SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE April 15, 2015 1:56 p.m. 1:56:21 PM CALL TO ORDER Co-Chair MacKinnon called the Senate Finance Committee meeting to order at 1:56 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Anna MacKinnon, Co-Chair Senator Pete Kelly, Co-Chair Senator Peter Micciche, Vice-Chair Senator Click Bishop Senator Mike Dunleavy Senator Lyman Hoffman Senator Donny Olson MEMBERS ABSENT None ALSO PRESENT Laura Stidolph, Staff, Representative Kurt Olson; Kris Curtis, Legislative Auditor, Alaska Division of Legislative Audit; Sara Chambers, Administrative Operations Manager, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Cynthia Franklin, Director, Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Juneau; Conrad Jackson, Staff, Representative Kurt Olson; Mike Monagle, Director, Division of Workers Compensation, Department of Labor and Workforce Development. PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE Deborah Schneider, Certified Direct Entry Board of Midwives, Wasilla SUMMARY SB 50 AIDEA: BONDS; PROGRAMS; LOANS; LNG PROJECT SB 50 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD. HB 26 EXTEND CERT. DIRECT-ENTRY MIDWIVES BOARD HB 26 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. HB 106 UNIFORM INTER.CHILD SUPPORT; PARENTAGE HB 106 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD. HB 116 EXTEND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD HB 116 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. HB 176 REPEAL ST EMPL WAGE RAISE; LEGIS EMPL BENE HB 176 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD. HB 178 WORKERS' COMP MEDICAL FEES; DELAY HB 178 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL NO. 26 "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives; and providing for an effective date." 1:57:20 PM LAURA STIDOLPH, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE KURT OLSON, discussed HB 26, which would extend the termination date for the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives to June 30, 2017. She shared that each year the Division of Legislative Audit reviewed state boards and commissions to determine whether they should be reestablished per AS 24.44. The division of Legislative Audit reviewed the activity of the board in order to determine whether there was a demonstrated public need for the board's continued existence and whether it had been operating in an effective manner. She relayed that it was the opinion of the division that the board be extended two years to June 30, 2017. She stated that in the auditor's opinion the board was serving the public's interest by effectively licensing certified direct-entry midwives and apprentices. She furthered that it had been found that the board continued to improve the profession by modifying and adopting midwifery regulations to conform to current standards of care. She spoke to the four findings and recommendations from the audit, including; having the department pursue disciplinary cases, increasing licensing fees to eliminate the boards operating deficit, having the board communicate certificate requirements to continuing education providers and approving apprentice applications in accordance with statutes. She concluded that the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives served an important role in protecting the wellbeing of Alaskans by identifying individuals who were willing to pursue technical training and meet specified technical qualifications necessary for licenses as midwives; the continuation of the board was important to the health and safety of Alaska's women and children. 2:00:00 PM Senator Olson asked why the board was only being extended for two years. Ms. Stidolph related that a number of issues brought up in the audit had led to the recommendation of the shortened extension. 2:00:33 PM Senator Dunleavy understood that the board was doing a good job in spite of the issues raised in the audit. Ms. Stidolph replied that the responsibility for the issues highlighted by the audit was found to lie with the Department of Commerce, community and Economic Development. She assured the committee that the department had taken action on the issues. 2:01:08 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon directed the committee's attention to a report from Legislative Budget and Audit (copy on file). KRIS CURTIS, LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, ALASKA DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, testified that the division had performed and audit of the board and recommended a short extension. She spoke to the four recommendations: Recommendation No. 1 The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development's (DCCED) commissioner should take immediate action to pursue disciplinary sanctions for certified direct-entry midwives (CDM) cases when warranted. Disciplinary sanctions were not actively pursued for four CDM-related investigations which were completed during the audit period. The investigations, involving two people, supported disciplinary sanctions including probation with continuing education and license revocation. However, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (DCBPL) investigative staff did not actively pursue disciplinary sanctions to protect the public's safety. In all four CDM cases, the respondents refused to sign a CA. Rather than file an accusation and pursue an administrative hearing, DCBPL staff followed