2025-03-10                     House Journal                      Page 0323
HB 131                                                                                                                        
HOUSE BILL NO. 131 by the House Rules Committee by request of                                                                   
the Governor, entitled:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to the licensure of nursing professionals; relating                                                       
     to a multistate nurse licensure compact; and providing for an                                                              
     effective date."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
was read the first time and referred to the Labor & Commerce and                                                                
Finance Committees.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                

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The following fiscal note(s) apply:                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1. Zero, Dept. of Commerce, Community, & Economic                                                                               
 Development                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The Governor's transmittal letter dated March 7 follows:                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
"Dear Speaker Edgmon:                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority of Article III, Section 18, of the Alaska                                                                   
Constitution, I am transmitting a bill to facilitate Alaska's entry into                                                        
the Multistate Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), the nation's longest                                                              
standing and most well-vetted professional licensure compact.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Joining this Compact will expand healthcare access across the State by                                                          
streamlining and simplifying licensure requirements for registered and                                                          
practical nurses who seek to practice in multiple states. Under this                                                            
legislation, and in light of Alaska's 21 percent registered nurse                                                               
vacancy rate reported in the 2023 Alaska Healthcare Workforce                                                                   
Analysis, Alaska would become a "party state," enabling:                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
• Prospective nurse applicants to remain in Alaska and practice under a                                                         
new multistate license.                                                                                                         
• Nurses already holding a multistate license from one of the 43 other                                                          
U.S. jurisdictions in the compact to practice in Alaska immediately,                                                            
without undergoing a separate licensure process.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Surveys from 2019 and 2023 also indicate that 92 percent of Alaska-                                                             
licensed nurses support joining the NLC, recognizing that it helps                                                              
address our annual need for over 1,350 new nursing recruits, despite                                                            
graduating only about 325 nurses per year.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
This bill does not eliminate or replace Alaska's current nurse licensing                                                        
pathways. Instead, it supplements them, so certified nurse aides                                                                
(CNAs), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), and Alaska-                                                                
only licensees continue to follow existing licensing options.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
In adopting the Compact, the State would also join the Interstate                                                               
Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators, which                                                                     
oversees rulemaking, enforcement, and financial assessments for the                                                             

2025-03-10                     House Journal                      Page 0325
Compact. The bill designates the Alaska Board of Nursing to                                                                     
implement the Compact, directing the Board's chair, or a designee, to                                                           
serve on the Commission. Alaska would further participate in the                                                                
Compact's coordinated licensure information system, ensuring                                                                    
interstate sharing of licensure and enforcement data. All the while,                                                            
each party state retains full jurisdiction over its own nursing laws and                                                        
the standards for public safety.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
By joining the Multistate Nurse Licensure Compact, Alaska will                                                                  
significantly enhance workforce flexibility and bolster healthcare                                                              
services throughout the State.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
I respectfully request your prompt and favorable consideration of this                                                          
measure.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Sincerely,                                                                                                                      
/s/                                                                                                                             
Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                                   
Governor"