04/26/2007 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB140 | |
| SB102 | |
| SB28 | |
| SB118 | |
| HB121 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 118 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 121 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 140 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 102 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 28 | TELECONFERENCED | |
AALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
April 26, 2007
1:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Johnny Ellis, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Bettye Davis
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Con Bunde
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 140
"An Act requiring paid leave from employment for bone marrow
donation."
MOVED CSSB 140 (L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 102
"An Act relating to mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, mortgage
originators, state agents who collect program administration
fees, and other persons who engage in activities relating to
mortgage lending; relating to mortgage loan activities; relating
to an originator fund; relating to fees for mortgage loan
transactions; and providing for an effective date."
MOVED CSSB 102(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 28
"An Act relating to limitations on mandatory overtime for
registered nurses and licensed practical nurses in health care
facilities; and providing for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 118
"An Act establishing a fee for disposable plastic bags
distributed by retail sellers of goods or services to consumers
to carry away or protect goods; and establishing the Alaska
litter and marine debris reduction and recycling fund."
HEARD AND HELD
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 121(L&C) am
"An Act relating to release of information in individual
workers' compensation records; and providing for an effective
date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 140
SHORT TITLE: LEAVE FOR BONE MARROW DONATIONS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) ELTON
03/28/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/28/07 (S) L&C, STA, FIN
04/19/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/19/07 (S) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/24/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/24/07 (S) Heard & Held
04/24/07 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/26/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: SB 102
SHORT TITLE: MORTGAGE LENDING
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) HUGGINS BY REQUEST
03/02/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/02/07 (S) L&C, FIN
04/17/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/17/07 (S) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/19/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/19/07 (S) Heard & Held
04/19/07 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/24/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/24/07 (S) Heard & Held
04/24/07 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/26/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: SB 28
SHORT TITLE: LIMIT OVERTIME FOR REGISTERED NURSES
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) DAVIS
01/16/07 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/5/07
01/16/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/16/07 (S) HES, L&C, FIN
04/04/07 (S) HES AT 2:45 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/04/07 (S) Heard & Held
04/04/07 (S) MINUTE(HES)
04/16/07 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/16/07 (S) Moved CSSB 28(HES) Out of Committee
04/16/07 (S) MINUTE(HES)
04/18/07 (S) HES RPT CS 2DP 1NR 2AM SAME TITLE
04/18/07 (S) DP: DAVIS, ELTON
04/18/07 (S) NR: THOMAS
04/18/07 (S) AM: DYSON, COWDERY
04/24/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
04/24/07 (S) <Bill Hearing Postponed until Thursday>
04/26/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: SB 118
SHORT TITLE: PLASTIC BAG FEE; ESTABLISH LITTER FUND
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) ELTON
03/14/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/14/07 (S) L&C, RES, FIN
04/26/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: HB 121
SHORT TITLE: WORKERS' COMPENSATION RECORDS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) WILSON
02/07/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/07/07 (H) L&C
02/21/07 (H) L&C AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 17
02/21/07 (H) Moved CSHB 121(L&C) Out of Committee
02/21/07 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/22/07 (H) L&C RPT CS(L&C) 4DP 3DNP
02/22/07 (H) DP: BUCH, NEUMAN, RAMRAS, OLSON
02/22/07 (H) DNP: GARDNER, LEDOUX, GATTO
03/21/07 (H) RETURN TO SECOND FAILED Y20 N20
03/21/07 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/21/07 (H) VERSION: CSHB 121(L&C) AM
03/23/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/23/07 (S) L&C, FIN
04/26/07 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
WITNESS REGISTER
LYNEA OLSON, Vice President
CitiGroup
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed CSSB 102(L&C).
SYMON KEYMER
State Government Affairs
American Financial Services Association (AFSA)
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed CSSB 102(L&C).
PAULA CADIENTE
Staff to Senator Elton
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained SB 140 for the sponsor.
ANDREA QUINTO
Alaskan Resident
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported CSSB 140(L&C).
DIANNE O'CONNELL, Executive Director
Alaska Nurses Association
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 28.
MARY STACKHOUSE, R.N.
Newborn Intensive Care Unit
Providence Alaska Medical Center
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 28.
LAURIE HERMAN, Regional Director
Government Affairs
Providence Health System
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 28.
CAROL WIGMAN, RN
Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API)
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 28.
RON ADLER, Director
Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API)
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 28.
PAT HIGGENS
North Star Hospital
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Did not state a position on SB 28.
