Legislature(2021 - 2022)BARNES 124
03/05/2021 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB99 | |
| HB45 | |
| Marijuana Control Board | |
| HB45 | |
| Occupational Safety and Health Review Board | |
| Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy | |
| Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers & Land Surveyors | |
| Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission | |
| Board of Pharmacy | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 99 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 45 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
March 5, 2021
3:19 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Zack Fields, Co-Chair (via teleconference)
Representative Ivy Spohnholz, Co-Chair
Representative Calvin Schrage (via teleconference)
Representative Liz Snyder (via teleconference)
Representative James Kaufman
Representative Ken McCarty
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative David Nelson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 99
"An Act relating to the State Physical Therapy and Occupational
Therapy Board; relating to the practice of physical therapy; and
relating to the practice of occupational therapy."
- HEARD AND HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 45
"An Act relating to presumption of compensability for workers'
compensation claims related to contagious diseases; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Marijuana Control Board
Nicholas Miller - Anchorage
- HEARD AND HELD
Occupational Safety and Health Review Board
Thomas Trosvig - Kodiak
- HEARD AND HELD
State Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Enlow Walker - North Pole
- HEARD AND HELD
Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers & Land Surveyors
Elizabeth Johnston - Fairbanks
- HEARD AND HELD
Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission.
James Rhodes - Ketchikan
- HEARD AND HELD
Board of Dental Examiners
Kelly Lucas - Dillingham
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Board of Massage Therapists
Julie Endle - Palmer
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Board of Pharmacy
James Hendersen - Soldotna
Tammy Lindemuth - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 99
SHORT TITLE: PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BD/PRACTICE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CLAMAN
02/18/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/18/21 (H) HSS, L&C
02/19/21 (H) HSS REFERRAL REMOVED
02/19/21 (H) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER L&C
02/19/21 (H) BILL REPRINTED
03/05/21 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
BILL: HB 45
SHORT TITLE: WORKERS' COMP. AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) JOSEPHSON
02/18/21 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/21
02/18/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/18/21 (H) L&C, FIN
03/05/21 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 99 as prime sponsor.
JOEY BOSWORTH, Staff
Representative Matt Claman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the Sectional Analysis on HB 99
on behalf of Representative Claman, prime sponsor.
ALEC KAY, President
Alaska Chapter
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 99.
NICHOLAS MILLER, Appointee
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as an appointee to the Marijuana
Control Board.
LACY WILCOX, President
Alaska Marijuana Industry Association(AMIA)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the appointment of
Nicholas Miller to the Marijuana Control Board.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 45 as prime sponsor.
ELISE SORUM-BIRK, Staff
Representative Andy Josephson
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered a PowerPoint Presentation on HB 45
entitled, "House Bill 45; Frontline Worker Presumption of
Compensability," on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime
sponsor.
CHARLES COLLINS, Director
Workers' Compensation Division
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
45.
THOMAS TROSVIG, Appointee
Kodiak, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as an appointee to the Occupational
Safety and Health Review Board.
ENLOW WALKER, Appointee
North Pole, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as an appointee to the State Board of
Physical and Occupational Therapy.
ELIZABETH JOHNSTON, Appointee
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as an appointee to the Board of
Registration for Architects, Engineers & Land Surveyors.
JAMES RHODES, Appointee
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as an appointee to the Workers'
Compensation Appeals Commission.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:19:41 PM
CO-CHAIR IVY SPOHNHOLZ called the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:19 p.m.
Representatives Spohnholz, Schrage (via teleconference),
Kaufman, and McCarty were present at the call to order.
Representative Snyder (via teleconference) and Representative
Fields (via teleconference) arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
HB 99-PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BD/PRACTICE
3:20:47 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 99, "An Act relating to the State
Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; relating to the
practice of physical therapy; and relating to the practice of
occupational therapy."
3:22:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN, Alaska State Legislature, presented
HB 99 as prime sponsor. He paraphrased the Sponsor Statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 99 amends the governing statutes for
physical therapists, physical therapy assistants,
occupational therapists and occupational therapy
assistants practicing in Alaska. The changes are
designed to bring Alaska statutes in line with
national standards and terminology, and overall make
the administrative experience of these professionals
up to date. This bill is supported by the State
Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board, which
believes HB99 will help the Board in its work to
protect the public.
In an effort to place public interest first and
foremost, the Physical Therapy and Occupational
Therapy Associations support a more balanced
representation on its Board and proposes to replace
the seat for a physician with an occupational
therapist or occupational therapy assistant.
