Below is the HillCo client report from the August 12 Legislative Budget Board hearing on the Board of Dental Examiners.
This joint budget hearing addresses the Legislative Appropriations Request for the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners.
Julie Hildebrand, Executive Director; Irma Rodriguez, Director of Finance and Administration, Board of Dental Examiners
- The TSBDE currently has two board member vacancies to be filled by dentists; both positions are awaiting appointment
- In the 2014 fiscal year FTE’s increased from 36 to 54, and the Agency hopes to be fully staffed by fiscal year 2015; in addition, physical office space expansion in the Hobby Building has required minor expenditures
- HB 3201 mandates and results:
- Collect information listed in 254.09 of the Dental Practice Act; the TSBDE has been collecting the required information via a survey and has 3,000 dentists remaining that need to answer the survey by the end of August
- A report on the survey is due to the Legislature on November 1, 2014; the primary goal of the survey is to construct a list of dental service organizations in the state of Texas
- Preliminary Inquiry- the TSBDE has instituted the Inquiry rules and all cases since January 2014 are being put through the Preliminary Inquiry process
- Dental Review Panel- the panel currently has over 100 members; the Review Panel has helped greatly in reviewing cases and reducing the review workload for the TSBDE
- Remedial Plans- give the TSBDE the ability to address complaints without disciplinary action; each licensee is allowed one non-disciplinary complaint from the TSBDE in their licensing career
- The TSBDE is on pace to close over 1200 complaints this year; this year will be the first year the TSBDE will be able to close more complaints than it receives; the average age of open cases has decreased by 44 days in the last fiscal year
- Exceptional Items:
- The TSBDE request to contract for internal audit services which would cost $35,000 per year; the TSBDE expects to receive over $10 million in revenue in 2016 and 2017, which is above the amount of revenue requiring an internal audit in the Texas Government Code; revenue is expected to be above $10 million for 2015 as well, however the TSBDE has requested an audit waiver for 2015
- Requirement for the Career Ladder Program- currently funding isn’t available to implement such a program; the TSBDE is asking for $95,000 per year to implement and maintain a Career Ladder Program
- Information Technology Improvements–hardware replacement, call center, survey software, email service provider for mass communication, audit software–$55,000 per year
- The TSBDE requests authority to increase compensation for the executive director position from $85,000 to $103,550 per year
- In order to meet the needs of the LAR, the TSBDE proposed an increase in licensure fees for a total of $203,394; applied across all licensees it would require a $4 increase per license; if the increase were only imposed on dentist licensures it would require a $13 dollar increase per license
- The TDA hasn’t voiced any concern over a potential increase in licensure fees
LBB Questions
- Would the auditor position require an additional FTE or can it be absorbed by current FTE’s?
- The TSBDE should be able to absorb it without an additional FTE
- How does the $475 licensure fee compare to other states?
- Is the Career Ladder Program a merit pay increase or does this money go towards additional training and equipment?
- It would affect 10-15 FTE’s and be based on job experience/specialization rather than merit
- Were there any additional challenges or opportunities in implementing HB 3201?
- The main challenge was hiring a large number of new FTE’s
- What’s the plan going forward for office space to accommodate FTE’s?
- There is no more room for expansion in the Hobby Building; the TSBDE is looking into allowing FTE’s to work out of the office
- Do you expect to see any unexpended balances at the end of 2014?
- Yes… the Dental Review Panel will likely have unexpended balances of approximately $50,000