alternate procedures. Two of the four cases were forwarded to the Department of Law's Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals (OSPA) without a sufficiency of evidence review by an AAG. A year after the cases were forwarded to OSPA, no action had been taken. According to OSPA, the cases represent their lowest priority as the related offenses were categorized as Class B misdemeanors. The other two cases were held by DCBPL investigators with the understanding that the cases would be forwarded to OSPA once the other cases were addressed. Due to staff turnover, it is unclear why DCBPL staff did not pursue a civil licensing action as required by standard operating procedures. At a minimum, licensing action should be pursued concurrently to ensure the public is protected from incompetent, negligent, or unlicensed practitioners. By not pursuing licensing action, the respondents were allowed to continue practicing, and the public's safety was placed at risk. 2:04:08 PM Ms. Curtis discussed the three remaining recommendations: Recommendation No. 2 DCBPL, in consultation with the board, should increase licensing fees to eliminate the board's operating deficit. As of March 31, 2014, the board had an operating deficit of $115,261. Recommendation No. 3 The board should communicate certificate requirements to continuing education providers to facilitate compliance with centralized licensing regulations. Recommendation No. 4 The board should approve apprentice permit applications in accordance with statutes. For two of two apprentice applications tested, permits were inappropriately issued by DCBPL's licensing examiner rather than by the board. Senator Bishop asked whether the word "apprentice" was a term of art, and was the occupation of midwife federally recognized by the United States Department of Labor. Ms. Curtis deferred the question to the department. 2:04:48 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon welcomed Co-Chair Kelly to the table. 2:05:14 PM SARA CHAMBERS, ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS MANAGER, DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, related that she was unsure whether "apprentice" was a federally recognized term; however, the term was created through the board statutes and regulations to recognize someone who had yet to fully meet the technical standards to become a midwife, but was in training to meet the standards. 2:05:49 PM Senator Bishop requested further clarification. 2:06:04 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon asked for the name of the board president. Ms. Chambers related that the board president's name was Cheryl Corrick; Deborah Schneider was the board's representative for the hearing. Co-Chair MacKinnon asked how long Ms. Corrick had been serving as board president. Ms. Chambers replied two to three years. 2:06:41 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon wondered why the board should be extended given the mismanagement highlighted in the audit. Ms. Chambers stated that the concerns that were raised in the audit were being addressed. She shared that the primary concern, the investigative procedures, had been addressed by the department. She explained that different management strategies had been implemented, as well as quality control elements that served all licensing programs. She deferred to the board to speak to the topic of public service. 2:08:23 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon asked whether the recommendations were reoccurring. Ms. Curtis stated that the deficit and the fees were reoccurring issues. She noted that the 2006 audit had identified that the board's fee was the highest of any board, over $2000. She said that it had been a continual struggle, with the small number of licensees, to bear the cost of investigations and regulatory projects. She said that the issue of investigative staff was isolated to one instance, the department routinely went into the division and scrutinized their investigative function; a systematic problem had not been identified, the problem seemed specific to this particular board. 2:09:23 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon asked if the deficit the board faced was due to investigations. Ms. Curtis replied that the audit had determined that the deficit was based on investigative and regulatory costs. She furthered that the board had recently undergone a regulatory project and thought that some of the incurred costs were due to the project. Ms. Chambers reiterated that it was difficult for a licensing group of less than 50 licensees to sustain the statutory requirement for all of their expenses to be covered by revenues. She furthered that the board currently had the highest licensing fee of any other program, which would continue to be raised on a regular basis in order to overcome the deficit. She expressed concern that the organization was "top heavy" due to the nature of the work and fees. 2:11:26 PM Senator Hoffman asked if there were any midwives in Western Alaska. Ms. Chambers responded that she would follow up with the information at a later date. 2:11:44 PM Senator Dunleavy asked what would occur if the legislation did not pass. Ms. Curtis responded that the licensing function of the board would revert back to the department. Ms. Chambers reiterated that there was a one year period in which the board transition responsibilities over to the department. She shared that the department had 43 licensing programs, only 21 with boards. 