PEER points senators to Georgia and Texas models for consolidating licensing boards
JACKSON — Mississippi could follow Georgia or Texas in consolidating administrative support for its many single-purpose professional licensing boards, PEER Executive Director Ted Booth told the Senate Government Structure Committee on Wednesday.
Under the approach Booth described, licensing and disciplinary decisions would remain with each board, while functions such as office space and support staff would be shared.
“If you could get a bunch of people in one under one roof in one leased facility, you can probably save some money on that alone,” Booth told the panel.
Booth said no single model has been proven a best practice. He gave an illustrative figure of roughly $200,000 in savings and said savings on that scale could allow some boards to reduce the annual dues they charge licensees.
Mississippi licenses dozens of professions through separate boards, many of which lease their own private office space.