PATTIE ARTHUR, LPN
North Star Hospital
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Wanted to exclude Baylor plans from SB 28.
JOHN BRINGHURST, CEO
Petersburg Medical Center
Petersburg AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 28.
SENATOR ELTON
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SB 118.
KRISTEN RYAN, Director
Division of Environmental Health
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available to answer questions on SB 118.
DIXIE BELCHER
Turning the Tides
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 118.
CACHE GARRET
Representing humans
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 118.
DR. MARCUS ERICKSON, Director
Education and Research
Algalita Marine Research Foundation
California
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 118.
CLIFF STONE
Staff to Representative Peggy Wilson
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on CSHB 121(L&C)am for the
sponsor.
PAUL LISANKIE, Director
Division of Workers' Compensation
Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD)
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported CSHB 121(L&C)am.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR JOHNNY ELLIS called the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:37:02 PM. Present at the call to
order were Senators Davis and Ellis. Senator Stevens joined the
committee at 1:40.
SB 140-LEAVE FOR BONE MARROW DONATIONS
1:37:02 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced SB 140 to be up for consideration. He set
it aside to wait for a quorum.
SB 102-MORTGAGE LENDING
1:38:50 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced SB 102 to be up for consideration. The
committee was working from version C committee substitute.
LYNEA OLSON, Vice President, CitiGroup, opposed SB 102 saying
while CitiGroup supported regulation of the mortgage industry,
corporate state licensure, and granting the department
regulatory and enforcement powers over them, they oppose the
current version of SB 102because it would require them to
license employees and exclusive agents of large national
lenders. She said a majority of states have implemented a more
reasonable licensing scheme where they allow an exemption for
large national lenders including CitiGroup.
MS. OLSON said that corporate licensure would protect consumers
and that CitiGroup would agree with the department to post a
surety bond so an injured borrower could be made whole. She said
the corporate licensure would make sure that its employees and
exclusive agents are in compliance with Alaska law.
1:40:51 PM
SENATOR STEVENS joined the committee.
MS. OLSON also explained that CitiGroup has internal training
procedures, supervision, audits, and surveillance and compliance
procedures in place.
CHAIR ELLIS said he appreciated her testimony, but the issue is
a balancing act between access to credit for Alaskan consumers
and the consumer protection and responsibility of the various
players in that market. He said that Senator Huggins, the
sponsor, is willing to continue discussing the bill.
SYMON KEYMER, State Government Affairs, American Financial
Services Association (AFSA), said AFSA is a national trade
association based in Washington D.C. and its members are
financial services companies that provide credit for consumers
and small businesses including many mortgage lenders. He said
that AFSA still opposes the current bill.
He said AFSA had submitted amendment language in the past and
worked with the Division of Banking and Securities, but had not
come to an agreement. He asked that the bill be held over to
give them more time to address the legal and technical issues
that must be addressed for effective regulation of the industry.
If passed as it stands, SB 102, version C, will fly in the face
of practices in over 40 other states. It will significantly
increase the burden on Alaska's lenders, regulators and
consumers and add costs to lenders that they will pass on to
borrowers. It could also have a negative effect on compliance
activities for regulators.
MR. KEYMER said the belief that reciprocal regulation with other
states will do away with duplicative, onerous and expensive
employee licensing is not a realistic option and he didn't know
of any state that currently provides for originator licensing
reciprocity. He said that regulators in other states have been
willing to adopt exemptions for employees and exclusive agents
of well-capitalized and highly regulated entities like AFSA
members to conserve state resources. Regulators have realized
that placing financial and supervisory responsibility squarely
on corporate entities who have the financial stability, internal
training programs, corporate supervision and the accountability
of AFSA member companies allows them to devote more resources to
greater oversight and accountability for those industry players
who do not.
1:46:01 PM
MR. KEYMER said it is also difficult to pass regulations because
each industry player is different. He explained:
State and federal lenders and independent mortgage
brokers are regulated differently because they operate
differently. Large mortgage lenders differ
significantly from independent mortgage brokers. They
typically operate as license entities in multiple
states and have a large number of employees who
interact with customers from many states on a daily
basis. They are well-capitalized, carry huge
reputation risks associated with employee misconduct
and may be affiliated with an entity regulated by the
Federal Reserve Board.
Effective mortgage loan originator licensing must
recognize these differences between large mortgage
lenders and independent mortgage brokers and must
recognize the difference between inter-state companies
and large multi-state companies. Duplicative or
overlapping licensing of large multi-state entities
and individuals should be avoided.
