03/12/2018 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB80 | |
| SB126 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 80 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
March 12, 2018
3:17 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sam Kito, Chair
Representative Adam Wool, Vice Chair
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Chris Birch
Representative Gary Knopp
Representative Colleen Sullivan-Leonard
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Mike Chenault (alternate)
Representative Bryce Edgmon (alternate)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 80(L&C)
"An Act relating to telecommunications services for certain
disabled subscribers; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 126
"An Act providing for an exception to the regulation of the
practice of medicine for a physician who provides medical
services to an athletic team from another state."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 80
SHORT TITLE: TELECOMMUNICATIONS: DISABLED SUBSCRIBERS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) COSTELLO
03/08/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/08/17 (S) L&C, FIN
03/23/17 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/23/17 (S) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/04/17 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/04/17 (S) Heard & Held
04/04/17 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/07/17 (S) L&C RPT CS 2DP 1NR SAME TITLE
04/07/17 (S) DP: COSTELLO, STEVENS
04/07/17 (S) NR: HUGHES
04/07/17 (S) L&C AT 9:00 AM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/07/17 (S) Moved CSSB 80(L&C) Out of Committee
04/07/17 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/14/17 (S) FIN WAIVED PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE,RULE
23
04/15/17 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/15/17 (S) Moved CSSB 80(L&C) Out of Committee
04/15/17 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
04/16/17 (S) FIN RPT CS(L&C) 3DP 4NR
04/16/17 (S) NR: HOFFMAN, MACKINNON, HUGHES, OLSON
04/16/17 (S) DP: BISHOP, VON IMHOF, MICCICHE
04/16/17 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
04/16/17 (S) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/17/17 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
04/17/17 (S) VERSION: CSSB 80(L&C)
04/19/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/19/17 (H) L&C
03/12/18 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
BILL: SB 126
SHORT TITLE: VISITING PHYSICIANS WITH SPORTS TEAMS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) MACKINNON
01/16/18 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/18
01/16/18 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/16/18 (S) L&C
01/30/18 (S) L&C AT 1:00 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/30/18 (S) Moved SB 126 Out of Committee
01/30/18 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
01/31/18 (S) L&C RPT 4DP
01/31/18 (S) DP: COSTELLO, MICCICHE, MEYER, GARDNER
01/31/18 (S) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER L&C
02/05/18 (S) FIN RPT 4DP
02/05/18 (S) DP: MACKINNON, BISHOP, STEVENS,
MICCICHE
02/05/18 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
02/05/18 (S) Moved SB 126 Out of Committee
02/05/18 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
02/12/18 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
02/12/18 (S) VERSION: SB 126
02/14/18 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/14/18 (H) L&C, FIN
03/12/18 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
SENATOR MIA COSTELLO
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 80 as prime sponsor.
JOSHUA WALTON, Staff
Senator Mia Costello
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 80 on behalf of Senator
Costello, prime sponsor.
NORMAN ROKEBERG, Former Commissioner
Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA);
Former Representative, Alaska State Legislature
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in the hearing on SB 80.
JAN WILSON, Commissioner
Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA)
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in the hearing on SB 80.
SENATOR ANNA MACKINNON
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 126 as prime sponsor.
JULI LUCKY, Staff
Senator Anna Mackinnon
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions in the hearing on SB
126.
JEFFREY MOORE, MD
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in the hearing on SB 126.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:17:17 PM
CHAIR SAM KITO called the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:17 p.m. Representatives
Sullivan-Leonard, Knopp, Birch, Josephson, and Kito were present
at the call to order. Representatives Stutes and Wool arrived
as the meeting was in progress.
SB 80-TELECOMMUNICATIONS: DISABLED SUBSCRIBERS
[Mentions HB 202]
3:17:57 PM
CHAIR KITO announced that the first order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 80, "An Act relating to telecommunications
services for certain disabled subscribers; and providing for an
effective date."
3:18:12 PM
SENATOR MIA COSTELLO, Alaska State Legislature, presented SB 80
as prime sponsor. She explained she had learned from the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) about the need to update
state statutes to better help the hearing-impaired community.
