HB 360: "An Act establishing the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 360 01 "An Act establishing the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board; and 02 providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 44.29 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Article 10. Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board. 06 Sec. 44.29.900. Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board. The 07 Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board is established in the department. 08 Sec. 44.29.905. Composition of the board. The board consists of 09 (1) the commissioner of health or the commissioner's designee, who 10 shall serve as the chair and is a nonvoting member, except in the case of a tie; 11 (2) 10 voting members as follows: 12 (A) the commissioner of labor and workforce development or 13 the commissioner's designee; 14 (B) the following nine members appointed by the
01 commissioner of health after providing public notice of a vacancy and 02 soliciting applications for an appointment under this subparagraph: 03 (i) three members who represent personal care agencies, 04 including at least one agency that provided at least 800,000 units of 05 personal care services during the previous calendar year, one agency 06 that provides chore and respite services, and one agency that provides 07 service in at least one geographic area where the department has 08 adjusted payment rates to reflect regional differences in the cost of 09 doing business by greater than 10 percent; 10 (ii) three members, each of whom is a personal care 11 assistant enrolled with the department or a labor representative of 12 personal care assistants representing at least 300 personal care 13 assistants enrolled with the department; at least one of the members 14 appointed under this sub-subparagraph must also provide chore respite 15 services or represent a personal care assistant who provides chore 16 respite services; a member appointed under this sub-subparagraph may 17 not be a representative of an organization or association that advocates 18 for the interest of personal care agencies; 19 (iii) one member who represents the Alaska 20 Commission on Aging or another organization that represents seniors 21 in the state; 22 (iv) one member who represents the Governor's Council 23 on Disabilities and Special Education established under AS 44.29.600 24 or another organization that represents people with disabilities in the 25 state; and 26 (v) one member who receives, or represents persons 27 who receive, personal care services. 28 Sec. 44.29.910. Term of office, vacancies, removal. (a) The members of the 29 board appointed under AS 44.29.905(2)(B) serve two-year terms and may be 30 reappointed. 31 (b) A member of the board appointed under AS 44.29.905(2)(B) serves at the
01 pleasure of the commissioner, except that a member shall be removed if the member 02 no longer meets the qualifications of the seat for which the member was appointed. 03 (c) A vacancy on the board under AS 44.29.905(2)(B) shall be filled within 04 six months. An appointment to fill a vacancy on the board is for the remainder of the 05 unexpired term. 06 Sec. 44.29.915. Meetings. The board shall meet at the call of the chair. The 07 board shall meet at least three times each year and shall hold additional meetings as 08 often as necessary to accomplish the duties of the board. At each meeting, the board 09 shall provide time for public testimony. 10 Sec. 44.29.920. Quorum. A majority of the voting members of the board 11 constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of a quorum 12 present at a meeting is sufficient to approve a recommendation of the board. 13 Sec. 44.29.925. Compensation. Members of the board receive no 14 compensation for services on the board but are entitled to per diem and travel 15 expenses authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 16 Sec. 44.29.930. Powers and duties of the board. (a) The board shall 17 (1) advise and consult with the department on the medical assistance 18 program payment rates for personal care services, hourly respite services, and chore 19 services; 20 (2) investigate matters related to the wages, working conditions, and 21 workforce adequacy of workers providing personal care services, hourly respite 22 services, and chore services in the state, including 23 (A) the adequacy of wages, benefits, and other compensation to 24 ensure the provision of quality services and sufficient levels of recruitment and 25 retention; 26 (B) the path to achieving a living wage; 27 (C) the sufficiency of levels of recruitment for and retention of 28 workers, particularly in an area that is not on a road system; 29 (D) the sufficiency of service levels of and the effect of service 30 level reductions on personal care services, hourly respite services, and chore 31 services, as the services pertain to wages and working conditions;