As far as enforcement is concerned, nothing in the
AFSA amendment would limit the supervisory and
important powers of the department. As employees and
exclusive agents of a licensed company, these
individuals would only be subject to provisions of the
acts applicable to their license. In addition to this,
the bill grants broad authority to both the department
and the attorney general to enforce the provisions of
the act against any person as well as any licensee.
This broad authority would allow the department to
enforce these provisions of the act against AFSA
member companies and their employees and exclusive
agents.
There are other protections in the AFSA amendment. The
amendment would require as part of the license that
the company sign a binding written agreement with the
department stating that they accept full
responsibility for insuring that the employee acts in
full compliance with this chapter. This agreement
could include requirements such as employee background
checks, continuing education, and other items deemed
necessary by the department. The department would also
have the ability to examine the company to insure
compliance with the act and the department would have
legal authority to review any loan made by a licensed
company. The details of these requirements would be
worked out in regulation.
The amendment also requires the company to maintain a
bond in an amount required by the department to
benefit the state or any person who suffers loss by
the violation of this chapter. The licensed company
would also have to make a one-time filing with the
department for an exemption from licensure for its
employees or exclusive agents.
1:48:32 PM
In conclusion, we note that the Senate passed a bill,
SB 272, last year that AFSA and its members were
entirely comfortable with. This year we had
enthusiastically agreed to corporate licensure and in
good faith believed that we had agreed with the
department to a concept whereby lenders themselves
would be regulated, but the employees and exclusive
agents of large multi-state mortgage lenders would not
be licensed individually. This has now proved not to
be the case. Nevertheless, we believe that such a
concept is the best way to balance consumer protection
with wide access to credit for the people of Alaska.
1:49:05 PM
CHAIR ELLIS thanked Mr. Keymer for his testimony. He noted that
the committee has relied on Mark Davis, the director of the
Division of Banking and Securities for his expertise and
interpretation of the state interest in this legislation. He
said that he feels caught short on the technical issues, but for
this bill to pass this year with its considerable consumer
protections, it needs to move on its way. The sponsor has said
he will continue the conversation at the finance level and
another bill is in motion in the other body.
1:50:05 PM
SENATOR STEVENS moved to pass CSSB 102(L&C) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. There were
no objections and it was so ordered.
SB 140-LEAVE FOR BONE MARROW DONATIONS
CHAIR ELLIS announced SB 140 to be up again for consideration.
PAULA CADIENTE, staff to Senator Elton, sponsor, recapped that
this bill would allow public and private employees to be given
administrative leave for making bone marrow donations. Public
employees would get a minimum of 40 hours a week and by
regulation they would have a maximum amount and private
employees would get between 40 hours and no more than 60 hours.
1:52:21 PM
SENATOR STEVENS moved to adopt CSSB 140(L&C), version M. There
were no objections and it was so ordered.
1:52:50 PM
ANDREA QUINTO, Alaskan resident, explained that she had been
working with the National Marrow Donor program for two years -
mostly out of necessity in the beginning, but now for everybody
else. She related how her nephew came down with leukemia, but he
is now in remission and doing good. His donor is from New Mexico
and the year her nephew came down with leukemia, only four
others in this state needed a transplant - one of them was Susan
Butcher.
Not everyone who gets a bone marrow transplant would be from
this state, she explained. You don't know where a donor will
come from. She asked Senator Elton to draft this bill that would
help people who get the call and the opportunity to change
someone's life, especially in villages, who can't afford to
leave their jobs to get time off. In Alaska, it usually takes
two days of traveling time one way to the donor center in
Washington State - if the weather cooperates, plus recovery time
and 24 hours of observation to make sure you're okay - and two
days of traveling time back again.
MS. QUINTO said it is important to support this bill because it
supports people who are trying save other people. She asked them
to contemplate how them would feel if someone in their family
might need a transplant next and that a donor was available, but
couldn't leave work. She also stated that donor recipients are
not allowed to offer money to get the donor to them. It's all
voluntary. She said this legislation would only cover donors
from Alaska.
1:56:47 PM
CHAIR ELLIS thanked her for her testimony and said he sensed
good support for this bill. He said all the fiscal notes were
zero.
SENATOR STEVENS moved to pass CSSB 140(L&C) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. There were
no objections and it was so ordered.
SB 28-LIMIT OVERTIME FOR REGISTERED NURSES
1:58:11 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced SB 28 to be up for consideration.
