Legislature(2025 - 2026)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/24/2025 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB137 | |
| SB55 | |
| SB96 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 137 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 96 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 137-EXTEND BOARDS: MIDWIVES, NURSING, PAROLE
1:33:34 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO.
137 "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of
Certified Direct-Entry Midwives; extending the termination date
of the Board of Nursing; extending the termination date of the
Board of Parole; and providing for an effective date."
1:33:55 PM
MATT CHURCHILL, Staff, Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced SB 137 on behalf of the
sponsor and stated that the following recommendations are from
the 2024 state audits. SB 137 proposes extending the sunset
dates for three professional boards. The Board of Direct-Entry
Midwives and Board of Nursing would be extended six years to
June 30, 2031, and the Board of Parole would be extended four
years to June 30, 2029.
1:35:35 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on SB 137.
1:35:50 PM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, testified by invitation on SB 137. She explained
the audit for the Board of Nursing:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Report Conclusions:
The audit concluded that the board served the public's
interest by effectively conducting its meetings,
actively amending nursing regulations, and effectively
licensing nursing professionals. The audit also
concluded that board-related cases were not
consistently investigated in a timely manner, and one
board position had been vacant for an extended period.
MS. CURTIS said the audit department recommends a six-year
extension. She referred to a chart on page 7, exhibit 2, of the
audit report:
"The exhibit summarizes our review of how fast or how
timely nurses were issuing their licenses and we found
of the licenses we reviewed that 30 percent of them
had took over four months to be issued by the board.
The delays were caused by staff shortages and a
significant increase in their workload."
1:36:51 PM
MS. CURTIS referred to the chart on page 8, exhibit 3, of the
audit report:
"as of February 2024, the board had just over 27,000
active licenses and permits and this is an increase of
37 percent compared to 2018 sunset audit. Now, the
increases were mainly in the area of registered nurses
who are providing services in Alaska as a result of
the COVID pandemic."
MS. CURTIS referred to page 10, of the audit report:
"The board schedule of revenues and expenditures is on
page 10 and as of February 2024, the board had a
surplus of approximately 3.4 million and despite the
large surplus, the board and DCPPL were not planning
on decreasing licensing fees. That is because they
believe that surplus would naturally decline and that
that number of high licenses would naturally go down
and so their surplus would go down."
MS. CURTIS referred to page 14, and said the audit recommends
the commissioner work with policymakers to improve investigator
recruitment and retention. Of 35 board-related cases reviewed,
25 percent had unjustified inactivity, often due to staff
vacancies, turnover, and lengthy training times for new
investigators. She said management's response to the audit is
found on page 23, the commissioner and the board chair concurred
with the findings and recommendation.
1:38:33 PM
MS. CURTIS continued with the audit report for the Board of
Parole. She said the audit recommends the legislature extend the
board to four years, half of the maximum allowed by statute. She
said her reduced extension recommendation reflects the need for
more timely oversight. She referred to page 8 of the audit
report and stated that when Senate Bill 91 passed in 2017, the
board received funding for extra staff to handle more workload,
costing about $591,000 annually. Hearings declined to pre-reform
levels or lower, after House Bill 49 repealed reforms in 2019,
however staff positions were not reduced. The audit questions
whether these five positions are still needed based off the
charts referenced on page 9, exhibits 3 and 4. She referenced
page 10, of the audit report that found the board generally
followed state law in conducting parole hearings. She referenced
page 11, exhibit 5 and noted a decline in discretionary parole
approvals from 63 percent before the criminal justice reform to
25 percent after the repeal. The board could not explain the
decrease. The audit has three recommendations that begin on page
14:
"Recommendation 1, we recommend that the board chair
work with the DOC commissioner to ensure all hearings
are conducted in a confidential manner. The audit
found that the Highland Mountain Correctional Center,
preliminary revocation hearings were at times
conducted in the general population area, which
violated defender's rights to confidentiality.
Recommendation 2, the board chair and the DOC
commissioner should ensure the regulations are updated
in a timely manner. We found that the parole
regulations had not been updated since 2015, despite
significant changes in statutes.
Recommendation 3, on page 15, we recommend the DOC
commissioner ensure fiscal notes for pending
legislation reflect decreases as appropriate."
She said the management's response to the audit begins on page
25, the Department of Corrections Commissioner and the board
chair agreed with the audit's recommendations and noted
corrective actions on confidentiality and regulation updates.
However, the board chair disagreed with the audit's conclusion
about declining parole approval rates, arguing that exhibit 5
was an inaccurate comparison since each parole hearing is
unique.
