3 days ago
Higher cosmetology fees intended to offset costs
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — One of the purposes of the higher licensing and examination fees that the South Dakota Cosmetology Commission plans to start charging is to deal with a budget that has gone into the red.
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The cosmetology office is self-supporting, meaning it relies only on funds it collects. A state budget document shows that the office's regulatory expenses totaled $376,037 in fiscal 2023, which was less than the office's $396,227 in revenue that year.
But in fiscal 2024, expenses totaled $431,360, while revenues fell to $387,296, requiring the office to tap reserves that had built up in previous years. The office's fiscal 2025 budget, which runs through the end of June, calls for spending $481,958, but only an estimated $439,277 in revenues were expected, putting the office into a potential deficit situation once again.
The cosmetology office also is replacing an outdated technology system that its director, Tyler Evins, described as 'old and brittle' during legislative testimony earlier this year. State lawmakers approved Senate Bill 27 that allows the Cosmetology Commission to charge more for licenses and examinations, and the commission earlier this week approved higher fees after a public hearing that drew no opposition.
Those fee increases still need final clearance from the Legislature's Rules Review Committee. The increases are expected to generate an estimated $237.385. of additional revenue.
Beside paying for new technology, the additional revenue also will pay for converting one of the office's three part-time inspectors to full time, according to Dawn Dovre, a spokesperson for the state Department of Labor and Regulation, which oversees the cosmetology office.
A state law calls for inspections, and a series of state administrative rules say that each salon or booth must be inspected 'approximately once per calendar year' and schools shall be inspected 'approximately two times per calendar year.'
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