Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
05/01/2025 10:15 AM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB158 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 158 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 158-PROFESSIONAL LICENSING; TEMP PERMITS
10:18:29 AM
CHAIR EISCHEID announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 158, "An Act relating to professional
licensing; relating to temporary licenses for certain
professions; and providing for an effective date."
10:19:32 AM
ANNA LATHAM, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commerce
Community and Economic Development, on behalf of House Rules by
Request of the Governor, prime sponsor, presented HB 158 to the
committee. She read from a prepared statement [not included in
the committee packet], which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Good morning, Chair Eischeid and members of the House
Military & Veterans' Affairs Committee. For the
record, my name is Anna Latham, Deputy Commissioner
for the Department of Commerce, Community, and
Economic Development. First and foremost, I recognize
that many of you on this committee have served in the
military and want to thank you for your service to our
country. I'm here this morning with Director Robb to
discuss Governor Dunleavy's House Bill 158:
Professional Licensing; Temp Permits. This legislation
establishes a single, temporary license, administered
by the department of commerce, which replaces the
various temporary privileges found across Alaska's
professional licensing laws.
o Allows professional who are licensed in other
states, and in good standing, to work in Alaska while
their permanent licenses is being processed.
o We've seen major changes in our workforce since
the pandemic, when the portability of licenses for
health care professionals became incredibly important.
o The US has moved towards standardization across
many professions, and the legislature in the past few
years has also passed many bills which allowed for
compacts, most recently for speech pathologists and
physical therapists.
o This improves the existing system, which requires
applicants to navigate a web of differing department
and board-issued temporary license types to identify
the appropriate process to obtain a temporary license.
o What this is about is attracting qualified
professionals to the state and allowing them to get to
work faster.
This bill also brings Alaska into compliance with
federal license portability under the Servicemembers
Civil Relief Act (SCRA). It requires commerce to issue
a professional license to a military servicemember or
spouse who holds an out-of-state license and relocates
to Alaska under military orders. At this point, I'd
like to hand off the presentation to Director Robb. I
want to thank you all again for your time this morning
to discuss this important legislation and invite you
to reach out to our office anytime if you have any
questions.
10:21:32 AM
SYLVAN ROBB, Director, Division of Corporations Business and
Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community &
Economic Development (DCCED), on behalf of House Rules by
Request of the Governor, prime sponsor, gave a PowerPoint
presentation on HB 158 [hard copy included in the committee
file]. She began on slide 2, which gave a broad overview of the
professional licensing work that is done by the division.
10:26:57 AM
CHAIR EISCHEID asked what the vacancy rate within the division
is and asked why the process of transmitting professional
licensure in Alaska is so rigorous.
MS. ROBB answered that 19 of the 130 positions within the
division are vacant and said that statutory requirements are
reason for rigorous licensure processes.
10:29:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked if the proposed legislation included
civilians, veterans, nurses, and midwives.
MS. ROBB explained that HB 158 would include civilians and
veterans and said that nurses and midwives were not included in
the proposed legislation because they would be covered by a
universal professional license.
10:33:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked why there has been a significant
increase in professional licensure in Alaska.
MS. ROBB replied that the increase in professional licensure in
Alaska could be attributed to the Alaska State Legislature
increasing the amount of professions that require licensure.
10:33:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked if the Servicemember Civil Relief
Act would still remain in effect if the proposed legislation
were to fail in passage.
MS. ROBB confirmed that the Servicemember Civil Relief Act would
still remain in effect if the proposed legislation were to fail
to become law and said that the purpose of the proposed
legislation was to align Alaska Statutes with the previously
mentioned federal law.
10:35:26 AM
MS. ROBB resumed the presentation on slide 3, which listed the
21 programs in Alaska that are regulated by boards. She moved
to slide 4, which listed the 24 programs that are regulated
directly by the division. She continued to slide 5, which
detailed the two main policy goals of HB 158, and slide 6, which
described universal temporary licensure (UTL). She continued to
slide 7, which explained how a person might qualify for UTL.
10:40:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how the division would determine a
person's standing of their professional licensure in another
state. He asked if there was a standardized process across all
states to probe the good standing of someone's professional
licensure.
MS. ROBB said that easier verification was one of the reasons
for business compacts becoming more popular in Alaska and
explained how a person's standing with the division was
reflected in their licensure application.
10:43:02 AM
CHAIR EISCHEID shared his understanding that the division would
not issue a professional license in Alaska before their good
standing in other states was assured.
MS. ROBB answered that some professions were harder to perform
background checks for than others, in some cases due to the
professionals literally wearing their fingerprints off.
10:44:50 AM
MS. ROBB resumed the presentation on slide 7 and moved to slide
8, which outlined how UTL would work if HB 158 were to become
law.
10:47:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HALL asked what the reasoning behind the 180-day
timeline listed on slide 8 was.
MS. ROBB answered that some professions require an exorbitant
amount of time to review an applicant's associated paperwork.
