(Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Aug. 31, 2015)
There’s a cute little way for governors to boost the state bank account by taking money that professionals pay into state regulatory agencies to, well, regulate certain professions.
The clever name: Fee sweeps.
The concept is that regulatory agencies or agencies that are specifically designed to do the public some good—say, making sure that workers can get worker compensation for workplace injuries—collect fees from those in the industry to make sure that injured workers can get treated, cared-for and rejoin the labor force. Sounds good.