June 2009 - Oregon
Taking License | by Kraig Bohot
While licensing and regulatory requirements, including fees, aren’t set in stone, applicant and practitioner fees are increasing July 1 as scheduled in November of 2008.
OHLA listened to stakeholder feedback last year, particularly from school representatives, and responded by delaying fee increases that might have burdened students who were ready to graduate at the time.
Judging by comments from school representatives at the May 11 Board of Cosmetology meeting, fees continue to be an issue.
As the regulatory body establishing fees, OHLA is responsible for ensuring those fees are fair, equitable and able to provide enough revenue for agency operations.
OHLA is also responsible for clearly articulating how fees are established.
Starting July 1, students just out of school who want to become certified in all four fields of practice for two years will need to pay $510 for application, examination and certification fees.
That’s a $193 increase from previous fees, if you factor in all four fields of practice. The major increase is for up-front costs for processing applications, administering examinations and issuing initial certifications.
However, from a practitioner’s standpoint, you need to be certified only in esthetics, hair design and nail technology to provide a full range of services.
So shave off $42 from the $193, lowering the increase to $151 over two years, if you’re a student who intends to certify in only three fields of practice.
I could break that down to the additional pennies per day over two years that new applicants will pay to make up the increase, but I get annoyed when companies tell me it’s only “pennies per day.”
Except for your mortgage or car payment, most expenses in life are “pennies a day.” Wait a second – my triple-shot latte is almost $3 a day….
Applicants can also become certified in only one or two fields of practice, further reducing the total fees necessary to practice.
While nothing is set in stone in the long run, applicants starting July 1 will be responsible for paying the new fees.
That doesn’t mean that OHLA and the Board of Cosmetology will stop listening to our stakeholders on fee issues, particularly key stakeholders such as Oregon’s more than 40 cosmetology colleges.
In fact, we’re offering a $5 discount per field of practice for practitioners who renew online.
We will continue our ongoing dialogue on all issues of importance to the industry to develop effective and efficient licensing and regulatory solutions.
OHLA developed a cost-allocation model in 2008 that focused on establishing fees that more accurately reflected the actual cost of providing licensing and regulatory services.
That concept seems reasonable. However, as with any idea, further refinement and dialogue may be needed to fully realize a fee solution that makes sense to most everyone, including those of us who plunk down nearly $3 a day on triple-shot lattes.
Kraig Bohot is Communications Coordinator at the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA), a state consumer protection agency providing centralized regulatory oversight of multiple health and related professions. He can be reached at (503) 373-1939 or at kraig.bohot@state.or.us.
The Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) revised identification requirements originally adopted under temporary and proposed agency rules on December 1, 2008, under Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 331, Divisions 001-030.
The effective date of the revised rules is Monday, June 1, 2009.
Based on stakeholder feedback and upon further review of identification requirements set by other government agencies, OHLA has revised the requirements for applicant identification.
OHLA now accepts an Individual Taxpayer Identification number (ITIN) if the applicant does not have a Social Security number. Previously, the agency did not accept ITINs.
Applicants required to provide identification must follow OAR 331-030-0000(10), which requires that at least one form of identification provided must be photographic. Please see below for forms of acceptable identification.
Applicants who sit for an examination administered by OHLA must provide two forms of identification when submitting their application and prior to sitting for the examination.
This requirement applies to the following applicant groups:
Visit http://www.oregon.gov/OHLA/New_ID_requirements.shtml for a list of acceptable forms of identification.
The following application categories are not required to provide identification because they have previously provided identification to the Secretary of State’s Corporation Division (facility licenses) or to OHLA to obtain their original practitioner authorization to practice.
OHLA also conducts annual inspections of facilities to confirm facility ownership and independent contractor identity.
Questions or comments? Contact OHLA at 503-378-8667 or ohla.info@state.or.us.
OHLA delayed implementing the following fee increases until July 1, 2009, in response to stakeholder feedback in 2008.
Application Fee (per field of practice)
Previous Fee: $15
New Fee on 7/1/09: $25
Examination Fee (per field of practice, Oregon Laws & Rules)
Previous Fee: $25
New Fee on 7/1/09: $50
Practitioner Certification (per field of practice, for two years)
Previous Fee: $33
New Fee on 7/1/09: $40
Late Fee (Practitioners)
Previous Fee: $25 per year in expired status
New Fee on 7/1/09: $25 first month in expired status, $10 monthly until renewed
Online Certification Renewal (per field of practice)
$5 discount on $40 certification fee per field of practice if you renew online
OHLA implemented new fees for facilities, independent contractors, and Certificate of Identification (CID) and permit holders effective October 1, 2008. These fees remain the same after July 1. Access fees, forms and other licensing and regulatory news and resources at www.oregon.gov/OHLA/COS.
More than 35 people applied for the director position of the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA).
After initial screening, 14 applicants are scheduled to be interviewed in June by a balanced panel of agency staff and volunteer citizen board chairs.
The director of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) appoints executive-level positions such as the OHLA director.
The appointment is expected to be made by July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year and biennium.
How many practitioners and facilities are active in Oregon? (Numbers in parentheses +/- change from previous month.) According to Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) records as of June 2, 2009:
Practitioners 31,242 (-15)
Facilities 4,501 (-16)
Independent contractors 6,926 (-10)
Certificate of ID 225 (+10)
Barbering 5,505 (-38)
Esthetics 13,567 (-24)
Hair Design 21,131 (+58)
Nail Technology 14,779 (-33)
Oregon Health Licensing Agency
700 Summer Street NE, Suite 320 • Salem, OR 97301-1287
Licensing Office (503) 378-8667 • Enforcement Unit (503) 378-4294
www.oregon.gov/OHLA
OHLA Agency Staff:
Richard McNew, Administrative Services
Tim Molloy, Regulatory Operations
Dixie Bryant, Program Development
Board of Cosmetology:
Michael D. Snook, Salem - Chair
Debora Masten, Salem - Vice Chair
Linda Bergmann, Florence
Patricia A. Hall, Pendleton
Herb Hirst, North Plains
Sharon Wiser, Lake Oswego
Shelly Couch, Gladstone