10:48:58 AM
GLENN SAVIERS, Deputy Director, Division of Corporations
Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce,
Community & Economic Development, answered committee questions
on HB 158. She said that the 180-day model matches the system
that is currently in place by many boards and said that the idea
is to expand an idea that works in other sectors.
10:50:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if the revocation of someone's UTL
is the only sanction that the division might be able to use
against someone who obtained their license through deceit or
fraud.
MS. ROBB answered that the revocation of someone's UTL is
generally the only thing that the division could to a fraudulent
applicant.
MS. SAVIERS added that punishment for a disingenuous applicant
is administered on a case-by-case basis.
10:52:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY commented that his license to work as a
physician's assistant was tangled in bureaucracy and waiting.
10:53:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD shared her experience in having her top-
secret clearance taking a long time to obtain.
10:54:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HALL suggested to the governor that the proposed
legislation be split into two bills in order to move it through
the government faster.
MS. ROBB explained that it was the division's intent to put the
legislative goals of its agency into one piece of legislation
due to the oftentimes lengthy and difficult legislative process.
10:57:23 AM
CHAIR EISCHEID asked if a UTL applicant could "game the system"
to abuse the benefits of UTL.
MS. ROBB explained that someone could not be in UTL status
indefinitely.
10:59:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked if courtesy licenses could still be
an option in lieu of UTL.
MS. SAVIERS replied that courtesy licensure would still be an
option in lieu of UTL.
11:00:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how the proposed legislation would
affect courtesy licenses and temporary licenses.
MS. ROBB answered that HB 158 would affect the regulatory
oversight of both courtesy and temporary business licensure.
11:01:35 AM
MS. ROBB resumed the presentation on slide 9, which emphasized
the necessity of UTL in Alaska, and continued to slide 10, which
explained the governor's belief in the success of UTL. She
moved to slide 11, which compared the difference between UTL and
an interstate licensure compact (ILC).
11:09:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY shared his understanding of the necessity of
UTL even when an ILC might be more amicable.
MS. ROBB confirmed that Representative Gray's understanding was
correct.
11:09:56 AM
MS. ROBB resumed the presentation on slide 12, which gave a
broad overview of professional licensure portability laws under
the Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and moved to slide
13, which listed the amount of license that the SCRA is
currently issuing under the SCRA. She moved to slide 14, which
explained the necessity of HB 158 even if SCRA is in federal
law, and she concluded the presentation on slide 15.
11:17:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if someone applying for UTL is
obligated to obtain a permanent license and asked how UTL would
streamline the professional licensing process.
MS. ROBB answered that someone looking to obtain UTL is not
required to obtain a permanent license and said that "there are
efficiencies to be had" with regard to making the professional
licensure process more straightforward.
11:19:37 AM
MS. ROBB read the sectional analysis for HB 158 [included in the
committee file], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1 Adds a new section AS 08.01.061 temporary
license to allow the department to issue a temporary
license to practice an occupation in AS 08.01.010
(Centralized Licensing: applicability of chapter) if
the applicant:
• Either
o Is licensed/credentialed to practice in
another U.S. jurisdiction that has
substantially equivalent license
requirements to Alaska's and authorizes a
scope of practice substantially
equivalent to Alaska's; or
o Does not hold licensure in a U.S.
jurisdiction, but meets the qualifications and
requirements through military education,
training, and service under AS 08.01.064
(Centralized Licensing: military
education, training, and service credit;
temporary license); and
•Is not the subject of disciplinary action in
another jurisdiction; and
•Has not committed an act in another jurisdiction
that would constitute grounds for denial or
revocation of a license in Alaska; and
• Pays the required fees.
If Alaska law requires a background check for the
permanent license, the background check will also be
required for the temporary license, but the department
may opt to grant a temporary license before obtaining
the resulting report.
If a temporary license is obtained through deceit,
fraud, or intentional misrepresentation, the
department may take disciplinary action, including
revocation.
A temporary license is valid for up to 180 days, with
an option to apply for a one-time 180-day extension to
be approved at the department's discretion.
A person can work at the full scope of practice for
the occupation for which they hold the temporary
license. Temporary licenses are not available for
occupations regulated under AS 08.54 (Big Game Guides
and Related Occupations) or AS 08.62 (Marine Pilots);
as those professions require Alaska-specific training.
Section 2 Amends AS 08.01.062 courtesy licenses to
remove the department's authority to create courtesy
licenses, since those are no longer required with the
creation of temporary licenses in Section 1.
Professional licensing boards are still allowed to
create courtesy licenses, but they are designed to be
available for a limited purpose as established by the
board in regulation.
Section 3 Repeals and reenacts AS 08.01.063
portability of professional licenses for
servicemembers and their spouses to ensure Alaska's
military licensing provisions comply with the federal
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) licensure
portability provisions, which took effect in January
2023 and were amended in March 2025.
