HB 275-EXTEND: BOARD OF MASSAGE THERAPISTS  1:54:40 PM CHAIR COSTELLO announced the consideration of HB 275. [CSHB 275(FIN) was before the committee.] 1:54:47 PM CRYSTAL KOENEMAN, Staff, Representative Sam Kito III, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, said Legislative Audit recommends a four-year extension for the Board of Message Therapists. It was created in 2015. The original estimate was that it would license 600 massage therapists, but from 2015 to 2017 the board issued 1,186 licenses. There are always growing pains with a new board. The audit found the annual fingerprinting in statute may be too burdensome to the licensees and the department in processing those. HB 275 not only includes the board extension but also changes the fingerprint requirement from biannual to once every six years. The audit had three recommendations, which Kris Curtis will cover. She noted who was available for questions. 1:56:38 PM KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, reviewed the October 2017 audit findings of the Board of Massage Therapists. This is its first sunset review since the board was created in 2015. The audit found the board was meeting the public interest in all areas except licensing. In general, meetings were conducted effectively, investigations were appropriately processed, and the board actively issued or changed regulations to improve the industry. In regard to licensing, testing found that applicants were not consistently issued licenses in accordance with statutes, regulations, and/or procedures. MS. CURTIS said additionally, an FBI audit was conducted that found that improvements are needed to comply with the federal standards for criminal history record information obtained as part of the licensing process. Legislative Audit recommends extending the board for four years. MS. CURTIS pointed out the licensing activity on page 11 of the audit. As Ms. Koeneman said, the board has issued double the number of licenses from what was expected. MS. CURTIS said the schedule of revenues and expenditures on page 14 shows the board has a surplus of $265,000 at the end of FY2017. License fees were lowered for FY2018 to address the surplus. MS. CURTIS went over the first recommendation, beginning on page 17: Recommendation 1: Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing's (DCBPL) director, in consultation with the Board of Massage Therapists (board), should take action to improve procedures to ensure licensure requirements are met. MS. CURTIS said they found three errors in the 31 license applications tested. In one case, a background check report for one initial applicant was not completed and the applicant operated for two years without a background check. Second, one applicant answered "yes" to a professional fitness question and no evidence showed the applicant provided an explanation. Third, one applicant answered "yes" to a professional fitness question and provided an explanation which included evidence of a permanent revocation of a national board certification for violating the respective code of ethics and standards of practice. The applicant was awarded a license on the requirement that the applicant take a two-hours ethics course. Standard procedures called for the application to be forwarded to investigations for further review. The lack of thorough and timely evaluation does increase the risk to public safety. MS. CURTIS reviewed the second recommendation. Recommendation 2: DCBPL's director should address the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) audit findings and concerns. MS. CURTIS said the FBI audit conducted in April 2017 found DCBPL used an unsecured website to route confidential criminal history. Applicants were not notified in writing that their fingerprints were to be used for an FBI background check. The federal audit found an inadequate chain of custody over fingerprint cards, which is important because it ensures the integrity of the applicant/fingerprint process. As of October 2017, the division application informs applicants that fingerprints will be sent to the FBI for a federal background check, but the other issues were still outstanding. MS. CURTIS reviewed the third recommendation: Recommendation 3: The director of the Office of the Governor, Boards and Commissions should work to fill the public member position. MS. CURTIS said the public member position became vacant in March of 2017. Statute requires that the public member may not be a licensed health care provider, employee of the state, or a current or former member of another occupation licensing board. The director said these requirements are too stringent to find interested applicants. The response from the Office of the Governor is on page 29 of the audit. The audit does agree with the recommendation regarding the vacancy and believes a statutory fix is necessary. MS. CURTIS said the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development response is on page 31. The department agrees that checks are needed to ensure the administrative record is complete, but they believe additional supervisory resources are needed to meet that standard. The department considered the April 2017 FBI audit to be new information and believes that they are responding quickly to address the recommendations. The board's response is on page 33 and it agrees with the audit's conclusions and recommendations. 2:02:31 PM SENATOR GARDNER said she had been contacted by a constituent who was concerned about the background check process. She asked if a person discloses a prior problem or the FBI reports that they have something on their record, what would disqualify someone from getting a license. MS. CURTIS said that on page 6 of the audit they go through professional fitness questions and provide some background information. Statute guides the fitness conditions and requires the following of an applicant: Has not been convicted of, or pled guilty or no contest to, a crime involving moral turpitude, or who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or no contest to, a crime involving moral turpitude if the board finds that the conviction does not affect the person's ability to practice competently and safely MS. CURTIS said it is the board's evaluation of the support an applicant provides that would dictate the board's decision. The auditor just looks at whether they have considered it and the adequacy of their consideration. The audit found no evidence of whether the applicant provided additional information, but the board did not follow internal procedures to ensure a thorough review of the information. 2:04:35 PM CHAIR COSTELLO listed the individuals available to answer questions. 2:05:10 PM VOLKER HRUBY, President, American Massage Therapy Association of Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of HB 275. He said it makes sense to continue this board. CHAIR COSTELLO asked the board chair, Mr. Smith, if he sees challenges implementing the recommendations. 2:05:48 PM DAVID EDWARDS-SMITH, Chair, Board of Massage Therapists, Kenai, Alaska, said no, but the chain of custody for the fingerprint cards is beyond the control of the board or division. It is a national issue for anyone not using a Rap Back [Record of Arrest and Prosecution Background] program for fingerprints. SENATOR GARDNER asked about the program. MR. SMITH said Rap Back is a program that allows a division to retain single fingerprints on file and update them. This would require authorization by statute. Alaska currently does not have the ability to request an FBI background check without initiating a background check without a fingerprint card. SENATOR GARDNER asked for clarification of the name of the program. MR. SMITH replied the name is Rap Back. 2:07:50 PM CHAIR COSTELLO opened and closed public testimony on HB 275. 2:08:20 PM SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report HB 275, 30-LS1185\J, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). 2:08:38 PM CHAIR COSTELLO announced that without objection, CSHB 275(FIN) moves from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.