When the membership of the board's guiding statute was
first enacted, physicians supervised physical and
occupational therapists. Physician supervision is no
longer required since PT/OT are independent
professions with the entry level degree for Physical
and Occupational Therapy being at the doctoral level.
This change would bring improved representation from
both professions to the board.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN added that HB 99 also would enable the
State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board to
discipline a therapist who commits infractions under AS
08.84.120, such as gross negligence, conviction of a felony, or
abuse of alcohol. He shared that the board currently has the
ability to revoke or deny licenses based on infractions, but has
no ability to discipline. He continued that it would also add
language to ensure that therapists educated outside of the U.S.
have training that is equivalent to that of therapists educated
in the U.S. It would also except therapists trained in an
English language program from having to take an English
proficiency test. He continued that it would update language in
statute that references an accrediting entity that no longer
exists, and makes the language more general. He concluded that
HB 99 would not require a restructuring of statute, but it
contains a number of "long awaited changes."
3:25:19 PM
JOEY BOSWORTH, Staff, Representative Matt Claman, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Claman, prime sponsor,
presented the Sectional Analysis for HB 99. He paraphrased the
Sectional Analysis, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1
AS 08.84.010. Creation and membership of the board.
Removes the seat for a physician and balances out the
board with 3 physical therapists or physical therapy
assistants and 3 occupational therapists or
occupational therapy assistants along with one public
member, to make up the 7-member board. It also changes
the term "physical therapy assistant" to "physical
therapist assistant" in this section and
throughout the entire statute. This change is to
conform to the industry title used nationally.
Section 2
AS 08.84.030. Qualifications for licensing.
Allows the board to have broader authority over what
entities will have accreditation oversight over
physical therapy & occupational therapy education
programs. Some of the accrediting entities listed in
statute are now either renamed or no longer exist,
making that statute obsolete.
Section 2 removes language from the statute relating
to additional supervised field work that occupational
therapists must complete as these requirements are
covered by the accrediting bodies.
Section 3
AS 08.84.032. Foreign-educated applicants.
Changes the section headline from "trained" to
"educated." New language is added that requires
foreign-educated physical therapist or physical
therapy assistant students to have attended a
"substantially" equivalent educational program that is
accredited by a U.S. accreditation entity that has
been approved by the board. Outdated and obsolete
language is removed that can be found on page 4, lines
3-9 of this bill.
Added to subsection (3) of this section is language
that would require that a physical therapist or
physical therapist assistant pass a test demonstrating
competency of the English language only if their
program was taught in a foreign language. Subsection
(4) requires that a foreign-educated applicant is a
legal alien or a U.S citizen. Subsection (7) requires
them to pay the required fee and meet any other
qualifications for licensure set by the board under
08.84.010(b).
All the above changes in Section 3 are replicated for
occupational therapists or occupational therapy
assistants on page 4, lines 27-31 and over to page 5,
lines 1-22.
3:27:25 PM
MR. BOSWORTH continued paraphrasing from the Sectional Analysis
for HB 99, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 4
AS 08.84.060. Licensure by acceptance of credentials.
Makes conforming terminology changes.
Section 5
AS 08.84.065(c). Temporary changes.
Makes conforming terminology changes.
Section 6
AS 08.84.075(b). Limited permit.
Makes conforming terminology changes.
Section 7
AS 08.84.075(c). Limited permit.
Changes language that would now require that a limited
permit is valid for 120 consecutive days
Section 8
AS 08.84.075(d). Limited permit.
Allows only one limited permit per 12-month period.
Section 9
AS 08.84.090. Licensure.
Updates licensure terminology.
Section 10
AS 08.84.120(a). Refusal, revocation, and suspension
of license.
Adds disciplinary action as a possibility to actions a
board might consider for an infraction of their
licensure and updates terminology in item (7) and
states in (9) that failure to comply with the law or
regulations or order of the board might result in
disciplinary action or suspension of a license.
3:28:15 PM
MR. BOSWORTH continued paraphrasing from the Sectional Analysis
for HB 99, which continued as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 11
AS 08.04.130(a). False claim of license prohibited.
Adds updated credentialing and terminology.
Section 12
AS 08.84.130(b). False claim of license prohibited.
Updates terminology.
Section 13
AS 08.84.190. Definitions.
Adds a new paragraph defining the updated term
"physical therapist assistant."
Section 14
AS 11.41.470(1). Definitions.
Updates definitions in criminal law/sexual assault
statute.
Section 15
AS 47.17.290(14). Definitions.
Updates terminology under definitions in child
protection statute.
