Legislature(2021 - 2022)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/28/2022 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB174 | |
| SB190 | |
| SB193 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 190 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 193 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 185 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 193-EXTEND BOARD OF CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINERS
2:25:57 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO.
193 "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of
Chiropractic Examiners; and providing for an effective date."
2:26:25 PM
KONRAD JACKSON, Staff, Senator Peter Micciche, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, stated that SB 193 extends the
Board of Chiropractic Examiners for five years, as recommended
by the Division of Legislative Audit. He noted that sunset
audits were the legislature's opportunity to review how boards
are operating in the public interest and their statutory
capacity.
2:27:29 PM
MADISON GOVIN, Staff, Senator Peter Micciche, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced SB 193 paraphrasing the
following sponsor statement:
The Division of Legislative Audit reviewed the Board
of Chiropractic Examiners (BCE). The purpose of this
audit was to determine whether or not there is a
demonstrated public need for BCE's continued existence
and whether it has been operating in an effective
manner. As a result of this audit, our auditors
concluded that the board's termination date should be
extended until June 30, 2027.
Legislative Audit makes two new recommendations:
a. The Office of the Governor should appoint
board members in accordance with statute.
Currently, one public board member does not meet
the statutory requirements for appointment
b. The Department should continue efforts to
improve the investigative case management
system's integrity and confidentiality.
Additionally, they determined that the recommendations
from the prior sunset audit have been addressed.
I urge your support on this legislation to allow the
Board of Chiropractic Examiners to continue to carry
out their duties of effectively licensing and
regulating Chiropractors and to protect and promote
the public health, welfare, and safety of Alaskans.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if the full extension allowed in statute
was five years.
MS. GOVIN answered no.
2:28:41 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO invited Kris Curtis to present the sunset audit.
2:28:51 PM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative Audit,
Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, directed attention to
the June 22, 2021 sunset audit summary of the Board of
Chiropractic Examiners in members' packets. She read the first
paragraph of the Report Conclusions found on page i of the
summary. It read:
Overall, the audit concluded that the board served the
public's interest by conducting meetings in accordance
with State laws, amending certain regulations to
improve the chiropractic profession, and effectively
licensing and regulating chiropractic physicians.
Additionally, the audit found one board member did not
meet statutory requirements for appointment and
additional resources were needed to investigate cases
in a timely manner.
MS. CURTIS stated that the audit recommends a five year
extension, which is three years less than the eight-year maximum
allowed in statute. She related that the shorter extension is
due to an issue the audit identified that may affect the board's
ability to protect the public. The audit has no details about
this issue because the investigation is ongoing.
MS. CURTIS directed attention to the standard information about
the board on pages 5 and 6. She related that as of January 31,
2021, there were 306 active licenses and permits for this board.
The schedule of annual revenues and expenditures on page 6 shows
that [from FY18 through January 31, 2021] the board alternated
between a deficit and a surplus. She noted that management of
the Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional
Licensing deemed the deficits within a reasonable range and did
not recommend a fee increase. She said the licensing fees are
listed on page 7.
2:30:33 PM
MS. CURTIS reviewed the two recommendations from the audit that
begin on page 9. Recommendation No. 1 is for the governor to
make board appointments in compliance with statutory
requirements. The audit found that the public board member was a
licensed (EMT), which violates the statutory requirement that
prohibits the public member from having a direct financial
interest in the health care field.
Recommendation No. 2, which starts on page 10, calls for the
director of the Division of Corporations, Business, and
Professional Licensing (DCBPL) to allocate sufficient resources
to ensure cases are investigated in a timely manner. The audit
reviewed the 11 cases that were open for more than 180 days
during the audit period. Seven of those cases were combined into
one case because they were related to the same chiropractor. In
that combined case, the audit found four periods of inactivity
that ranged from 55 days to 208 days. DCBPL investigative staff
reported that the inactivity was due to competing priorities and
insufficient resources.
2:31:35 PM
MS. CURTIS reviewed the response to the audit from DCCED that
starts on page 21 of the audit report. The commissioner stated
that the department hired two additional investigators and she
believes that will increase both the quality and timeliness of
investigations.
The governor's response appears on page 23. He agreed with
Recommendation No. 1 and reported that the board member who was
appointed outside the statutes was removed.
The response from the board starts on page 25. The board chair
did not agree with the five-year extension. He described the
shorter than full extension as an unfair penalty because the
issues raised in the findings were outside the board's purview.
He countered the audit recommendation and requested the board be
granted the full eight-year extension.
2:32:29 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if she wanted to comment on the chair's
view that the less than maximum extension penalized the board.
MS. CURTIS said she had seen the perception by auditees the last
two years that the legislative oversight sunset audit was a
negative process and anything but a full statutory extension was
punitive. She said the division tries to explain that sunset
audits are an oversight mechanism to review the state of the
board. A shorter than full extension could be due to changes in
the law or that the board was reorganized and had new duties
that might affect the public. She reiterated that audits are
simply a legislative oversight mechanism.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if there were statutes relating to
department oversight of the timeliness of investigations.
MS. CURTIS answered no; DCBPL has policies to encourage timely
investigations, but that division has been under a resource
crunch the last several years, which has resulted in continual
problems in its investigative process.
2:34:29 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked how long the individual who did not
meet the qualifications served on the board before being
removed.
MS. CURTIS asked the chair if she could consult the auditor
because she did not have that information.
