PROPOSED RULEMAKINGS
STATE BOARD OF
CRANE OPERATORS
[ 49 PA. CODE CH. 6 ]
Fees
[43 Pa.B. 2041]
[Saturday, April 13, 2013]The State Board of Crane Operators (Board) proposes to amend § 6.4 (relating to fees) to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The increased biennial renewal fees will be implemented with the November 1, 2014, biennial renewal.
Statutory Authority
Section 701(a) of the Crane Operator Licensure Act (act) (63 P. S. § 2400.701(a)) requires the Board to increase fees by regulation to meet or exceed projected expenditures if the revenues raised by fees, fines and civil penalties imposed under the act are not sufficient to meet expenditures over a 2-year period.
Background and Need for Proposed Rulemaking
Under section 701 of the act, the Board is required by law to support its operations from the revenue it generates from fees, fines and civil penalties. In addition, the act provides that the Board must increase fees if the revenue raised by fees, fines and civil penalties is not sufficient to meet expenditures over a 2-year period. The Board raises the majority of its revenue through biennial renewal fees. A small percentage of its revenue comes from application fees and civil penalties.
The current biennial renewal fee of $100 was established with the Board's initial rulemaking in 2010. The fee was established based upon an estimate of the costs of administering the functions of the Board and an expected licensed population of approximately 2,750 licensees. As of October 2012, there are approximately 2,780 licensed crane operators. Therefore, under the present fee structure, the Board produces approximately $278,000 in biennial renewal revenues. In addition, the Board receives approximately $40,000 in other revenue from application fees and civil penalties for a total of $318,000 in revenue over a 2-year period.
However, at the May 23, 2012, Board meeting, representatives from the Department of State's Bureau of Finance and Operations (BFO) presented a summary of the Board's revenue and expenses for Fiscal Years (FY) 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 and projected revenue and expenses through FY 2014-2015. Although the Board received an initial appropriation of $85,000 from the Professional Licensure Augmentation Account (PLAA) when it was created in 2008, it incurred expenses in excess of that amount since then and was required to pay that amount back to the PLAA within 3 years (by December 8, 2011). As of the beginning of FY 2012-2013, the Board incurred a deficit of $182,660.46. Licenses renew for the first time as of November 1, 2012, so there will be renewal revenue during this fiscal year. However, it is not sufficient to recoup the current deficit and cover budgeted expenses for the year. The BFO projects a remaining deficit of $15,660.46 by the end of the fiscal year. In addition, under the present fee structure, the Board can expect biennial revenue of approximately $318,000. The BFO projects expenses of approximately $337,000 over the next 2 fiscal years (FYs 2013-2014 and 2014-2015) and expenses of approximately $357,000 during the following biennium (FYs 2015-2016 and 2016-2017), adding to the deficit situation. Without an increase in the biennial renewal fee, the BFO projects continuing deficits for the foreseeable future.
Therefore, the Board determined that it was necessary to raise fees to meet or exceed projected expenditures in compliance with section 701(a) of the act. As a result, the Board voted at its October 1, 2012, meeting to increase the biennial renewal fees, beginning with the November 2014 renewal, to read as set forth in Annex A. The proposed new biennial renewal fees will enable the Board to avoid the projected deficits and meet its estimated expenditures for a number of years to come.
Description of Proposed Amendments
The proposed rulemaking would amend § 6.4 to increase the biennial renewal fee for licensed crane operators from $100 to $160.
Fiscal Impact
The proposed rulemaking will increase the biennial renewal fees for licensees of the Board. There are currently approximately 2,780 licensees that will be required to pay $60 more to renew their licenses when they expire in 2014 and thereafter. The proposed rulemaking should not have other fiscal impact on the private sector, the general public or political subdivisions of this Commonwealth.
Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking will require the Board to alter some of its forms to reflect the new fee. However, the proposed rulemaking will not create additional paperwork for the regulated community or for the private sector.
Sunset Date
The act requires the Board to monitor its revenue and costs on a fiscal year and biennial basis. Therefore, a sunset date has not been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on April 2, 2013, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and the Chairpersons of the House Professional Licensure Committee and the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the rulemaking, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of comments, recommendations or objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to Christopher McNally, Board Counsel, State Board of Crane Operators, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 within 30 days following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. When submitting comments, reference Regulation No. 16A-7102—Fees.
RAYMOND A. FEIDT,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-7102. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 6. STATE BOARD OF CRANE OPERATORS
GENERAL PROVISIONS § 6.4. Fees.
(a) The schedule of fees charged by the Board is as follows:
* * * * * Biennial renewal fee
[$100] $160* * * * *
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-661. Filed for public inspection April 12, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]
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