Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
02/07/2011 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB114 | |
| HB28 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 114 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 28 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 28-TEMP LICENSES FOR PROFESSIONALS
4:10:49 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 28 "An Act relating to temporary licenses for
certain nonresident professionals."
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to adopt 27-LS0192\E, Kirsh, 2/2/11
as the working document. There being no objection, Version E
was before the committee.
4:11:22 PM
KACI SCHROEDER, Staff, Representative Bill Thomas, Jr., Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Bill Thomas, Jr.
a joint-prime sponsor of HB 28, stated this bill is focused on
bettering the lives of our military families, which are
dominated by frequent deployment, relocations, and single
parenthood. Military spouses are some of the most mobile
populations in the U.S., with some 14.5 percent of military
spouses crossing state lines each year as compared to 1.1
percent for their civilian counterparts. When deciding whether
to stay in the military, service members will often consider
their family's well being, with spousal employment as one big
factor in the decision-making process. This directly affects
the readiness of our armed forces, she said. Military spouses
are less likely to be employed and if so, typically earn less
than civilian counterparts due to their transient lifestyle.
These military families, like others, often depend on two
incomes in a family. This bill would help address the transient
nature of military spouses by allowing the military and military
spouses to obtain temporary licenses when they move to Alaska.
4:12:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES referred to page 2, line 15, of HB 28, to
proposed subsection (c), which states a temporary license is
valid for 180 days and could be extended for an additional 180
days. She asked whether the extension is intended to allow one
extension or for multiple extensions.
MS. SCHROEDER answered that the intention is for one temporary
license extension.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES offered her belief the language may need
to be clarified.
4:13:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER applauded the goal. He asked whether HB
28 could be expanded to spouses of those classified as civilian
personnel working for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
MS. SCHROEDER answered that civilian personnel are not currently
included in the bill.
4:14:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER referred to the fee exemption contained in
proposed subsection (d) noting the fee exemption for temporary
licenses. He inquired as to the amount the state would lose in
license fees.
MS. SCHROEDER responded that she was unsure, but the Department
of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) should
be able to answer that question.
MS. SCHROEDER, in response to Representative Saddler, related
that subsection (d) would refer to the service member and not
the military spouse.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER referred to the language in the original
bill on page 2, to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), which basically
highlight that a person receiving a temporary license would be
considered a person in good standing if not under sanction in
another jurisdiction. He asked for the reason that this
language is not included in Version E, the proposed committee
substitute.
MS. SCHROEDER offered her belief that while the language in the
original bill is cleaner, that the license action would still be
at the discretion of the specific board and language is probably
contained in the regulation or statute that pertains to the
specific board.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER, related in his experience as deputy
director of the Boards & Commissions, some professional groups
would like to have seen its temporary professional courtesy
licenses extended. He thought that the language in the original
bill, just mentioned, would provide protection against someone
who had disciplinary action taken in another state from coming
to Alaska to practice.
4:16:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER referred to page 2, line 13, to subsection
(b), relating that this subsection requires the department to
expedite the procedure for temporary licenses. He asked for
clarification on the meaning of "expedite."
MS. SCHROEDER answered no, since the Division of Business and
Professional Licensing regulates 30 to 40 professions and each
profession has different requirements, including a requirement
for a background check, which could take longer. She indicated
the sponsor's intent was to have the department act quickly as
possible.
4:18:08 PM
MARK SAN SOUCI, Regional Liaison Northwest, Defense State
Liaison Office, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Military Community
and Family Policy), U.S. Department of Defense, stated that Ms.
Schroeder captured the essence of the bill. He offered some
data obtained from the Defense Manpower Data Center, including
statistics: 59 percent of military members are married, 72
percent of the noncommissioned officers and 73 percent of
officers are married, which represents the backbone of the
professional armed services, he said. He explained that 70
percent of military spouses want to be able to go to work. In
FY 10 in Alaska, 1,012 military people separated from duty and
274 military personnel retired. These personnel either moved
back or claimed Alaska as their resident state. Currently,
Alaska has 13,229 active duty military spouses and 2,700
military reserve spouses. Additionally, about 53 percent of
military spouses are employed, which totals approximately 7,000
military spouses in Alaska who work, although he was unsure of
the percentage of those spouses that hold professional
licensees. He suggested that HB 28 could help the licensed
person coming to Alaska by assisting them to get to work faster,
and allow them up to six months to fulfill any requirements that
Alaska may deem necessary to comply with professional licensure,
including any fees.
MR. SAN SOUCI remarked that Florida, which is one of the best
practices states, recently adopted changes so if a family has
orders to Florida from Elmendorf AFB, and a spouse has a
professional license, the spouse can go on-line, find his/her
occupation, pay his/her fee, and be issued a license that allows
the spouse to work for six months in Florida. During these six
months, the spouse can work to meet Florida's license
requirement, he reiterated. He said he appreciated members
considering HB 28 and hopes that Alaska will join Florida as one
of the "best practices" states by helping military families.
4:21:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER offered his support for HB 28. He asked
which professions would be most affected by this bill.
MR. SAN SOUCI answered that he was unsure. He related that he
had skipped over the data rather quickly. He then listed the
"highest in demand" professions as reported by the U.S.
Department of Labor, including nursing, preschool teachers, real
estate, and cosmetology. He also listed the fasted growing
occupations as veterinarian technicians, physical therapy
assistants, preschool teachers, dental hygienists, and
occupational therapy assistants. He surmised that it could take
up to a few months for a family to move and satisfy another
state's requirements.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER commented that some of the professions
noted are high skilled, reasonably paid professions. He asked
whether this bill would provide any help in the event that a
person served in the position for six months that he/she may
gain extra points towards licensure in Alaska.
