05/09/2025 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

              HB 110-SOCIAL WORK LICENSURE COMPACT                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:24:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HALL  announced that the  first order of  business would                                                               
be  HOUSE  BILL NO.  110,  "An  Act  relating  to a  social  work                                                               
licensure compact; relating  to the practice of  social work; and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:24:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HALL opened public testimony on HB 110.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:24:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KIERNAN  RILEY, representing  self,  testified in  support of  HB
.   They  stated that  they are  a trained  social worker  and                                                               
recently  finished  their  master's   in  social  health.    They                                                               
asserted that  not only is  telehealth access important,  but for                                                               
many, it is their only  option for specialty services not offered                                                               
in Alaska.   They stated that HB 110 would  ensure that qualified                                                               
social workers from other states  can continue to provide care in                                                               
Alaska, as  well as making it  easier for social workers  to move                                                               
to Alaska  to practice,  meaning fewer gaps  in service  and more                                                               
professionals available  to meet urgent behavioral  health needs.                                                               
They  asserted  that HB  110  provides  for continuity  of  care,                                                               
strengthens  Alaska's workforce  and  removes  barriers for  both                                                               
clients  and clinicians.   They  asserted  that HB  110 was  good                                                               
policy and provided essential infrastructure  for Alaska with its                                                               
vast geography and lack of providers.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:26:04 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KAY RILEY,  representing self,  testified in  support of  HB 110.                                                               
They  asserted that  HB 110  would  make it  easier for  licensed                                                               
social  workers in  other states  to practice  in Alaska  without                                                               
unnecessary "delays  and paperwork."   They further stated  it is                                                               
difficult  to   get  social  work  professionals   in  rural  and                                                               
underserved  communities.   They  stated  that  Alaska is  facing                                                               
major  behavioral health  challenges  from the  opioid crisis  to                                                               
housing  and stability.   They  asserted that  the compact  would                                                               
expand  the workforce  and  further asserted  that  HB 110  would                                                               
still hold  professionals to high  standards.  They  concluded by                                                               
offering  their support,  stating that  HB 110  was a  "practical                                                               
bipartisan solution."                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:27:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
YVONNE CHASE,  President, National Association of  Social Workers                                                               
(NASW), testified  in support of  HB 110.   She stated  that NASW                                                               
had  over 110,000  members.    She explained  that  HB 110  would                                                               
enable Alaska  to join the  social work interstate compact.   She                                                               
stated that  clinical social workers  were the  largest providers                                                               
of mental  health services in  the nation.   She stated  that the                                                               
United States  was facing a  nationwide mental health  and opiate                                                               
addiction  crisis.   She  stated  that  the compact  would  allow                                                               
licensed social  workers to practice across  state lines, thereby                                                               
improving  access  to care.    She  referred  to  page 4  of  the                                                               
proposed legislation, noting that  it would reduce burdensome and                                                               
duplicative  requirements  associated  with  holding  multi-state                                                               
licenses.   She  reported  that  more than  60  percent of  rural                                                               
Americans  live  in  areas  with  a  shortage  of  mental  health                                                               
providers.  She further reported  that Alaska's suicide mortality                                                               
rate was higher than the national  average, and HB 110 would give                                                               
Alaska  broader access  to licensed  professionals.   She further                                                               
asserted that HB 110 would  strengthen Alaska's disaster response                                                               
capabilities  and  help  Alaska  qualify  for  increased  federal                                                               
funding  through  the  expansion of  Alaska's  behavioral  health                                                               
workforce.  She  reported that 24 states have  already joined the                                                               
social  work interstate  compact, noted  that several  states had                                                               
pending  legislation,  and  stated  that  there  was  a  national                                                               
compact  in progress.    She thanked  the  committee members  for                                                               
their time and encouraged them to pass HB 110.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:29:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER  stated that the committee  had frequently                                                               
heard that  Alaska was experiencing  a mental health crisis.   He                                                               
asked when it became a crisis.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CHASE  replied that  rates  of  suicide in  adolescence  and                                                               
adults continue  to increase in  Alaska, where other  states have                                                               
been able  to lower their statistics.   She pointed to  a lack of                                                               
immediate preventative care, particularly in rural areas.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:31:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JENNIFER  PECK, representing  self,  testified in  support of  HB
.  She stated that she  was a licensed clinical social worker.                                                               
She stated  that it took her  nearly a year to  acquire a license                                                               
in Alaska,  commenting that the  process was "long,  tedious, and                                                               
expensive."  She further stated  that a percentage of her clients                                                               
