Discipline bills hitting Pennsylvania boards hard

It is a fact of life that costs go up over time. The price of a movie ticket in 1990 was $4.22. Today, the average price is twice that. But what if the price were eight times more? In Pennsylvania, six licensing boards have increased fees for services like license renewal by hundreds of dollars. A funeral director’s license in 1990 cost $50 dollars. Now, to renew in Pennsylvania, the cost is a flat $400.

The increased fees are due to projected deficits that caused by various predicaments that plague each board, according to a December 20 report published in the TribLive. But the mostly costly part, according to the report, is investigations conducted by boards.

The projected total cost for all boards’ investigative matters is projected to be $48 million, which would be up $5 million from the 2013-14 fiscal year.

What is causing the rise in costs is the increase in licensees seen in the state, according to Ian Harlow, the acting commissioner of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. The rationale being: As the number of licensees increases, the number of investigations and disciplinary matters also inevitably increases.

Read more here.