RULES AND REGULATIONS
STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY
[49 PA. CODE CH. 27]
Fees
[30 Pa.B. 4734] The State Board of Pharmacy (Board) amends § 27.91 (relating to schedule of fees) by revising certain application fees to read as set forth in Annex A.
A. Effective Date
The amendment takes effect upon publication of the final-form regulation in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
B. Statutory Authority
The amendment is authorized under section 8.2 of the Pharmacy Act (63 P. S. § 390-8.2).
C. Background and Purpose
Expenses of the Board which are related to processing individual applications or providing certain services directly to individual licensees or applicants are funded through fees which are based on the cost of providing the service. The fee is charged to the person requesting the service.
A recent systems audit within the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs determined that the application and service fees did not accurately reflect the actual cost of processing the applications and performing the services. A detailed explanation of the background of these fees as well as a description of the fees was published at 29 Pa.B. 1613 (March 27, 1999).
D. Summary of Comments and Responses on Proposed Rulemaking
Following publication of proposed rulemaking at 29 Pa.B. 1613, the Board did not receive any comments from the general public. The Board received comments from the House Professional Licensure Committee (HPLC) and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC). The following is the Board's response to those comments.
Administrative Overhead Costs
IRRC requested that the Board and the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (Bureau) thoroughly examine their cost allocation methodology for administrative overhead and itemize the overhead costs to be recouped by these fees. IRRC commented that although the methodology was reasonable, there was no indication that the fees would recover the actual overhead costs because there was no relationship to the service covered by the fees and because the costs were based upon past expenditures rather than projected expenditures. IRRC expressed the view that there was no certainty that the projected revenues of the new fee would meet or exceed projected revenues, as required under the Board's enabling statute.
As IRRC noted, the adoption of a Bureau-wide averaged overhead for similar services was made when fees were established in 1989 rulemaking. This methodology was approved by the House and Senate oversight committees as well as IRRC. Legislative reviewers expressed a preference to ''cost out'' both user fees and operating revenue fees based upon actual, documented and verifiable factors as opposed to projected expenses or budgets that might never materialize. Thus, the Bureau has recommended and State Boards have adopted fee schedules which are based upon actual expenditures. Legislative reviewers at that time felt that a procedure for ''rounding up'' actual fees would be a sufficient cushion to provide any necessary surplus in nonbiennial revenue years and prior to the biennial reconciliation required under board statues. The Bureau and the boards have used this methodology over 5 biennial reconciliation periods and have discovered this methodology results in relatively stable and reasonable fees.
The Bureau did consider a suggestion that the Bureau look into other methods of distributing administrative overhead expenses. Results obtained by applying a time factor were compared with the current methodology. The current method recouped 22% of the administrative overhead expenses versus 25% using a ratio based on a time factor. Board staff time varies between 23% and 28% to process a request for services for which user fees are charged. When this time factor calculation is combined with the licensee population, the result is wildly varying costs for different licensees who are receiving the same services. For example, using that method to produce a verification letter would cost $34.58 for a landscape architect as compared with a cost of $10.18 for a cosmetologist. Based upon this analysis the administrative overhead charge of $9.76 applied to verifications and certifications represented a fair allocation because the work product is essentially the same and because documented experience supports the charge.
Certification and Verification Fee
The HPLC questioned under what circumstances the Board certifies an examination score. The HPLC and IRRC also requested an explanation of the difference between a verification and certification and an explanation of what accounted for the difference in fees.
The certification of a score is made at the request of a licensee when the licensee is seeking to obtain a license in another state based upon a license in this Commonwealth which had been issued as a result of passing a uniform National or regional examination in this Commonwealth. Generally, the state of the original license is the only source of the score of the licensee. Testing agencies do not maintain this information. The licensing laws of many states include provisions that a license will be granted by reciprocity or endorsement based on licensure in another state only if the board or agency determines that the qualifications are the same or substantially similar in both states. Many state agencies have interpreted these provisions to require that licensees have attained a score equal to or exceeding the passing rate in that jurisdiction at the time of original licensure. For this reason, these states require that the Pennsylvania Board and other boards certify the examination score the applicant achieved on the license examination.