2:13:10 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon pointed out that over the last two years work had been done to understand why certain licensee groups in the state had deficit balances. 2:14:16 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon asked whether the board was acting on first recommendation of the audit. DEBORAH SCHNEIDER, CERTIFIED DIRECT ENTRY BOARD OF MIDWIVES, WASILLA (via teleconference), replied yes. She said that the recommendations in the audit had been addressed by the board. [The quality of the audio is failing. This testimony is nearly impossible to decipher.] 2:18:03 PM AT EASE 2:19:45 PM RECONVENED Co-Chair MacKinnon repeated her question. Ms. Schneider stated that the board had worked with investigators to address the issues in the audit. She stressed that the board was working within its legal authority in the investigation issue. Co-Chair MacKinnon reminded Ms. Schneider that the legal authority of the board was outlined in state statute. Co-Chair MacKinnon asked how the board was communicating to its providers the certificate requirements for continuing education. Ms. Schneider specified that a letter detailing the state requirements had been drafted and sent to the Midwife Association of Alaska. She said that license renewal certificates were being reviewed to assure that state requirements were being met, and that agencies that were providing continuing education were notified of those specific requirements. 2:22:29 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon asked whether the board understood that they were responsible for approving apprenticeship permit applications in accordance with state statutes. Ms. Schneider explained that the board was aware and had directed that the apprentice permits come before the board for approval. 2:23:11 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon wondered why the board' authorization in state statute should be extended. Ms. Schneider explained that the board worked to ensure that midwives practiced under the most current regulations. She stated that midwifery was a growing practice and that well written regulations and experienced oversight were important. She shared that Alaska was one of the first states to have licensure of direct-entry midwives, which had been a blueprint for many other states when developing their own guidelines. 2:24:55 PM Senator Bishop asked how many midwives and apprentices were currently licensed in the state. Ms. Schneider replied that there were 34 licensed midwives. She said she was unsure on the number of apprentices. 2:25:38 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon OPENED public testimony. 2:26:07 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon CLOSED public testimony. 2:26:13 PM Senator Olson assumed that the licensing fee was paid biannually. Ms. Chambers replied yes. Senator Olson asked if investigators were shared among other boards and departments. Ms. Chambers said that the department adhered to a positive time keeping practice to assure that investigators were being used that had the highest skillset in the healthcare community, while spreading resources across the various competing, and ever-changing, needs of the division. She stated that the investigator was not a full-time position for the board. Senator Olson expressed concern that the public welfare could be harmed due to malpractice. 2:28:33 PM HB 26 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL NO. 116 "An Act extending the termination date of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; and providing for an effective date." 2:29:15 PM LAURA STIDOLPH, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE KURT OLSON, testified that HB 116 would extend the termination date of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to June 30, 2018. She shared that each year the Division of Legislative Audit reviewed state boards and commissions to determine whether they should be reestablished per AS 24.44. The division of Legislative Audit reviewed the activity of the board and determined that there was a demonstrated public need for the board's continued existence and that it had been operating in an effective manner. She furthered that the board had addressed all issues found in prior audits, with two being resolved and one being partially resolved. She noted the five findings and recommendations from the most recent legislative audit (copy on file): Recommendation No. 1 The board's director should ensure that all board meetings are properly published on the State's Online Public Notice System. Prior Finding From FY 07 through FY 09, 11 of 16 board meetings were not adequately publicly noticed per statute or board policy requirements. Four meetings were not advertised on the State's Online Public Notice System; the venues for seven board meetings were not advertised in the local newspaper; and seven meetings were not advertised timely. Current Status From FY 09 through February 2014, three of 25 board meetings were not published on the State's Online Public Notice System. Although the board has procedures for public noticing, Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development staff did not adhere to procedures due to general oversight. Alaska Statute 44.62.310(e) requires reasonable public notice be given for meetings. Failure to publicly notice board meetings may limit public input in the