Legislature(2023 - 2024)BUTROVICH 205
05/09/2023 03:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB60 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 60 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 60-RUNAWAYS; DFCS/DOH: DUTIES/LICENSING/INFO
3:43:58 PM
CHAIR WILSON announced the consideration of CS FOR HOUSE BILL
NO. 60(HSS) am "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."
He noted that this was the second hearing.
3:44:28 PM
CHAIR WILSON invited Heather Carpenter to refresh the
committee's recall of HB 60.
3:44:37 PM
HEATHER CARPENTER, Health Care Policy Advisor, Office of the
Commissioner, Department of Health, Juneau, Alaska, summarized
that HB 60 provides the "clean up" for Executive Order (EO) 121
that separated the Department of Health and Social Services into
the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Family and
Community Services (DFCS). HB 60: clarifies that DOH licenses
runaway shelters; adds the DFCS commissioner as a statutory
advisor to the Mental Health Trust Board of Trustees; ensures
the same level of information sharing between the two new
departments as before the bifurcation and that both departments
are subject to HIPPA.
3:46:06 PM
CHAIR WILSON opened public testimony on HB 60; finding none, he
closed public testimony.
3:46:25 PM
CHAIR WILSON moved to adopt the earlier version S of HB 60, work
order 33-GH1343\S, as the working document. He explained that
version S did not include the amendments that were adopted on
the House floor.
3:46:48 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL objected.
3:46:51 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL stated that returning to version S would remove
the language that was adopted on the House floor about providing
an explanation and materials about human trafficking and sex
trafficking to runaway minors seeking assistance. She emphasized
that this was a vulnerable population that needed this
information.
CHAIR WILSON asked whether the representative from the
Department of Law could confirm that information about human
trafficking and sex trafficking to runaway minors is provided to
runaway minors.
3:47:56 PM
STACIE KRALY, Statewide Office Chief and Director, Civil
Division, Department of Law, Juneau, Alaska, stated that in an
earlier hearing, there was a discussion that Covenant House
Alaska which provides shelter to runaway minors does provide
information about human trafficking and sex trafficking. That
was the extent of her knowledge.
3:48:52 PM
CHAIR WILSON asked for a roll call vote on the motion [to adopt
the earlier version S for HB 60 as the working document].
3:49:01 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked the chair to clarify the meaning of a yes
vote and a no vote.
3:49:09 PM
CHAIR WILSON explained that a yes vote supports returning to the
earlier version S of HB 60 and a no vote means the committee
continues to work from version S.A which is the version that
passed the House and was transmitted to the Senate.
3:49:28 PM
At ease.
3:49:58 PM
CHAIR WILSON reconvened the meeting and asked the secretary to
call the roll.
3:50:03 PM
A roll call vote was taken on the motion to adopt version S of
HB 60 as the working document. Senators Dunbar, Tobin, Kaufman,
and Wilson voted in favor of the motion and Senator Giessel
voted against it. The vote was 4:1.
3:50:29 PM
CHAIR WILSON announced that on a vote of 4 yeas and 1 nay, the
committee adopted version S of HB 60 as the working document.
3:50:44 PM
CHAIR WILSON stated that there was one amendment for the
committee to consider. He advised that because the amendment was
drafted based on version S.A, the page numbers and lines don't
match so the amendment would be considered conceptual. The
intention of the amendment is unchanged.
3:51:08 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved to adopt Amendment 1.
33-GH1343\S.A.1
Bergerud
5/1/23
AMENDMENT 1
OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR GIESSEL
TO: CSHB 60(HSS) am
Page 1, line 1, following "shelters;":
Insert "allowing minors 16 years of age or older to consent
to behavioral health and mental health services; authorizing
school personnel to recommend a behavioral health or mental
health professional to a child 16 years of age or older;"
Page 3, following line 30:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Sec. 2. AS 14.30.171 is amended by adding a new subsection
to read:
(c) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, school
personnel may recommend a behavioral health professional or
mental health professional to a child who is 16 years of
age or older. In this subsection, "behavioral health
professional" and "mental health professional" have the
meanings given in AS 14.30.174(b).