Section 16
AS 08.84.190(7). Definitions
Repeals subsection (7), which is the definition using
outdated term of physical therapy assistant; according
to Leg. Legal, when the actual "term" used for the
definition is being changed, the
entire citing must be repealed. The new definition is
set out on page 8, Section 13, lines 11-14.
Section 17
Applicability
Sets out the applicability clauses for licensure for
sections 2 and 3 of this Act and
for sections 7 and 8.
Section 18
Uncodified law
Transition language for the board vacancy and
appointments for the PT/OT board, and states that the
changes do not apply to current licensees until it is
time for their licensure renewal and then all changes
to the law will apply.
3:30:17 PM
ALEC KAY, President, Alaska Chapter, American Physical Therapy
Association (APTA), shared that the Alaska Chapter of the APTA
represents over 450 physical therapists and physical therapist
assistants. He stated that HB 99 would modernize language and
eliminate antiquated language. He shared that the concept
behind the bill came from the State Licensing Board and would
help the board protect the public better. He reiterated his
support of the passage of the bill.
3:32:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Mr. Kay whether APTA supports the
bill.
MR. KAY replied yes, and he restated that the idea came from the
State Licensing Board.
3:33:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN asked Mr. Kay whether there is any risk
in removing the physician from the board. He asked whether
there is a benefit to having a physician on the board, and asked
if it is typical in other states to have a physician on the
board.
MR. KAY responded that the presence of the physician is a
remnant of an older time when physical therapists were
functioning under the American Medical Association (AMA). He
shared that it is not typical to have a physician on other
professional health boards. He noted that he served on the
board in the mid-2000s and that it was very rare for the
physician seat to be filled, and when it was, the member rarely
attended meetings and did not add much to the process. He
mentioned that members have a letter in the committee packets
from a physician acknowledging that it is not necessary.
3:35:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN shared the example of the State Board of
Optometry as a professional health board that doesn't have a
physician seat either.
3:35:37 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ shared that historically, many health care
boards had physicians on the board, but the practice has been to
move away from this requirement as the health care boards have
diversified and professionalized. She explained that patients
no longer need a physician's referral to see a physical
therapist and opined that it makes sense to make this
modernization.
3:37:10 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that HB 99 was held over.
HB 45-WORKERS' COMP. AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
3:37:28 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 45, "An Act relating to presumption of
compensability for workers' compensation claims related to
contagious diseases; and providing for an effective date."
[HB 45 was held for discussion later in the meeting.]
3:38:06 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:38 p.m. to 3:42 p.m.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S:)
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
^Marijuana Control Board
Marijuana Control Board
3:42:15 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be a confirmation hearing in consideration of the
governor's appointee to the Marijuana Control Board.
3:42:37 PM
NICHOLAS MILLER, Appointee, shared that he would like to
continue to serve on the board as there is still work to be done
regarding marijuana regulations. He explained that his past
experiences have allowed him to provide meaningful input during
his time serving on the board. He said that he worked in the
telecommunications field for over twenty years and presented at
hundreds of community council, planning, and zoning meetings,
which gave him experience within the public process. He stated
that he has a marijuana business that has been open for three
years and that he and his wife have several licenses.
3:44:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Mr. Miller how long he has served
on the board.
MR. MILLER responded that he was appointed in 2016.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked what the current needs of the
industry are in Mr. Miller's opinion.
MR. MILLER responded that there are several processes in
transportation that could be adjusted to better serve the
industry and the public. He stated that these processes take up
time and add unnecessary expenses to businesses.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked if there are any others.
MR. MILLER responded that there are others, but that
transportation regulations are his main concern.
3:45:57 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked Mr. Miller what kind of transportation
related regulations he thinks are burdensome.
MR. MILLER replied that if an individual is traveling from
Fairbanks, Alaska, to Kenai, Alaska, for example, it would
usually have to be done as a direct trip. This would mean that
the driver would have to leave Fairbanks and make all deliveries
along the way in Anchorage, Alaska, and then drive straight
through to Kenai without any overnight stops. He explained that
this becomes a safety issue and a burden because drivers can't
stay in a hotel overnight. He said that these issues are being
addressed, but that there is still room for improvement.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ agreed that that sounds problematic. She
asked if Mr. Miller could describe the thinking behind the
decision regarding amounts of THC allowed in edibles.
MR. MILLER responded that the consumers are asking for higher
levels of THC in edibles. He clarified that an increased level
of allowable THC in edibles wouldn't increase the amount of THC
an individual could purchase at a time, but would just adjust
the amount in a particular package.