regulatory process. Lack of public input may reduce the board's effectiveness in addressing public concerns. We recommend the board's director ensure all board meetings are properly published on the State's Online Public Notice System. Recommendation No. 2 The board should notify local governing bodies of applications for new and transfer licenses within 10 days of receipt. Prior Finding The board did not consistently adhere to the statutory requirement of notifying the local governing body within 10 days of receiving an application as required by AS 04.11.520. This requirement allows time for local governments to review and possibly protest a license being issued, renewed, relocated, or transferred. Local governing bodies were not consistently notified because board members and the director did not provide appropriate guidance and oversight to staff to ensure compliance with state laws, and with its decisions. Current Status For two of 10 new or transfer licenses tested, the board did not inform the local governing body within 10 days of receiving the application. Both notifications were sent between 11 and 20 days after the board received the application. The errors resulted from prior board staff not adhering to the board's policies and procedures which require local governing bodies be notified in a timely manner. Alaska Statutes specify a timeline for the board to review applications, notify local governing bodies, and receive protests. Alaska Statute 04.11.510 requires the board to review applications within 90 days of receipt. Alaska Statute 04.11.520 requires the board to notify local governing bodies within 10 days of receiving an application. A local governing body may protest within 60 days as provided by AS 04.11.480. Delays in notifying local governing bodies may result in inappropriately limiting the time the local governing body and/or the board has to review applications. We recommend the board notify local governing bodies of applications for new and transfer licenses within 10 days of receipt. Recommendation No. 3 The board should issue catering permits in accordance with statutory requirements. Catering permits may be issued to beverage dispensary licensees (BDL) to sell alcoholic beverages at conventions, picnics, social gatherings, sporting events, or similar affairs. The permits expire after seven days and can only be used for events hosted off licensed premises. Alaska Statutes 04.11.230(a) states: A caterer's permit authorizes the holder of a beverage dispensary license to sell or dispense alcoholic beverages at conventions, picnics, social gatherings, sporting events, or similar affairs held off the holder's licensed premises. The permit may only be issued for designated premises for a specific occasion and for a limited period of time. A review of four licensees that received more than six consecutive catering permits during the audit period yielded three instances of noncompliance. Two were related to catering permits issued to serve alcohol in another room of the same premises. The permits were issued for six to 14 consecutive weeks while the board processed the licensee's application for a duplicate BDL. A duplicate BDL allows a licensee to serve alcohol in another room of an establishment. The third noncompliant permit resulted from the board issuing a catering permit to one licensee to serve alcohol for another business with an expired BDL. In this case, the permits were issued for eight consecutive weeks while the board processed the licensee's renewal application. Each of the three variances represent a statutory violation because the permits were issued with the intention to serve alcohol on a licensed premises and to maintain daily operation of a business rather than for a short term social gathering or similar event. Circumventing licensing laws weakens the board's role as regulator and may result in inequitable treatment of applicants. Inquiries with board members revealed that the board considered the issuance of the noted catering permits a convenience to both licensees and the public. At the time, the board believed that issuing the license or permit was appropriate to ensure the businesses could continue to operate. We recommend that the board issue catering permits in accordance with statutory requirements. Recommendation No. 4 The board should issue recreational site licenses in accordance with statutory requirements. Recreational site licenses may be issued to businesses that host non-school-related recreational events held during a season. Of the 32 recreational licensee's active during the audit period, the audit found 15 businesses (47 percent) did not meet the criteria for a recreational license. Ineligible businesses include bowling alleys, a sports center and pub, an exercise gym, a gift shop, theatres, and pool halls. These business types did not meet the definition of a recreational site nor were operations limited to a season. The issuance of these licenses expanded the number of establishments licensed to sell alcohol over the number allowed by statute. According to AS 04.11.210(a), the holder of a recreational site license may sell beer and wine at a recreational event during and one hour before and after recreational events. AS 04.11.210(c) defines recreational events as baseball games, car races, hockey games, or curling matches regularly held during a season. Inquiries with board members revealed that the improper issuance of recreational