HB 93-MILITARY SPOUSE COURTESY LICENSE  3:19:07 PM CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 93, "An Act relating to temporary courtesy licenses for certain nonresident professionals; and relating to the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development." 3:19:21 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, reintroduced HB 93 and provided a brief recap of the bill. He explained that the bill ensures that military spouses have the ability to get their occupational licenses in an expedient way in order for them to continue practicing in their profession. He said it helps military families when they are deployed to Alaska in the transitional phase, as well as gives them the ability to practice a profession that provides for their family. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ added that this bill is based on underlying legislation that was passed in 2011. She explained that HB 93 seeks to implement a report on the subject matter because this kind of special licensure hasn't progressed as expected. REPRESENTATIVE TUCK confirmed that, adding that the goal is to get a progress report back to the legislature on the fulfillment of the original bill's requirement. 3:21:45 PM CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony. 3:22:16 PM MARY BETH GOODMAN expressed her support for HB 93. She informed the committee that she is a licensed professional counselor in 7 states and possesses a national certification. She said she has been practicing counseling for 20 years and holds special certifications in trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), family systems, eating disorders, critical incident stress management, autism and sensory processing disorders. She further noted that she is a military spouse who is a self- proclaimed expert in transferring her professional license; however, she has been told that she does not qualify to be licensed in Alaska. Furthermore, the board does not issue military spouse reciprocity. She explained that she has made up for those deficits by continuing her professional education through continuing education units. She urged the committee to consider several factors as they deliberate HB 93: education, experience, finances, and expediency. 3:27:10 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN attempted to clarify whether there is temporary licensure available for Ms. Goodman's particular license. MS. GOODMAN confirmed that temporary licensure is not available for mental health. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN noted that the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing issued 3 types of temporary occupational licenses for psychology and one for marital and family therapy. She questioned whether Ms. Goodman's license would fit into either type. MS. GOODMAN said no, because she is a licensed professional counselor. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN said she's not sure which board would govern that profession. She asked if it would be the "psychology board." MS. GOODMAN answered yes. 3:28:14 PM CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ deferred to Ms. Chambers. 3:28:22 PM SARA CHAMBERS, Director, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, explained that the division does have a Board of Professional Counselors that regulates the counseling profession. She said if there was a temporary license for a professional counselor it would be listed under that board. 3:28:49 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked if marital and family therapists are licensed under the Board of Professional Counselors. MS. CHAMBERS replied that they have their own board. 3:29:01 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked how many types of counseling licenses and governing boards exist in Alaska for therapists and counselors. MS. CHAMBERS said there are several boards that are mental health focused: The Board of Marital and Family Therapy, the Board of Professional Counselors, the Board of Social Work Examiners, and the Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners. Those encompass all the strict mental health professions with the exception of behavioral therapists, which are licensed but don't have a board. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN pointed out that three of the aforementioned boards have issued temporary professional licenses, which leaves the Board of Professional Counselors as the only board that doesn't. She asked if that is correct. MS. CHAMBERS said that should be accurate. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ acknowledged that the memorandum from the division [included in the committee packet] confirms that. 3:30:01 PM CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked what is preventing Ms. Goodman from meeting the Alaska licensure standard. MS. GOODMAN explained that present day licensure requires a 60- hour master's degree; however, when she received her master's degree 20 years ago, 48 hours was all that was required. She further noted that the board application states that if the license was received prior to July 2000, that standard is no longer a requirement. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ said she appreciates Ms. Goodman bringing this to the committee's attention, adding that the issue might require further administrative clarification. 3:31:19 PM TAMMIE PERREAULT, Regional Liaison, Defense-State Liaison Office, U.S. Department of Defense, reported that the Defense- State Liaison Office and the U.S. Department of Defense fully support HB 93 as it provides the opportunity to further identify ways in which to better support military spouses in Alaska. Occupational licensure is one of the key priorities for the secretary of defense and the U.S. Department of Defense in improving the quality of life for military families, she said. She noted that 68 percent of married service members report that their spouses' ability to maintain a career impacts their decision to remain in the military. Furthermore, 77 percent of military spouses' report that they want or need to work, and up to 34 percent of military spouses are required to maintain an occupational license for employment. She stated that Alaska has the second highest number of military spouses out of any state. The report that HB 93 seeks would bring to light the challenges that Alaska might be facing in improving occupational licensure, she said. She thanked the committee for their support and for the consideration of this bill. 3:34:26 PM CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ closed public testimony. 3:34:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked when the report would be done if HB 93 passes. She offered her belief that the timeline should be as quick as possible to find out how to be more effective in this area. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ directed attention to page 2, lines 3-4, of the bill, and read the following: The department shall submit the report prepared under (e) of this section to the Joint Armed Services Committee on or before the first day of March each year. 3:35:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN expressed her expectation that the report addresses not only the questions being asked directly, but also the underlying problems. Furthermore, she said that she wants to know how many people are applying for a license and not being issued one. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked if Representative Hannan would like to amend the bill. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN answered no. She said that giving those remarks while the division director is in the room will help Ms. Chambers understand her intent. She added that she doesn't want to slow down the bill with an amendment. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ said she doesn't want to unnecessarily stall the process; however, she wants to ensure that the bill requests the kind of report that they want. She encouraged Representative Hannan to propose an amendment. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN suggested offering a conceptual amendment that would read as follows: Page 1, Line 7 Insert: "applied for and" Immediately following the word "licenses" on line 7 3:39:19 PM REPRESENTATIVE STORY noted that as it's currently written, the conceptual amendment might result in the number of licenses that were applied for an received instead of how many were applied for and not issued. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ objected for the purpose of discussion. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN suggested inserting "applied for or" 3:40:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK suggested adding a paragraph (5) under subsection (e), that reads, "the number and type of the licenses that have been applied for." He reiterated that the goal of HB 93 is to "see where we're at." He offered his belief that adding the number of applicants strengthens the bill. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked if Chair Spohnholz recommends holding the bill until Monday. CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ answered yes. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN "withdrew" her conceptual amendment. 3:44:03 PM CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that HB 93 was held over.