3:48:10 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked if the amount of THC in each "dose" of
an edible is being increased. She asked if a consumer couldn't
simply take double the amount to ingest the same amount of THC.
MR. MILLER responded that yes, a consumer could just double the
dose, but that the amount of THC that a consumer can purchase
each day is not increasing.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked if there have been concerns in other
states about overconsumption of edibles.
MR. MILLER responded that the Anchorage Health Department has
released statistics from other states such as Michigan, but THC
limits in Michigan are ten times the current limit in Alaska and
would be five times the limit that the board is proposing. He
said he thinks there was a 10 percent increase in
overconsumption with this limit, but that he doesn't think it
was accidental overconsumption.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked for clarification that an individual
could buy an edible with 50mg of THC in Michigan.
MR. MILLER responded yes.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ expressed hope that Alaska doesn't go that
far.
MR. MILLER responded that he does not disagree.
3:50:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Mr. Miller how he sees the taxes
imposed upon the marijuana industry as a benefit to individuals
who abuse or are dependent upon marijuana.
MR. MILLER responded that he personally hasn't seen a benefit
and doesn't think the state does a good job of informing the
public about the allocation of those tax dollars.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ offered clarification that marijuana tax
funds are not used for addiction treatment in Alaska. She
stated that half of the tax funds go into the general fund and
the other half go into prevention efforts. In turn, half of the
prevention funds go into evidence-based after school programs
for at-risk youth.
3:51:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Mr. Miller if there is anything the
board is doing to educate or promote awareness.
MR. MILLER responded that the board typically receives a report
from the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) that
details the programs that are being funded for kids, and that
the board supplies that information to the public.
3:52:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked Mr. Miller about his opinion on on-
site consumption.
MR. MILLER replied that he doesn't personally have much
experience with on-site consumption. He shared that there was
an establishment in Anchorage, Alaska, that had it available.
He doesn't have strong feelings one way or the other, but does
have strong feelings that local communities should be able to
choose to allow or disallow on-site consumption.
3:53:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE asked Mr. Miller if he could share any
thoughts on the issue of a limited-entry system for marijuana
retailers.
MR. MILLER responded that the board has discussed this issue.
He said that the board asked the industry association to do a
survey of current licensees to get the industry's opinion on it,
but they have not provided the report yet. He expects to
receive the report soon.
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE asked if Mr. Miller's preference would be
to listen to the results of the survey, or if he has personal
opinions on the matter that might impact a decision.
MR. MILLER responded that personally, he thinks that businesses
should be able to do what is necessary to remain competitive.
He emphasized that any action would be dependent upon the
industry survey and public input.
3:56:03 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on the appointment of
Nicholas Miller to the Marijuana Control Board.
3:56:16 PM
LACY WILCOX, President, Alaska Marijuana Industry Association
(AMIA), explained that the AMIA is the only statewide cannabis-
industry trade group, and it aims to promote for a vibrant but
reasonably regulated Alaska marijuana industry. She stated that
the organization is pleased to support the reappointment of Mr.
Miller to the board. She said that AIMA considers Mr. Miller
clearly qualified. She shared that Mr. Miller serves as the
president of the Anchorage Cannabis Business Association which
makes him familiar with the issues around the Anchorage market.
She expressed that Mr. Miller has been an affable peer in the
industry and his work has led to some "common sense" regulations
and that he is a valuable figure.
3:59:44 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ closed public testimony on the appointment of
Nicholas Miller to the Marijuana Control Board.
[The confirmation hearing for Nicholas Miller, appointee to the
Marijuana Control Board, was held over.]
HB 45-WORKERS' COMP. AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
3:59:47 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be a return to HOUSE BILL NO. 45, "An Act relating to
presumption of compensability for workers' compensation claims
related to contagious diseases; and providing for an effective
date."
4:00:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature,
explained that the idea behind HB 45 came from seeing Michigan
and Minnesota lead the nation in March and April 2020 in
offering protections to first responders in the form of workers'
compensation in the instance of a disaster declaration. During
the thirtieth Alaska State Legislature, in 2020, the legislature
passed Senate Bill 241 in late March, which stood as the
emergency declaration until November 15, 2020. He stated that
this bill provided support for Alaskans in a variety of ways,
such as mandating a moratorium on rent. In that bill, he shared
that the House adopted Amendment 5, which offered workers'
compensation protection for first responders who had suffered
some exposure to COVID-19. He said that municipalities are
litigating what the legislature meant in that bill, and are
asking for proof beyond what was intended that the exposure
occurred at work. He shared that HB 45 acknowledges that there
will be future pandemics and intends to show first responders
and other essential workers that the government "has their
backs." It creates a presumption that only exists during a time
that an emergency declaration has been declared and would
provide workers' compensation to individuals that contract a
pandemic disease. He explained that these individuals would
have to prove that the disease was contracted due to exposure at
the workplace. He opined that Alaska has fortunately done
"quite well" during the COVID-19 pandemic, although Alaska has
tragically lost "over 100 people" and many others have gotten
sick, he said that many people recover relatively quickly and so
the burden imposed by the bill would not be enormous.