site licenses was caused by an historic misunderstanding of what qualifies as a recreational event. We recommend that the board issue recreational site licenses in accordance with statutory requirements. Recommendation No. 5 The board should implement a process to monitor and track all complaints to ensure they are resolved in a timely manner. The board has not established a process to monitor and track all complaints to ensure they are resolved in a timely manner. The board does have a process to receive complaints from licensees or law enforcement agencies through their website, telephone, or emails. However, complaints are only tracked if they result in an inspection or investigation. If the complaint is deemed invalid, it is not documented. Furthermore, the basis for a decision not to investigate is not documented and maintained. The efficiency with which complaints are investigated is one of the sunset evaluation criteria used in the legislative oversight process. Alaska Statute 44.66.050(c)(6) specifies the sunset review must evaluate: The efficiency with which public inquiries or complaints regarding the activities of the board, commission, or agency filed with it, with the department to which a board or commission is administratively assigned, or with the office of victims' rights or the office of the ombudsman have been processed and resolved. By not tracking complaints, there is an increased risk that board staff may not investigate complaints received and/or not investigate complaints in a timely manner. Such instances could reduce the board's ability to effectively enforce alcoholic beverage laws. Additionally, complaints received directly by board staff via telephone or email may never be resolved in the event of staff turnover. Because there was no statutory mandate, the board director did not consider tracking all complaints as necessary. We recommend that the board establish a process to monitor and track all complaints to ensure that they are resolved in a timely manner. She relayed that it was the opinion of the Division of Legislative Audit that the board be extended three years to June 30, 2018. She said that had the marijuana initiative not passed, the board would have been extended for five years. She noted that the regulation of the marijuana control board established in HB 123, would fall under the ABC board, which was why the fiscal note reflected the expenditures for the regulation of marijuana. She added that the money had not been appropriated and would be removed if HB 123 passed. She concluded that the ABC board served an important role in guarding the health and safety of Alaskans by protecting the general public through the issuance, renewal, revocation, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses. 2:32:13 PM Ms. Curtis spoke to the recommendations outlined in the legislative audit. She noted that the first recommendation was a repeat recommendation from the prior sunset. She said that in 2014, 3 of 25 board meetings had not been noticed during the audit period. She touched on the second recommendation, stating that the division had tested 10 licenses, 2 of which were not communicated to the local governing bodies within the 10 day time frame. She stated that under the third recommendation the division had reviewed 4 licensees, with 6 consecutive catering permits issues during the period; 3 of the 4 were discovered to be statutory violations because the permits were issued with the intention to serve alcohol on a licensed premises that would maintain daily operations of a business, rather than for a short-term social gathering or similar event. She said that the board issues the permits to ensure that those businesses could continue to operate. She continued that that of the 32 licensees that were active during the audit period, 15 did not meet the criteria for a recreational license. She detailed that ineligible business included: bowling alleys, a sports center and pub, and exercise gym, gift shops, theatres, and pool halls. She said that the businesses did not meet the definition of a recreational site, nor were operations limited to a season. She relayed that the issuance of the licenses expanded the number of establishments licensed to sell alcohol over the number allowed for in statute. She furthered that inquiries with board members had revealed that the improper issuance of the recreational site licenses was caused by a historic misunderstanding of what constituted a recreational event. She shared that under the final recommendation the division had found that the board had a process to receive complaints; however, if complaints were not investigated or inspected, they were not documented. She concluded that the board and the department had concurred with all of the recommendations. 