CSSB 47(FIN): "An Act relating to the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; relating to the practice of physical therapy; and relating to the practice of occupational therapy."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 47(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; 02 relating to the practice of physical therapy; and relating to the practice of occupational 03 therapy." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 08.84.010 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 08.84.010. Creation and membership of board. (a) There is created the 07 State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board, which consists of seven 08 members. The membership consists of [ONE PHYSICIAN LICENSED TO 09 PRACTICE MEDICINE IN THE STATE,] three physical therapists licensed in the 10 state or two physical therapists and one [A] physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant 11 licensed in the state, three [TWO] occupational therapists licensed in the state or two 12 [AN] occupational therapists [THERAPIST] and one occupational therapy assistant 13 licensed in the state, and one lay person with no direct financial interest in the health 14 care industry. Members of the board shall be United States citizens domiciled in the
01 state. 02 (b) The board shall control all matters pertaining to the licensing of physical 03 therapists, physical therapist [THERAPY] assistants, occupational therapists, and 04 occupational therapy assistants and the practice of physical therapy and the practice of 05 occupational therapy. The board shall 06 (1) pass upon the qualifications of applicants; 07 (2) provide for the examination of applicants; 08 (3) issue temporary permits and licenses to persons qualified under this 09 chapter; 10 (4) suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew a license under 11 AS 08.84.120; 12 (5) keep a current register listing the name, business address, date, and 13 number of the license of each person who is licensed to practice under this chapter; 14 (6) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 15 necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including regulations establishing 16 qualifications for licensure and renewal of licensure under this chapter. 17 * Sec. 2. AS 08.84.030 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 08.84.030. Qualifications for licensing. (a) To be eligible for licensure 19 by the board as a physical therapist or physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant, an 20 applicant, unless a graduate of a foreign school of physical therapy located outside the 21 United States, shall 22 (1) have graduated from a professional [SCHOOL OF] physical 23 therapy education program that includes supervised field work and is accredited 24 by a national accreditation agency approved by the board [COUNCIL ON 25 MEDICAL EDUCATION AND HOSPITALS OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL 26 ASSOCIATION, OR THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION]; 27 (2) pass, to the satisfaction of the board, an examination prepared by a 28 national testing service approved by the board to determine the applicant's fitness for 29 practice as a physical therapist or physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant, or be 30 entitled to licensure without examination as provided in AS 08.84.060; and 31 (3) meet qualifications for licensure established in regulations adopted
01 by the board under AS 08.84.010(b). 02 (b) To be eligible for licensure by the board as an occupational therapist or 03 occupational therapy assistant, an applicant, unless a graduate of a foreign school of 04 occupational therapy located outside the United States, shall 05 (1) have graduated from a professional [SUCCESSFULLY 06 COMPLETED A CURRICULUM OF] occupational therapy education program that 07 includes supervised field work and is accredited by a national accreditation 08 agency approved by the board; 09 (2) [COMMITTEE OF ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATION AND 10 ACCREDITATION OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OR THE 11 AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION; 12 (2) SUBMIT PROOF OF SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION AND 13 SUPERVISED FIELD WORK APPROVED BY THE BOARD 14 (A) FOR AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST, A MINIMUM 15 OF SIX MONTHS OF SUPERVISED FIELD WORK; 16 (B) FOR AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSISTANT, A 17 MINIMUM OF TWO MONTHS OF SUPERVISED FIELD WORK; 18 (3)] pass, to the satisfaction of the board, an examination prepared by a 19 national testing service approved by the board or an examination recognized by a 20 national accreditation agency approved by the board [THE AMERICAN 21 OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION] to determine the applicant's fitness 22 for practice as an occupational therapist or [AN] occupational therapy assistant, or be 23 entitled to licensure without examination under AS 08.84.060; and 24 (3) [(4)] meet qualifications for licensure established in regulations 25 adopted by the board under AS 08.84.010(b). 26 * Sec. 3. AS 08.84.032 is amended to read: 27 Sec. 08.84.032. Foreign-educated [FOREIGN-TRAINED] applicants. (a) 28 To be eligible for licensure by the board as a physical therapist or physical therapist 29 [THERAPY] assistant, an applicant who is a graduate of a school of physical therapy 30 that is located outside [OF] the United States shall 31 (1) have completed, to the satisfaction of the board, a resident course