THOMAS OBERMEYER, staff to Senator Davis, said this bill was
introduced because there is a shortage of 330,000 to 500,000
nurses in the country; they are being overworked and being asked
to work mandatory overtime. Many states and the U.S. Congress
are enacting legislation to try to control mandatory overtime.
These are hours that are typically worked on demand when no
other nurses are available. It has been determined that nurses
have about three times as many errors after working for 12 hours
putting patients safety at risk.
MR. OBERMEYER said CSSB 28(L&C), version L, essentially didn't
make any substantive changes other than to change 12 consecutive
hours off-duty to 10. He said the sanctions in this bill are
fairly minimal compared to other states. This is not to be a
money issue against the providers; but to provide some relief to
the nurses who have been experiencing increasing difficult in
work schedules - that has also resulted in fewer people applying
to go to nursing schools.
He said that nurses are reluctant to come forward out of fear of
reprisals that can be very subtle. This bill provides
enforcement against reprisals and a reporting provision that
requires the providers to list by individual - not by name but
perhaps by i.d. number - the hours worked. He explained that
this is significant because most providers would rather lump all
the mandatory overtime hours available together and one couldn't
determine which units are truly putting people at risk.
2:03:26 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if nurses will be able to continue to work
overtime voluntarily.
MR. OBERMEYER replied that voluntary overtime has not been an
issue. However, some nurses in critical care units are required
to take an extra shift because there just aren't enough nurses
in that area. Even their supervisors are busy with other
administrative functions and can't relieve them for lunches or
breaks.
SENATOR STEVENS asked how the bill protects nurses from being
forced to agree to work.
MR. OBERMEYER replied the bill provides for an anonymous
reporting procedure and hopefully the facility would recognize a
problem and hire more people.
2:05:49 PM
DIANNE O'CONNELL, Executive Director, Alaska Nurses Association
(ANA), said this is its top legislative priority. She said ANA
has about 1000 members and represent 4000 to 5000 more nurses in
the state. She said that SB 28 attempts to address the dangers
of mandatory overtime - the biggest dangers being fatigue and
errors. She said they are referring to this as the Alaska Safe
Nursing and Patient Care Act.
MS. O'CONNELL said a number of studies, two especially, indicate
long hours pose some of the most serious threats to patient
safety that they know. Prolonged periods of wakefulness can
produce affects that are similar to effects of alcohol
intoxication - decreases in reaction time and the speed of
mental processes. Periods of wakefulness in excess of 16 hours
can produce performance detriments equivalent to the blood
alcohol of .05 percent.
The studies showed the likelihood of making an error increased
with longer work hours and was three times higher when nurses
worked shifts lasting 12.5 hours or more and working overtime
increased the odds of making at least one error including being
less alert to patients' changes, slower reaction times, and
medication errors.
MS. O'CONNELL emphasized this is not a bargaining issue; it is a
public safety issue. The public needs to know the nurse is
properly rested and alert and a person who is registering in a
hospital should not have to request a copy of the most recent
collective bargaining agreement to see how successful
negotiations on reasonable working conditions have been.
2:09:51 PM
She said that a lobbyist for Washington State Nursing
Association (WSNA) said that Washington State passed a law in
2002 to prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses with the
cooperation of the Washington State Nurses Association, other
nursing unions and the Washington Hospital Association. MS.
O'CONNELL said the goal of this legislation is first to protect
the safety and quality of patient care.
The Institute of Medicine Report estimates 44,000 to 98,000
hospital deaths can be attributed to medical errors each year.
Mandatory overtime is a serious contributing factor to medical
errors. The report's final recommendation was that all overtime,
voluntarily and involuntarily, should be curtailed.
She showed them a slide indicating that 11 states have already
banned or limited mandatory overtime. Fifteen states are lining
up to do the same. She concluded saying it's good public policy
and would help recruit more nurses.
2:13:16 PM
ROD BEATTIE, President, Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home
Association (ASHNHA), said there are 37 facilities in the state
that belong to the association. He did not believe the bill was
necessary saying:
We're equally concerned about patient care and about
the fair treatment of nurses and each of our
facilities have policies that address that. We believe
that those goals are being met currently and that this
legislation would not improve on that situation.
2:14:30 PM
He said that a number of federal and state organizations inspect
his facilities continuously and those all produce good reports
and don't point to any problem with respect to nurse staffing
and patient care. Also, he said there is a complaint
investigation process through the Department of Health if
someone believes they haven't gotten good care. However, he has
seen no nursing issues come forward.