2:35:39 PM CYNTHIA FRANKLIN, DIRECTOR, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD, JUNEAU, testified that she had supervised the final responses to the audit and had provided details to the auditors regarding the fixes to the issues identified in the audit. She discussed the first audit finding. She explained that the director now reviewed all of the public notices that were issued by the administrative personnel. She spoke to the second recommendation. She said that in many cases same day public notification of applications was occurring, which was well within the 10 day notice requirement. She continued to the third recommendation. She shared that the catering permit had been an issue with both the board and the agency. She assured the committee that the board had instituted the practice if strictly adhering to the statute regarding when catering permits were issued. She moved to the fourth recommendation and shared that the board had demonstrated understanding of the parameters of the recreational site licenses. She spoke to the fifth recommendation. She said that complaints for investigators were charted on a spreadsheet, the agency was paper based and the information was placed in a paper file. She concluded that the agency had undergone several changes over the past 4 years that had enhanced its performance: the audit, the move from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, and the stakeholder review of statutes. She felt that the board was taking strong and strict action regarding violations of statute and regulation. 2:42:59 PM Senator Bishop wondered how quickly complaints would be resolved by the board. Ms. Franklin relayed that her agency had a 24 hour rule; complaints were directed to the Enforcement Supervisor upon receipt and were investigated within 24 hours. Senator Bishop asked how long an initiated investigation would take to close out. Ms. Franklin replied that it would depend on the activity. She said that she generally checked in with investigators after 3 days, but most were same day resolution. 2:45:07 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon felt that the departmental move of the board had led to more errors but less complaints. Ms. Franklin said that the board was working on a community policing approach to their licensees; 5 enforcement officers were working on the issue. She believed that an argument could be made for the appropriateness of either department to house the board; however, being in DOC had made the board itself more attuned to its public safety obligations, and less reactive to the enforcement duties of the board. 2:48:00 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon OPENED public testimony. 2:48:34 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon CLOSED public testimony. HB 116 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. HOUSE BILL NO. 178 "An Act relating to workers' compensation fees for medical treatment and services; providing for an effective date by amending the effective date of sec. 5, ch. 63, SLA 2014; and providing for an effective date." 2:49:28 PM CONRAD JACKSON, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE KURT OLSON, offered a sponsor statement of the legislation: For many years Alaska has faced the highest workers' compensation rates in the nation. During the second session of the 28th Legislature, House Bill 316 was passed. The bill was a more sweeping solution to the challenge of the previous medical services fee schedule than we have experienced in many years. HB 316 tasked the Medical Services Review Committee (MSRC) with setting a conversion factor and a geographic differential to be used in conjunction with a basic fee schedule based on a relative value unit methodology. Once set, the conversion factor will be approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor prior to adoption by regulation by the Workers' Compensation Board. All this was to be accomplished by July 1, 2015. Since passage of HB 316, the MSRC has been reactivated and met numerous times. They have nearly completed their part in establishing the conversion factors. More work remains to be done to ensure the reform can take effect. House Bill 178 grants a 5 month extension to complete this important step in lowering workers' comp costs in both the public and private sector. Without this extension, time may run out before the comprehensive reforms instituted last year can be implemented. Mr. Jackson noted the zero fiscal note and stated that once the new fee schedules were in place there would be a realized reduction in worker's compensation rates. 2:52:15 PM AT EASE 2:52:44 PM RECONVENED Senator Dunleavy asked what impact the five-month extension would have on the fee rate changes. Mr. Jackson responded that there was no impact expected on the fee schedule. 2:53:28 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon OPENED public testimony. 2:54:09 PM MIKE MONAGLE, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF WORKERS COMPENSATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, stated that the committee was formed in 2005, but had remained dormant since 2009. He said that when HB 316 passed the committee experience a rebirth, new committee members were appointed and medical data was gathered through the state's procurement process. He shared that an upcoming meeting would establish the adoption of a final conversion factor, at which time the committee would submit its recommendations to the commissioner. He relayed that the commissioner would review the recommendations and take public comment, and then all of the information would be forwarded to the board. He explained that the board would then propose regulations and return after public comment for final adoption. He asserted that the extension would allow the commissioner, and the board, to complete the regulatory work by the end of summer 2015. 2:56:28 PM Co-Chair MacKinnon CLOSED public testimony. HB 178 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. Co-Chair MacKinnon discussed housekeeping. ADJOURNMENT 2:57:22 PM The meeting was adjourned at 2:57 p.m.