposed rulemaking was omitted for this regulation; it will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Administrative Code of 1929 provides that all examinations shall be prepared and administered by a qualified and approved professional testing organization under contract to the appropriate board or commission within the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and that each board or commission shall have the discretionary power to charge a fee for the administration and cost of each examination.
Currently a candidate for licensure must take the oral and practical examination in chiropractic technic, which, in part, tests for jurisprudence. In this rulemaking, the Board is proposing to create a separate examination to test jurisprudence, entitled the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Law Examination and establish a fee for the exam of $87. The reason for the creation of a separate examination is that after the May 1996 oral and practical exam, the Board intends to use the National Board exam, which does not test for matters related to Pennsylvania law. The Board indicates it will be promulgating a regulation in the near future establishing the use of the National Exam, with the associated contracted examination fee.
The Senate Consumer Affairs and Professional Licensure Committee approved this rulemaking on December 13, 1995.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The new fee for the Chiropractic Law Examination represents the actual contractual costs to provide this examination. However, we have one concern that we believe Board and the Department of State needs to consider in the development of future contracts for the administration of professional licensure examinations. In the proposal, the $45 cost for administering the exam exceeds the $42 fee charged by the Board for developing, preparing and grading the exam. The Department of State has explained that the contract with Local Government Research Corporation (LGR) is for a group of 17 licensing boards and LGR's bid contained the same $45 fee to administer each of the different exams. The actual cost to administer any examination is a function of a number of factors such as the time required for testing, the number of times the examination is given within a contract period and the number of applicants anticipated to take the examination.
We believe grouping licensing boards with similar factors within a contract will prevent any one group of examination participants from unfairly subsidizing or benefiting from disproportional costs imposed on some other group of examination participants. Therefore, we urge the Department to look for common factors when grouping licensing boards for future examination contracts. Doing so will help to ensure that the administration fee paid by applicants is more directly proportional to the actual costs of administering each particular examination.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 16A-435 from the State Board of Chiropractic, as submitted to the Commission on December 8, 1995, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
JOHN R. MCGINLEY, Jr.,
Chairperson[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-83. Filed for public inspection January 19, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]