He reported that each of ASHNHA's members participate in both
mandatory and optional reporting arrangements on quality
indicators at the federal level. Alaska's facilities do very
well in all of those areas and report at or above the national
average among other facilities. The Department of Health can
accept complaints about care.
2:15:53 PM
MR. BEATTIE said he did a survey to see where his facilities
used mandatory overtime and it clearly showed they aren't using
it. He said shortages and gaps are being filled with temporary
nursing staff and the state's bigger facilities negotiate
nursing hours in collective bargaining agreements. He has been
told there are no issues that aren't agreeably worked through
between nursing and management and that overtime is spelled out
in those agreements. Most facilities allow 8, 10 and 12 hour
shifts to meet the needs of their nursing staff.
He reported that he reviewed the facility personnel records and
couldn't find any grievances filed by nurses around use of
overtime. Additionally, the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development confirmed that it hadn't received any formal wage
complaints in the last 10 years. He believed the real issue here
is the ongoing shortage of nurses to fill critical positions in
health care settings. ASHNHA has done what I can to address that
on an individual nursing level as responsibly as one could
expect. It has also contributed funds to the University of
Alaska Nursing Program that is now graduating 200 nurses per
year instead of 100.
MR. BEATTIE said it would be more helpful if the legislature
focused on closing the nursing shortage gap faster for the years
ahead.
CHAIR ELLIS said he was interested in actual documentation of
this being an actual problem as opposed to a speculative or an
anticipated problem - whether it's in private or public
facilities - which facilities are using mandatory overtime and
which ones aren't.
2:19:16 PM
MARY STACKHOUSE, Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Providence Alaska
Medical Center, said she is the founding president of Providence
Registered Nurses Union and has been a nurse for 33 years,
mostly in critical care. During this time she has seen different
ways mandatory overtime is used and the biggest time it comes
into effect is when a facility is short staffed. She explained
that mandatory on-call is mandatory overtime and Providence has
that in its operating room.
The problem with instituting more mandatory overtime is that
there is already a nursing shortage in general. When people call
in sick because they work themselves to death there is even more
shortage. When you have a bigger assignment, worse acuities,
that's the time when you're not getting a break because staff is
already short so even the charge nurse can't relieve you for a
break. So, you end up working longer with no breaks and then at
the end of the shift you're still trying to pick up the pieces
of your shift and if mandatory time is allowed and there is a
sick call you are mandated to stay. You don't have the chance to
say you are tired.
She explained how in her unit some babies need to be rescued
immediately. Within the last six months she had to rescue one
after she had been working 13 hours with one 10-minute break.
She said this unit has had almost 50 babies routinely for the
last six months and no one had planned for the nursing shortage.
She warned that next time someone they love could be at risk
because their nurse has been worked to death. No one wants to be
recruited by a facility that has mandatory overtime. Nursing is
already a hard profession on family life and dangerous because a
nurse can bring home diseases from the hospital.
2:24:58 PM
MS. STACKHOUSE related that she works with a mandatory call and
the director of her unit took her aside at their last
negotiation and said that they were going for mandatory overtime
because it was the only way to make everyone work the overtime
hours that are needed equitably. As a result, she said, nurses
gave up wages and benefits at the bargaining table in order to
keep mandatory overtime out of the contract.
SENATOR STEVENS asked if she sees a problem with using
"voluntary" and "mandatory" in the bill.
MS. STACKHOUSE replied that "voluntary" allows her to make the
decision of whether she is too tired to continue working or not.
2:27:02 PM
CHAIR ELLIS noted a number of amendments that would be
considered at a future meeting.
2:27:16 PM
LAURIE HERMAN, Regional Director, Government Affairs, Providence
Health System, opposed CSSB 102(L&C) saying the energy should be
focused on getting more experienced nurses. She said Providence
is forbidden from using mandatory overtime in its contract
language and has a healthy working relationship with its nurses
and their leaders. Its nurse retention rate is 85 to 90 percent
and its vacancy rate is 7.5 percent - compared to 10 to 12
percent nationally.
2:28:31 PM
MS. HERMAN stated: "I can promise you that if any nurse at
Providence went to their supervisor and said I'm too tired to
work anymore, they would be told to go home and get some rest."
2:28:56 PM
She was told by her head of human resources that in the not too
distant past, straight eight-hour shifts a day were put on the
bargaining table and that was rejected.
