01/22/2018 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

        HB 274-EXTEND: BD OF PSYCHOLOGISTS/PSYCH ASSOC.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:11:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  announced that  the next order  of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 274,  "An Act extending  the termination  date of                                                               
the Board of Psychologist  and Psychological Associate Examiners;                                                               
and providing for an effective date."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:11:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CAITLYN ELLIS, Staff, Representative Sam Kito, Alaska State                                                                     
Legislature, paraphrased the Sponsor Statement [Included in                                                                     
members' packets], which read:                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     House Bill  274 extends  the Board of  Psychologist and                                                                    
     Psychological Associate  Examiners to June 30,  2026 in                                                                    
     accordance  with  the   recommendation  of  Legislative                                                                    
     Audit.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     The board  was established to regulate  the practice of                                                                    
     psychology in  Alaska and is composed  of five members:                                                                    
     three    licensed     psychologists,    one    licensed                                                                    
     psychological  associate,  and  one public  member  who                                                                    
     does not have  a financial interest in  the health care                                                                    
     industry.  As of  March 2017,  the board  regulated 285                                                                    
     licensees.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     The board  is responsible for  establishing examination                                                                    
     and  education requirements  for licensees  and issuing                                                                    
     licenses   to   qualified  applications,   establishing                                                                    
     continuing education requirements  for license renewal,                                                                    
     establishing standards for  the practice of psychology,                                                                    
     imposing disciplinary sanctions,  reviewing the quality                                                                    
     and  availability  of  psychological  services  in  the                                                                    
     state   when   requested   by  DCCED,   and   compiling                                                                    
     information for submission to DCCED  on the practice of                                                                    
     psychology by licensees in the state.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     The Division  of Legislative  Audit conducted  a review                                                                    
     of the board  and determined that the  board is serving                                                                    
     the  public's  interest  by effectively  licensing  and                                                                    
     regulating psychologists  and psychological associates.                                                                    
     The board  monitors licensees and works  to ensure only                                                                    
     qualified individuals practice in Alaska.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     The board is currently scheduled  to sunset on June 30,                                                                    
     2018   and  will   have  one   year  to   conclude  its                                                                    
     administrative   operations   unless  the   legislature                                                                    
     extends the  termination date. House Bill  274 reflects                                                                    
     the  recommendations  of  the Division  of  Legislative                                                                    
     Audit, and  extends the termination date  for the Board                                                                    
     till June 30, 2026.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:13:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KRISTIN CURTIS, Legislative  Auditor, Legislative Audit Division,                                                               
Alaska  State  Legislature,  directed  attention  to  the  sunset                                                               
review  audit,   dated  October   2017,  [Included   in  member's                                                               
packets],  and paraphrased  from  the  report conclusions,  which                                                               
read:                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Overall,  the  audit  concludes the  board  served  the                                                                    
     public's   interest   by  effectively   licensing   and                                                                    
     regulating psychologists  and psychological associates.                                                                    
     The  board monitored  licensees  and  worked to  ensure                                                                    
     only qualified individuals practice in Alaska.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     In accordance  with AS  08.03.010(c)(18), the  board is                                                                    
     scheduled to  terminate on June 30,  2018. We recommend                                                                    
     that the legislature extend  the board's termination to                                                                    
     June 30, 2026.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CURTIS  stated  that  page  5 of  the  report  detailed  the                                                               
licensing activity  and reported  that there 285  active licenses                                                               
as of March  2017, a 174 percent increase since  the prior sunset                                                               
audit in  2009.   She moved  on to the  Schedule of  Revenues and                                                               
Expenditures on page 7 and reported  that the Board had a surplus                                                               
of almost $400,000 at the end  of FY17, noting that the Board, in                                                               
conjunction  with the  Division  of  Corporations, Business,  and                                                               
Professional  Licensing  (DCBPL),  had increased  fees  for  FY17                                                               
despite this surplus.   She pointed out that the  fee levels were                                                               
shown on page 6.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CURTIS   paraphrased  the  first   recommendation,  "DCBPL's                                                               
director, in  consultation with the  board, should  reduce fees,"                                                               
on page 9, which read:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     DCBPL management did not  adequately set licensing fees                                                                    
     equal  to  the  costs  of  regulating  the  profession.                                                                    
     Alaska  Statute 08.01.065  requires  the Department  of                                                                    
     Commerce, Community, and  Economic Development annually                                                                    
     review fees  to determine  whether regulatory  costs of                                                                    
     each occupation approximately  equal fees collected. If                                                                    
     fees and costs do not equal, fees should be adjusted.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     At  the end  of  FY  16, the  board  had  a surplus  of                                                                    
