Legislature(1999 - 2000)
04/11/2000 01:55 PM Senate L&C
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE
April 11, 2000
1:55 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Jerry Mackie, Chairman
Senator Dave Donley
Senator Loren Leman
Senator Lyman Hoffman
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Tim Kelly, Vice Chairman
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 105(FIN)"An Act providing for the licensing
of speech-language pathologists; relating to fees paid by
audiologists and speech-language pathologists; and providing for an
effective date."
-MOVED SCS CSHB 105(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 363(FIN)
"An Act relating to salmon product reports and to the sale of fish;
and providing for an effective date."
-MOVED SCS CSHB 363(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 130
"An Act adding limited liability companies and limited liability
partnerships to the organizations that can be authorized to
practice architecture, engineering, land surveying, and landscape
architecture; and relating to state and municipal contracts for
architectural, engineering, land surveying, and landscape
architectural services."
-MOVED SCSHB 130 (L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 284(JUD) am
"An Act relating to uninsured and underinsured motor vehicle
insurance; and providing for an effective date."
-SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 382(L&C)
"An Act relating to the licensing of social workers and to the use
of the title 'social worker' without a license; and providing for
an effective date."
-MOVED SCS HB 382(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 416
"An Act relating to insurance coverage for prostate cancer
screening."
-HEARD AND HELD
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 420(FIN)(efd pfld)
"An Act relating to tourism marketing contracts; and providing for
an effective date."
-MOVED SCS CSHB 420(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
HB 420 - No previous Senate action.
HB 416 - No previous Senate action.
HB 382 - No previous Senate action.
HB 130 - No previous Senate action.
HB 363 - No previous Senate action.
HB 105 - No previous Senate action.
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Patti Swenson
Staff to Representative Con Bunde
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on CSHB 105.
Ms. Joanie Waller
Staff to Representative Alan Austerman
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on CSHB 363.
Mr. Brett Fried
Economist
Income & Excise Audit Division
Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 110420
Juneau, AK 99811-0420
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 363.
Ms. Janet Seitz
Staff to Representative Norman Rokeberg
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 130.
Ms. Myrna McGhie
Staff to Representative Jeannette James
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 382.
Ms. Catherine Reardon, Director
Division of Occupational Licensing
Department of Community and Economic Development
P.O. Box 110806
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 382.
Ms. Melinda Hofstad
Staff to Representative Bill Hudson
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 416.
Mr. Joe Balash
Staff to Representative Gene Therriault
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 420.
Ms. Ginny Fay, Acting Director
Division of Tourism
Department of Community and Economic Development
P.O. Box 110801
Juneau, Ak 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 420.
Ms. Ann Campbell, Chairman
Alaska Travel Association
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported CSHB 420.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 00-14, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN MACKIE called the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee
meeting to order at 1:55 p.m. Present were Senators Mackie, Leman,
Donley, and Hoffman. The first order of business to come before
the committee was CSHB 105(FIN).
HB 105-LICENSING SPEECH PATHOLOGY/AUDIOLOGY
MS. PATTI SWENSON, staff to Representative Con Bunde, stated the
purpose of CSHB 105(FIN) is to improve the standards for speech
pathologists within the State. Speech pathologists are required to
take a national exam and follow national clinical competency
guidelines. CSHB 105)FIN) is supported at the State and national
levels.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE stated a proposed Senate Labor & Commerce committee
substitute (CS) has been drafted. Some small school districts
expressed concern that, because of their size, they must rely on
contract services to provide speech pathology services. They are
concerned that CSHB 105(FIN) will directly increase costs and
further restrict the supply of professionals available to serve
their needs. The proposed CS will exempt school district employees
and contractors who practice speech language pathology in the
district from the new licensing requirements (in Section 16 on page
8). The qualification standards for these individuals will remain
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education and Early
Development (DOEED).
MS. SWENSON stated Representative Bunde supports the CS.
SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt SCS CSHB 105(L&C) (Version M).
Without objection, the motion carried.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if any changes would be made to the boards.
MS. SWENSON stated the fiscal note combines fees from the 25 speech
language pathologists and 45 audiologists to bring the price of
licensing down and they will all be working under the same group of
people.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if a speech pathologist will be added to the
board.
MS. SWENSON answered "No."
Catherine Reardon, Director of the Division of Occupational
Licensing, Department of Community and Economic Development, stated
support for the bill.
SENATOR LEMAN moved SCS CSHB 105 (L&C) (Version M) with individual
recommendations and accompanying fiscal notes. Without objection,
the motion carried.