1:42:20 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR stated that he doesn't understand the board
chair's response, because parole cases were just as unique when
the approval rate was 63 percent as they are now. He asked for
an explanation of approval rates dropping to about a third of
what they used to be.
1:42:58 PM
MS. CURTIS replied that she cant answer the question because
it's the chair's comment. She said that during a past audit
change in parole rates were explained. An example of this would
be limited community treatment options that once led to fewer
releases. This audit, despite the significant drop in approvals,
no explanation was provided.
1:43:26 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR stated that someone that is paroled doesn't cost
as much as someone that is in the state's custody. With a 40
percent drop in parolees, more individuals remain in custody. He
said that's costing roughly $220 per day for each person, which
could total millions for Alaska each year. He asked if there was
a fiscal note to this cost and how many millions of dollars does
the change in policy cost Alaska per year.
1:43:54 PM
MS. CURTIS replied that she wouldn't be able to address the
fiscal note, as it wasn't part of the scope of the audit.
1:44:00 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked whether fiscal matters are part of the
audit.
1:44:05 PM
MS. CURTIS replied that sunset audits use 11 criteria listed in
Appendix A, and auditors address each one. If additional issues
arise, the audit will include them. She said regarding the
fiscal impact of the parole changes, the audit department asked
for an explanation, but none was provided, so the auditors
cannot say whether there was a financial effect.
1:45 :01 PM
MS. CURTIS continued with the audit report for the Board of
Certified Direct-Entry Midwives. She read the conclusions of the
audit report:
[Original punctuation provided.]
The audit concluded that the board served the public's
interest by conducting its meetings in accordance with
state law and actively amending regulations to enhance
public safety and improve the certification process.
The audit also concluded that the board generally
certified midwives in compliance with state law, but
documentation improvements were needed. Furthermore,
the audit found the board did not audit compliance
with certification renewal requirements in a timely
manner.
1:45:29 PM
MS. CURTIS recommended a six-year extension. She referred to
page 5, of the audit report and said there was a change to how
midwives are certified. She said starting January 2023, midwives
must hold a national Certified Professional Midwife credential
from the North American Registry for Midwives (NARM), which has
led to some duplication of state and national functions and has
further increased already high certification costs. She said
before the change, midwives already faced some of the highest
certification costs, and the new requirement further increased
the expenses for obtaining and maintaining state certification.
She referred to page 7, exhibit 3, that shows the schedule of
licensing activity for the Board of Certified Direct-Entry
Midwives. The state of Alaska has 41 certified and apprentice
midwives and on page 9, the chart shows a $77,000 surplus. She
said the audit report includes three recommendations that start
on page 12:
"Recommendation 1, we recommend Office of the
Governor, Boards and Commissions Director work with
the Board to fill vacant board seats in a timely
manner. This has to do with the vacant physician seat.
It's one of the five members, and it's been vacant for
many years.
Recommendation 2, for Division of Corporations
Business and Professional Licensing (DCBPL) Director
to improve training, to ensure certifications are
supported by adequate documentation, and for the Board
to thoroughly review applications before approval. And
this recommendation comes from an error we found when
testing license process regarding incomplete clinical
verification information.
Recommendation 3, on page 13, we recommend the
Commissioner work with policymakers to improve the
recruitment and retention of licensing staff. So this
has to do with finding that the DCBPL staff were not
auditing compliance with renewal requirements due to
changes in management and staffing shortages.
MS. CURTIS stated that management's response to the audit report
begins on page 23, and agreed with their recommendations and
conclusions. She said that the Board chair is less receptive,
and her response starts on page 27. She noted that the
recommendations primarily target the Office of the Governor or
DCPPL and therefore requested an eight-year extension. She said
this is the third audit cycle for this board, which has
previously received one four-year and three two-year extensions
over the last four sunset cycles. A six-year extension is
recommended.
1:48:59 PM
SYLVAN ROBB, Director, Division of Corporations, Business and
Professional Licensing (DCBPL), Anchorage, Alaska, testified by
invitation on SB 137. She stated that the DCBPL has made
significant efforts to improve investigator recruitment for the
Board of Nursing, including better outreach, making positions
more appealing, reducing spans of control, and providing
additional training. These steps have shown positive results,
and similar audit recommendations on investigation delays are
not expected in the next cycle. She stated that the audit for
the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives made three key
recommendations:
First, it noted the need to fill the long-vacant physician/OB
board seat, which has been challenging due to a lack of
interested candidates. She said DCBPL are making efforts to
assist the Governor's Office in finding someone.
Second, the audit report recommended was ensuring proper
documentation and that board members thoroughly review it before
issuing licenses. In response, positions were reclassified to
create more supervisors with smaller spans of control, staff
training was improved, and robust board training is now provided
through a dedicated board advisor.
