A new audit reveals that the licensing board overseeing opticians (those folks who fit glasses and contact lenses) took in $160,450 and spent $252,407 last year. In fact, they Board has been losing money every year since 2009. They’re set to run out of money entirely this year. A fix requires legislative action.
So what’s the proposed solution from the Board of Opticians? Raise fees that support the licensing board’s operations. Which will undoubtedly raise the cost of eye glasses and contact lenses for consumers as well as provide barriers for entry into the profession, as my colleague Jon Sanders has explained over and over and over. At $250 exam fee plus $50 licensing fee, North Carolina already has one of the highest licensing fees in the county.
How about another solution? North Carolina is only one of 21 states that require licensing of opticians. Disband the dysfunctional board. Most states do without a licensing board for opticians. North Carolina would be wise to do the same.
The Program Evaluation Division in a December 2014 report to the North Carolina General Assembly recommends several changes to the state’s 55 licensing boards, including greater oversight and determining if 12 boards are needed at all. Let’s get started.