2:29:23 PM
CAROL WIGMAN, RN, Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API), Department
of Health and Social Services (DHSS), said nurses that work at
API are subject to mandatory overtime. She has been mandated so
many times that she has lost count and she has even been asked
to work mandatory overtime two consecutive days in a row. During
these times she has administered medications for more than 20 to
30 patients. She stated that numerous medication, transcriptions
and judgment errors are caused by this practice which is used to
make up for the understaffing of hospitals. If she refuses to
work a mandatory overtime, she will be subject to disciplinary
actions or the loss of her job.
Mandatory overtime also causes stress on her family of two young
children and a husband. Personally she would not want a nurse
who has been forced to work a 16 shift to give her or her family
medication or making critical nursing decisions. She added that
a nurse who works a 16-hour shift is tired during that shift,
but she is also tired at work the next day. This bill is crucial
to patient safety.
2:31:13 PM
RON ADLER, Director, Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API),
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), stated that API
does use mandatory overtime and they tell perspective employees
what the consequences of that are. They also have a nursing desk
procedure which allows nurses to opt out of mandatory overtime.
If a nurse came to the nursing shift supervisor and said she was
too tired to go on, she would absolutely be relieved. Having
said this, he emphasized there has been significant improvement
in API's mandatory overtime after the last nursing salary
adjustment in July.
2:32:38 PM
MR. ADLER said it was also important to understand that API has
to take certain kinds of patients on involuntary civil
commitment and doesn't have the ability to triage them to other
hospitals. As a result those are the times it cannot fall under
minimum staffing.
2:33:01 PM
PAT HIGGENS, North Star Hospital, said it has no mandatory
overtime. They would expect any nurse or employee who felt
impaired for any reason to get relieved.
2:33:59 PM
PATTIE ARTHUR, LPN, North Star Hospital, said she is testifying
on behalf of six nurses that work under the original Baylor's
plan and CSSB 102(L&C) would affect all of them. They work every
single weekend - Saturdays and Sundays only - for 16 hours each
day for a total of 32 hours of actual patient care, but they get
paid for 40 hours. She stated emphatically:
This is a conscientious choice that myself and the
other five nurses have made when we signed our
contract to North Star Hospital to work weekends only.
For this we receive vacation time, emergency time off
and benefits like insurance and 401K plans.
She said that working this schedule allows her to go to UAA full
time to work on completing its RN program. If this bill passes,
she would have to seek employment at another facility that
offers another Baylor schedule. Some of them have been working
these 16-hour shifts for over 4 years with no regrets. These
hours suit their needs and lifestyles today and will tomorrow.
She related how Alaska has difficulty in filling its nursing
positions anyhow and the nurses who graduate from UAA mostly
leave the state. She suggested adding a (7) to section
18.20.400(c) that would exclude all Baylor plans.
CHAIR ELLIS said that was an important issue he would consider.
2:37:36 PM
JOHN BRINGHURST, CEO, Petersburg Medical Center, said he is also
chairman of the Alaska State Hospital Association. Since Mr.
Beattie already spoke on behalf of ASHA, he spoke wearing his
hat as CEO in a small hospital in Alaska. He said the volumes of
Medicare regulations covering hospitals are now so voluminous
that the regulatory bodies enforcing them are often unable to
answer his questions.
A study commissioned by the American Hospital Association found
that America's nurses are so overloaded with paperwork that on
average for every hour spent in direct patient care, home health
nurses spend 48 minutes on paper work, skilled nurses spend 30
minutes on paperwork, acute care nurses spend 36 minutes on
paperwork and emergency room nurses spend an additional hour.
What began as appropriate and necessary record-keeping has been
expanded upon by one regulatory measure after another. This
represents an overall loss of productivity of 42 percent. SB 28
is unnecessary, he said; it is using a sledgehammer to squash a
gnat as a State Hospital Association study found that only one
facility in the state uses mandatory overtime.
MR. BRINGHURST said smaller hospitals such as his staff at
minimum levels all the time and they do not have a large "float
pool" of nurses to draw from. Although he has never had to use
mandatory overtime to staff his facility, should the need arise,
he could be forced to staff a unit at less than minimums under
SB 28. They would have to choose to violate the law or
jeopardize patient safety. Also, he said without mandatory call,
small hospitals would be forced to close their doors, because
they cannot operate without it.