are  transient,  making  continuity of  care  impossible  without                                                               
legislation like HB  110.  She stated that her  clients either go                                                               
without  services until  they  return to  Alaska  or restart  the                                                               
therapeutic process elsewhere.   She reported that social workers                                                               
are  the largest  group of  mental health  providers and  that 60                                                               
percent  of  mental  health  therapists  are  clinically  trained                                                               
social workers.   She further reported that  the Veterans Affairs                                                               
(VA) is  the largest employer  of social workers with  a master's                                                               
degree.    She stated  that  all  social  workers take  the  same                                                               
licensure  test.   She asserted  that  the compact  under HB  110                                                               
would eliminate licensing wait times  and allow for continuity of                                                               
care to patients  across state lines.  She  thanked the committee                                                               
members for their time and urged support of HB 110.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:33:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TONIE  PROTZMAN,  Executive  Director,  National  Association  of                                                               
Social Workers, Alaska Chapter, stated  that she was calling back                                                               
to answer a prior question  from Representative Saddler regarding                                                               
the survey  conducted on members  of the Alaska Chapter  of NASW.                                                               
She  noted  that  a  major  theme  of  the  survey  was  improved                                                               
continuity  of care  under HB  110, explaining  that the  compact                                                               
would allow  clients to receive  continuous services,  even after                                                               
moving out  of Alaska.  She  further noted that in  Alaska, there                                                               
are  many people  that travel  frequently, or  are transient  for                                                               
other reasons.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:35:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TASHA CHILDS, representing self, testified  in support of HB 110.                                                               
She stated  that she is a  licensed social worker and  has been a                                                               
social  work  educator  for  the  past 7  years,  and  an  Alaska                                                               
resident for  the past  3 years.   She noted that  she is  also a                                                               
military  spouse.   She  reported  that Alaska  is  home to  over                                                               
21,000  active military  members,  with  nearly 30,000  dependent                                                               
spouses  and children.   She  stated that  military spouses  face                                                               
bureaucratic barriers  to license reciprocity in  Alaska, as well                                                               
as other states  without licensure compacts.  She  noted that she                                                               
currently  maintains licensure  in four  different states,  which                                                               
she  asserts  is expensive  and  burdensome.   She  echoed  other                                                               
speakers stating that  26 other states are already a  part of the                                                               
social work compact.  She  addressed concerns regarding standards                                                               
of care under  a compact, noting that social  workers would still                                                               
be  held  to national  standards,  including  graduation from  an                                                               
accredited social work program,  completion of clinical hours and                                                               
the professional  licensing exam    all  of which  ensure ethical                                                               
practice  and  safeguarding  for  clients.   She  encouraged  the                                                               
committee to vote yes on HB 110.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:38:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HALL, after ascertaining that  there was no one else who                                                               
wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 110.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:38:34 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARRICK   asked  Representative  Gray   to  opine                                                               
whether Alaska has a mental  and behavioral health crisis and the                                                               
proposed legislation's ability to address said crises.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:39:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW  GRAY, Alaska  State Legislature,  as prime                                                               
sponsor, noted that  the Department of Corrections  (DOC) was the                                                               
largest provider  of health care  in Alaska, and there  are still                                                               
not enough  providers for those  seeking help.  He  asserted that                                                               
HB 110 could have a real impact on DOC.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:39:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARRICK  noted that  Alaska  has  the highest  or                                                               
second  highest  rate  of  suicide  in  the  country,  which  she                                                               
remarked  should be  considered a  crisis.   She opined  that the                                                               
value of the proposed legislation has been well documented.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:40:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER  clarified that  he does not  dispute that                                                               
there is a  need for behavioral health providers  and stated that                                                               
he was simply trying to  pinpoint at what point behavioral health                                                               
became a crisis in Alaska.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:40:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY  said that social  workers do much  more than                                                               
mental  health  care,  noting  that   the  Office  of  Children's                                                               
Services (OCS),  for example, needs professionals.   He commented                                                               
that  there are  "enormous needs"  in Alaska,  preferring not  to                                                               
"quibble  over  the word  crisis"  and  that  HB 110  would  help                                                               
address those needs.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:41:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  FIELDS moved  to report  HB 110  out of  committee with                                                               
individual  recommendations and  the  accompanying fiscal  notes.                                                               
There being  no objection, HB 110  was reported out of  the House                                                               
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.