01 of study and professional instruction substantially equivalent to a professional 02 physical therapy education program that is accredited by a board-approved 03 national accreditation agency in the United States [THAT PROVIDED BY A 04 SCHOOL APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL ON MEDICAL EDUCATION AND 05 HOSPITALS OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OR THE 06 AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, AND FURNISH 07 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE OF COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PARAGRAPH, 08 TRANSLATED, IF NECESSARY, INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BY A 09 PERSON VERIFYING THE ACCURACY OF THE TRANSLATIONS]; 10 (2) have completed, to the satisfaction of the board, an internship 11 under the continuous direction and immediate supervision of a physical therapist in an 12 institution that ordinarily provides physical therapy and is approved by the board, for 13 that period of time specified by the board, and furnish documentary evidence of 14 compliance with this paragraph; 15 (3) pass an examination recognized by the board that measures the 16 competence of the applicant in the English language if the applicant's physical 17 therapist or physical therapist assistant education program was not taught in 18 English; 19 (4) have met applicable requirements under 8 U.S.C. 1101 - 1503 20 (Immigration and Nationality Act) [THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AND 21 NATIONALITY ACT (8 U.S.C. 1101 ET SEQ.)], unless a United States citizen; 22 (5) pass the examination approved [ADMINISTERED] by the board 23 under AS 08.84.030(a)(2); [AND] 24 (6) pay the fee required under AS 08.84.050; and 25 (7) meet additional qualifications for licensure established in 26 regulations adopted by the board under AS 08.84.010(b). 27 (b) To be eligible for licensure by the board as an occupational therapist or 28 occupational therapy assistant, an applicant who is a graduate of a school of 29 occupational therapy that is located outside [OF] the United States shall 30 (1) have completed, to the satisfaction of the board, a resident course 31 of study and professional instruction substantially equivalent to a professional
01 occupational therapy education program that is accredited by a board-approved 02 national accreditation agency in the United States [THAT PROVIDED BY A 03 CURRICULUM APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE OF ALLIED HEALTH 04 EDUCATION AND ACCREDITATION OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL 05 ASSOCIATION OR THE AMERICAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 06 ASSOCIATION, AND HAVE FURNISHED DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE OF 07 COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PARAGRAPH, TRANSLATED, IF NECESSARY, 08 INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BY A PERSON VERIFYING THE 09 ACCURACY OF THE TRANSLATIONS]; 10 (2) have completed, to the satisfaction of the board, supervised field 11 work equivalent to that required under AS 08.84.030(b); 12 (3) pass an examination recognized by the board that measures the 13 competence of the applicant in the English language if the applicant's occupational 14 therapist or occupational therapy assistant education program was not taught in 15 English; 16 (4) have met applicable requirements under 8 U.S.C. 1101 - 1503 17 (Immigration and Nationality Act), unless a United States citizen; 18 (5) pass an examination [ADMINISTERED OR] approved by the 19 board under AS 08.84.030(b); [AS 08.84.030; AND] 20 (6) pay the fee required under AS 08.84.050; and 21 (7) meet additional qualifications for licensure established in 22 regulations adopted by the board under AS 08.84.010(b). 23 * Sec. 4. AS 08.84.060 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 08.84.060. Licensure by acceptance of credentials. The board may 25 license without examination an applicant who is a physical therapist, physical 26 therapist [THERAPY] assistant, occupational therapist, or occupational therapy 27 assistant licensed under the laws of another state, if the requirements for licensure in 28 that state [,] were, at the date of the applicant's licensure, substantially equal to the 29 requirements in this state. 30 * Sec. 5. AS 08.84.065(c) is amended to read: 31 (c) A temporary permit issued to an applicant for licensure as a physical
01 therapist or physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant by examination is valid for eight 02 months or until the results of the first examination for which the applicant is scheduled 03 are published, whichever occurs first. If the applicant fails to take the first examination 04 for which the applicant is scheduled, the applicant's temporary permit lapses [ON] the 05 day of the examination. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 08.84.075(b) is amended to read: 07 (b) The board may issue a limited permit to a person to practice physical 08 therapy in the state as a visiting, nonresident physical therapist or physical therapist 09 [THERAPY] assistant, if the person 10 (1) applies on the form provided by the board; 11 (2) has not previously been denied physical therapy licensure in the 12 state; 13 (3) is licensed to practice physical therapy in another state; 14 (4) provides proof satisfactory to the board that the person will not 15 practice in the state for more than 120 days in the calendar year for which the permit is 16 issued; and 17 (5) pays the fee required under AS 08.84.050. 18 * Sec. 7. AS 08.84.075(c) is amended to read: 19 (c) A limited permit is valid for a period of [NOT EXCEEDING] 120 20 consecutive days in a calendar year. 21 * Sec. 8. AS 08.84.075(d) is amended to read: 22 (d) A person may not receive more than 23 (1) one limited permit to practice occupational therapy or physical 24 therapy in a 12-month period; and 25 (2) three limited permits to practice occupational therapy or physical 26 therapy during the person's lifetime. 27 * Sec. 9. AS 08.84.090 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 08.84.090. Licensure. The board shall license an applicant who meets the 29 qualifications for licensure under this chapter and [. IT] shall issue a license certificate 30 to each person licensed. A license certificate is prima facie evidence of the right of the 31 person to hold out as a licensed physical therapist, licensed physical therapist