4:04:33 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ offered clarification that Alaska has lost over
300 lives to COVID-19.
4:05:19 PM
ELISE SORUM-BIRK, Staff, Representative Andy Josephson, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime
sponsor, offered a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "House Bill
45; Frontline Worker Presumption of Compensability," [hard copy
included in the committee packet], and began on slide 2,
"Background: COVID-19 and SB 241," which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
• In the spring of 2020, the Legislature came
together quickly to pass SB 241, an omnibus
emergency response bill.
• Amended into bill on the House Floor was a
workers' compensation presumption of
compensability for first responders and medical
professionals.
• Amendment 5 offered by Rep. Josephson and Rep.
Kopp became section 15 Chapter 10 of Session Law.
This provision expired [15 November] 2020 and the
Governor opted to exclude this protection from
his newly declared disaster declaration leaving
these individuals unprotected.
MS. SORUM-BRIK moved to slide 3, "What is a 'presumption of
compensability'?" and paraphrased the slide, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Certain occupational groups are more likely to
contract certain illnesses
• It is difficult to track where certain illnesses
come from or to link an illness directly to a
workplace
• "Presumptive compensability" law allows an
assumption to be made that an illness is linked
to the nature of an individual's work
• Can be "rebuttable" or "non rebuttable"
• If a presumption exists, an impacted employee may
receive workers' compensation benefits unless
their employer successfully rebuts the claim
MS. SORUM-BIRK moved to slide 4, "SB 241 provision vs. HB 45,"
and paraphrased from the slide, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
SB 241
• Covered: firefighters, peace officers, EMTs,
paramedics, health care workers
• Non rebuttable
• Requires the individual to have been "exposed" at
work
• COVID 19 specific
HB 45
• Covers groups previously included in SB 241
• Adds grocery clerks, teachers, childcare workers
• Allows other similar professions to be added by
DOLWD Commissioner
• Rebuttable with "clear and convincing evidence"
• Requires that an individual work outside the home
within 2 weeks of diagnosis and have direct
contact with members of the public
• Applicable during all public health emergencies
(declared under the Alaska Disaster Act) caused
by contagious disease
4:09:12 PM
MS. SORUM-BIRK advanced to slide 5, "Sectional Analysis," and
paraphrased from the slide, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Section 1 - Establishes a presumption for frontline
workers who are actively working with the public
during a declared public health emergency cause by a
contagious disease
Subsection (a) - Outlines metric for establishing
presumption
Subsection (b) - Outlines how presumption may be
rebutted and gives DOLWD Commissioner the authority to
add more occupational groups if needed
Subsection (c) - Provides definitions
Section 2 - Makes coverage retroactive to Nov 15th,
2020 (date at which SB 241 provision expired) for
first responders and health care workers
Section 3 - Provides for an immediate effective date
for newly covered occupations
MS. SORUM-BIRK proceeded to slide 6, "First Responders," and
explained that first responders would be addressed specifically
by the bill because COVID-19 has been the biggest cause of
police officer deaths in the past year. Firefighters were found
to be 15 percent more likely to be infected by COVID-19 in New
York City, she said.
4:13:13 PM
MS. SORUM-BIRK proceeded to slide 7, "Health Care Workers," and
explained that these workers often have the most direct-contact
with COVID-19 positive patients. In Alaska, medical workers
claims made up the majority of time lost claims for workers'
compensation, meaning that individuals working in the medical
field were being required to go home and quarantine due to
exposure to COVID-19.
MS. SORUM-BIRK moved to slide 8, "Teachers and Child Care
Workers," and explained that although there was a belief earlier
in the pandemic that children may not be as susceptible to the
virus, it has now been found that children do play a role in
transmission of COVID-19. She noted that the Kaiser Family
Foundation did a study that found that a majority of teachers
are in a high-risk category either due to age or medical
condition and may feel nervous about returning to the classroom.