HB 363-SALMON PRICE REPORTS/SALE OF FISH
MS. JOANIE WALLER, staff to Representative Alan Austerman,
explained that CSHB 363(FIN) expands the existing wholesale canned
salmon price report compiled by the Department of Revenue (DOR) to
include data on all salmon products including fresh, frozen, and
roe. CSHB 363(FIN) will rename the report "The Alaska Salmon Price
Report" (ASPR). The report will capture the bulk of Alaska's
commercial salmon trade in a timely and accurate manner.
MS. WALLER pointed out that the current statute requires processors
who sell 240,000 pounds or more of canned salmon in a calendar year
to report three times each year. The bill changes the recording
threshold to 1 million pounds, which will account for 97 percent of
all salmon products in Alaska. The ASPR will reflect the changing
times in this industry. At this time, there is no reliable source
of fresh and frozen fisheries data. CSHB 363(FIN) will give
Alaskans a clear picture of the salmon industry - one of Alaska's
largest industries and revenue sources. This legislation pertains
to the accuracy of the information available to the State.
MS. WALLER noted CSHB 363(FIN) is the direct outcome of
recommendations made at in-depth forums that State agencies,
processors, and fishermen attended. All agreed that processors and
fishermen would share information on short and long term marketing
strategies.
MR. BRETT FRIED, Economist for the Income & Excise Audit Division,
Department of Revenue (DOR), stated DOR does not have a position on
the collection of data for the Alaska Salmon Price Reports, but it
does not see is as a function of the DOR because there is no direct
link with taxation. DOR taxes fish at the ex-vessel level, which
is what the fishermen are paid. This report is at the wholesale
level and records what the buyers pay to the processors. DOR
believes it can do a good job meeting the requirements of the bill.
DOR's fiscal note contains funding for a three-quarter time
position at a cost of $38,100. DOR will also have a one-year
capital expenditure of $20,000 to set up a database that it
currently does not need. The number of processors who report will
probably increase from 12 to about 32.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if DOR could establish an electronic format for
processor reporting instead of spending $20,000 to set up a
database. He surmised that electronic reporting would negate the
need for an employee to enter data in the database.
MR. FRIED said that would be great and would reduce the cost;
however, if DOR uses an electronic format, everyone will have to
report that way otherwise DOR will need two systems.
SENATOR LEMAN thought any business that moves one million pounds of
product probably has the capacity to enter data electronically or
hire someone to do it by contract. He noted he will hear this bill
again in the Senate Finance Committee and he is interested in
looking at ways to decrease the fiscal note.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said the Committee would take up the amendment
regarding the three-year sunset date. He explained the original
bill has a sunset date of July 1, 2003; Section 13 repeals that
date on page 5, line 20.
SENATOR LEMAN said that is correct. He moved to delete Section 13
to restore the sunset date.
MS. WALLER said the sponsor supports the amendment.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE stated this bill is the start of an ongoing process
to bring fishermen and processors together and, although it does
not do everything, certain issues can be addressed in the future.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced the amendment was adopted with no
objections.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to pass SCS CSHB 363(L&C) from committee with
individual recommendations. With no objections, it was so ordered.
HB 130-ARCHITECTS/ENGINEERS/LAND SURVEYORS
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced HB 130 to be up for consideration.
MS. JANET SEITZ, aide to Representative Norman Rokeberg, said HB
130 makes additions to the statutes regarding the Architects,
Engineers, Land Surveyors and Landscape Architecture (AELS) Board.
In addition to individual licenses, this particular board has
requirements that certain businesses can register and have a
license as long as they have a designated person in charge. Over
the years the Legislature has authorized limited liability
companies (LLC) and limited liability partnerships (LLP) as forms
of businesses. The Department of Law (DOL) advised the Department
of Community and Economic Development (DCED) that DCED cannot
register these types of LLCs under current law. HB 130 permits
DCED to allow those businesses to practice in the same manner as
corporations do. Consumer protection and license accountability
are maintained. In addition, when the landscape architecture
language was added to the AELS Board, language was not picked up in
the contract section of AS 36.90.100. Section 11 adds them to the
section. The bill is supported by the Board and The Alaska
Professional Design Council.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE noted a Senate Labor and Commerce Committee
substitute (CS) was prepared. He noted the Board requested
statutory language that requires a licensed architect or engineer
do project review, inspection or approval. The Department of
Public Safety has also requested a similar change for the Fire
Marshall's Office. Finally, he received some interest from
municipal building inspectors. He noted the corrections are
located in Section (13) on page 9. The Division of Occupational
Licensing and the Fire Marshall's Office support this addition.
The change has been circulated to all other entities expressing
interest in the bill and all were in agreement.
MS. SEITZ said that Representative Rokeberg supports the committee
substitute.
SENATOR LEMAN noted that on page 9, line 19, the word "relating"
should be "related" and they should send a note to the drafter.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt the CS. There were no objections and
it was so ordered.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to report SCSHB 139(L&C) from committee with
individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so
ordered.