3:19:07 PM
JOSHUA WALTON, Staff, Senator Mia Costello, Alaska State
Legislature, presented SB 80 on behalf of Senator Costello,
prime sponsor. He relayed that in 1990 the legislature had
authorized the RCA to adopt a surcharge on a per line basis to
telephone subscribers. He said it was a nominal charge of .01
cent for the purpose of funding subscribers that are hard of
hearing or deaf. The surcharge applied only to landlines. He
added the challenge is that technology has changed over the past
30 years and the number of land lines has dropped sharply. More
people are subscribing to cell phones and internet services and
as a result, the RCA has had to increase the amount of the
surcharge. He said the proposed legislation would change the
language from telephone to telecommunications to provide
more flexibility. He said the surcharge would be reduced
significantly to between .04 cent or .05 cent per line.
3:23:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked whether the use of texting for the
hearing impaired had been investigated.
MR. WALTON said he thinks that hard of hearing people would use
texts. The proposed bill would make technologies available. He
pointed out that the people who need the technologies need them
in connection with their VOIP or videoconference equipment. He
stated the proposed legislation would make it possible for the
RCA to collect needed funds.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked what kind of equipment would be
purchased with the funding.
MR. WALTON deferred to former Representative Norman Rokeberg and
mentioned some accessibly options on telecommunication devices.
3:27:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked whether the surcharge is "outside
what the Universal Service Fund does."
MR. WALTON answered in the affirmative.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP surmised there are more subsidies.
MR. WALTON answered he was not sure whether the equipment was
supplied directly by the program.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked how much revenue was anticipated from
the surcharge.
MR. WALTON deferred to Mr. Rokeberg.
3:30:12 PM
NORMAN ROKEBERG, Former Commissioner, Regulatory Commission of
Alaska (RCA), testified in the hearing on SB 80. He mentioned
HB 202 is the companion bill. He said the proposed bill would
create a statutory fix to update telecommunication services in
Alaska. He said over 15,000 land lines had been eliminated due
to technological advances in telephony. He indicated the
proposed bill would allow the commission to reduce the surcharge
in the range of .03 cents to .05 cents to spread more equitably
the small burden of providing services to the deaf and hard of
hearing community.
MR. ROKEBERG said AS 42.05.296 contains the language, "that
makes available reasonable access of all phases of public
telephone service to deaf, hard of hearing, and speech impaired
telephone subscribers." He informed that currently the
equipment being distributed is obsolete. Additionally, the
companies provide an analog type of tap tell system which is
essentially texting over a landline service. He described a new
technology called real time texting (RTT) which has been
approved by the FCC and will allow other types of devices to be
implemented. He further relayed the commission has established
an iPad or tablet pilot program and in the first phase 22 people
were selected throughout the state. He stated there were issues
with connections in terms of speed. He said a number of other
states have done similar things and Alaska is learning from
those programs. He added the technology would aid people with
speech disabilities. He said the initial appropriation was for
$3,000. He said no additional funding was required and the
program was entirely self-funding. He spoke to other types of
services such as video services on computers, which allow
translators to use American Sign Language. He added the Alaska
statute mandates that hearing disabled people must be able to
communicate with everyone. He said the bill provides an
effective date. He requested the chairman [indisc.]
3:44:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked about the zero fiscal note (FN) for
the proposed bill. He asked who allocated the funds.
MR. ROKEBERG answered the surcharge goes into a dedicated fund
which is managed by a provider - currently Sprint - who annually
submits a budget which must be approved by the RCA. He
explained a portion of the funds go to pay interpreters,
equipment distribution, and the outreach program, Assistive
Technology of Alaska (ATLA), who travel throughout the state to
provide information on the program. He said the budget is self-
contained and one of the concerns is finding a stable funding
source. He said he thinks the commission may not have done the
job consistently with legislative intent.
3:49:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked how the funds are distributed.
MR. ROKEBERG answered there is a large national pool of
interpreters. He said equipment is a relatively small part of
the budget currently.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked for a copy of the latest approved
budget.
MR. ROKEBERG clarified he was speaking as a private citizen and
is no longer a commissioner.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked about the new rate.
