02/28/2023 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

        HB 60-RUNAWAYS; DFCS/DOH: DUTIES/LICENSING/INFO                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:04:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX  announced that the  first order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO.  60, "An Act relating to the  licensing of runaway                                                               
shelters; relating  to advisors to  the board of trustees  of the                                                               
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority;  relating to the sharing of                                                               
confidential health information between  the Department of Health                                                               
and the Department of Family  and Community Services; relating to                                                               
the  duties of  the Department  of Health  and the  Department of                                                               
Family  and Community  Services; and  providing for  an effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:04:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HEATHER  CARPENTER, Health  Care  Policy  Advisor, Department  of                                                               
Health, introduced  HB 60  on behalf of  the bill  sponsor, House                                                               
Rules  by request  of the  governor.   She summarized  how, under                                                               
Executive Order  (EO) 121,  the former  Department of  Health and                                                               
Social  Services (DHSS)  was bifurcated  into  the Department  of                                                               
Health (DOH) and the Department  of Family and Community Services                                                               
(DFCS).   She explained  that the  proposed legislation  seeks to                                                               
perform the  anticipated "clean-up"  to clarify the  changes that                                                               
resulted from creating  the two departments.  She  then turned to                                                               
Deputy  Commissioner  Clinton  Lasley  to  discuss  the  proposed                                                               
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:06:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CLINTON  LASLEY, Deputy  Commissioner, Department  of Family  and                                                               
Community  Services, on  behalf of  the sponsor,  House Rules  by                                                               
request of  the governor,  spoke about  the goals of  HB 60.   He                                                               
said  the proposed  legislation would  ensure that  DOH and  DFCS                                                               
share   information,   including   confidential   and   protected                                                               
information,  as necessary  to administer  programs and  services                                                               
for Alaskans; it is the same authority  as DHSS had.  Next, HB 60                                                               
would add  a commissioner to  DFCS to  the advisory board  of the                                                               
Alaska  Mental  Health  Trust,  which  is  a  substantive  change                                                               
supported by the  trust.  The bill would  clarify statute related                                                               
to licensing  duties assigned to  the former DHSS and  related to                                                               
runaway  shelters and  foster homes.    He explained  that it  is                                                               
necessary  to  point  the  right  authority  to  the  appropriate                                                               
departments.  He  further explained that the  category of runaway                                                               
shelters needs  to be moved under  the purview of DOH.   Finally,                                                               
he noted  that there is an  amendment that would define  the term                                                               
department in AS 18.65.340 to include DFCS.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:09:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENTER offered the sectional  analysis for HB 60 [included                                                               
in  the  committee  packet],  which  read  as  follows  [original                                                               
punctuation provided]:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1                                                                                                                  
     Amends  AS 12.62.400(a)  to  assign responsibility  for                                                                    
     criminal history  checks for  the licensing  of runaway                                                                    
     shelters to  the Department of  Health rather  than the                                                                    
     Department of  Family and  Community Services.  This is                                                                    
     done to  correct a  mistake from  EO 121  that assigned                                                                    
     the  licensing of  runaway  shelters  to Department  of                                                                    
     Family and  Community Services  even though  a division                                                                    
     of Department  of Health  performs this  work. Sections                                                                    
     4-9 also implement this correction.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2                                                                                                                  
     Amends  AS 44.25.260  to add  the Department  of Family                                                                    
     and  Community  Services  Commissioner  to  the  Alaska                                                                    
     Mental Health Trust Authority board of advisors.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Section 3                                                                                                                  
     Amends AS 47.05 by adding a new section:                                                                                   
          (1)  requiring   the  Department  of   Health  and                                                                    
     Department  of  Family  and  Community  Services  share                                                                    
     identifiable  health  information  between  and  within                                                                    
     departments as  necessary to  enable the  efficient and                                                                    
     effective   administration   and  operation   of   both                                                                    
     departments;                                                                                                               
          (2) establishing that  information acquired, used,                                                                    
     disclosed, and  stored under this section  be stored in                                                                    
     a confidential and secure environment;                                                                                     
          (3)  establishes the  definition of  "identifiable                                                                    
     health information" with the  existing definition in AS                                                                    
     18.15.395.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Sections 4-9                                                                                                               
     Amends  statute  to  identify that  the  Department  of                                                                    
     Health  holds  responsibility   for  the  licensure  of                                                                    
     programs  and drafting  regulations related  to runaway                                                                    
     minors.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Sections 10                                                                                                                
     Amends AS  47.32.032 to provide clarifying  language in                                                                    
     licensing statute  to identify  that the  Department of                                                                    
     Family  and  Community   Services  is  responsible  for                                                                    
     foster home licensing. This corrects  a mistake from EO                                                                    
     121  that assigned  the licensing  of  foster homes  to                                                                    
     Department  of   Health  even  though  a   division  of                                                                    
     Department  of Family  and Community  Services performs                                                                    
     this work.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Section 11-15                                                                                                              
     Amends  AS  47.32  to provide  clarifying  language  in                                                                    
     licensing  statute  about  the  respective  departments                                                                    
     having  responsibility  for   actions  related  to  the                                                                    
     entities they license.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Section 16                                                                                                                 
     Establishes an immediate effective date.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:13:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER questioned what is considered "necessary"                                                                
in terms of confidential information shared.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENTER explained that an employee [of DOH or DFCS] would                                                                 
have access only to information within the scope of his/her                                                                     
work.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER referenced Section 2 of HB 60 and offered                                                                
clarification regarding the aforementioned advisory board of the                                                                
Alaska  Mental Health  Trust by  stating, "There  is no  separate                                                               
advisory board to which these commissioners are members."                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CARPENTER replied  that Representative  Saddler is  correct,                                                               
and  said that  misinformation would  be fixed.   She  confirmed,                                                               
"The  commissioners  are  statutory  advisors  to  the  board  of                                                               
trustees."                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:15:37 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  RUFFRIDGE,   referencing  Section   3,  regarding                                                               
access  to identifiable  health  information,  suggested this  is                                                               
redundant, since those departments  are covered already under the                                                               
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CARPENTER emphasized  the importance  of  ensuring that  all                                                               
those  who follow  in the  footsteps of  current [DOH]  employees                                                               
know the expectation  is they will share  information with [DFCS]                                                               
employees, which  is also  covered by  HIPAA.   In response  to a                                                               
follow-up question, she said  sometimes leadership encourages the                                                               
sharing,  but  clarity in  statute  will  ensure no  barriers  in                                                               
helping the public.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:18:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER  asked whether  the split resulted  in the                                                               
wished for benefits.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:18:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER LASLEY answered that  DOH has expressed it is                                                               
pleased  with the  way  that this  reorganization  is working  in                                                               
providing  "more bandwidth"  and  allowing DOH  to  focus on  its                                                               
resources  and provide  support  and meet  technical  needs.   He                                                               
pointed out that  the change happened just eight  months ago, but                                                               
there have been positive changes already.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER  mentioned a  backlog in  the Supplemental                                                               
Nutrition  Assistance Program  (SNAP)  and  inquired whether  the                                                               
bifurcation of DHSS played a part in it.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:19:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENTER  responded that she would  not say it was  a direct                                                               
correlation.   She  stated that  the  split of  DHSS has  allowed                                                               
Commissioner  Designee  Heidi  Hedberg  to focus  solely  on  the                                                               
Division of Public Assistance.   Before the department was split,                                                               
it was  so large that [working  there was like going]  "from fire                                                               
to fire."                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENTER,  in response to  Chair Prax, noted there  would be                                                               
an upcoming technical amendment for HB 60.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
[HB 60 was held over.]