HB 284-UNINSURED MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE
CHAIRMAN MACKIE noted that the sponsor of HB 284 requested that HB
284 be removed from today's agenda.
HB 382-SOCIAL WORKER LICENSING
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced HB 382 to be up for consideration.
MS. MYRNA MCGHIE, aide to Representative James, sponsor, told the
Committee that Representative James introduced legislation in 1998
that prohibits the use of the title of "social worker" to be used
without a license. That legislation also established the minimum
qualifications for each level of social work licensure. Since
enacted, DFYS found the restrictions in the bill to have created
hiring problems. Social workers needed time to meet the new
licensing requirements. Representative James introduced HB 382 to
amend the current laws to allow temporary licensing for up to one
year for newly hired social workers providing they have met all
necessary requirements other than the licensing exam.
MS. CATHERINE REARDON, Director of the Division of Occupational
Licensing, DCED, expressed support for HB 382.
With no further testimony or questions, SENATOR DONLEY moved HB 382
from committee with individual recommendations. There were no
objections and it was so ordered.
HB 416-PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced HB 416 to be up for consideration.
MS. MELINDA HOFSTAD, aide to Representative Bill Hudson, informed
Committee members that Representative Hudson asked the House HESS
Committee to introduce this legislation at the request of a 47 year
old constituent who is a four-year survivor of advanced prostate
cancer. HB 416 lowers the age for required insurance coverage for
an annual prostate cancer screening from 50 to 40 for the general
male population. In the case of high risk individuals, the
screening age is lowered from the present age of 40 to 35. "High
risk" is defined in this legislation to include men who have a
family history of prostate cancer and African-Americans who are 32
times more likely to contract the disease. Prostate cancer in men
under age 65 tends to be more aggressive in nature and, by lowering
the ages, earlier screening will provide earlier treatment, saving
lives and suffering. HB 416 passed the House unanimously and
insurance company representatives who have testified have no
objections to it.
SENATOR DONLEY moved to pass HB 416 from committee with individual
recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.
HB 420-TOURISM MARKETING CONTRACTS
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced HB 420 to be up for consideration.
MR. JOE BALASH, aide to Representative Therriault, said HB 420
makes some adjustments to a piece of legislation that passed last
year (SB 107). HB 420 will require DCED to contract with a
qualified trade association on or before May of each fiscal year.
Under the current law, most negotiating would be occurring during
June and July, the peak months of the tourism season. To make that
change, new transition language had to be included in HB 420.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced that a Senate Labor and Commerce CS was
drafted.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt Version H as the Senate Labor and
Commerce committee substitute to HB 420. There were no objections
and it was so ordered.
MR. BALASH highlighted the changes in the Senate Labor and Commerce
CS. He said the contract date is changed from August to April 1 in
Sections 1 and 2. In Section 3, the transition language directs
DCED to identify and issue its central components for the contract
by May 1 for the FY01 contract. The qualified trade association
(QTA) would then put together a marketing campaign plan and submit
that to DCED by June 15. The format and detail of the marketing
campaign plan should be similar to DCED's FY00 action plan, which
was the best they could come up with. The contracts should be
signed by July 1. This addresses the concerns DCED had with other
versions of this legislation. In future years the transition steps
are not part of the legislation.
SENATOR MACKIE asked when the central components will have to be
issued by.
MR. BALASH replied by May 1.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked if the contract must be signed by July 1.
MR. BALASH said that is correct.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked about future years.
MR. BALASH replied that in future years the transition steps will
not apply.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked what will happen next year in terms of the
deadline.
MR. BALASH answered that the deadline is April 1, 2001 for a
contract to be entered into for FY02.
Number 1712
SENATOR LEMAN noted that the effective date failed in the House. He
asked if the new transition language covers the challenges so that
if this version passes the Senate, it will pass the House.
MR. BALASH said his understanding of why the effective date failed
is that DCED and members of the minority felt that May 1 for the
current negotiations is too soon. That date was then pushed to
July 1, which DCED staff said would be acceptable.
MS. GINNY FAY, Deputy Director of the Division of Tourism, had not
seen the committee substitute but, after a quick review, said she
did not see a problem with the deadlines. This year DCED actually
gave the QTAs the essential components during the second week of
February. She thought that DCED would give the components to the
qualifying associations earlier next year. She noted DCED always
hoped to have a contract signed by July 1 and that the Legislature
chose the August 1 date.
MS. ANN CAMPBELL, Chair of the Alaska Travel Association (ATA),
stated support for the committee substitute. She said that April 1
is an important date for them and she thought they could work with
the June 15 deadline to get the campaign to DCED in time to sign
the contracts by July 1.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked if she could comment on the whole process of
meeting with DCED. He said his understanding is that the industry's
membership drive is going very well.
