Melissa Wintrow — Said she would vote to hold the docket and emphasized the importance of complaint mechanisms and accountability.
Melissa Wintrow — Referenced as the person whose point about complaints and accountability was being discussed.
Melissa Wintrow — Raised concerns about verifying information in the age of AI and emphasized public safety and licensure for acupuncture.
Melissa Wintrow — Said licensure gives legitimacy, helps business, and makes consumers feel safer.
Melissa Wintrow — Said AI complicates verification, noted the witness praised DOPL, and emphasized agency efficiency and consolidation.
Melissa Wintrow — Asked DOPL leadership for the agency history and how it has pursued efficiency.
Melissa Wintrow — Was addressed by the speaker in asking about efficiencies and whether money is being wasted.
Melissa Wintrow — Called in the roll call vote.
Camille Blaylock — Seconded the motion.
Camille Blaylock — Senator Camille Blaylock is first noted as seconding the motion and later being called in roll call, then she engages in a sustained question-and-answer exchange with Ms. Blair about acupuncture licensing. She asks why practitioners want to be licensed, whether the motivation is insurance, validation, or professional standardization, and follows up by asking about the exam required for licensing.
Mrs./Ms. Roosevelt — The presenter is thanked after the voice vote.
Oren Duffin — Oren Duffin is introduced, identifies himself as a project director with the Division of Occupational Licenses in the Health Professions Bureau, and presents rulemaking related to midwifery fees. He explains the proposed fee changes, notes the current fees are $35 for initial and renewal, and answers questions about recent licensure trends, saying there was a greater-than-normal number of nurses and midwives applying for or obtaining Idaho licensure. The committee then considers and approves the midwifery docket. Duffin then introduces a second docket for the Idaho Board of Dentistry, asks for approval of the pending rules and extension of the temporary rules through July 1, 2026, and clarifies that an apparent increase was actually the removal of an inactive license type. He further explains that the board voted to implement a $280 fee, representing a 25% decrease for licensure renewals.
Mark Harris — Asked what the current fee is after noting the proposed change from $200 to “not more than $90.”
Mark Harris — Recorded as voting nay.
Christy Zito — Christy Zito is involved in a motion to approve docket 24-2601-2501 and the temporary rule. The transcript contains inconsistent attribution, referring to the motion as coming from 'Senator Blaylock,' but the intended speaker appears to be Christy Zito. The discussion centers on clarifying that both the temporary and pending rules are included in the motion.
Julie VanOrden — Senator Julie VanOrden moved to approve Docket 24-3101-2501, covering both the temporary and pending rules for the Idaho State Board of Dentistry. The chair then identified the motion as coming from Senator VanOrden, and the discussion continued with the seconding of the motion, including a likely transcription error that references Senator Blaylock in connection with adopting both the temporary and pending rule.
Julie VanOrden — Moved to accept Docket 24-0501-2501.
Julie VanOrden — Moved to accept Docket 24-0501-2501.
Julie VanOrden — Recorded as voting aye.
Julie VanOrden — Votes aye as chair.
Julie VanOrden — Senator Van Orden was called during the roll call vote and responded as part of the vote tally.
Mr. Duffin — Mr. Duffin is acknowledged by the committee after his presentation, with the transcript showing a brief thank-you and then a follow-up transition into questions from Senator Shippey.
Mr. Duffin — Explains that projections are used to keep the board's cash reserve within a target range and that the $160 renewal fee is temporary.
Mr. Duffin — Says the board could move from too low a cash balance to too high a cash balance if the renewal fee remains in place too long, and estimates the long-term target fee at about $88.
Mr. Duffin — Requests committee approval of the pending rules and offers to answer questions.
Mr. Duffin — Begins explaining how collected fees are used.
Mr. Duffin — Explains that fees fund staff review, license issuance, and software maintenance for public discipline lookup.
Mr. Duffin — Says fees support public discipline lookup systems and board meetings, and notes the board reduced meeting frequency to cut costs.
Mr. Duffin — Explains that the board reduced meetings from quarterly to two or three times a year depending on regulatory needs or discipline matters.
Mr. Duffin — Says reduced meeting frequency helps avoid leaving licensees under investigation in limbo and protects the public and the licensee.
Mr. Duffin — The witness is asked why fees vary by profession and whether they depend on membership, applicants, or discipline history.
Mr. Duffin — Explains that historical fee differences stem from how the boards were set up when DOPL was formed.
Mr. Duffin — Says historical fees depended on licensee counts and yearly expenditures, and notes some professions are more affordable than others.
Mr. Duffin — Compares physical therapist fees with other doctoral professions and notes the historical $25 fee for physical therapists.
Mr. Duffin — Says the division aims to keep fees as low as possible while maintaining board solvency.
Mr. Duffin — Prepares to provide the board's yearly expenditure figures.
Mr. Duffin — States that 2025 personnel expenditures were $86,463 and begins to discuss other operating expenses.
Mr. Duffin — Says he will provide the remaining expenditure information after the meeting.
Mr. Duffin — Said he would defer the staffing-count question to someone with the job title who could answer more accurately.
Mr. Duffin — Explained he would defer the staffing-count answer to the Bureau Chief or Division Administrator.
Warren Duffin — Introduced the Idaho Board of Nursing docket and said this was the last rule he would present.
Orrin Duffin — Identified himself as project director for the Health Professions Bureau and presented the nursing docket.
Brandon Shippy — Brandon Shippy was recognized in the meeting and then moved to approve Docket 24-3401-2501, covering both the temporary and pending rules.
Brandon Shippy — Votes nay.
Jessica Spoya — Identified as the presenter for the Board of Drinking Water and Wastewater Professionals docket.
Jessica Spoya — Identified herself and her role at DOPL, and presented the docket on behalf of the board.
Jessica Spoya — Responded that there have been no discussions with DEQ and offered to continue the conversation offline.
Jessica Spoya — Restated her name and position as licensing program manager at the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, then answered that the board currently has a negative 133% cash balance.
Glenneda Zuiderveld — Senator Zuiderveld asked whether licensing oversight is moving away from local and state control toward DEQ and federal oversight, and whether that shift could create unintended consequences.
Glenneda Zuiderveld — The next questioner is identified as Senator Ziderfeld.