* Sec. 3. AS 14.30.174(a) is amended to read:
(a) Notwithstanding AS 14.30.171(a)(3) and (5), a
behavioral or mental health professional working within a
public school system may, in compliance with federal
education law or applicable state law,
(1) recommend, but not require, a psychiatric or
behavioral health evaluation of a child; [AND]
(2) recommend, but not require, psychiatric,
psychological, or behavioral treatment for a child; and
(3) obtain informed consent from and provide
behavioral or mental health services to a child who is 16
years of age or older."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 4, following line 2:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Sec. 5. AS 25.20.025(a) is amended to read:
(a) Except as prohibited under AS 18.16.010(a)(3),
(1) a minor who is living apart from the minor's
parents or legal guardian and who is managing the minor's
own financial affairs, regardless of the source or extent
of income, may give consent for medical and dental services
for the minor;
(2) a minor may give consent for medical and
dental services if the parent or legal guardian of the
minor cannot be contacted or, if contacted, is unwilling
either to grant or withhold consent; however, if [WHERE]
the parent or legal guardian cannot be contacted or, when
[IF] contacted, is unwilling either to grant or to withhold
consent, the provider of medical or dental services shall
counsel the minor keeping in mind not only the valid
interests of the minor but also the valid interests of the
parent or guardian and the family unit as best the provider
presumes them;
(3) a minor who is the parent of a child may
give consent to medical and dental services for the minor
or the child;
(4) a minor may give consent for diagnosis,
prevention, or treatment of pregnancy, and for diagnosis
and treatment of venereal disease;
(5) a minor who is 16 years of age or older may
give consent to receive behavioral or mental health
services from a behavioral health professional or mental
health professional; in this paragraph, "behavioral health
professional" and "mental health professional" have the
meanings given in AS 14.30.174(b) [THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN
OF THE MINOR IS RELIEVED OF ALL FINANCIAL OBLIGATION TO THE
PROVIDER OF THE SERVICE UNDER THIS SECTION].
* Sec. 6. AS 25.20.025 is amended by adding a new subsection
to read:
(d) The parent or guardian of a minor is relieved of
all financial obligation to the provider of a service under
this section."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
3:51:10 PM
CHAIR WILSON objected for purposes of discussion.
3:51:43 PM
At ease.
3:53:51 PM
CHAIR WILSON reconvened the meeting and asked Senator Giessel to
explain Amendment 1.
3:53:57 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL explained that Sections 2 and 3 of the amendment
address her concern about students who seek needed behavioral
and mental health services but are unable to access those
services because their parents either decline to provide consent
or are unresponsive to the request for consent.
Sections 5 and 6 address young people living in runaway shelters
who need to access behavioral and mental health services. These
are kids who are not living at home with supportive parents.
They have already made difficult decisions to protect themselves
and they often need help to work through the mental trauma they
have and may still be going through. These sections would
authorize persons in these circumstances who are age 16 or older
to grant consent for themselves to access behavioral and or
mental health services. She clarified that the amendment has
nothing to do with consent for abortion or surgical procedures
for gender change.
CHAIR WILSON asked whether the administration had any comments
on the proposed amendment.
3:57:08 PM
MS. CARPENTER expressed appreciation that Senator Giessel shared
the amendment in advance so the administration had an
opportunity to articulate its concerns about this being a large
policy call that school districts and others may want to comment
on and that timing prevents that. She deferred to Ms. Kraly to
discuss legal concerns.
3:57:54 PM
MS. KRALY echoed Ms. Carpenter's comments and emphasized the
need for due diligence before making such a large policy call.
The bill was intended to fix the expected errors in Executive
Order 121 that bifurcated the former Department of Health and
Social Services. A concern is that if there is a challenge to
the bill because of a single subject issue, it's unclear what
the ramifications might be. The bill clarifies that foster care
licensing should reside in the Department of Family and
Community Services (DFCS). Right now it is not housed under DFCS
so jurisdictional issues could arise if the bill doesn't pass.