In compliance with the SCRA laws, this section
requires the department to issue a professional
license to a servicemember or servicemember's spouse
if the applicant:
• Applies to the department; and
Has military orders to a duty station in
Alaska; and
• Holds a license/certificate in another U.S.
jurisdiction; and
• Is in good standing in all U.S. jurisdictions
where they've ever been licensed; and
Submits a notarized affidavit affirming that:
and
o The applicant is the person described and
identified in the application; and
o All statements made in the application are
true and correct; and
o The applicant has read and understands the
requirements to receive the license and
the scope of practice for the relevant
license type; and
o The applicant will comply with the
requirements to practice under the license,
including requirements related to
discipline and fulfillment of
continuing education; and
o The applicant is in good standing with all
U.S. jurisdictions where they've been
licensed; and
•If the applicant is a military spouse, a copy of
their marriage license; and
•Payment of any applicable fees.
In compliance with the SCRA laws, if an applicant
meets the requirements above, the department shall
issue the license within 30 days unless additional
time is required to complete a criminal background
check, in which case the department must issue a
temporary license within the 30 days while awaiting
the background check.
This section only applies to licenses set out under AS
08.01.010 (Centralized Licensing: applicability of
chapter), and in compliance with the SCRA laws, does
not apply to a profession that's subject to an
interstate licensing compact that has been entered
into by the state.
The terms "license," "licensing authority," "military
orders," "military service," "scope of practice," and
"servicemember" are defined as they are listed in the
SCRA in 50 U.S.C. 3911.
Sections 4-22 Make conforming changes to replace
existing references to temporary licenses, temporary
permits, etc. with references to temporary permits
under AS 08.01.061 (create by Section 1). These
conforming changes are made in the following statutes:
•AS 08.13.070 Barbers and Hairdressers: license
required
•AS 08.13.120(b) under Barbers and
Hairdressers: shop license
•AS 08.13.130(a) under Barbers and
Hairdressers: display of license or permit
•AS 08.13.150 Barbers and Hairdressers:
disciplinary sanctions and grounds for refusal of a
license or permit
•AS 08.13.175 Barbers and Hairdressers:
temporary license
•AS 08.13.185(a) under Barbers and
Hairdressers: fees
•AS 08.13.190 Barbers and Hairdressers: failure
to possess a license or permit
•AS 08.20.180(a) under Chiropractors: fees
AS 08.36.100 Dentistry: license required
•AS 08.64.279 Medicine: interview for permit or
temporary license
•AS 08.64.315 Medicine: fees
Section 23 Makes conforming changes by repealing all
existing statutes on temporary licenses/permits for
professions identified in AS 08.01.010 except those
under AS 08.54 and AS 08.62.
Section 24 Makes conforming changes by annulling all
regulations specific to temporary military courtesy
licenses.
Section 25 Adds a new Transition: Regulations section
to uncodified law to allow the department to adopt
regulations necessary to implement this Act.
Section 26 Adds a new Transition: Savings Clause
section to the uncodified law to clarify that pending
litigation, hearings, investigations, appeals, and
other proceedings continue in effect not withstanding
a transfer, amendment, or repeal provided in this Act;
that existing licenses, certificates, orders,
regulations, and permits issued under a law amended or
repealed by this Act will remain in effect for the
term issued; and that contracts, rights, liabilities,
and obligations created under a law amended or
repealed by this act that are in effect as of the
effective date will remain in effect.
Section 27 Provides an immediate effective date for
Section 3, 25, and 26.
Section 28 Provides a July 1, 2026, effective date for
Sections 1-2 and Sections 4-24.
11:26:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how the division determines
someone's qualifications for the professional license for which
they are applying. He asked what a "limited purpose" license is
and asked why the proposed legislation doesn't provide specific
definition of the professions covered by a "limited purpose"
license.
MS. SAVIERS explained that the division analyzes an applicant's
examination, education, and experience as a part of its process
in determining someone's qualifications for a business license
in Alaska. She used the example of a veterinarian providing
services to dog teams running the Iditarod as a moment where a
"limited purpose" license might come into effect.
11:31:19 AM
CHAIR EISCHEID asked why the fiscal note for HB 158 has been
changing over its time in the Alaska State Legislature.
MS. SAVIORS explained that the UTL legislation that passed the
Thirty-Third Alaska State Legislature concerned most of the
licensure processes that would cost the state the most money.
11:32:41 AM
MS. ROBB thanked committee members for their discussion and
time.
11:33:39 AM
CHAIR EISCHEID announced that HB 158 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 158 Fiscal Note DCCED-CBPL 3.24.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 |
| HB 158 Sectional Analysis version A 3.27.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 |
| HB 158 Transmittal Letter 3.24.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 |
| HB 158 version A 3.26.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 |
| HB 158 State Medical Board Letter of Support 4.21.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 SB 145 |
| HB 158 Board of Phys. Therapy Letter of Support 4.18.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 SB 145 |
| HB 158 - DCCED Presentation to HMLV - 5.1.25.pdf |
HMLV 5/1/2025 10:15:00 AM |
HB 158 |