HB 277: "An Act relating to occupational licensing; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 277 01 "An Act relating to occupational licensing; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 08.01.065(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) Except as provided in (j) [(f) - (k)] of this section, the department shall 05 establish fee levels under (a) of this section so that the total [AMOUNT OF] fees 06 collected for an occupation approximately equals the actual regulatory costs for the 07 occupation except that the total fees collected for the occupation may not exceed 08 the national average of the total fees collected for that occupation, as determined 09 by the department. The department shall annually review each fee level to determine 10 whether the regulatory costs of each occupation are approximately equal to the total 11 fees collected for [FEE COLLECTIONS RELATED TO] that occupation and 12 whether the total fees collected for each occupation exceed the national average 13 of the total fees collected for that occupation. If the review indicates that the total 14 fees collected for an occupation [AN OCCUPATION'S FEE COLLECTIONS] and 15 the regulatory costs are not approximately equal or that the total fees collected for
01 an occupation exceed the national average of the total fees collected for that 02 occupation, the department shall calculate fee adjustments and adopt regulations 03 under (a) of this section to implement the adjustments. In January of each year, the 04 department shall report on all fee levels and revisions for the previous year under this 05 subsection to the office of management and budget. If a board regulates an occupation 06 covered by this chapter, the department shall consider the board's recommendations 07 concerning the occupation's fee levels and regulatory costs before revising fee 08 schedules to comply with this subsection. In this subsection, "regulatory costs" means 09 costs of the department that are attributable to regulation of an occupation plus 10 (1) all expenses of the board that regulates the occupation if the board 11 regulates only one occupation; 12 (2) the expenses of a board that are attributable to the occupation if the 13 board regulates more than one occupation. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 08.01 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15 Sec. 08.01.067. Reciprocity. (a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, and 16 notwithstanding another provision of law, the department or appropriate board shall 17 issue to an applicant a license to practice an occupation covered by this chapter for 18 which the applicant holds a comparable license in another jurisdiction if the applicant 19 meets the requirements of this section and applies to the department or appropriate 20 board in the manner prescribed by the department or appropriate board. An application 21 must include evidence satisfactory to the department or appropriate board that the 22 applicant 23 (1) holds a current license in another state, district, or territory of the 24 United States that the applicant has actively used during the two years immediately 25 preceding the date of application; 26 (2) if required by the department or appropriate board for obtaining the 27 license, has been fingerprinted and has provided the fees required by the Department 28 of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and a national 29 criminal history record check; the fingerprints and fees shall be forwarded to the 30 Department of Public Safety to obtain a report of criminal justice information under 31 AS 12.62 and a national criminal history record check under AS 12.62.400;
01 (3) is in good standing with the licensing authority of 02 (A) the jurisdiction that issued the applicant's existing license; 03 and 04 (B) any other jurisdiction that has issued the applicant a 05 comparable license to the license applied for; and 06 (4) pays any fees required under this title. 07 (b) This section does not apply to a 08 (1) business license under AS 43.70; 09 (2) permit for a qualified agency under AS 08.02.050; or 10 (3) license to practice 11 (A) public accounting under AS 08.04; 12 (B) acupuncture under AS 08.06; 13 (C) barbering, hairdressing, hair braiding, manicuring, 14 esthetics, body piercing, tattooing, or permanent cosmetic coloring under 15 AS 08.13; 16 (D) chiropractic under AS 08.20; 17 (E) professional counseling under AS 08.29; 18 (F) dental hygiene under AS 08.32; 19 (G) dentistry under AS 08.36; 20 (H) dietetics or nutrition under AS 08.38; 21 (I) as an electrical administrator under AS 08.40; 22 (J) mortuary science under AS 08.42; 23 (K) architecture, engineering, land surveying, or landscape 24 architecture under AS 08.48; 25 (L) massage therapy under AS 08.61; 26 (M) marital and family therapy under AS 08.63; 27 (N) medicine, osteopathy, or podiatry under AS 08.64; 28 (O) direct-entry midwifery under AS 08.65; 29 (P) registered, advanced practice registered, or practical 30 nursing under AS 08.68; 31 (Q) as a nursing home administrator under AS 08.70;
01 (R) as a dispensing optician under AS 08.71; 02 (S) optometry under AS 08.72; 03 (T) pharmacy under AS 08.80; 04 (U) physical therapy or occupational therapy under AS 08.84; 05 (V) psychology under AS 08.86; 06 (W) as a real estate broker, associate real estate broker, or real 07 estate salesperson under AS 08.88; 08 (X) social work under AS 08.95; or 09 (Y) veterinary medicine under AS 08.98. 10 (c) An applicant issued a license under this section to practice an occupation is 11 exempt from other initial licensure requirements, but is otherwise subject to all laws 12 that apply to the license and the practice of the occupation. 13 * Sec. 3. AS 18.08.080(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) The department may charge fees set by regulation for the certification or 15 licensure of individuals and organizations under this chapter. The total fees collected 16 for a certificate or license for an emergency medical technician, emergency 17 medical technician instructor, emergency medical dispatcher, or mobile intensive 18 care paramedic under AS 18.08.082 may not exceed the national average of the 19 total fees collected for those occupations, as determined by the department. The 20 department shall annually review the total fees collected for each occupation to 21 ensure that the total fees collected do not exceed the national average of the total 22 fees collected for that occupation. 23 * Sec. 4. AS 18.08 is amended by adding a new section to read: 24 Sec. 18.08.083. Reciprocity. (a) The department shall issue to an applicant a 25 certificate or license to practice an occupation certified or licensed under 26 AS 18.08.082 if the applicant is certified or licensed to practice a comparable 27 occupation in another jurisdiction, meets the requirements of this section, and applies 28 to the department in the manner prescribed by the department. An application must 29 include evidence satisfactory to the department that the applicant 30 (1) holds a current certificate or license in another state, district, or 31 territory of the United States that the applicant has actively used during the two years
