04/14/2012 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 337                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An  Act  relating to  the  Board  of Registration  for                                                                    
     Architects, Engineers,  and Land  Surveyors and  to the                                                                    
     Department   of  Commerce,   Community,  and   Economic                                                                    
     Development."                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
LYNETTE   BERG,   STAFF,   REPRESENTATIVE   STEVE   THOMSON,                                                                    
introduced  HB  337 and  stated  that  it would  revise  the                                                                    
Alaska  Statutes  to  designate  a  full-time  investigator,                                                                    
rather than  part-time, to serve  the Alaska State  Board of                                                                    
Registration for  Architects, Engineers, and  Land Surveyors                                                                    
(AELS).  She explained  that  the  full-time position  would                                                                    
insure that  the AELS Board  could meet the  growing demands                                                                    
of oversight  in the  industries within  its responsibility.                                                                    
She related that currently, the  AELS Board shared one part-                                                                    
time    investigator   with    five   other    boards.   The                                                                    
investigator's oversight  included a total of  around 20,000                                                                    
licensees;  furthermore, out  of  the  20,000 licensees,  28                                                                    
percent were AELS registrants,  which represented over 5,600                                                                    
licensees for  the AELS Board  alone. She stated that  a new                                                                    
regulation  had  recently  taken  effect,  which  added  ten                                                                    
additional  engineering  professions  to  the  AELS  Board's                                                                    
oversight. She furthered that some  of new professions under                                                                    
the  AELS   Board's  regulation  included   the  structural,                                                                    
environmental, nuclear, and  industrial engineering branches                                                                    
and that the number of  licensees under the AELS Board would                                                                    
increase  drastically.  She  offered  that  adding  the  new                                                                    
branches  of engineering  was necessary  for  the safety  of                                                                    
Alaskans; however,  the additional branches would  add to an                                                                    
already heavy  workload for the part-time  investigator. She                                                                    
furthered that the lack of  a full-time investigator for the                                                                    
board  could  reduce  its   effectiveness  in  carrying  out                                                                    
charges  that   were  required  by  the   statutes  and  the                                                                    
regulations.  She concluded  that an  unintended consequence                                                                    
of overloading the investigator might  be a failure to fully                                                                    
fulfill state and regulatory charges  and stated that HB 337                                                                    
would help the AELS  Board properly oversee licensees, while                                                                    
still  remaining in  compliance with  all state  regulations                                                                    
and statutes. She  spoke to the fiscal note  and pointed out                                                                    
that the  AELS Board intended  to begin forward  funding the                                                                    
full-time  investigator position  by  December  of 2013,  at                                                                    
which  time  the  next scheduled  fee  increase  would  take                                                                    
place.  Currently,  licensees  must pay  $125  for  biennial                                                                    
licensure. The  fee increase  was expected  to be  a minimal                                                                    
increase  of  $20  or  less   per  licensee  per  year.  She                                                                    
concluded that  all the  testimony on the  bill had  been in                                                                    
favor of the fee increase.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:16:37 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stedman discussed  a fiscal  impact note  from the                                                                    
Department of  Commerce, Community and  Economic Development                                                                    
in the amount of $114,900.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Senator  McGuire queried  what specific  boards, other  than                                                                    
the AELS  Board, the investigator was  currently assigned to                                                                    
and  pondered  if  the  five  remaining  boards  would  each                                                                    
request its  own investigator, should the  legislation pass.                                                                    
Ms.  Berg  replied that  the  other  boards represented  the                                                                    
construction   contractors,   home  inspectors,   electrical                                                                    
administrators, mechanical administrators,  and storage tank                                                                    
workers.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Senator McGuire inquired if there  had been any testimony as                                                                    
to whether  or not the  remaining boards would  also require                                                                    
their  own individual  investigator. Ms.  Berg replied  that                                                                    
she had not heard any testimony to that effect.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
HARLEY HIGHTOWER, CHAIR, ALASKA  STATE BOARD OF REGISTRATION                                                                    
FOR  ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS,  AND  LAND SURVEYORS,  ANCHORAGE                                                                    
(via  teleconference), testified  in support  of HB  337. He                                                                    
related that  he was  an architect  who had  been practicing                                                                    
statewide since  1964 and that  he was presently  serving as                                                                    
chair of the AELS Board.  He related that HB 337 represented                                                                    
a priority issue for AELS and  that it would allow the board                                                                    
to more effectively perform its  charge of the protection of                                                                    
the health,  safety, and  welfare of  the public.  He stated                                                                    
the current AELS investigator also  served five other boards                                                                    
and was forced to pick and  choose which cases to pursue. He                                                                    
warned that  the investigator's overloaded schedule  was not                                                                    
only a  health and  safety issue, but  that it  also exposed                                                                    
the state and the board  to liability. He furthered that the                                                                    
cost increases  created by the legislation  would be minimal                                                                    
and  would be  covered  by  a slight  increase  in fees.  He                                                                    
offered that  AELS's fees  were reasonable  and fell  in the                                                                    
lower range in comparison to  the other 54 jurisdictions. He                                                                    
concluded that  the professions that  were regulated  by the                                                                    
AELS Board all supported the legislation.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
BOYD  BROWNFIELD,  SELF,   ANCHORAGE  (via  teleconference),                                                                    
expressed his support of the  legislation. He shared that he                                                                    
had  been  a  registered  civil  engineer  in  Alaska  since                                                                    
August, 1975  and had  served on  the AELS  for 8  years. He                                                                    
stated that  during his tenure  on AELS Board, he  served as                                                                    
the chairman  for two  years and  vice-chair for  four years                                                                    
and expressed support of the  board having its own full-time                                                                    
investigator.  He  pointed  out  that  AELS  was  the  third                                                                    
largest professional board  out of 20 boards,  but that AELS                                                                    
was first in the category  of complexity because it had four                                                                    
separate and distinct professions  to serve. He related that                                                                    
the  engineering  profession  alone  had  six  separate  and                                                                    
distinct  braches,  each   representing  its  own  technical                                                                    
challenges  and  that  the number  of  branches  would  soon                                                                    
increase  15.  He  stated that  the  AELS  investigator  was                                                                    
assigned to  several different boards  and was  only serving                                                                    
AELS  17 percent  of the  time. He  shared that  the current                                                                    
investigator was performing his  duties in a "superb" manner                                                                    
and encouraged the committee to pass the legislation.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stedman discussed  a fiscal  impact note  from the                                                                    
Department of  Commerce, Community and  Economic Development                                                                    
in the amount of $114,900.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:23:54 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
HB  337  was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.