The difference between the verification and certification fees is based on the amount of time required to produce the document requested by the licensee. States request different information when making a determination as whether to grant a license based on reciprocity or endorsement from another state. The Bureau has been able to create two documents from its records that meet all of the needs of the requesting state. When the licensee applies to the other state, the licensee receives information as to what documentation and form is acceptable in the requesting state. The Bureau then advises the licensee of the type of document the Bureau can provide and the fee. In the case of a verification, the staff produces the requested documentation by a letter, usually computer generated, which contains the license number, date of original issuance and current expiration date, and status of the license. The letters are printed from the Bureau's central computer records and sent to the Board staff responsible for handling the licensee's application. The letters are sealed, folded and mailed in accordance with the directions of the requestor. The Bureau estimates the average time to prepare this document to be 5 minutes.
The Bureau uses the term ''certification fee'' to describe the fee for a request for a document, again generally to support applications for reciprocity or endorsement to other states or for employment or training in another state. A certification document contains information specific to the individual requestor. It may include dates or location where examinations were taken, or examination scores achieved or hours and location of training. The information is entered onto a document which is usually supplied by the requestor. The average time to prepare a certification is 45 minutes. This period of time is required because a number of resources, such as files, microfilm and rosters must be retrieved and consulted to provide the information. The Board staff then seals and issues this document.
E. Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The amendment will have no adverse fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions. The fees will have a modest fiscal impact on those members of the private sector who apply for services from the Board. The amendments will impose no additional paperwork requirements upon the Commonwealth, political subdivisions or the private sector.
F. Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the cost effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, no sunset date has been assigned.
G. Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), the Board submitted a copy of the notice of proposed rulemaking, published at 29 Pa.B. 1088, to IRRC and to the Chairpersons of the House Professional Licensure Committee and the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee for review and comment. In compliance with section 5(c) of the Regulatory Review Act, the Board also provided IRRC and the Committees with copies of the comments received as well as other documentation.
In preparing this final-form regulation the Board has considered the comments received from IRRC, the Committees and the public.
The final-form regulation was approved by the House Committee on May 16, 2000, and deemed approved by the Senate Committee. IRRC met on May 25, 2000, and approved the amendments in accordance with section 5.1(e) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(e)).
H. Contact Person
Further information may be obtained by contacting Melanie Zimmerman, Executive Secretary, State Board of Pharmacy, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649, (717) 783-4863.
I. Findings
The Board finds that:
(1) Public notice of proposed rulemaking was given under sections 201 and 202 of the act of July 31, 1968 (P. L. 769, No. 240) (45 P. S. §§ 1201 and 1202) and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 1 Pa. Code §§ 7.1 and 7.2.
(2) A public comment period was provided as required by law and all comments were considered.
(3) These amendments do not enlarge the purpose of proposed rulemaking published at 29 Pa.B. 1088.
(4) These amendments are necessary and appropriate for administration and enforcement of the authorizing acts identified in Part B of this Preamble.
J. Order
The Board, acting under its authorizing statutes, orders that:
(a) The regulations of the Board, 49 Pa. Code Chapter 27, are amended by amending § 27.91 to read as set forth in Annex A.
(b) The Board shall submit this order and Annex A to the Office of General Counsel and to the Office of Attorney General as required by law.
(c) The Board shall certify this order and Annex A and deposit them with the Legislative Reference Bureau as required by law.
(d) This order shall take effect on publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
MICHAEL A. PODGURSKI,
Chairperson(Editor's Note: For the text of the order of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, relating to this document, see 30 Pa.B. 2965 (June 10, 2000).)
Fiscal Note: Fiscal Note 16A-548 remains valid for the final adoption of the subject regulation.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 27. STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY
FEES § 27.91. Schedule of fees.
An applicant for a license, certificate, permit or service shall pay the following fees at the time of application:
Application for pharmacy intern certificate $30 Application for pharmacist license $40 North American Pharmacist Licensure
Examination (NAPLEX)$250 Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence
Examination (MPJE)$85 Certification of examination scores or internship
hours$25 Verification of licensure $15 Assistant pharmacist biennial renewal $120 Registered pharmacist biennial renewal $120 Registered pharmacist late renewal penalty $25 New pharmacy permit application $100 Reinspection of new pharmacy after failure at
first inspection$90 Pharmacy permit change without inspection $30 Pharmacy permit change when inspection
required$95 Change in pharmacy ownership or Board of
Directors$30 Verification of permit $15 Biennial renewal of pharmacy permit $75 Pharmacy permit late renewal penalty $25
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-1559. Filed for public inspection September 8, 2000, 9:00 a.m.]
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