HCS SB 115(RLS) am H: "An Act relating to the Board of Marital and Family Therapy and the practitioners of marital and family therapy; extending the termination date of the Board of Storage Tank Assistance; setting timelines for issuance of final orders by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, amending the authority of the commission to enter compromise settlement orders, and extending the commission's termination date to June 30, 2004; relating to an exemption that allows one bill to continue more than one board, commission, or agency program; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 115(RLS) am H 01 "An Act relating to the Board of Marital and Family Therapy and the practitioners of 02 marital and family therapy; extending the termination date of the Board of Storage 03 Tank Assistance; setting timelines for issuance of final orders by the Regulatory 04 Commission of Alaska, amending the authority of the commission to enter compromise 05 settlement orders, and extending the commission's termination date to June 30, 2004; 06 relating to an exemption that allows one bill to continue more than one board, 07 commission, or agency program; and providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 08.01.050(d) is amended to read: 10 (d) At the request of one of the following boards, the department may contract 11 with public agencies and private professional organizations to provide assistance and 12 treatment to persons licensed by the board who abuse alcohol, other drugs, or other 13 substances:
01 (1) Board of Social Work Examiners; 02 (2) Board of Dental Examiners; 03 (3) Board of Dispensing Opticians; 04 (4) State Medical Board; 05 (5) Board of Nursing; 06 (6) Board of Examiners in Optometry; 07 (7) Board of Pharmacy; 08 (8) State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; 09 (9) Board of Professional Counselors; 10 (10) Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners; 11 [AND] 12 (11) Board of Veterinary Examiners; and 13 (12) Board of Marital and Family Therapy. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 08.63.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 15 (b) The board may order a licensed marital and family therapist to submit to a 16 reasonable physical or mental examination if the board has credible evidence 17 sufficient to conclude that the marital and family therapist's physical or mental 18 capacity to practice safely is at issue. 19 * Sec. 3. AS 08.63.100(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) The board shall issue a license to practice marital and family therapy to a 21 person who 22 (1) applies on a form provided by the board; 23 (2) pays the fee established under AS 08.01.065; 24 (3) furnishes evidence satisfactory to the board that the person 25 (A) has not engaged in conduct that is a ground for imposing 26 disciplinary sanctions under AS 08.63.210; 27 (B) holds a master's degree or doctorate in marital and family 28 therapy or allied mental health field from a regionally accredited educational 29 institution approved by the board for which the person completed a course of 30 study that included instruction substantially equivalent to the following: 31 (i) three courses or nine semester or 12 quarter hours of
01 course work in marital and family therapy; 02 (ii) three courses or nine semester or 12 quarter hours of 03 course work in marital and family studies; 04 (iii) three courses or nine semester or 12 quarter hours 05 of course work in human development; 06 (iv) one course or three semester or four quarter hours 07 of course work in professional studies or professional ethics and law; 08 (v) one course or three semester or four quarter hours of 09 course work in research; and 10 (vi) one year of supervised clinical practice in marital 11 and family therapy; 12 (C) after receiving a degree described in (B) of this paragraph, 13 has 14 (i) practiced marital and family therapy [WITHIN 15 THREE YEARS OF THE PERSON'S APPLICATION], including 16 1,500 hours of direct clinical contact with couples, individuals, and 17 families; and 18 (ii) been supervised in the clinical contact for at least 19 200 hours, including 100 hours of individual supervision and 100 hours 20 of group supervision approved by the board; 21 (D) has received training related to domestic violence; and 22 (E) has passed a written or oral examination administered by 23 the board. 24 * Sec. 4. AS 08.63.200(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) A person licensed under this chapter may not reveal to another person a 26 communication made to the licensee by a client about a matter concerning which the 27 client has employed the licensee in a professional capacity. This section does not 28 apply to 29 (1) a case conference or case consultation with other mental health 30 professionals at which the patient is not identified; 31 (2) the release of information that the client in writing authorized the
