TDA lowers licensing fees

When was the last time you heard of a government agency lowering license fees? Yet that's exactly what the Texas Department of Agriculture is doing this month.  According to David Kostroun, Chief Administrator for the Agriculture and Consumer Protection section of TDA, not only are some fees being reduced, refund checks are in the mail. Checks will cover the difference between the old and new fees you may have paid between September 2011 and September 2012.

According to Kostroun, recent cost cutting initiatives by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) have made it possible for Commissioner Staples to implement a 20% Structural Pest Control fee reduction.  And this from an agency that took a 45% cut in funding during the past legislative session! Keep in mind, these reductions are for structural pest control licenses, and not the traditional TDA (outdoor) licenses.

The new fees are as follows:

• $224 for an original business license (formerly $280)
• $224 for renewal of a business license (formerly $280)
• $108 for an original certified applicators license (formerly $135)
• $100 for renewal of a certified applicators license (formerly $125)
• $81 for an original technician license (formerly $100)
• $76 for an renewal of a technician license (formerly $95)
• $48 for anyone wishing to get approval for a continuing education course (formerly $60)

Fees that have not changed include:

• $30 for duplicate business license, certified applicator license or technician license when the original has been lost or destroyed
• $30 for reissuing a business license, certified applicators license or technician license due to a name change in the license
• $75 for administering exams in each category
• Renewal fee for applications received 90 days or less after expiration date equal to 1-1/2 times the normally required renewal fee
• Renewal fee for applications received greater than 90 days but less than one year days after expiration date equal to 2 times the normally required renewal fee (No change.)

So, if after this good news you're feeling a little lucky, think about taking that refund check and buy a lottery ticket. Despite the apparent generosity of the refunds, I'm sure the State of Texas would be mighty happy to get your money back. 

No new taxes (but maybe new fees)

If it didn't hurt so much, it might be funny. In case you haven't noticed, there's nary a politician in the country who wants to be caught voting for higher taxes these days. Yet in order to balance budgets without dismantling essential programs, fees are quietly being raised for many different state and federal programs.  The latest proposed fee hikes for pest control licenses are just one example.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has published a proposal to raise licensing fees an average of 57% for business, applicators' and technicians' licenses and continuing education courses.  The reason for the fee hike is that this year's Texas legislature declined to fund benefits for TDA employees, with instructions for the agency to make up the budget shortfall with fee increases.  As predicted in an earlier post, the agency took a major (45%) cut in its overall budget, though the major impact of this on the structural pest control service was in employee benefits.

According to TDA Assistant Commissioner Jimmy Bush, "The initial review for the structural program indicated that an estimated 80% increase in fees would be required.  In an effort to reduce the impact of the fee increase as well as comply with the intent of the legislation, TDA has further reviewed the mandated requirements and department activities to identify efficiencies.  This review has resulted in the 57% fee increase as opposed to the initial estimate of 80%."

Some of the proposed fee changes are as follows:

• Original business license fees will increase from $180 to $280
• Renewal of business license fees will increase from $180 to $280
• An original certified applicator's license will increase from $85 to $135
• Renewal of a certified applicator's license will increase from $80 to $125
• An original technician's license will increase from $65 to $100
• Renewal of a technician's license will increase from $65 to $100
• Fee for taking an exam in each category will increase from $50 to $75
• The cost for registering a CEU course will go from $40 to $60
• The option for paying fees in six month increments will no longer be available

If you have comments on the schedule of proposed fee increases, you may contact Jimmy Bush, Assistant Commissioner for Pesticides, Texas Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 12847, Austin, TX  78711.   You must have your comments in by August 7.

The name for this approach to keeping things running is "cost recovery".  You will be seeing this occurring in many state agencies (including my agency) unless and until someone comes up with a more equitable way to keep state government running.  Daniel DeFoe, Ben Franklin and Margaret Mitchell all had it right.

P.S. There will be no Structural Pest Control Advisory Committee this summer.  Meetings will resume in October.