01 (E) the adequacy and enforcement of training requirements; 02 (F) the effect of workforce shortages on service recipients and 03 on family members and friends of service recipients providing unpaid care; 04 (G) the economic effect of achieving a living wage for workers 05 and reducing levels of unpaid care; 06 (H) the adequacy of payment practices and policies related to 07 the payment rates of personal care agencies for the provision of personal care 08 services, hourly respite services, and chore services; and 09 (I) the effect of the state's long-term care system on wages and 10 working conditions; 11 (3) based on the results of the board's investigation under (2) of this 12 subsection, include written recommendations in the biennial report required under 13 AS 44.29.935 regarding 14 (A) rates and service levels of personal care services, hourly 15 respite services, and chore services to ensure the provision of quality service, 16 adequate recruitment, and improved retention of workers; 17 (B) safe and healthy working conditions for workers providing 18 personal care services, hourly respite services, and chore services; 19 (C) reducing any barrier to recruiting for and retaining workers 20 providing personal care services, hourly respite services, and chore services 21 throughout the state, particularly in an area that is not on a road system; and 22 (D) reducing the level of unpaid care in the state and systemic 23 overreliance on family members and friends of service recipients who provide 24 unpaid care. 25 (b) In conducting an investigation under (a)(2) of this section, the board may 26 administer oaths, issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of a witness and the 27 production of information and testimony, and call on a state agency to give full 28 cooperation to the board by collecting and furnishing requested information and 29 testimony at a board meeting. A state agency that receives a reasonable request for 30 information or testimony from the board under this subsection shall comply with the 31 request as soon as is reasonably practicable and, when the board requests direct
01 testimony for a board meeting, the head of the agency or their designee shall appear at 02 the meeting and provide testimony. 03 Sec. 44.29.935. Biennial report. (a) The board shall biennially submit a 04 written report, including key findings and recommendations, to the commissioner of 05 health, the legislative committees having jurisdiction over health and social services, 06 and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and the senate secretary and notify 07 the legislature that the report is available. The commissioner shall make the report and 08 all materials presented before the board available to the public on the department's 09 Internet website. 10 (b) Upon receiving the biennial report, the commissioner shall review the 11 board's findings and recommendations. The commissioner may 12 (1) accept or reject a recommendation; and 13 (2) require the board to conduct new or further investigations and 14 develop new recommendations. 15 (c) If the commissioner accepts a recommendation in the biennial report, the 16 department shall adopt regulations necessary to implement the recommendation. If the 17 commissioner rejects a recommendation in the biennial report, the commissioner shall 18 provide a written explanation of the commissioner's decision to all board members and 19 the legislative committees having jurisdiction over health and social services. If the 20 reason for rejection includes budgetary constraints, the commissioner shall work with 21 the Office of the Governor and the legislature to develop a budget proposal that would 22 allow the commissioner to accept the recommendation. 23 Sec. 44.29.940. Publication of reports. On July 1 of each year, the department 24 shall publish on the department's publicly available Internet website an annual report 25 containing the weighted average of and median hourly wages, by agency, for workers 26 providing personal care services, hourly respite services, and chore services. 27 Sec. 44.29.945. Definitions. In AS 44.29.900 - 44.29.945, 28 (1) "board" means the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory 29 Board; 30 (2) "chore services" means chore services provided under a section 31 1915(k) option under 42 U.S.C. 1396n;
01 (3) "commissioner" means the commissioner of health; 02 (4) "department" means the Department of Health; 03 (5) "hourly respite services" means hourly respite and hourly respite 04 family services provided under a waiver in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1396 - 1396p 05 (Title XIX, Social Security Act); 06 (6) "personal care agency" means an agency certified by the 07 department as a provider of personal care services; 08 (7) "personal care assistant" means an individual who is 09 (A) employed as a personal care assistant in either a consumer- 10 directed or agency-based program; 11 (B) associated with a personal care agency; and 12 (C) individually enrolled with the department; 13 (8) "personal care services" means personal care services provided 14 under a section 1915(k) option under 42 U.S.C. 1396n, under AS 47.07.030, or under 15 a waiver in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1396 - 1396p (Title XIX, Social Security Act). 16 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 17 read: 18 APPOINTMENTS, FIRST MEETING, AND PRELIMINARY REPORT. (a) The first 19 meeting of the Home Care Employment Standards Advisory Board established under 20 AS 44.29.900, added by sec. 1 of this Act, must take place on or before October 1, 2024. 21 (b) The commissioner of health shall appoint all board members under 22 AS 44.29.905(2)(B), added by sec. 1 of this Act, before the board's first meeting. 23 (c) The commissioner of health or the commissioner's designee and the commissioner 24 of labor and workforce development or the commissioner's designee shall conduct a 25 preliminary investigation into the wages, working conditions, and adequacy of the Medicaid 26 workforce providing personal care services, hourly respite services, and chore services in the 27 state and present the results of the preliminary investigation to the board at the board's first 28 meeting. 29 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 30 read: 31 PRELIMINARY INTERNET WEBSITE PUBLICATION. Notwithstanding
01 AS 44.29.940, added by sec. 1 of this Act, the Department of Health shall make the first 02 publication of the reports required by AS 44.29.940, added by sec. 1 of this Act, on the 03 department's Internet website not later than July 1, 2025. 04 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024.