self-supporting regulatory agencies; funds; 2024-2025

This bill updates how several Arizona professional licensing boards manage their finances by shifting the majority of their collected fees into dedicated funds. Specifically, it requires boards overseeing professions like nursing, medicine, accounting, and cosmetology to deposit 85% of their revenue into separate accounts for their own operational expenses, while sending the remaining 15% to the state general fund. The legislation also clarifies that fines and penalties collected from rule violations will continue to go directly to the state general fund rather than the professional boards. By making these changes, the bill ensures that licensing boards are primarily funded by the fees they collect from the professionals they regulate, while still contributing a portion of those funds to the state's general budget.