01 immediately preceding the date of application; 02 (2) if required by the department for obtaining the certificate or 03 license, has been fingerprinted and has provided the fees required by the Department 04 of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and a national 05 criminal history record check; the fingerprints and fees shall be forwarded to the 06 Department of Public Safety to obtain a report of criminal justice information under 07 AS 12.62 and a national criminal history record check under AS 12.62.400; 08 (3) is in good standing with the certifying or licensing authority of 09 (A) the jurisdiction that issued the applicant's existing 10 certificate or license; and 11 (B) any other jurisdiction that has issued the applicant a 12 comparable certificate or license to the certificate or license applied for; and 13 (4) pays any fees required under this chapter. 14 (b) An applicant issued a certificate or license under this section to practice an 15 occupation is exempt from other initial certification or licensure requirements, but is 16 otherwise subject to all laws and regulations that apply to the certificate or license and 17 the practice of the occupation. 18 * Sec. 5. AS 28.15.046(b) is amended to read: 19 (b) The department may not issue a license under this section unless the 20 applicant 21 (1) is at least 21 years of age; 22 (2) has had a license to operate a motor vehicle at least three years 23 before the date of application; 24 (3) has successfully completed all required driving, written, and 25 physical examinations; 26 (4) has submitted the applicant's fingerprints, the fees required by the 27 Department of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and 28 a national criminal history record check, and other information sufficient to complete a 29 background check consisting of a fingerprint check of national criminal records and 30 state criminal records of the state or states in which the applicant has resided for the 31 past 10 years; the department shall submit the fingerprints and fees to the Department
01 of Public Safety for a report of criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a 02 national criminal history record check under AS 12.62.400; 03 (5) meets one of the following conditions: 04 (A) has completed a state approved school bus driver training 05 course established under AS 14.07.020(a)(14); 06 (B) [OR] has for the previous two years been licensed by the 07 state to operate a school bus; or 08 (C) holds a valid license in another state, district, or 09 territory of the United States comparable to a license under this section 10 that the applicant has actively used during the two years immediately 11 preceding the date of application. 12 * Sec. 6. AS 28.33.100(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) A person may not drive a commercial motor vehicle until the person 14 applies for and is issued a license for that purpose under AS 28.15.041. The 15 department may not issue a license to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless the 16 applicant 17 (1) is at least 18 years of age, to operate in intrastate commerce, or at 18 least 21 years of age, to operate in interstate commerce, except as provided in (f) of 19 this section; 20 (2) meets one of the following conditions: 21 (A) has successfully completed all required driving tests and 22 written and physical examinations; or 23 (B) holds a valid license to drive a commercial motor 24 vehicle in another state, district, or territory of the United States 25 comparable to a license under this section that the applicant has actively 26 used during the two years immediately preceding the date of application; 27 (3) either does not have a driver's license issued by another jurisdiction 28 or surrenders all driver's licenses issued by other jurisdictions; and 29 (4) is domiciled in this state. 30 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.320(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) The department may provide by regulation for the licensing of or
01 temporary license waiver for private applicators of restricted-use pesticides, for 02 persons engaged in the custom, commercial, or contract spraying or application of 03 pesticides and broadcast chemicals, and for other persons engaged in the spraying or 04 application of pesticides and broadcast chemicals in public places. A person engaged 05 in the custom, commercial, or contract spraying or application of pesticides and 06 broadcast chemicals may, by regulation, be required to secure a surety bond or liability 07 insurance. The department shall establish fee levels to apply for and renew a 08 license provided for under this subsection. The total fees collected for each 09 occupation may not exceed the national average of the total fees collected for that 10 occupation, as determined by the department. The department shall annually 11 review the total fees collected for each type of license to ensure that the total fees 12 collected for each type of license do not exceed the national average of the total 13 fees collected for that license. 14 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.320 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 15 (e) If the department provides by regulation for the licensing of an occupation 16 under (b) of this section, the department shall issue to an applicant a license to practice 17 that occupation if the applicant holds a comparable license in another jurisdiction, 18 meets the requirements of this subsection, and applies to the department in the manner 19 prescribed by the department. An application must include evidence satisfactory to the 20 department that the applicant 21 (1) holds a current comparable license in another state, district, or 22 territory of the United States that the applicant has actively used during the two years 23 immediately preceding the date of application; 24 (2) if required by the department for obtaining a license, has been 25 fingerprinted and has provided the fees required by the Department of Public Safety 26 under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and a national criminal history 27 record check; the fingerprints and fees shall be forwarded to the Department of Public 28 Safety to obtain a report of criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a national 29 criminal history record check under AS 12.62.400; 30 (3) is in good standing with the licensing authority of 31 (A) the jurisdiction that issued the applicant's existing license;
01 and 02 (B) any other jurisdiction that has issued the applicant a 03 comparable license to the license applied for; and 04 (4) pays any fees required by the department. 05 (f) An applicant issued a license under (e) of this section to practice an 06 occupation is subject to all other laws and regulations that apply to the license and the 07 practice of the occupation. 08 * Sec. 9. AS 08.01.065(f), 08.01.065(g), 08.01.065(h), 08.01.065(i), and 08.01.065(k) are 09 repealed. 10 * Sec. 10. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025.