MR. BRINGHURST said Petersburg Medical Center would not take
lightly the necessity at times to ask a nurse to work additional
hours following a 12-hour shift. They fill their nursing
vacancies with traveling nurses, not with overtime, and exhaust
all other options before asking for back-to-back shifts. He said
he uses 12-hour shifts at the request of his nursing staff and
that has led them to voluntary cooperation with filling
emergency situations when overtime is necessary.
2:41:44 PM
CHAIR ELLIS said SB 28 has generated a lot of interest and will
be back before the committee.
SB 118-PLASTIC BAG FEE; ESTABLISH LITTER FUND
2:43:24 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced SB 118 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR ELTON, sponsor of SB 118, said the issue in this bill is
plastic pollution. He offered to share a compelling nine-minute
video with anyone on the committee about it. He stated that this
bill imposes a tax to change consumers' behavior. There are two
ways of dealing with plastic bag pollution and this tax is one.
The other choice is just banning their use. Bans are not
unusual; about 30 Alaskan communities have banned them.
2:44:53 PM
SENATOR ELTON called his approach the "Ireland approach" and
explained they imposed a tax of 20 cents per plastic bag and
this reduced their use by 90 percent - a significant
diminishment of harm to the land and water in and around
Ireland. He said that plastic bags never go away; they break up
into tiny pieces.
2:45:33 PM
He said there are fiscal notes attached to this bill and said
while it is easy to predict the cost of the program, it's hard
to predict what revenues will be collected through the tax. Both
he and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are semi-
comfortable with the notion this tax will generate at least $1.8
million and probably more according to the Department of Revenue
(DOR).
SENATOR ELTON emphasized that his goal was not to raise
revenues; it is rather to raise no revenues at all because that
means no plastic bags are being used.
2:47:49 PM
KRISTEN RYAN, Director, Division of Environmental Health,
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), said she would
be available for questions.
2:48:31 PM
DIXIE BELCHER, Turning the Tides, said this organization is
devoted to raising awareness about the deteriorating health of
the Pacific Ocean. She said the following are facts from the
Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) and other scientific
organizations that study the effects of plastics and plastic
bags on the marine environment. They found that plastic bags do
not biodegrade, they photo-degrade. This means they are broken
down into smaller and smaller toxic bits less than the diameter
of a human hair.
They contaminate ocean, air, soil and food. They
contain PCBs and other toxic man-made chemicals now
found throughout the food chain and shellfish to
humans. These toxins are now in human breast milk and
children and adults around the world. It is one reason
cancer rates have arisen from 1 in 10 in 1975 to 1 in
2 today. Many marine animals contain so many of these
toxins they can legally be classified as toxic dumps.
There are 6 times more plankton-sized plastics than
plankton in huge areas of the ocean. Birds, fish and
marine animals ingest these thinking they are food and
millions are dying. Their bodies biodegrade, but the
plastic remains to be eaten by other birds and
animals.
Plastic bags cover miles and miles of ocean floor. No
one knows the extent. In some areas of the deep ocean,
scientists have been unable to find the floor because
it is so heavily layered with plastic bags. Half of
all plastic in ocean sinks and under these bags the
shellfish, worms and other tiny animals that help make
up the bottom of the food chain are dead. Each year
the United States consumes 100 billion plastic
shopping bags and throws away an estimated 8 billion
pounds of these bags. The world uses 1 million plastic
bags per minute. It is estimate to take up to 1,000
years for plastic bags to degrade in a warm landfill,
longer in a cold ocean environment.
We don't need plastic bags. We are killing the oceans,
ourselves and our descendents for short-term
convenience. The ocean is 71 percent of the earth's
surface and supplies up to 85 percent of the world's
oxygen and nitrogen. No human, animal or plant can
live without the ocean. Its health is rapidly
deteriorating and we must find a way to reverse this
trend. Stopping the use of plastic bags is something
everybody can do.
2:50:59 PM
CACHE GARRET, representing humans, said she is a senior at UAS,
and that she believes human life is in great danger due to the
use of plastics bags. They are accumulating in landfills, which
is a problem for Juneau with its "garbage mountain" and it's a
growing problem because we have gotten rid of our incinerator.
Plastic bags going into the landfill are suffocating it and not
allowing for natural biodegradation. She said all plastics break
apart; they don't biodegrade. Once plastics are created they are
on earth forever.
MS. GARRET said she could support the use of the plastics for
medical reasons, but not for plastic bags for convenience. She
implored them "to get rid of them in Alaska and be a leader in
the nation for sustainability."
