Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/22/2004 04:57 PM House HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 502-DISPENSING OPTICIANS: BOARD & REGULATION Number 0026 CHAIR WILSON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 502, "An Act relating to dispensing opticians and dispensing optician apprentices." Number 0065 REPRESENTATIVE JIM HOLM, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of HB 502, introduced Ms. Christi Brand. He thanked the members for meeting to take Ms. Brand's testimony since she will only be in town a few more hours. Ms. Brand is the President of the Opticians Association of Alaska. Number 0113 CHRISTI BRAND, President, Opticians Association of Alaska, testified on HB 502. She read the following testimony into the record [original punctuation provided]: Madam Chairman, committee members my name is Christi Brand I am a licensed optician with 18 years of experience in the optical field. I am certified by the American Board of Opticianry and the National Contact Lens Examiners. I am the owner of Golden North Optics in Fairbanks and I am president of the Opticians Association of Alaska, thank you for taking the time to hear my testimony today. As Licensed Opticians we are part of the healthcare industry, we are like a pharmacist to the eye Doctor. We are licensed to interpret the Eye Doctors prescription, we make recommendations on lenses, materials and frames based on each patient's needs, we take precise measurements that are critical to proper sight and we make the glasses or fit the contacts that help the patient see. We are trained in anatomy, physiology, and ocular complications. We receive continuing education every year and we are licensed providers who can contract with insurance companies to file a patients insurance. From 1973 until 2001 the required hours for apprenticeship training to become a licensed optician was 6000 hours. In 2001 SB270 was passed late in session under the 24-hour rule and the amount of hours was reduced to 1800. 1800 hours is not enough training to learn the complexity of our field, at 1800 hours we would be one of if not the lowest state in the union in terms of training. HB502 rectifies this problem by increasing the number of required hours, not back to the 6000 hours, which had worked well for nearly 30 years but to 4000 hours for spectacle training with an additional 2000 hours for those who wish to become licensed in contact lenses as well. HB 502 would also adopt the United States Department of Labor's apprenticeship program, which provides a formal educational component to the training where the apprentice and the mentor will have the Career Progression Program from the National Academy of Opticianry to follow step by step through the training process. The U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship program has a school to work linkage program for high school seniors, to help them bridge the gap from high school to work, and upon completion of the apprenticeship program a certificate of completion will be issued which can be taken to the State of Alaska for licensing. The University of Alaska will also give credit for each portion of the license towards an Associates Degree in Applied Optics. The apprenticeship program also has federal grants available to businesses for hiring the unemployed and training them, and these grants will help offset the cost of the apprentice's wages while offering the disadvantaged a chance to learn a noble profession. The changes that HB 502 accomplishes for the opticians of Alaska are important in that it sets out a higher standard of training and it adopts the U.S. Dept. of Labor as the official apprenticeship program. We believe that Alaska's consumers deserve the best when it comes to their eye care and we think you will agree. Please pass HB 502. Thank You! Number 0350 CHAIR WILSON asked Ms. Brand if she would be available to be on- line when HB 502 is heard again. MS. BRAND responded that she would be available. [While no announcement was made, HB 502 was held in committee.]
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