The amount of fees provided in connection with licenses or approvals for the practice of respiratory care shall be as follows:

(a) The application fee shall be established by the board at not more than three hundred dollars ($300). The application fee for the applicant under subdivision (c) of Section 3740 shall be established by the board at not more than three hundred fifty dollars ($350).

(b) The fees for any examination or reexamination required by the board shall be the actual cost to the board for developing, purchasing, grading, and administering each examination or reexamination.

(c) The initial license fee for a respiratory care practitioner shall be no more than three hundred dollars ($300).

(d) For any license term beginning on or after January 1, 1999, the renewal fee shall be established at two hundred thirty dollars ($230). The board may increase the renewal fee, by regulation, to an amount not to exceed three hundred thirty dollars ($330). The board shall fix the renewal fee so that, together with the estimated amount from revenue, the reserve balance in the board’s contingent fund shall be equal to approximately six months of annual authorized expenditures. If the estimated reserve balance in the board’s contingent fund will be greater than six months, the board shall reduce the renewal fee. In no case shall the fee in any year be more than 10 percent greater than the amount of the fee in the preceding year.

(e) The delinquency fee shall be established by the board at not more than the following amounts:

(1) If the license is renewed not more than two years from the date of its expiration, the delinquency fee shall be 100 percent of the renewal fee in effect at the time or renewal.

(2) If the license is renewed after two years, but not more than three years, from the date of expiration of the license, the delinquency fee shall be 200 percent of the renewal fee in effect at the time of renewal.

(f) The duplicate license fee shall not exceed seventy-five dollars ($75).

(g) The endorsement fee shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).

(h) Costs incurred by the board in order to obtain and review documents or information related to the criminal history of, rehabilitation of, disciplinary actions taken by another state agency against, or acts of negligence in the practice of respiratory care by, an applicant or licensee, shall be paid by the applicant or licensee before a license will be issued or a subsequent renewal processed.

(i) Fees paid in any form other than check, money order, or cashier’s check shall be subject to an additional processing charge equal to the board’s actual processing costs.

(j) Fees incurred by the board to process return mail shall be paid by the applicant or licensee for whom the charges were incurred.

(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the board, in its discretion, may reduce the amount of any fee otherwise prescribed by this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 586, Sec. 16. Effective January 1, 2004.)