Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
05/12/2023 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB126 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 159 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 45 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 47 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
May 12, 2023
2:50 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jesse Sumner, Chair
Representative Justin Ruffridge, Vice Chair
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Stanley Wright
Representative Ashley Carrick
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Zack Fields
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 126
"An Act relating to the State Board of Registration for
Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors; relating to
architects, engineers, land surveyors, and landscape architects;
and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED SB 126 OUT OF COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 45(L&C) AM
"An Act relating to insurance; relating to direct health care
agreements; relating to the duties of the director of the
division of insurance in the Department of Commerce, Community,
and Economic Development; and providing for an effective date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 47
"An Act relating to insurance; relating to direct health care
agreements; and relating to unfair trade practices."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 159
"An Act relating to registered interior designers and interior
design; establishing requirements for the practice of registered
interior design; renaming the State Board of Registration for
Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors the State Board of
Registration for Design Professionals; relating to the State
Board of Registration for Design Professionals; relating to
liens for labor or materials furnished; relating to the
procurement of interior design services; and providing for an
effective date."
- BILL HEARING CANCELED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 126
SHORT TITLE: ARCHITECT/ENGINEER REGISTRATION BOARD
SPONSOR(s): LABOR & COMMERCE
04/11/23 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/11/23 (S) L&C, FIN
04/12/23 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/12/23 (S) Heard & Held
04/12/23 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/19/23 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/19/23 (S) Moved SB 126 Out of Committee
04/19/23 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/21/23 (S) L&C RPT 3DP
04/21/23 (S) DP: BJORKMAN, GRAY-JACKSON, DUNBAR
04/21/23 (S) FIN REFERRAL REMOVED
05/10/23 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
05/10/23 (S) VERSION: SB 126
05/10/23 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
05/10/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/11/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/11/23 (H) L&C
05/12/23 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
SENATOR JESSE BJORKMAN
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented SB 126.
LOREN LEMAN, Member
Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land
Surveyors
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony, discussed the
sectional analysis, and answered questions during the hearing on
SB 126.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:19:32 PM
CHAIR JESSE SUMNER called the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 2:50 p.m. Representatives
Carrick, Wright, Ruffridge, and Sumner were present at the call
to order. Representative Saddler arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
SB 126-ARCHITECT/ENGINEER REGISTRATION BOARD
3:19:59 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that the first order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 126, "An Act relating to the State Board of
Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors;
relating to architects, engineers, land surveyors, and landscape
architects; and providing for an effective date."
3:20:24 PM
SENATOR JESSE BJORKMAN, Alaska State Senator, as prime sponsor,
presented SB 126. He paraphrased the sponsor statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Senate Bill 126 is legislation requested by the State
Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and
Land Surveyors (AELS Board). In many respects it is
like a "Revisor's Bill."
One of its more substantive changes is to clarify that
an electrical and a mechanical engineer may serve on
the Board at the same time. This could be helpful as
these two disciplines of engineering have the second
and third most registrants in Alaska (civil
engineering has the largest number). The Board
believes this is what the Legislature intended when it
called out that one of the 11 seats must be filled by
a mechanical or electrical engineer and another seat
is to be filled by another discipline not already
represented. However, the Department of Law advises
that the current language may not allow this.
Clarifying this will reduce the potential for conflict
over eligibility to serve and may better serve the
professions.
Another change is to clarify that a registrant who
seals and signs a document must do the work or be in
responsible charge of it and the work must be in the
registrant's field of practice. An attorney in the
Department of Law recently opined that the way the
sentence is currently written could be interpreted as
"or," meaning either condition alone is sufficient.
This is not how the professions have long practiced
this, nor how regulations are written. So the Board
requests this clarification to reduce potential
conflict between statute and regulation, as well as
guard the professions.
The bill provides numerous updates to the statutes,
acknowledges that documents are now transmitted
electronically, and adds limited partnerships to the
corporate structures that can be issued certification
for professional practice.
3:21:48 PM
LOREN LEMAN, Member, Board of Registration for Architects,
Engineers, and Land Surveyors, noted he had previously served as
a legislator in the Alaska State Legislature. He said one task
of the board has been to update statutes and regulations to
align with "how things are done today." He characterized SB 126
as like a revisor's bill; it does not seek to change policy but
rather to make updates. He highlighted parts of the sectional
analysis [included in the committee packet], which read in full
as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Section 1: Amends AS 08.48.011(c) to clarify that an
electrical engineer and a mechanical engineer may
serve on the Board concurrently. This could help
better serve two of the largest disciplines of
engineering in Alaska.
Section 2: Amends AS 08.48.021(c) to lower from four
to two years the time that a person who has "termed
out" must wait before becoming eligible for
reappointment to the Board. This would be helpful in
filling vacancies that may be difficult to fill.
Section 3: Amends AS 08.48.055(a) to change the
statutory title of the main staff person who supports
the Board to Executive Administrator, an update to
modernize the title and more accurately reflect the
scope of duties.
Section 4: Amends AS 08.48.055(b) to change the
statutory title to Executive Administrator and adds
that the Board may delegate reviews and approvals of
comity applications. This delegation is already in
regulation for certain limited circumstances, and the
Department of Law has advised that the delegation
needs to be codified in statute.
Section 5: Amends AS 08.48.071(f) because the Board no
longer administers the exams. The testing function is
now performed by national professional testing
organizations at considerable cost savings to the
State.