Third, the audit highlighted the need to recruit and retain
licensing staff. The division updated job classifications to
provide clearer career paths and advancement opportunities, and
early results show positive outcomes, with several staff already
promoted within the division.
1:53:06 PM
HOLLY STEINER, Chair, Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwifery,
Wasilla, Alaska, testified by invitation on SB 137 and stated
that the board has worked to address previous staffing and board
seat vacancy issues, and the most recent audit in June 2024
noted their progress. Four of five seats are now filled,
including the OB doctor seat, with only the public member seat
remaining vacant. She said staffing has improved with a skilled
licensing examiner in place. The board updated regulations to
require nationally recognized certified professional midwives,
though increasing licensing costs by $210 every three years,
this change is supported by most midwives and has streamlined
licensure by shifting much of the work to the national registry.
Overall, the board and staff have made significant improvements,
and the recent audit supports a six-year extension, which the
board endorses.
1:56:03 PM
DANETTE SCHLOEDER, Chair, Board of Nursing, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified by invitation on SB 137 and stated that the Alaska
Board of Nursing is essential for protecting public health and
maintaining high nursing standards across the state. The board
ensures nurses are well-trained, licensed, and uphold ethical
and clinical standards, which safeguards patient safety and
healthcare quality. She said extending the board supports public
trust in nurses competence, employers confidence in licensure
requirements, and nurses trust in a governing body that
advocates for their profession.
1:58:03 PM
LEITONI TUPOU, Chair, Board of Parole, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified by invitation on SB 137 and stated that he reviewed
the 2019 legislative audit and found some recommendations that
had not been fully addressed. He said he has been working with
the Department of Corrections and has completed nearly all the
recommendations. He expressed concern that with the reduction in
caseloads, the extra positions created under Senate Bill 91,
were no longer justified. He said he worked with the Department
of Corrections and even the Governor's office to address the
issue, leading to staffing changes within the Board of Parole.
While not all questions are resolved, the matter remains a work
in progress.
1:59:55 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR highlighted the audit report's findings of a
decline in discretionary parole hearings, noting they increased
from 2016 to 2018 but have since fallen below 2016 levels. He
asked what distinguishes discretionary hearings from non-
discretionary and what factors explain the significant decrease.
2:00:34 PM
MR. TUPOU replied that Senate Bill 91 caused a major spike in
discretionary parole hearings by requiring all offenders to
apply, resulting in a 600 percent increase from the previous
year. After Senate Bill 91 was repealed, the number of
applications dropped, leading to the current decrease in parole
applications. He stated there are two types of parole:
discretionary and mandatory. Discretionary parole allows
offenders to apply for early release after serving one-third of
their sentence, but the Board decides whether to grant it based
on four legal criteria such as the seriousness of the offense,
risk of reoffending, and victim input. He said offenders have
the right to a hearing, but release is ultimately at the Board's
discretion. He said that mandatory parole applies to sentences
of two years or more and requires release after serving two-
thirds of the sentence. The individual is released under parole
supervision, with conditions and if those conditions are
violated, the board decides whether the parolee returns to
custody or are given another chance through programs to
reintegrate into the community.
2:03:38 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR observed on page 9, exhibit 3 and 4, that Senate
Bill 91 led to a sharp increase in parole hearings. On page 11,
the chart shows the approval rate has remained significantly
lower than it was in 2014 and 2015. He asked whether the decline
was due to changes in the types of crimes committed or in parole
requests.
2:04:37 PM
MR. TUPOU replied that a detailed study needs to be conducted to
answer the question. He explained that the 2024 data came from
181 discretionary parole hearings. Each case is unique and
considered individually based on factors like offense type. For
example, of the 181 discretionary parole hearings 58 were
assault cases, 22 were driving offenses. He argued that
collectively comparing cases from one year to previous years
does not make sense.
2:06:35 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 137 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB137 Ver. A.pdf |
SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Sponsor Statement Ver. A.pdf |
SFIN 4/15/2025 9:00:00 AM SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Sectional Analysis Ver. A.pdf |
SFIN 4/15/2025 9:00:00 AM SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Fiscal Note-DCCED-CBPL 03.21.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Fiscal Note-DOC-PAB 03.21.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Supporting Documents - Audit Midwives.pdf |
SFIN 4/15/2025 9:00:00 AM SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Supporting Documents - Audit Parole.pdf |
SFIN 4/15/2025 9:00:00 AM SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Supporting Documents - Audit Nursing.pdf |
SFIN 4/15/2025 9:00:00 AM SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |
| SB137 Public Testimony-Letter-Board of Direct Entry Midwives 03.19.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/24/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 137 |