MR. SAN SOUCI offered his belief that the intent of HB 28 is
more to help get the person to work more quickly and to allow
the person time fulfill the requirements for Alaska's licensure
than to provide other advantages.
4:23:58 PM
SARA CHAMBERS, Program Coordinator, Division of Corporations,
Business, and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce,
Community, & Economic Development (DCCED), stated she is
available to answer any questions.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES related her understanding that the DCCED
currently has the ability to expedite temporary licenses.
MS. CHAMBERS acknowledged that the DCCED currently has
provisions for courtesy licenses, and some statutes for
temporary licenses. The element missing that HB 28 proposes to
remedy is a special consideration for military spouses and
military personnel.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES related her understanding this bill would
not create any hardships but would make the DCCED's process more
standardized for one particular class for professional licenses.
MS. CHAMBERS stated the DCCED has a variety of standards for
temporary licenses. She explained that courtesy licenses tend
to be for people who wish to enter Alaska on a short term basis
such as for a doctor traveling with a college sports team or for
a fellowship in Alaska. The courtesy license would apply to
someone who may not be pursuing a permanent professional license
whereas a temporary license would be someone who is pursuing
ongoing permanent license. She related her understanding that
the impact this bill would have for military spouses would be to
expedite the application. She explained that the military
spouse would still meet the same requirements since this bill
would not amend or repeal AS 08.01.062 and would retain the
department's high standards for licensees. Those requirements
may include a background check for someone in the medical field,
she said. She assured members that the DCCED would work to
figure out the best way to expedite the temporary licenses above
the efficient service the DCCED already strives to provide for
applicants and licensees.
4:26:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to page 2, lines 25-27, of HB 28,
which excludes two professions, which are marine pilots and
attorneys. He asked whether other professions should be
exempted, and if the background checks for doctors would be done
by regulation while two professions are excluded by statute.
MS. CHAMBERS advised that the DCCED has not really vetted the
bill to that extent or held discussions with the sponsor on
these specific provisions. She surmised that marine pilots and
attorneys may need to have familiarity with the state, which is
why those professions are not subject to temporary licenses.
She related that AS 08.01.062 language specifically requires the
department to maintain that "high bar." She stated that her
initial assessment is that no other professions would need to be
excluded.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON offered his belief that when a statute
lists two professions that it implies that these are the only
two exempt from the provisions. He wanted to draw attention to
sponsor and the DCCED, since a fixed list has legal implications
for those professions not listed.
4:29:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON then referred to page 2, lines 18-19 of HB
28, to the language "...on active duty who is a licensee under
this title in good standing..." He asked for clarification on
whether this refers to someone in Alaska licensed in Alaska, not
a person from another state.
MS. CHAMBERS related her understanding that the provision would
apply to someone who is a current Alaska licensee, licensed
under this title, which would expand to a permanent,
professional license, not just a courtesy or temporary license.
She stated a current licensee would be granted an exemption and
an extension as needed to serve on active duty and for a
transition period after that provided the person did not pursue
a for profit practice in the private sector. She referred to
line 23, and further explained that once a for-profit practice
in the private sector was pursued, the person would waive the
exemption and would need to maintain current licensure under the
permanent license provisions.
4:30:39 PM
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 28.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON made a motion to adopt Conceptual
Amendment 1, on page 2, line 16, after "for", delete "another"
and then add "one additional." He explained that this would
clarify any perceived ambiguity about the additional 180
extension.
There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted.
4:32:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER made a motion to adopt Conceptual
Amendment 2. On page 2, lines 1-11, paragraphs (2), (3), (4),
of the original bill should be inserted in Version E, perhaps on
page 2, line 11 after ";and" and then renumber the paragraphs.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES and Chair Olson objected for the purpose
of discussion.
MS. SCHROEDER stated that the sponsor has no objections to
Conceptual Amendment 2.
4:33:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to page 2, lines 2-4 of HB 28,
paragraph (2), which read, "for at least two of the five years
preceding the date of the application," stating he was uncertain
about the language and any ramifications it may have on military
spouses. He related a scenario in which a spouse may practice
his/her profession for a year and then his/her spouse serving in
the armed forces is transferred to Alaska. In that instance the
military spouse would not have at least two years of
professional service.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER recalled this issue came up during a
Board of Nursing matter, as to whether a candidate's experience
was recent enough and in the proper area of practice. He
further recalled that some deference was given to an applicant
who had practiced two of the five preceding years that the
candidate's practice would be considered current. He
acknowledged some benefit was derived but was unsure of the
number of people who would be excluded. He reiterated that the
benefit is candidates would have practiced his/her profession
recently.
MS. SCHROEDER, in response to Representative Seaton, said that
she may have spoken too soon, that inserting paragraph (2) into
Version E may be problematic since an instance could arise in
which a spouse is overseas, while his/her spouse is serving
overseas for a lengthy period of time and the spouse would not
have engaged in the professional practice during that time.
4:35:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER made a conceptual motion to amend
Conceptual Amendment 2, to delete paragraph (2). This would
allow further discussion with the sponsor in order to consider
how to better amend the language, he stated.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER clarified that he made a motion to amend
to Conceptual Amendment 2, to delete the language contained in
paragraph (2).
CHAIR OLSON objected for purpose of discussion and then removed
his objection. There being no further objection, the amendment
to Conceptual Amendment 2 was adopted.
CHAIR OLSON removed his objection to Conceptual Amendment 2.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES also removed her objection to Conceptual
Amendment 2. There being no further objection, Conceptual
Amendment 2, as amended, was adopted.
4:37:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to report HB 28, labeled 27-
LS0192\E, Kirsh, 2/2/11, as amended, out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, CSHB 28(L&C) was reported from the
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
4:38:19 PM