She stated that child care centers often employ low-wage workers
and do not offer benefits, and all public health restrictions on
child care facilities were lifted "pretty early" in the
pandemic.
MS. SORUM-BIRK proceeded to slide 9, "Grocery Store Workers,"
and explained that these are also often low-wage jobs and that
there are studies "out there" that show that there are high
infection rates among grocery store workers.
MS. SORUM-BIRK advanced to slide 10, "Status of COVID-19
Presumptions in the U.S." which depicted a map of the U.S. that
she explained was put together using data from the National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) [included in committee
packets]. She noted that the blue colored states on the map are
places where executive orders have been put into place; states
in green are places where state legislatures have put COVID-19
presumptions in place. She said that some states have broad
presumptions that would apply to all essential workers, like
California, and others have narrow presumptions.
4:17:35 PM
MS. SORUM-BIRK explained that there was a National Council on
Compensation Insurance (NCCI) cost study [included in the
committee packet] that was done and noted that she looked into
what COVID-19 has looked like in the workplace in Alaska. She
said that the infection rate overall in Alaska in December 2020
was 5.9 percent, and the lowest scenario analyzed in the NCCI
study was 5 percent, meaning that Alaska was close to the lowest
scenario. The 5.9 percent number refers to the lowest
population, she noted, and the Department of Labor & Workforce
Development estimated by using workers' compensation claims that
only 1 in 12 COVID-19 cases in Alaska in 2020 were work related.
In 2020, only 3 percent of COVID-19 cases have resulted in
workers' compensation claims, she continued.
4:19:17 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ invited questions from the committee.
4:19:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked Representative Josephson about the
definition of "grocery store" in AS 44.25.048, noting that the
definition is fairly brief. She stated that she wants to ensure
that it applies to all varieties of food retail stores in
Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that he had not considered
whether the definition would be expansive enough to cover all of
the varieties of food dispensers that exist in Alaska.
4:20:53 PM
MS. SORUM-BIRK provided clarification that that is the only
statutory definition that exists for grocery stores.
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER commented that she would hate to see
smaller stores excluded due to an issue of interpretation.
4:21:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Ms. Sorum-Birk if the required
emergency declaration that would trigger HB 45 could apply to a
portion of Alaska or would need to apply to the entire state.
MS. SORUM-BIRK responded that there could be a regional or
localized pandemic and the governor could declare an emergency
for particular municipalities if it were related to a contagious
disease.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked, if there was an outbreak of
influenza, whether the employers in that community be required
to pay workers' compensation benefits.
MS. SORUM-BIRK responded that the governor has to have declared
an emergency. She said that if there was an outbreak so severe
that the governor had declared that an emergency had occurred,
then it could be a possibility, but for the common cold or
seasonal flu it would be unlikely for a governor to declare a
disaster emergency.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked if there is a definition of
"disaster emergency."
MS. SORUM-BIRK responded the bill sponsor is using the disaster
emergency definition found in the Alaska Disaster Act, located
in AS 26.23.020(c).
4:25:12 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked Ms. Sorum-Birk if she could supply that
definition to the committee. She agreed that it is unlikely
that a governor would declare an emergency for the flu, but that
it could potentially happen in the case of a disease like
tuberculosis.
4:26:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN asked Representative Josephson about the
possibility of the bill requiring employers to be "proving a
negative." He said he is concerned about setting a precedent
and opening the employers to liability and the possibility of
discrimination against employees that are already high-risk.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that in around 2008, the
legislature and the governor at the time passed a bill which
said that firefighters and related professionals who had
exposure to carcinogenic material could receive workers'
compensation upon sufficient evidence that the workplace is
where the exposure occurred. He opined that it is not fantastic
coverage because it is a sixty-month bill and it not overly
generous. The point, he said, is that there is some history for
covering something that is unseen. He stated that the failure
to cover these sorts of exposures may cause people to not want
to enter certain professions, such as grocery store positions
that pay minimum-wage. He restated that more police officers
have died from COVID-19 exposure in the last year than from
anything else. He said that he understands Representative
Kaufman's point but does not think it would be likely to be an
issue.
4:31:27 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ noted that it could be helpful to have Lori
Wing-Heier, Director of the Division of Insurance, speak to the
committee and answer questions and share her perspective.
4:32:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked for definitive numbers of workers
that may have been impacted in the last year by COVID-19.
MS. SORUM-BIRK responded that the Department of Labor &
Workforce Development would be best suited to answer this
question. She shared that the department released a thorough
report [included in committee packets] detailing the number of
people impacted by COVID-19.
