02/23/2022 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

         HB 323-EXTEND PT & OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BOARD                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:19:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR FIELDS announced that the  first order of business would                                                               
be HOUSE BILL NO. 323, "An  Act extending the termination date of                                                               
the State  Physical Therapy and  Occupational Therapy  Board; and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:19:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TANNER  FRITSINGER, Staff,  Representative Grier  Hopkins, Alaska                                                               
State Legislature, on behalf  of Representative Hopkins, sponsor,                                                               
introduced  HB  323 and  provided  the  sectional analysis.    He                                                               
explained that  HB 323  would extend  the State  Physical Therapy                                                               
and Occupational Therapy Board's  termination date eight years to                                                               
6/30/2030 as  recommended by the  Division of  Legislative Audit.                                                               
Extending  this  board's  termination   date,  he  continued,  is                                                               
important  in  protecting  Alaskans who  need  physical  therapy.                                                               
These [therapy] services  are utilized by everyone,  and the bill                                                               
ensures  that  practitioners  are   properly  licensed  and  that                                                               
appropriate  standards   and  practices   in  the   industry  are                                                               
enforced.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:21:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. FRITSINGER  provided the sectional  analysis for HB 323.   He                                                               
said  Section 1  would amend  statute to  change the  termination                                                               
date  of  the State  Physical  Therapy  and Occupational  Therapy                                                               
Board from  6/3/22 to  6/30/30.   Section 2  states that  the Act                                                               
becomes effective immediately upon signature.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Timestamp                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR FIELDS opened invited testimony on HB 323.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:21:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KRIS  CURTIS,   CPA,  CISA,  Legislative  Auditor,   Division  of                                                               
Legislative Audit,  provided invited  testimony on  HB 323.   She                                                               
confirmed  that the  Division of  Legislative  Audit conducted  a                                                               
sunset  audit  of the  State  Physical  Therapy and  Occupational                                                               
Therapy Board.  She explained that  the purpose of a sunset audit                                                               
is  to determine  whether a  board or  commission is  serving the                                                               
public's interest and  whether it should be extended.   She noted                                                               
that a  copy of  the audit,  dated 4/2/21, can  be found  in each                                                               
committee member's meeting  packet.  She said  the division found                                                               
that,  overall,  the  board  served   the  public's  interest  by                                                               
conducting  meetings  in  accordance with  state  laws;  amending                                                               
certain  regulations  to  improve  the  professions  of  physical                                                               
therapy and  occupational therapy; and effectively  licensing and                                                               
regulating  physical  therapists,  physical  therapy  assistants,                                                               
occupational  therapists,  and occupational  therapy  assistants.                                                               
The  division,  she  continued,  is  recommending  an  eight-year                                                               
extension, the maximum allowed for in statute.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS. CURTIS pointed  out some of the standard  information that is                                                               
included in every  occupational sunset audit.  She  turned to the                                                               
licensing information on  page 5 of the audit  report and related                                                               
that  as of  January 2021  there were  1,762 active  licenses and                                                               
permits, an increase  of 53 percent since the  prior sunset audit                                                               
of  2013 that  can  be  attributed to  telehealth.   She  brought                                                               
attention to  the schedule of  revenues and expenditures  for the                                                               
board on page  7 and specified that as of  January 2021 the board                                                               
had a surplus  of just over $211,000.  She  moved to the schedule                                                               
of license  and permit  fees depicted  on page  6 and  noted that                                                               
fees were decreased in fiscal year  2020 (FY 2020) in response to                                                               
the surplus.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. CURTIS stated that the  report makes no recommendations.  She                                                               
said  responses to  the  audit begin  on page  19,  and both  the                                                               
commissioner  of  the  Department  of  Commerce,  Community,  and                                                               
Economic Development (DCCED)  and the board chair  agree with the                                                               
report conclusions.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:23:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON asked  how much travel cost  was reduced in                                                               
2020 and  2021 due  to the COVID-19  pandemic and  meetings being                                                               
conducted online [rather than in person].                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CURTIS replied  that travel  significantly  decreased to  be                                                               
almost exclusively teleconference or video conference.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:24:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SARA CHAMBERS,  Director, Division of Corporations,  Business and                                                               
Professional   Licensing   (DCBPL),   Department   of   Commerce,                                                               
Community,  and  Economic  Development  (DCCED),  confirmed  that                                                               
[meetings by  teleconference and  video conference] are  the main                                                               
reasons for  the reduction  in travel  costs.   She said  none of                                                               
DCBPL's boards  were meeting in  person during the height  of the                                                               
COVID-19 pandemic.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:25:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON asked whether  this board would continue to                                                               
meet online or transition back to in-person meetings.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CHAMBERS responded  that  the division  is  taking a  hybrid                                                               
approach, as are many organizations.   The division typically has                                                               
a standard of business need to meet  in person - a board needs to                                                               
demonstrate that  it has  a reason  to come  together, especially                                                               
since technology  has improved  so much over  the last  couple of                                                               
years.   The division implemented  online board meetings  in 2018                                                               
and some  discretion is left  to the  boards.  The  division does                                                               
encourage the  boards to meet in  person if they have  a business                                                               
need  to do  so, but  many  of them  don't want  to because  they                                                               
appreciate the  efficiencies of being  home with  their families.                                                               
Sometimes boards have two days of  work and that is an exhausting                                                               
online  meeting,  but  this  board often  is  efficient  and  has                                                               
shorter meetings.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:26:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY  observed an estimated  annual expenditure                                                               
of $230,000 on  page 2 of the  fiscal note.  He  said the revenue                                                               
doesn't seem to fit that and requested that this be addressed.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CHAMBERS answered  that this  fiscal note  only pertains  to                                                               
this  bill,  it   isn't  an  overview  of   the  entire  program.                                                               
According to the sunset section  of Alaska statute, AS 08.03, the                                                               
licensing activities revert to the  division upon the sunset of a                                                               
board,  so  the  division  would  continue  to  license  physical                                                               
therapists and occupational therapists  and that would be outside                                                               
of  this bill.    This  bill is  only  to  reauthorize the  board                                                               
itself, so these  expenses are related only to  the activities of                                                               
the board and not the  activities of the entire licensing program                                                               
which goes unchanged regardless of the outcome of the bill.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY  surmised that this board  sustains itself                                                               
from the fees collected.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. CHAMBERS  replied that  for the  most part,  with just  a few                                                               
recent changes  including the  FY 23  governor's budget,  all the                                                               
division's licensing  programs are self-sustaining  through fees.                                                               
The division has  received a little bit of general  fund to knock                                                               
down some of those fee  increases during COVID-19 especially, but                                                               
the bulk of  programs are self-sustaining, and  the division does                                                               
balance  those  through  fee increases  and  decreases  after  an                                                               
annual overview.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
HB 323 was held over.