2:34:52 PM
At ease
2:35:18 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO reconvened the meeting and explained that the
auditor would follow up with the information Senator Gray-
Jackson requested.
She asked Ms. Curtis to review the history of the audits for
this board, including whether shorter than full statutory
extensions had ever been recommended.
MS. CURTIS said the last sunset audit was conducted in 2013 and
the board received an eight-year extension that time. She did
not have information about earlier audits with her.
CHAIR COSTELLO turned to invited testimony on SB 193.
2:36:20 PM
DR. BRIAN LARSON, Chair, Board of Chiropractic Examiners,
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
(DCCED), Palmer, Alaska, explained that the public member that
did not meet the statutory requirement for the position
appropriately resigned his commission when it came to light that
he was employed fulltime in the health care industry. Dr. Larson
offered his understanding that this was the second time in two
consecutive eight-year sunset audits that this had happened. The
investigative delays also occurred in that same consecutive
eight-year timeframe. He said it is difficult to see this
shortened extension as anything other than punitive because the
board does not evaluate board applicants and it has no say in
the investigative process.
2:40:00 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO said she understands what he is saying, but she
views sunset audits as an opportunity for the legislature to
review the activities the board conducts on behalf of Alaskans
served by the profession. She noted that the audit also included
a review of the Division of Corporations, Business, and
Professional Licensing and Sara Chambers would be up next to
talk about the challenges the division faced with those
investigations. She thanked Dr. Larson and his colleagues for
the work they do and restated that sunset audits provide an
opportunity for the legislature to look at the entire profession
on behalf of the public. It is an opportunity to talk about
successes and the challenges facing the board.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked Sara Chambers to talk about the audit with
particular focus on investigations.
2:41:52 PM
SARA CHAMBERS, Director, Division of Corporations, Business, and
Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community and
Economic Development (DCCED), Juneau, Alaska, agreed with Chair
Costello that sunset audits are a necessary process. She offered
to talk about the audit findings or answer specific questions.
SENATOR STEVENS said he did not have any questions related to
the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, but he would like to
discuss the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) outside of
this meeting.
MS. CHAMBERS advised that RCA was outside her professional
purview. She deferred questions to Chair Pickett or another
commissioner.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked her to talk about what the fees have been
for this board historically and whether this investigation is
expected to result in a fee increase.
2:44:09 PM
MS. CHAMBERS explained that licensing fees cover all matters the
audit looked at, including professional licensing
investigations. These costs have risen for all boards and
commissions in the last few years and the division asked for a
small general fund increment in FY21, FY22, and FY23 to prevent
fee increases. She said the department is looking to the
legislature for direction on addressing this ongoing challenge.
She explained that Alaska follows the same model and
infrastructure for boards and commissions as many other states,
but the economy of scale is very different. For all practical
purposes it works well, but not when a case involves a complex
investigation or a denial of licensure and the licensee or
applicant exercises their due process right to appeal. Those
cases run upwards of $100,000 and the licensees, in this case
the 300 chiropractors, have to pay for that. She noted that the
case in question was an example.
MS. CHAMBERS said the division tries to keep enough money in a
board's budget to pay for the average bump in investigation or
appeal costs. However, costs keep rising as a result of dramatic
cases, and there have been several in this profession in
particular. She noted that the largest cost is to pay attorneys
in the Office of Administrative Hearings, which is outside the
division's control.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked how many investigators were assigned to the
[seven] cases that were combined into one, and what accounted
for the periods of inactivity of 200 some days.
2:48:15 PM
MS. CHAMBERS explained that a pool of about 17 investigators
work for the division. They conduct the investigations for the
43 professional licensing programs and they are assigned
according to need. Life, health, and safety are prioritized to
protect Alaskans and make the best use of resources.
Investigators are also assigned based on their knowledge. In
this situation, the investigator was not only working on
chiropractic cases but also on dental, and nursing cases. Some
cases were deemed more pressing than the one in question and the
attorney gave advice that appeared to substantiate that it was
lower in priority.
MS. CHAMBERS said the case is moving forward now, but at the
time of the audit it was not deemed high priority.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked when and if the legislature will get
information about the case in litigation.
MS. CHAMBERS answered that the details of the case under
litigation will be made public as soon as there is a ruling.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked what happens if the division determines a
complaint is criminal in nature.
MS. CHAMBERS explained that if there is a criminal element, the
division turns the information over to the appropriate criminal
unit. That entity moves forward with the investigation. The
division is notified of the result and it takes the appropriate
licensing action based on the criminal finding. The division
worked out this process after an earlier legislative audit found
the process could be better. She noted that such improvements
were tracked in the case management files.
2:54:16 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked when the determination was made that the
board member was inappropriately appointed.
MS. CHAMBERS offered her understanding that it was a finding in
the audit. As soon as it was brought to the attention of the
Governor's Office, the matter was handled appropriately and the
board member willingly resigned. She assured the committee that
the division has nothing to do with board appointments, the
criteria, or who is seated.
2:55:19 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO opened public testimony on SB 193; finding none,
she closed public testimony.
SENATOR REVAK said he had no idea about the intricacies of this
board. He continued:
It sounds like the board is backbreaking work.
Board members certainly require a backbone.
It sounds like in many ways, some of their backs are
against the wall.
We certainly don't want to send them backward.
We also certainly don't want to turn our backs on
them.
He thanked the sponsor for bringing the bill forward.
CHAIR COSTELLO said she appreciated the levity.
CHAIR COSTELLO held SB 193 in committee for further
consideration.