A Senate committee on Wednesday began discussions on a massive bill to organize many of the state’s occupational licensing boards under a new umbrella state office that would provide management services.
Senate Bill 224 is a continuation of lawmakers’ focus in the last year on the boards that oversee the required licenses of thousands of Alabamian workers. Most of those boards are funded by licensing fees and fines, paid by workers. Several boards’ management of funds and increases in fees have been questioned by the legislature’s Contract Review Committee and Sunset Committee, which regularly reauthorizes boards, in the last 12 months.
“There’s a lot of money in play here,” bill sponsor Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, said.
The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee, which Elliott chairs, discussed the bill for nearly an hour Wednesday afternoon before ending a public hearing with people still waiting to speak because lawmakers had to get to a charity softball game in Montgomery.
While the meeting was cut short, Democrats had time to raise some concerns with the bill.
“If there are some bad actors, is there a way we could have just smacked the hands of the bad actors rather than a complete overhaul?” Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, asked Elliott.
Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, also said she was concerned about creating “big government.”
Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, is a member of the Sunset Committee and last year led the charge to overhaul the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy after persistent mismanagement issues.
He said too many boards’ operations are too far removed from state government, especially when they’re run by contracted executive directors who are not state appointees or employees.
“This has been an issue going on for 25 years and it’s just getting worse,” Gudger said.
Rachel Riddle, the chief examiner at the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, which periodically audits all state agencies, said Wednesdays some boards operate out of private homes. That’s an issue for public access if someone is seeking to renew a license.
Michael Dougherty, a member of the Alabama Board of Physical Therapy, said the 6,600 licensees of that board are afraid they’ll have less access and communication with licensing officials under Elliott’s bill.
Georgia has an umbrella agency for boards and Dougherty said the experience of his counterparts there is a frustrating one where phone calls aren’t returned and license renewal is a struggle.
The bill has the support of Gov. Kay Ivey. Drew Harrell, Ivey’s director of legislative affairs, said it aligns with her goals of making state government more efficient.
“(This bill allows) a greater oversight of funds,” he said. “Where they go and how they’re collected.”
Elliott promised the public hearing would continue after next week’s spring break.
“This is not fun or exciting, but it is our responsibility,” he said.