If that were to happen, federal funding could be at risk. She
reiterated that HB 60 was narrowly drafted to clean up minor
issues and the administration believes it is in the best
interest of the two new departments if it were to remain simple
and declarative.
4:01:39 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked if she was arguing that the amendment was a
large policy call that reduced the chance of the bill passing or
that incorporating the amendment would violate the single
subject rule which would call the entire bill into question. He
said he was under the impression that the policy of severability
meant that the rest of the law wasn't negated.
4:02:33 PM
MS. KRALY opined that both issues come into play. The bill does
not have a severability provision and there is concern that the
amendment could create legal issues for the department. The bill
will survive without the amendment and that is the
administration's preference.
SENATOR DUNBAR observed that if an amendment violates the single
subject rule, it seems that the existing language would by
definition stand on its own.
4:04:28 PM
MS. KRALY said the argument makes sense but she wasn't sure that
such surgical carving would occur. It would depend on several
variables. The administration's position is that without the
amendment, the bill is tight and doesn't carry any risk.
SENATOR DUNBAR disagreed with the notion that inserting the
amendment increases the risk of other provisions being struck
down. He said he continues to believe there is a general policy
of severability in the law such that one small problem doesn't
cause the entire bill to fail, particularly if it's on the
single-subject rule.
4:06:13 PM
CHAIR TOBIN highlighted that the amendment says the services may
be provided so there is no demand. Her reading of the amendment
is that it offers the opportunity for young people in crisis to
receive the services and support that they are requesting. She
asked if the interpretation was accurate.
MS. KRALY replied that the language is permissive but she didn't
know how it might impact the Department of Education and Early
Development (DEED) and that was a concern.
4:07:50 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL opined that the amendment fits into the bill
very well. The language in Section 8 of the bill talks about a
minor who is seeking assistance from the program and about
determining what services may be necessary or appropriate to
restore the minor to their family. It also talks about providing
services necessary to promote the health and welfare of the
minor in the program. She talked about schools generally being
safe places and teachers generally being safe people that
students turn to. It's a stable environment that kids can depend
on when there is significant stress in their family. She said
this is about providing kids an opportunity to access behavioral
and mental health services that could make a difference in their
lives. She reiterated that the amendment is a good fit and it
will empower students who know what they need.
SENATOR GIESSEL stated that she told the governor last week that
she intended to offer the amendment and he indicated that he
would review it and provide his thoughts. She hadn't heard from
him but it was disclosed.
4:11:30 PM
CHAIR WILSON shared his experience getting parental consent to
offer behavioral and mental health services to students in the
Anchorage and Mat-Su school districts. He noted that these
services come with a cost and minors can't be held responsible
for payment. He said he supports these services but his concern
is that the amendment would delay the legislation.
CHAIR WILSON stated he was maintaining his objection to the
amendment.
4:13:25 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL directed attention to page 2, lines 30 - 31 of
the amendment that relieves the parent or guardian of the minor
of all financial obligation for the services provided under that
section.
4:13:49 PM
SENATOR KAUFMAN said he was leaning strongly towards voting no
on the amendment because there isn't time to vet it fully. His
concern is that a parent who wants their runaway child back in
their care may be blindsided by this amendment.
CHAIR WILSON asked the secretary to call the roll.
4:15:15 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Senators Giessel, Dunbar, and Tobin
voted in favor of the motion to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1 and
Senators Kaufman and Wilson voted against it. The vote was 3:2.
4:15:33 PM
CHAIR WILSON announced that on a vote of 3 yeas and 2 nays,
Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted.
CHAIR WILSON solicited a motion.
4:15:57 PM
SENATOR KAUFMAN moved to report HB 60, work order 33-GH1343\S,
as amended, from committee with individual recommendations and
attached fiscal note(s). Legislative Legal has the authority to
make conforming and technical changes.
4:16:17 PM
CHAIR WILSON found no objection and SCS CSHB 60(HSS) was
reported from the Senate Health and Social Services Standing
Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 60 Amdmt S.A.1 Giessel.pdf |
SHSS 5/9/2023 3:30:00 PM |
HB 60 |