Section 6: Amends AS 08.48.091 because the Board no
longer administers the exams.
Section 7: Amends AS 08.48.101(a) to add statutory
authority for the Board to provide guidance on
overlapping "border issues" or "gray areas" among the
design professions by regulation or policy. The Board
is already providing this guidance, this change
clarifies the authority in statute.
Section 8: Amends AS 08.48.111 to add limited
partnerships to entities that may be issued
certificates of authorization. The State of Alaska
issues business and professional licenses to limited
partnerships.
Section 9: Amends AS 08.48.121 to allow the
investigator to be able to dismiss a complaint without
having to come to the Board in certain cases.
Section 10: Amends AS 08.48.171 to delete statutory
language regarding applications for registration that
is better suited to and currently covered by
regulation.
Section 11- 13 Amend AS 08.48.191(a),(b) & (d) to
update language to provide better certainty regarding
when conditions for an application are met, and less a
process based on opinion when the Board registers
architects in Alaska.
Section 14: Amends AS 08.48.201(a) to allow the Board
to set in regulation specific requirements for forms,
statements, and references rather than in statute.
Section 15: Amends AS 08.48.211 to modernize statutes
and delete repetitive language. Certificates are now
issued electronically and the Board no longer places a
physical seal on hard copy certificates. Registrants
are advised they can print their own certificates from
an electronic file.
Section 16: Amends AS 08.48.215(a) to streamline the
language.
Section 17: Amends AS 48.08.221 to remove duplicative
language and allow the Board to provide requirements
for professional seals in regulation. Also responds to
a recent Department of Law opinion about potential
conflict between statute and regulation by clarifying
that work sealed and signed by a registrant must be
done by the registrant or under their responsible
charge and be in the registrant's field of practice.
Section 18: Amends AS 08.48.231(a) to add limited
partnerships and update the language to allow for
electronic transmission of documents.
Section 19 - 28: Amends AS 08.48.241(a) (h), AS
08.48.251, and AS 48.08.281(a) to add limited
partnerships.
Section 29: Amends AS 08.48.331(a) to add limited
partnerships and update the name for fire protection
systems to be consistent with industry.
Section 30: Amends AS 08.48.341(4) to add limited
partnerships.
Section 31: Amends AS 08.48.341(7) to make the
language consistent with industry practice.
Section 32: Amends AS 08.48.341(16) by revising the
definition of landscape architecture to be consistent
with the other professional definitions and reflect
language used within the profession to describe its
work.
Sections 33-36: Amends AS 08.48.341(17-19, 22) to
remove unnecessary language.
Section 37: Amends AS 08.48.341 to add new language
that provide a definition for "fire protection system"
that is consistent with the industry, and defines
"limited partnership" and "registrant" as they are
used in this section.
Section 38: Repeals AS 08.48.061, removing language
regarding travel expenses and appropriations that is
more appropriately covered elsewhere in Alaska
Statutes.
Section 39: Provides for an immediate effective date.
MR. LEMAN noted that SB 126 had passed in the Senate with no
opposition, and he encouraged the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee to pass the bill out of committee.
3:26:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether the board had ever
witnessed a situation, as described in the sponsor statement,
wherein, for example, a mechanical engineer "has taken advantage
of the ambiguity in the statute" to sign and seal a document
that should have been done by a civil engineer or vice versa.
MR. LEMAN answered, "We're not aware of this." He spoke about
the necessity to be registered and experienced in a particular
area.
3:27:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT pointed to language in Section 2 of the
bill that would lower the time limit from four years to two
years. He asked if it is difficult to recruit members to the
board.
MR. LEMAN answered that in some of the categories it is. He
credited the legislature for allowing some flexibility, for
example, that if a mining engineer cannot be found, then a
petroleum or chemical engineer could serve on the board. He
indicated that the board would like to give "the various
disciplines of engineering" opportunities to serve. He said the
four-year limit is more restrictive than necessary for this
board.
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT speculated this issue may be reason for
the desire to move SB 126 quickly.
MR. LEMAN answered that while the proposed legislation may seem
minor "in the grand scheme," it is an important issue to the
board. He expressed appreciation to the committee for hearing
the bill and expressed hope that the committee would report SB
126 [out of committee].
3:30:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE expressed appreciation for Mr. Leman's
efforts to see this legislation moved through the legislature.
MR. LEMAN spoke about the commitment of time each board member
gives.
3:32:27 PM
MR. LEMAN, in response to Representative Saddler, spoke about
the board's stance related to interior designers.
3:34:37 PM
CHAIR SUMNER opened public testimony on SB 126. After
ascertaining there was no one who wished to testify, he closed
public testimony.
3:35:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE moved to report SB 126 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note. There being no objection, SB 126 was reported out of the
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
3:35:37 PM
ADJOURNMENT
The House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee was recessed at
3:35 p.m., to be continued May 13, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB159 Support BCash.pdf |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 159 |
| HB0159A.PDF |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 159 |
| SB 45 Public Testimony-Letter_AK Dental Society 03.23.pdf |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
SB 45 |
| SB0045-1-2-022423-CED-N.PDF |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
SB 45 |
| SB 45 Section Analysis v. D.A 5.12.23.pdf |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
SB 45 |
| SB 45 Sponsor Statement 2.1.2023.pdf |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
SB 45 |
| SB45 v. D.A.PDF |
HL&C 5/12/2023 3:15:00 PM |
SB 45 |