4:33:48 PM
CHARLES COLLINS, Director, Workers' Compensation Division,
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, responded that
the department has tracked claims throughout the pandemic, and
as of last week there were 2,386 claims reported. He shared
that just about 10 percent of claims were denied. Of the claims
that were approved, the department categorized the claims by
occupation. He said that he would be glad to use this
information to glean any specific data the committee would like
to see.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY responded that he would be interested in
seeing numbers to see how much of an impact this bill would
have. He asked how individuals who go home sick from work [from
a common sickness] are differentiated from individuals who have
to go to the hospital.
MR. COLLINS responded that of the claims the department received
this year, only 694 of the claims were paid some type of
benefit. In situations where there may have been exposure,
Alaska employers might shut down business and send every
employee to be tested, which could result in a high number of
claims, but he shared that most of those situations resulted in
a "zero bill." He explained that that is why there were 2,386
claims but only 694 claims that were paid. He shared that even
so, this number is quite high, and resulted in a payout of
$850,000 in benefits. The majority of this cost comes from
cases where medical transfers were necessary, he said,
particularly if the individual requiring care was in a remote
location.
4:38:11 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that HB 45 was held over.
^Occupational Safety and Health Review Board
Occupational Safety and Health Review Board
4:38:38 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be a confirmation hearing in consideration of the
governor's appointee to the Occupational Safety and Health
Review Board.
4:40:16 PM
THOMAS TROSVIG, Appointee, explained that his background
includes 30 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard and 12
years of those years consisted of "sea duty." He shared that
after retiring, he and his wife owned a business in Kodiak,
Alaska, and for the past sixteen years, he has been employed as
a Safety Security Manager where he deals with Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on a daily
basis. He has served on the board for twelve years already and
said that he has a great amount of experience in the safety
field. He explained that in the Coast Guard, he filed and
approved casualty investigations for four major offices. He
said that he wants to serve to contribute to the health and
safety of the workforce.
4:42:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY thanked Mr. Trosvig for his service in
the Coast Guard.
4:43:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked if Mr. Trosvig could speak about
some of the lessons he has learned about workplace safety during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
MR. TROSVIG responded that it has been a "horror show" due to
COVID-19. He shared that it has been a horror show for him at
work every day because he has to ensure that all practices
remain COVID-19 compliant.
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER asked Mr. Trosvig if he has been following
the investigation regarding Copper River Seafoods.
MR. TROSVIG responded that he has not been following it. He
said that the board doesn't get "any inkling" until it sees a
case; therefore, he is unable to comment on that.
4:44:58 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on the appointment of
Thomas Trosvig to the Occupational Safety and Health Review
Board. After ascertaining that no one else wished to testify,
she closed public testimony.
[The confirmation hearing for Thomas Trosvig, appointee to the
Occupational Safety and Health Review Board, was held over.]
^Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy
4:45:19 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be a confirmation hearing in consideration of the
governor's appointee to the State Board of Physical and
Occupational Therapy.
4:45:21 PM
ENLOW WALKER, Appointee, State Board of Physical and
Occupational Therapy, shared that he is a retired family
practice physician and that this would be a reappointment to the
board. He shared that his medical training was financed by a
U.S. Air Force scholarship program, and he was required to serve
on active duty after his schooling, which brought him to Alaska.
He worked for a clinic in Fairbanks from 1988 through 2016 when
he retired from active practice. He shared that he was
initially appointed to the board in 2018 and is currently
serving as the secretary of the board. He said that throughout
his career, he interacted with physical and occupational
therapists frequently, including supervising the physical
therapy department. He added that he also has served on the
Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (ABADA) since 2011
and on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Health and Social
Services Commission since 2018.
4:48:19 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ thanked Dr. Walker for his service on ABADA
and said that it is a big issue in Alaska which costs the state
billions of dollars in terms of economic loss and causes a lot
of hardship for Alaska families.
4:48:45 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on the appointment of
Enlow Walker to the State Board of Physical and Occupational
Therapy. After ascertaining that no one else wished to testify,
she closed public testimony.
[The confirmation hearing for Enlow Walker, appointee to the
State Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy, was held
over.]
^Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers & Land
Surveyors
Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers & Land Surveyors
4:49:06 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be a confirmation hearing in consideration of the
governor's appointee to the Board of Registration for
Architects, Engineers & Land Surveyors.
