Legislature(1999 - 2000)
04/28/1999 03:26 PM House L&C
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 208 - PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS Number 0001 CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG announced the committee's next order of business is HB 208, "An Act relating to professional counselors; and providing for an effective date." REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI, sponsor of HB 208, thanked the chairman for hearing the legislation on such expedited notice. She commented that HB 208 is a housekeeping measure; it is a title restriction bill, not a practice restriction bill. She requested that her staff, Anne Gore, present HB 208. Number 0038 ANNE GORE, Researcher for Representative Lisa Murkowski, Alaska State Legislature, came forward. Ms. Gore provided the following testimony based on the sponsor statement: "Last year the legislature created statutes ... which established a board and license for professional counselors in Alaska. The intent of the statutes was essentially twofold. The first was to create a board which would oversee activities relating to professional counselors; and second, was to create requirements of appropriate, quality education and experience for professional counselors seeking licensure. However, in those original statutes there is some key language that was left out, primarily that which defined the authority of the board and the language which defined 'appropriate, quality education and experience.' This bill seeks to address those omissions and also allows for three other small housekeeping provisions. "Specifically, it adds to the list of health professionals allowed to supervise professional counselors; it adds professional counselors to the Centralized Licensing Statutes section regarding the use of the letters 'LPC' after a licensed professional's name; and it extends the deadline by six months for current, eligible professional counselors to be 'grandfathered' in without having to undergo supervisory and testing requirements that will be required of new entrants into the profession. "... This bill strengthens those original statutes laid out last year for both the public and the profession." MS. GORE stated she would be happy to answer any questions the committee might have. Number 0091 REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI requested that Ms. Gore explain why the additional six month extension is being addressed. MS. GORE explained that under the current provisions, the time for current counselors working in Alaska to gather their educational materials specifying their educational background and work history would expire December 31, 1999. This information allows current counselors to become licensed professional counselors without having to undergo the 3,000 supervised hours and taking the test which would be required of new entrants to the profession. The board, established under the previous years statutes, had been slow in becoming established and gathering the information required to send out to current, working counselors. Because those materials may not go out until as late as August, the board was concerned that without an extension, working counselors within Alaska who wished to become licensed professional counselors might miss that deadline. Number 0150 CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG indicated the previous legislation establishing the board had come through the committee the previous year. The chairman referred to page 3, lines 7-8 and 11-12. He asked if those were the housekeeping measures to which Ms. Gore had referred. MS. GORE replied yes, exactly. She said that it simply seeks to define both the authority of the board, and the education and experience for new entrants to the profession. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG referred to Section 4 of HB 208. He commented that HB 208 is a technical bill. Number 0208 ANNE HENRY, Chair, Board of Licensed Professional Counselors, Division of Occupational Licensing, Department of Commerce and Economic Development, came forward. She informed the committee that the board was not appointed until December 1998. The original date to send applications to potential professional counselors was January 1, 1999. Therefore, the board is backed up by many months in terms of getting the applications to people. The six-month extension would assist the board in getting the information out to those in remote areas and in providing those people enough time to gather their documentation to send in for the application process. Ms. Henry indicated she had been very involved in the drafting of the previous year's legislation, and she acknowledged that there had been some omissions in that legislation. She thinks HB 208 cleans up a lot of different things that will assist the board in the writing of regulations and enforcement of the statutes, as intended by both the drafters and, hopefully, the legislature. Ms. Henry noted she is basically here for the committee's questions. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG pointed out that on page 2 there are provisions for adopting a code of ethics by regulation, but not the balance of the regulations. He asked if that was the omission. MS. HENRY indicated agreement. REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked how many professional counselors there are in Alaska. MS. HENRY said that she does not know; they are hoping that approximately 250 people will apply for this license. Ms. Henry agreed with Representative Murkowski that the actual number of professional counselors is unknown because no information has been sent out. Ms. Henry identified that as another reason for extending the deadline. More licensees would decrease the amount of the individual licensing fee. Number 0320 CATHERINE REARDON, Director, Division of Occupational Licensing, Department of Commerce and Economic Development, came forward. She informed the committee that the division provides the staff support to the Board of Professional Counselors. Ms. Reardon said that HB 208 is a good bill from the department's perspective. When the board began fleshing out regulations, the need for the technical clean-ups were discovered. She commented that HB 208 has a zero fiscal note. REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI understands one of the reasons for requesting these technical changes is to allow this six-month extension. She questioned if the legislature is being unreasonable with these deadlines when it sets them and if should that be reviewed in order to ensure that is not the case again. MS. REARDON pointed out that with a new board, the members must first be appointed before any actions establishing policies and regulations can occur. Those policies and regulations then allow applications to be sent out. Therefore, applications cannot be sent out until the board is appointed and meets. The appointment process takes awhile because the bills pass at the same time the budget and other items come before the Governor. Therefore, appointments of new board members take lower priority. Ms. Reardon indicated this situation should be recognized regarding time deadlines. She also noted that sometimes a bill introduced the first session might not pass until the first session. Although the dates could be much closer then, Ms. Reardon indicated that amending the bill at that point might impede the legislation's progress. Additionally, she thinks both the department, and perhaps the legislature, need consider how long it really takes to write thoughtful regulations and inform the public. Ms. Reardon emphasized that she did not see much harm in having extended grandfather clauses. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked if anything in HB 208 added to the nondiscrimination clause of the insurance statute. MS. REARDON replied no and said that would be a separate issue probably will be brought to the legislature at some time. She mentioned that would be somewhat more controversial. REPRESENTATIVE HALCRO noted that the bill packet only included an unnumbered draft bill. Number 0493 JANET SEITZ, Legislative Assistant to Representative Norman Rokeberg, Alaska State Legislature, as aide to the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee, clarified for the record that the version before the committee is version 1-LS0828\A, which is the same as the unnumbered draft bill. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked how the licensing fee had been established for the board. MS. REARDON explained that the fiscal note accompanying the previous year's legislation included a proposed amount based on the number of people who might get licenses. That amount was publicly noticed and adopted. She said that three years from now, the fee would be more accurate. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked if another reason for the extension was to attempt to meet the proposed number of applicants in order to have enough money to pay for the program. Number 0537 MS. REARDON stated that there are enough licensees in the division so that would not be a concern of the division. However, more licensees result in lower fees. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked if Ms. Reardon was suggesting that other licensees fund this license. MS. REARDON explained that if the program costs more than the fee brings in revenue, the division would deficit spend on that program which would mean that technically the money spent may be from another program. However, the profession would have to pay back the deficit and the money returns to those from which it came. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked if anyone else wished to testify on HB 208. There being no one, the public hearing on HB 208 was closed. The chairman asked the will of the committee. REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA noted a conflict of interest because she is a potential applicant for a professional counselor license. CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG indicated that Representative Cissna would be required to vote. Number 0623 REPRESENTATIVE HALCRO made a motion to move HB 208 out of committee with individual recommendations and the attached zero fiscal note. There being no objection, HB 208 moved out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee. Number 0633 CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG called an at-ease at 4:30 p.m. The committee came back to order at 4:39 p.m.
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