Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 3. Source pages: 1, 3.
A Senate Resolution put forth by Senator Fred Mills, SR 10, asks boards under the Louisiana Department of Health to identify funds from their cash that can be transferred into the state general funds. The measure states that everyone “should step up and willingly do their part to help” in the financial crisis.
The Resolution notes, that there are twenty-five health profession licensing boards statutorily placed within the Louisiana Department of Health and that “these boards have been created by the legislature to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the patients that utilize the services of the individuals licensed by the boards…” The boards have been given the authority to impose fees and fines, notes the Resolution.
WHEREAS, based on information requested from the office of the Louisiana legislative auditor, it appears that many of the licensing boards are operating with substantial cash and cash equivalent fund balances, amassing considerable reserves in their individual board bank accounts
“WHEREAS, during a financial crisis everyone should step up and willingly do their part to help, and as a statutorily created entity placed within a state government agency, the twenty-five health profession licensing boards should be no different.”
The Resolution directs the commissioner of administration to develop a template for collection of data to include expenses, income from fees, revenue from income, the amount generated from fines and penalties, liabilities, restrictions and other information, and “develop a plan and make recommendations on the mechanism and amounts of a fund transfer from the licensing boards to the state treasury and shall submit such plan to the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare no later than May 15, 2017.
The boards affected include the Louisiana Addictive Disorder Regulatory Authority, Louisiana Behavior Analyst Board, Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners, and many others.
Boards appear to have varying financial stability, with the psychology board being over budget in legal fees, according to some sources, and the social work board having had at one time in the past, almost one million dollars in reserve funds.
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