HB 274-EXTEND: BD OF PSYCHOLOGISTS/PSYCH ASSOC.  4:11:05 PM CHAIR KITO announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 274, "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners; and providing for an effective date." 4:11:26 PM CAITLYN ELLIS, Staff, Representative Sam Kito, Alaska State Legislature, paraphrased the Sponsor Statement [Included in members' packets], which read: House Bill 274 extends the Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners to June 30, 2026 in accordance with the recommendation of Legislative Audit. The board was established to regulate the practice of psychology in Alaska and is composed of five members: three licensed psychologists, one licensed psychological associate, and one public member who does not have a financial interest in the health care industry. As of March 2017, the board regulated 285 licensees. The board is responsible for establishing examination and education requirements for licensees and issuing licenses to qualified applications, establishing continuing education requirements for license renewal, establishing standards for the practice of psychology, imposing disciplinary sanctions, reviewing the quality and availability of psychological services in the state when requested by DCCED, and compiling information for submission to DCCED on the practice of psychology by licensees in the state. The Division of Legislative Audit conducted a review of the board and determined that the board is serving the public's interest by effectively licensing and regulating psychologists and psychological associates. The board monitors licensees and works to ensure only qualified individuals practice in Alaska. The board is currently scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2018 and will have one year to conclude its administrative operations unless the legislature extends the termination date. House Bill 274 reflects the recommendations of the Division of Legislative Audit, and extends the termination date for the Board till June 30, 2026. 4:13:11 PM KRISTIN CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division, Alaska State Legislature, directed attention to the sunset review audit, dated October 2017, [Included in member's packets], and paraphrased from the report conclusions, which read: Overall, the audit concludes the board served the public's interest by effectively licensing and regulating psychologists and psychological associates. The board monitored licensees and worked to ensure only qualified individuals practice in Alaska. In accordance with AS 08.03.010(c)(18), the board is scheduled to terminate on June 30, 2018. We recommend that the legislature extend the board's termination to June 30, 2026. MS. CURTIS stated that page 5 of the report detailed the licensing activity and reported that there 285 active licenses as of March 2017, a 174 percent increase since the prior sunset audit in 2009. She moved on to the Schedule of Revenues and Expenditures on page 7 and reported that the Board had a surplus of almost $400,000 at the end of FY17, noting that the Board, in conjunction with the Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing (DCBPL), had increased fees for FY17 despite this surplus. She pointed out that the fee levels were shown on page 6. MS. CURTIS paraphrased the first recommendation, "DCBPL's director, in consultation with the board, should reduce fees," on page 9, which read: DCBPL management did not adequately set licensing fees equal to the costs of regulating the profession. Alaska Statute 08.01.065 requires the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development annually review fees to determine whether regulatory costs of each occupation approximately equal fees collected. If fees and costs do not equal, fees should be adjusted. At the end of FY 16, the board had a surplus of $273,347. Rather than adjusting fees downward to reduce the deficit, DCBPL management, at the request of the board, increased the FY 17 application fee for psychologists and psychological associates and the FY 17 licensure fees for psychological associates. Per the board chair, fees were changed to ensure associate and psychologist licensees paid the same fee. The application fee was increased to cover the costs of processing incoming applications. When analyzing the fee levels, DCBPL management did not adequately consider the surplus and make necessary adjustments. The oversight resulted in licensees paying higher than justified license fees. We recommend DCBPL's director, in consultation with the board, reduce fees. MS. CURTIS paraphrased the second recommendation, "DCBPL's director should develop and implement procedures to ensure courtesy licensees comply with monthly reporting requirements," on page 10, which read: The audit found four out of 13 courtesy licenses issued during the audit period did not comply with the monthly reporting requirements. According to 12 AAC 60.035(a), a courtesy licensee must submit a monthly report to the board during the period of licensure indicating the number of days practiced during the month. Absent submitting the required reports, there is no way to determine if the licensee was performing services in excess of the 30 days allowed by the license. Failure to ensure compliance was due in part to high turnover of licensing staff during the audit period and lack of procedures to ensure DCBPL staff were monitoring and reporting noncompliance to the board. We recommend DCBPL's director develop and implement procedures to ensure courtesy licensees comply with monthly reporting requirements. MS. CURTIS directed attention to the response from the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development (DCEED) on page 21, and the response from the Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners on page 23. She stated that both the Board and the DCEED agreed with the recommendations. 4:15:29 PM REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked for clarification on the justification for the fee increase despite the surplus. MS. CURTIS offered her belief that the intent was to have the licensing fee for the psychologists and psychological associates to be the same level, as it would take the same amount of resources to process both the licenses. She pointed out that instead of reducing one and increasing the other, they only increased the one fee, and did not consider the surplus. She said that this was a simple oversight for not considering the surplus, which resulted in too high a fee. 4:17:08 PM ALLEN LEVY, Chair, Board of Psychologists and Psychological Associate Examiners, said that he was currently in his second year of his second term on the board and had been serving since 2012. He expressed agreement with the sunset audit, that the board was acting in the public interest, and doing a good job of regulating the practice of psychology in Alaska, while protecting the public and ensuring an adequate supply of licensed professionals. He said that steps had already been taken to implement the two recommendations from the sunset audit for tracking the courtesy licenses, with an expectation to see a significant fee decrease at the next renewal period for license fees in 2019. He declared support for the continued existence of the board, and opined that the audit was fair, effective, and accurate in its conclusions. 4:19:24 PM ROBERT LANE, PhD, Federal/State Advocacy Coordinator, Alaska Psychological Association, shared that he was a professor at Alaska Pacific University and, as a psychologist, worked on the legislative committee for the Alaska Psychological Association. He testified in support of HB 274 as it provided regulations for guiding the practice and provided safety for the public. He added that it provided regulations to help guide the educational programs, and it kept Alaska "on par with all the other states in the union who have licensed psychologists." 4:20:41 PM CHAIR KITO opened public testimony. CHAIR KITO announced that HB 274 would be held over.