01 [THERAPY] assistant, licensed occupational therapist, or licensed occupational 02 therapy assistant. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 08.84.120(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) The board may refuse to license an applicant, may refuse to renew the 05 license of a person, may discipline a person, and may suspend or revoke the license 06 of a person who 07 (1) has obtained or attempted to obtain a license by fraud or material 08 misrepresentation; 09 (2) uses drugs or alcohol in a manner that affects the person's ability to 10 practice physical therapy or occupational therapy competently and safely; 11 (3) has been convicted of a state or federal felony or other crime that 12 affects the person's ability to practice competently and safely; 13 (4) is guilty, in the judgment of the board, of gross negligence or 14 malpractice or has engaged in conduct contrary to the recognized standards of ethics 15 of the physical therapy profession or the occupational therapy profession; 16 (5) has continued to practice physical therapy or occupational therapy 17 after becoming unfit because of [DUE TO] physical or mental disability; 18 (6) has failed to refer a patient to another qualified professional when 19 the patient's condition is beyond the training or ability of the person; 20 (7) as a physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant, has attempted to 21 practice physical therapy that has not been initiated, supervised, and terminated by a 22 licensed physical therapist; [OR] 23 (8) as an occupational therapy assistant, has attempted to practice 24 occupational therapy that has not been supervised by a licensed occupational therapist; 25 or 26 (9) has failed to comply with this chapter, a regulation adopted 27 under this chapter, or an order of the board. 28 * Sec. 11. AS 08.84.130(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) A person not licensed as a physical therapist, or whose license is 30 suspended or revoked [,] or has [WHOSE LICENSE IS] lapsed, who uses in 31 connection with the person's name the words or letters "P.T.," "Physical Therapist,"
01 "L.P.T.," [,] "Licensed Physical Therapist," or other letters, words, or insignia 02 indicating or implying that the person is a licensed physical therapist, or who, in any 03 way, orally [,] or in writing, directly or by implication, holds out as a licensed physical 04 therapist, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. 05 * Sec. 12. AS 08.84.130(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) A person not licensed as a physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant, or 07 whose license is suspended or revoked [,] or has [WHOSE LICENSE IS] lapsed, who, 08 in any way, orally [,] or in writing, directly or by implication, holds out as a licensed 09 physical therapist [THERAPY] assistant, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. 10 * Sec. 13. AS 08.84.190 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 11 (8) "physical therapist assistant" means a person who assists in the 12 practice of physical therapy or an aspect of physical therapy as initiated, supervised, 13 and terminated by a licensed physical therapist; the responsibilities of a physical 14 therapist assistant do not include evaluation. 15 * Sec. 14. AS 11.41.470(1) is amended to read: 16 (1) "health care worker" includes a person who is or purports to be an 17 acupuncturist, advanced practice registered nurse, anesthesiologist, certified direct- 18 entry midwife, chiropractor, dentist, health aide, hypnotist, massage therapist, mental 19 health counselor, midwife, nurse, occupational therapist, occupational therapy 20 assistant, osteopath, naturopath, physical therapist, physical therapist [THERAPY] 21 assistant, physician, physician assistant, psychiatrist, psychological associate, 22 psychologist, radiologist, religious healing practitioner, surgeon, x-ray technician, or a 23 substantially similar position; 24 * Sec. 15. AS 47.17.290(14) is amended to read: 25 (14) "practitioner of the healing arts" includes athletic trainers, 26 chiropractors, mental health counselors, social workers, dental hygienists, dentists, 27 health aides, nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse aides, occupational therapists, 28 occupational therapy assistants, optometrists, osteopaths, naturopaths, physical 29 therapists, physical therapist [THERAPY] assistants, physicians, physician 30 [PHYSICIAN'S] assistants, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychological associates, 31 audiologists and speech-language pathologists licensed under AS 08.11, hearing aid
01 dealers licensed under AS 08.55, marital and family therapists licensed under 02 AS 08.63, behavior analysts, assistant behavior analysts, religious healing 03 practitioners, acupuncturists, and surgeons; 04 * Sec. 16. AS 08.84.190(7) is repealed. 05 * Sec. 17. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 APPLICABILITY. (a) AS 08.84.030, as amended by sec. 2 of this Act, and 08 AS 08.84.032, as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, apply to applications for licensure under 09 AS 08.84.040 submitted on or after the effective date of secs. 2 and 3 of this Act. 10 (b) AS 08.84.075(c), as amended by sec. 7 of this Act, and AS 08.84.075(d), as 11 amended by sec. 8 of this Act, apply to applications for limited permits under 12 AS 08.84.075(a) and (b) submitted on or after the effective date of secs. 7 and 8 of this Act. 13 * Sec. 18. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 TRANSITION. (a) Notwithstanding AS 08.84.010, as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, a 16 person who is a member of the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board on 17 the effective date of this Act may serve the remainder of the member's term. The governor 18 shall make appointments under AS 08.84.010, as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, to fill 19 vacancies and expired terms on the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board 20 that occur on or after the effective date of this Act. 21 (b) On and after the effective date of this Act, a person who holds a valid license to 22 practice as a physical therapy assistant on the effective date of this Act may continue to 23 practice as a physical therapy assistant until the license expires normally under AS 08.84, as 24 AS 08.84 existed before the effective date of this Act, but shall otherwise comply with 25 AS 08.84, as amended by this Act, and shall renew the license under AS 08.84, as amended 26 by this Act.