     $273,347.  Rather  than   adjusting  fees  downward  to                                                                    
     reduce the  deficit, DCBPL  management, at  the request                                                                    
     of the board,  increased the FY 17  application fee for                                                                    
     psychologists and  psychological associates and  the FY                                                                    
     17  licensure fees  for  psychological associates.  Per                                                                    
     the board chair, fees were  changed to ensure associate                                                                    
     and  psychologist  licensees  paid the  same  fee.  The                                                                    
     application  fee was  increased to  cover the  costs of                                                                    
     processing  incoming applications.  When analyzing  the                                                                    
     fee  levels,   DCBPL  management  did   not  adequately                                                                    
     consider  the surplus  and make  necessary adjustments.                                                                    
     The oversight resulted in  licensees paying higher than                                                                    
     justified license fees.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     We  recommend DCBPL's  director,  in consultation  with                                                                    
     the board, reduce fees.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CURTIS  paraphrased   the  second  recommendation,  "DCBPL's                                                               
director  should  develop  and  implement  procedures  to  ensure                                                               
courtesy licensees  comply with monthly  reporting requirements,"                                                               
on page 10, which read:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     The  audit  found  four out  of  13  courtesy  licenses                                                                    
     issued during the audit period  did not comply with the                                                                    
     monthly  reporting requirements.  According  to 12  AAC                                                                    
     60.035(a), a  courtesy licensee  must submit  a monthly                                                                    
     report  to the  board  during the  period of  licensure                                                                    
     indicating  the number  of  days  practiced during  the                                                                    
     month.  Absent submitting  the required  reports, there                                                                    
     is no way  to determine if the  licensee was performing                                                                    
     services  in  excess of  the  30  days allowed  by  the                                                                    
     license.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     Failure to  ensure compliance was  due in part  to high                                                                    
     turnover  of licensing  staff during  the audit  period                                                                    
     and  lack  of procedures  to  ensure  DCBPL staff  were                                                                    
     monitoring and reporting noncompliance to the board.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     We  recommend DCBPL's  director  develop and  implement                                                                    
     procedures  to ensure  courtesy  licensees comply  with                                                                    
     monthly reporting requirements.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CURTIS   directed  attention   to  the  response   from  the                                                               
Department of Commerce, Community  & Economic Development (DCEED)                                                               
on page 21,  and the response from the Board  of Psychologist and                                                               
Psychological Associate  Examiners on page  23.  She  stated that                                                               
both the Board and the DCEED agreed with the recommendations.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:15:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked for  clarification on the justification                                                               
for the fee increase despite the surplus.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS. CURTIS  offered her belief  that the  intent was to  have the                                                               
licensing fee for the  psychologists and psychological associates                                                               
to  be the  same  level, as  it  would take  the  same amount  of                                                               
resources to  process both  the licenses.   She pointed  out that                                                               
instead  of reducing  one  and increasing  the  other, they  only                                                               
increased the  one fee, and  did not  consider the surplus.   She                                                               
said that  this was  a simple oversight  for not  considering the                                                               
surplus, which resulted in too high a fee.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:17:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ALLEN  LEVY,  Chair,  Board of  Psychologists  and  Psychological                                                               
Associate Examiners,  said that  he was  currently in  his second                                                               
year of his  second term on the board and  had been serving since                                                               
2012.   He expressed  agreement with the  sunset audit,  that the                                                               
board was acting in the public  interest, and doing a good job of                                                               
regulating   the  practice   of  psychology   in  Alaska,   while                                                               
protecting  the  public  and  ensuring   an  adequate  supply  of                                                               
licensed  professionals.   He said  that steps  had already  been                                                               
taken to implement the two  recommendations from the sunset audit                                                               
for tracking the courtesy licenses,  with an expectation to see a                                                               
significant fee decrease  at the next renewal  period for license                                                               
fees in  2019.  He  declared support for the  continued existence                                                               
of the board, and opined that  the audit was fair, effective, and                                                               
accurate in its conclusions.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:19:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ROBERT  LANE,  PhD,  Federal/State Advocacy  Coordinator,  Alaska                                                               
Psychological  Association, shared  that  he was  a professor  at                                                               
Alaska Pacific University  and, as a psychologist,  worked on the                                                               
legislative committee  for the Alaska  Psychological Association.                                                               
He testified in support of HB  274 as it provided regulations for                                                               
guiding  the practice  and provided  safety for  the public.   He                                                               
added that it provided regulations  to help guide the educational                                                               
programs, and  it kept Alaska "on  par with all the  other states                                                               
in the union who have licensed psychologists."                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:20:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO opened public testimony.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO announced that HB 274 would be held over.