MR. ROKEBERG said if he were still on the commission, he would
be recommended a single tier for ease of interpretation.
3:55:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked how many customers the program is
covering currently.
MR. ROKEBERG answered there is a large number of people affected
by hearing and speech disabilities. He said he was not sure of
the exact numbers.
3:57:31 PM
JAN WILSON, Commissioner, testified in the hearing on SB 80.
She updated the information on landlines and underlined use of
landlines has continued to decline.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked whether there are outsourcing options
that aren't housed within the state.
MS. WILSON said she thinks Commissioner Rokeberg had done a
thorough examination of the available technologies during his
tenure.
4:00:23 PM
CHAIR KITO opened public testimony on SB 80. He announced he
would leave public testimony open.
REPRESENTATIVE SULLIVAN-LEONARD said the Key Coalition and the
Special Council on Disabilities had expressed support.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP said he thinks it is a good bill.
4:02:32 PM
CHAIR KITO held over SB 80.
SB 126-VISITING PHYSICIANS WITH SPORTS TEAMS
4:02:34 PM
CHAIR KITO announced that the final order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 126, "An Act providing for an exception to the
regulation of the practice of medicine for a physician who
provides medical services to an athletic team from another
state."
4:02:49 PM
SENATOR ANNA MACKINNON, Alaska State Legislature, presented SB
126 as prime sponsor. She paraphrased the sponsor statement
[included in committee packet] which reads as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Competitive sports teams typically have a team
physician who provides care for the athletes. When the
team travels out of state, the physician often
accompanies them. However, if an athlete is injured or
needs a prescription filled while traveling in Alaska,
the team physician would not be able to provide care
without being licensed here.
Senate Bill 126 would provide an exemption for state
licensure for this narrow circumstance. The physician
would have to be licensed to practice medicine in
another state, under a written contract to provide
care to an athletic team in that state and would be
limited to providing services to members of the team
while they are traveling or participating in a
sporting event in Alaska.
The bill is a narrow solution to a specific problem.
Thirty-five other states have passed similar
legislation to ensure that the doctors who know their
patients best can continue to treat them.
4:04:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked about the motivation for the proposed
bill.
SENATOR MACKINNON answered there is a national movement to
address liability issues when team doctors travel with sports
teams.
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked whether a license is required.
SENATOR MACKINNON answered the proposed bill would require three
parts: the doctor must be licensed in their state, must be under
contract with the team, and must be traveling to and from
Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked for confirmation that the traveling
doctor cannot treat Alaskans.
SENATOR MACKINNON answered the Good Samaritan Act would cover
them, but the proposed bill covers only the sports team.
4:07:20 PM
JULI LUCKY, Staff, Senator Anna Mackinnon, Alaska State
Legislature, answered questions in the hearing on SB 126. She
said if a person wants to treat Alaskans, they could pursue
temporary licensure.
4:08:28 PM
JEFFREY MOORE, Medical Doctor, testified in the hearing on SB
126. He clarified the proposed bill would not allow hospital
privileges to the team doctors and was intended for smaller
issues such as infections or supplying inhalers. He said the
team doctors would still be limited in what they can do. He
added similar legislation is in place in 35 states and pending
in 13 other states.
4:10:20 PM
CHAIR KITO opened public testimony on SB 126. He announced he
would leave public testimony open for the next hearing.
CHAIR KITO held over SB 126.
4:11:42 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
4:11 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB80 Summary of Changes 1.23.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB80 Additional Documents-Background from RCA 1.23.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB80 ver J 1.23.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB80 Fiscal Note DCCED-RCA 3.9.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB126 Sponsor Statement 2.14.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 126 |
| SB80 Sponsor Statement 1.23.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 80 |
| SB126 Supporting Documents-Suport Letters 2.14.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 126 |
| SB126 ver J 2.14.18.PDF |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 126 |
| SB126 Fiscal Note DCCED-CBPL 2.14.18.PDF |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 126 |
| SB126 Sectional Analysis ver J 2.14.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |
SB 126 |
| HLAC Update on 2020 Census Operation 3.12.18.pdf |
HL&C 3/12/2018 3:15:00 PM |