2:53:20 PM
DR. MARCUS ERICKSON, Director of Education and Research,
Algalita Marine Research Foundation, said the foundation
basically studies plastic degrading in the marine environment.
He said the largest landfill in the United States is about 1,200
miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska, in what they call the eastern
garbage patch of the North Pacific Ocean. His foundation has
traveled out there five years in a row and has found the mass of
plastic floating in the ocean is roughly six times greater than
the mass of all marine life on the ocean's surface. The combined
weight of all that plastic comes to about 3.5 million tons.
DR. ERICKSON said this problem did not exist 50 years ago. "So
in half a century, we've turned our coast into America's largest
landfill." He said the small pieces of plastic act like sponges
for many kinds of organic pollutants like PCBs and DDTs from the
incomplete burning of fossil fuels from combustion engines.
These pollutants stick to plastics. For example one small piece
of light plastic will turn a dingy orange brown over a couple of
years and can have up to a million times higher concentration of
pollution than an equal volume of a drop of seawater.
He said these pieces are being ingested by marine organisms -
filter feeders and even baleen whales. If fact, nearly half of
all seabirds are found with plastics in their stomachs. Over 26
cetacean species have plastics in their bodies and all marine
turtles. It is a global problem. PCBs are found in animal and
marine mammal tissues, which many people consume causing these
toxins to migrate into human bodies.
2:56:04 PM
DR. ERICKSON said there is an urgent need to change and reduce
our culture's use of all these plastics, especially plastic
bags. He described the "Low Dose Effect" which is from the
chemicals in plastics - these things in studies of mice and rats
have been shown to cause tumors in mammary glands, prostate
cancer and insulin inhibitors resulting in diabetes - effects
that are happening in human populations now.
CHAIR ELLIS thanked everyone for testifying on SB 118 and that
it would be heard another time.
CSHB 121(L&C)am-WORKERS' COMPENSATION RECORDS
2:58:45 PM
CHAIR ELLIS announced CSHB 121(L&C)am to be up for
consideration.
CLIFF STONE, staff to Representative Peggy Wilson, sponsor of
CSHB 121(L&C)am, said this bill is important because it protects
private information that anyone can now call up the Division and
Workers' Compensation and get - names, addresses, social
security numbers, Email numbers and phone numbers.
3:01:27 PM
CHAIR ELLIS asked Mr. Lisankie to relate how the state lost a
court case and why that inspired this legislation.
PAUL LISANKIE, Director, Division of Workers' Compensation,
Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD), replied
that about two years ago due to concerns about information being
requested from the division, legislation was passed indicating
one could get workers' compensation information for purposes of
determining liabilities and rights under the act, but not for
commercial purposes unrelated to the Workers' Compensation Act.
Some requests for information were denied and the division was
sued under Public Records Act by a law firm from Detroit,
Michigan. It was heard by the Superior Court in Juneau and the
division lost. Existing language became restricted in scope by
the court order, which was not appealed.
3:03:55 PM
CHAIR ELLIS asked if someone could speak to the $292,000 fiscal
note.
3:04:31 PM
MR. LISANKIE replied that he could and explained that originally
all the personally identifying information in his records was
going to be banned from disclosure. He decided that he would not
require additional staff, but now with the amendment they would
have to go through and manually black out certain information
like social security numbers on a case by case basis. That would
require extra staff.
CHAIR ELLIS asked if he was talking about hard copy as opposed
to electronic information.
3:05:30 PM
MR. LISANKIE replied there are both paper and electronic
records. He gets many requests for hard copies.
CHAIR ELLIS wanted to know what was real and what was
speculative in information requests. There is the issue of a law
firm requesting records to presumably contact people in the
industry over a workers' compensation claim and employers in
Alaska asking for this information to possibly use against or
blackball a perspective employee based on past findings of
workers' compensation claims.
3:07:12 PM
MR. LISANKIE replied that he often gets requests (frequently
from out-of-state) from employee screening companies wanting to
know if a Mr. Jones, for instance, has reported any injuries in
the state of Alaska. They bundle this information to either sell
or to help a company with its hiring process. He said in Alaska
it is illegal to discriminate against someone for filing or
receiving workers' compensation. The remedy, though, is a damage
suit in civil court. He added that the requests also include
information about employers and when their insurance policies
ran out. So he thought that information was for insurance
companies.
CHAIR ELLIS thanked Mr. Lisankie and said HB 121 would be held
over.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Ellis adjourned the meeting at 3:10:14 PM.
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