01 licensee to reveal; 02 (3) information released to the board as part of a disciplinary or other 03 proceeding; [OR] 04 (4) situations where the rules of evidence applicable to the 05 psychotherapist-patient privilege allow the release of the information; 06 (5) a communication to a potential victim or to law enforcement 07 officers where a threat of imminent serious physical harm to an identified victim 08 has been made by a client; or 09 (6) a disclosure revealing a communication about an act that the 10 licensee has reasonable cause to suspect constitutes unlawful or unethical conduct 11 that would be grounds for imposition of disciplinary sanctions by a person 12 licensed to provide health or mental health services, if the disclosure is made only 13 to the licensing board with jurisdiction over the person who allegedly committed 14 the act, and the disclosure is made in good faith. 15 * Sec. 5. AS 08.63.210 is amended to read: 16 Sec. 08.63.210. Grounds for imposition of disciplinary sanctions. After a 17 hearing, the board may impose a disciplinary sanction under AS 08.01.075 on a person 18 licensed under this chapter when the board finds that the person 19 (1) secured a license through deceit, fraud, or intentional 20 misrepresentation; 21 (2) engaged in deceit, fraud, or intentional misrepresentation in the 22 course of providing professional services or engaging in professional activities; 23 (3) advertised professional services in a false or misleading manner; 24 (4) has been convicted of a felony or of another crime that affects the 25 person's ability to practice competently and safely; 26 (5) failed to comply with a provision of this chapter or a regulation 27 adopted under this chapter, or an order of the board; 28 (6) continued to practice after becoming unfit due to 29 (A) professional incompetence; 30 (B) addiction or severe dependency on alcohol or another drug 31 that impairs the person's ability to practice safely;
01 (7) engaged in unethical conduct in connection with the delivery of 02 professional services to clients; 03 (8) engaged in sexual misconduct with a client during the course of 04 therapy, either within or outside the treatment setting, or within two years after 05 therapy or counseling with the client has terminated; in this paragraph, "sexual 06 misconduct" includes sexual contact, as defined in regulations adopted under this 07 chapter, or attempted sexual contact, regardless of the client's or former client's 08 consent or lack of consent. 09 * Sec. 6. AS 08.63.210 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (b) The board may summarily suspend the license of a licensee who refuses to 11 submit to a physical or mental examination under AS 08.63.050(b). A person whose 12 license is suspended under this subsection is entitled to a hearing by the board within 13 seven days after the effective date of the order. If, after a hearing, the board upholds 14 the suspension, the licensee may appeal the suspension to a court of competent 15 jurisdiction. 16 * Sec. 7. AS 08.63 is amended by adding new sections to read: 17 Sec. 08.63.230. Disclosure statement. A client may not be charged a fee for 18 marital and family therapy services unless, before the performance of the services, the 19 client was furnished a copy of a professional disclosure statement that contained 20 (1) the name, title, business address, and business telephone number of 21 the marital and family therapist; 22 (2) a description of the formal professional education of the marital 23 and family therapist, including the institutions attended and the degrees received from 24 the institutions; 25 (3) the marital and family therapist's areas of specialization and the 26 services available; 27 (4) the marital and family therapist's fee schedule listed by type of 28 service or hourly rate; 29 (5) a description of the exception to confidentiality contained in 30 AS 08.63.200(a)(6); and 31 (6) at the bottom of the first page of the statement, the following
01 sentence: "This information is required by the Board of Marital and Family Therapy, 02 which regulates all licensed marital and family therapists," followed by the name, 03 address, and telephone number of the board's office. 04 Sec. 08.63.240. Limitation of practice. Notwithstanding that a 05 specific act is within the definition of the "practice of marital and family therapy," a 06 person licensed under this chapter may not perform the act if the person lacks the 07 appropriate education, training, and experience related to the act. 08 * Sec. 8. AS 42.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Sec. 42.05.175. Timelines for issuance of final orders. (a) The commission 10 shall issue a final order not later than six months after a complete application is filed 11 for an application 12 (1) for a certificate of public convenience and necessity; 13 (2) to amend a certificate of public convenience and necessity; 14 (3) to transfer a certificate of public convenience and necessity; and 15 (4) to acquire a controlling interest in a certificated public utility. 