MS. CAMPBELL responded that it is a little early, but that things
seem to be working well regarding new members. The ATA has some
fundamental differences with the DCED in terms of the level of
detail that has to go into marketing plans and contracts and
fundamental differences in terms of decision making. She did not
know how long the process will really take. The ATA has agreed to
some of the "big picture" goals for the program but how long it
will take to grind out the details of the contract remains to be
seen. ATA is committed to having its marketing plan ready by June
15.
SENATOR MACKIE asked Ms. Fay if she saw any major obstacles that
might cause a problem regarding the contract.
MS. FAY answered that the ATA has had the components and goals for
two months. They have been meeting to discuss how to measure
success. She did not think DCED could move forward to put together
a contract until she sees a marketing plan, which will take time.
That is what she is waiting for.
SENATOR MACKIE asked if she thought that could be accomplished
under the time line in the bill.
MS. FAY said it is a pretty tight time line. She commented the
June 15 deadline to submit a marketing plan will give DCED two
weeks for review which is very tight. She stated she would like
the deadline for the marketing plans to be earlier to give DCED
more time, especially since the components were provided in
February.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said he was the prime sponsor of the legislation
last year and it was clearly the intent of the legislature to turn
over the marketing to this group. He hoped that DCED is not trying
to exercise all the controls it had before and that it will allow
the group to do the marketing.
MS. FAY stated it is the Legislature's prerogative. She reiterated
that it is a short amount of time given the level of importance of
the issue.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE asked, in terms of the makeup of the organization,
how she felt about the concerns DCED had about the small tour
operators.
MS. FAY said that the sectors had been represented, although there
were comments that rural Alaska hadn't been represented.
SENATOR LEMAN asked what a more reasonable time frame would be to
review the plan and prepare the contract.
MS. FAY replied that she hoped to see a marketing plan before June
15. She suggested June 1.
SENATOR LEMAN thought more time would be reasonable and suggested
rolling the other dates back.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE commented that the transition dates were changed
because of the concerns DCED had about not being able to meet the
original deadlines. He said the industry and trade groups will
write the marketing contract and do the marketing. If one believes
DCED will be doing that, the bill should not have been introduced
in the first place. He asked Ms. Campbell to comment on the fact
that she requested the CS to accommodate concerns DCED had with
meeting the original deadlines.
MR. BALASH said that is correct and explained the June 15 date was
given as a yardstick and the May 1 deadline was offered to give the
QTA six weeks to finalize a marketing plan together after the
components are determined. The ATA's hope was that the QTA
membership at large could comment on this which is why the longer
period of time was thought to be beneficial to the small business
owners.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said his understanding was that there has been a
huge response in terms of the membership wanting to be part of it
but there is still a significant portion of the potential
membership that first wants to see what the marketing contract will
look like. He pointed out they are having to build support within
the potential membership and craft a contract that is acceptable to
the State based on the essential components.
TAPE 00-14, SIDE B
Number 2400
MS. FAY said she is confused because although DCED already produced
the essential components in early February, it appears to say they
might have to be redone.
MR. BALASH replied that he was under the impression there had been
some negotiations between industry and the Department about what
the components would be. The intent of the sponsor is to have the
components finalized by May 1 and then to give the industry an
opportunity to develop the marketing plan and allow their
membership to see it and comment.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said if there are any other issues with the
Department, the date certain of May 1 gives the QTA six weeks to
put together a marketing plan and present it to its membership for
approval. After that, there will be a couple of weeks to do the
negotiating and sign the contract.
MR. BALASH agreed with that.
MS. FAY noted the ATA Board adopted the components given to it by
DCED on February 17. She questioned whether this legislation
undoes that process.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said it does not, it just provides two more weeks
to address anything else that remains unresolved. He noted the
marketing plan could be submitted much earlier than June 15 unless
DCED comes up with more issues.
MS. FAY said she just wanted to be clear about whether she is being
asked to redo something she is already done because someone is not
happy with what she has done.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said he is not aware of what she has given them and
he has not asked. He pointed out if she feels she has given them
all of the components then the May 1 deadline means nothing. He
said everyone is interested in the same end result so it is not
necessary to read things into the dates.
SENATOR HOFFMAN asked how the time lines affect the signing of the
contract as they relate to fundraising the matching funds required
for the contract.
Number 2216
MS. CAMPBELL replied that they are on track for raising the
required 30% matching funds (around $2 million). The issue is when
they will contribute the match to the program. Some of it will be
raised in the spring and summer and some of it would be raised in
the fall and winter.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE said they will not get the dollars until they have
the match, whether it is in installments or whatever they work out
with the Department. He pointed out there are no set time lines
because it takes time to raise that kind of money.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to pass SCSHB 420(L&C) from committee with
individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so
ordered.
CHAIRMAN MACKIE adjourned the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
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