4:49:18 PM
ELIZABETH JOHNSTON, Appointee, shared that she has been a
registered electrical engineer since 2011 and has served on the
board since 2017. She is currently the chair of the committee
and said that she is eager to continue her service. She
explained that the board is working on several initiatives
relating to continuing education, military spousal licensure,
and public outreach that she would like to see completed during
her term as chair over the next year.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked Ms. Johnston if she could explain the
initiatives she mentioned in more detail.
MS. JOHNSTON responded that the first major project is related
to continuing education. Architects, engineers, and land
surveyors have to complete a certain amount of continuing
education, she explained, and particularly with the difficulties
of COVID-19, it has been a goal of the board to figure out
better ways to reach out to licensees to remind them of the
continuing education requirements and help licensees submit the
required documentation in a way that can be efficiently
reviewed. Another project is related to military spouse
licensure, and the board intends to find a way to make this
process more efficient, she said. She explained that the board
only meets four times a year, which means that military spouses
sometimes have to wait for three to four months for the license
application to be reviewed by the board. The final project she
mentioned is finding ways to reach out to the public and
licensees. Additionally, the board is considering how to
incorporate interior designers into the board if interior
designer becomes a licensed profession.
4:52:39 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ noted that Ms. Johnston is a two-time
graduate of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
MS. JOHNSTON responded that that is correct. She shared that
she has a Master of Engineering Management as well as an
engineering degree.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ expressed that it's great to see individuals
who graduated from the university system go on to serve the
community in important ways.
4:53:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Ms. Johnston what she is
experiencing on the board regarding reciprocity of licenses.
MS. JOHNSTON responded that there are several national
organizations that the board contributes to that work to
facilitate licensure. She mentioned the board is looking at
ways to have license application reviewed prior to the meetings
to expedite the process, which would include the board only
looking at the requirements specific to Alaska, and allowing
other entities to check the national requirements.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked Ms. Johnston that process is being
challenged because of statutes that don't recognize other
entities.
MS. JOHNSTON responded that the board believes it is within the
regulations that already exist; however, the board is working on
adding language that makes it more explicit that the board can
accept records prior to the meetings.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY expressed that Ms. Johnston is well-
informed informed regarding matters of the board.
4:55:21 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on the appointment of
Elizabeth Johnston to the Board of Registration for Architects,
Engineers & Land Surveyors. After ascertaining that no one else
wished to testify, she closed public testimony.
[The confirmation hearing for Elizabeth Johnston, appointee to
the Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers & Land
Surveyors, was held over.]
^Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission
Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission
4:55:25 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business
would be a confirmation hearing in consideration of the
governor's appointee to the Workers' Compensation Appeals
Commission.
4:55:40 PM
JAMES RHODES, Appointee, Workers' Compensation Appeals
Commission, explained that he has been serving on the Workers'
Compensation Appeals Commission since 2012. He shared that one
of the requirements to serve on the commission is to first serve
on the Workers' Compensation Board, which he has done. He said
it has been both challenging and rewarding to serve, and that it
is his way to "give back to the system."
4:57:07 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on the appointment of
James Rhodes to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission.
After ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, she
closed public testimony.
[The confirmation hearing for James Rhodes, appointee to the
Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission, was held over.]
4:57:30 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
^Board of Dental Examiners
Board of Dental Examiners
^Board of Massage Therapists
Board of Massage Therapists
^Board of Pharmacy
Board of Pharmacy
4:58:00 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the final order of business
would be confirmation hearings in consideration of the
governor's appointees to the Board of Dental Examiners, the
Board of Massage Therapists, and the Board of Pharmacy.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ stated that the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee had, [during the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting on March 3, 2020,] reviewed the
qualifications of the following governor's appointees for
consideration: Kelly Lucas to the Board of Dental Examiners;
Julie Endle to the Board of Massage Therapists; and James
Henderson and Tammy Lindemuth to the Board of Pharmacy [and
would advance the confirmations to the joint session for
consideration]. She further stated that each member's signature
on the committee report in no way reflects the member's vote
during the joint floor session. [The confirmations were
advanced.]
4:58:47 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ next requested a motion to allow the co-
chairs of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee to
draft legislation on behalf of the committee.
4:59:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE moved that Representatives Spohnholz and
Fields be delegated the duties and responsibilities in AS
24.08.060(a) during regular and special sessions of the 32nd
Alaska State Legislature. This delegation remains in effect
until withdrawn by the committee.
5:00:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY objected for the purpose of discussion.
He commented that he has not read the statute and would like to
read it.
5:00:48 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 5:00 p.m. to 5:06 p.m.
5:06:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY withdrew his objection. There being no
further objection, the motion passed.
5:07:42 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
5:08 p.m.