16 (b) Notwithstanding a suspension ordered under AS 42.05.421, the 17 commission shall issue a final order not later than nine months after a complete tariff 18 filing is made for a tariff filing that does not change the utility's revenue requirement 19 or rate design. 20 (c) Notwithstanding a suspension ordered under AS 42.05.421, the 21 commission shall issue a final order not later than 15 months after a complete tariff 22 filing is made for a tariff filing that changes the utility's revenue requirement or rate 23 design. 24 (d) The commission shall issue a final order not later than 12 months after a 25 complete formal complaint is filed against a utility or, when the commission initiates a 26 formal investigation of a utility without the filing of a complete formal complaint, not 27 later than 12 months after the order initiating the formal investigation is issued. 28 (e) The commission shall issue a final order in a rule making proceeding not 29 later than 24 months after a complete petition for adoption, amendment, or repeal of a 30 regulation under AS 44.62.180 - 44.62.290 is filed or, when the commission initiates a 31 rule making docket, not later than 24 months after the order initiating the proceeding is
01 issued. 02 (f) The commission may extend a timeline required under (a) - (e) of this 03 section if all parties of record consent to the extension or if, before the timeline 04 expires, the commission 05 (1) reasonably finds that good cause exists to extend the timeline; and 06 (2) issues a written order extending the timeline and setting out its 07 findings regarding good cause. 08 (g) The commission shall file quarterly reports with the Legislative Budget 09 and Audit Committee identifying all extensions ordered under (f)(2) of this section 10 during the previous quarter, and including copies of the written orders issued under 11 (f)(2) of this section. 12 (h) If the commission does not issue and serve a final order regarding an 13 application or suspended tariff under section (a), (b), or (c) of this section within the 14 applicable timeline specified, and if the commission does not extend the timeline in 15 accordance with (f) of this section, the application or suspended tariff filing shall be 16 considered approved and shall go into effect immediately. 17 (i) For purposes of this section, "final order" means a dispositive 18 administrative order that resolves all matters at issue and that may be the basis for a 19 petition for reconsideration or request for judicial review. 20 (j) For purposes of this section, an application, tariff filing, formal complaint, 21 or petition is complete if it complies with the filing, format, and content requirements 22 established by statute, regulation, and forms adopted by the commission under 23 regulation. 24 * Sec. 9. AS 42.05.191 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 42.05.191. Contents and service of orders. Every formal order of the 26 commission shall be based upon the facts of record. However, the commission may 27 issue an order approving any settlement supported by all the parties of record in 28 a proceeding, including a compromise settlement, if the settlement is consistent 29 with this chapter and AS 42.06. Every order entered pursuant to a hearing must state 30 the commission's findings, the basis of its findings and conclusions, together with its 31 decision. These orders shall be entered of record and a copy of them shall be served
01 on all parties of record in the proceeding. 02 * Sec. 10. AS 44.66.010(a)(4) is amended to read: 03 (4) Regulatory Commission of Alaska (AS 42.04.010) -- June 30, 2004 04 [2002]; 05 * Sec. 11. AS 44.66.010(a)(18) is amended to read: 06 (18) Board of Storage Tank Assistance (AS 46.03.360) -- June 30, 07 2003 [2001]; 08 * Sec. 12. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 09 read: 10 EXEMPTION FROM AS 44.66.050(e). This Act is exempt from the provision of 11 AS 44.66.050(e) that prohibits a bill from continuing the existence of more than one board, 12 commission, or agency program. 13 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 PRIOR DOCKETS. The provisions of AS 42.05.175, added by sec. 8 of this Act do 16 not apply to dockets of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska that are initiated before July 1, 17 2002. 18 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 19 read: 20 NOTICE OF EFFECTIVE DATE. The commissioner of administration shall notify 21 the revisor of statutes of the date secs. 8, 9, 10, and 13 of this Act take effect. 22 * Sec. 15. Sections 8, 9, 10, and 13 of this Act take effect on the date the commissioner of 23 administration certifies that the State of Alaska has entered into the contract for a 24 telecommunications study of the current telecommunications regulatory environment and 25 infrastructure funded by the appropriation for a study of information services technology 26 made in sec. 1, ch. 60, SLA 2001, page 4, lines 27 - 28. 27 * Sec. 16. Sections 11 and 12 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).