HOUSE BILL NO. 126 "An Act extending the termination dates of the Board of Nursing, the Board of Dental Examiners, the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; and providing for an effective date." 9:30:45 AM Co-Chair Stoltze discussed that there was a CS for HB 126 that amended the omnibus sunset extension bill and removed the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) and the Alcohol Beverage Control Board (ABC). Vice-chair Fairclough MOVED to ADOPT Work Draft CSHB 126(FIN) 27-LS0321\I (Kirsh, 3/1/11). There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. RENA DELBRIDGE, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, discussed that Representative Hawker was the Legislative Budget and Audit chairman and that he supported the omnibus extension. She relayed that Representative Hawker believed the omnibus was the most efficient mechanism for routine board and commission extensions. Co-Chair Stoltze noted that noncontroversial sunset bills usually came before the committee one at a time and had individual sponsors. Representative Gara commented that he did not need a verbal review of the reports in the file, given that the extensions were noncontroversial. Co-Chair Stoltze asked for a brief explanation of the bill. PAT DAVIDSON, LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, discussed the division's recommendation that boards should make timely investigations. She explained that health and safety issues were dealt with first and there were long periods of inactivity associated with investigations of complaints for boards. Ms. Davidson notified the committee that the financial status of the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers was generally alright; however, the division recommended that the public member either resign or surrender their license because board members were not supposed to engage in the profession they were actively regulating. The member was no longer an active hairdresser, but according to statute the surrender of a license or the resignation from the board was required. Apart from the timely investigations there had been no recommendations for the Board of Dental Examiners. The board's accumulated surplus was addressed by the reduction of fees during the FY 09 renewal cycle. Ms. Davidson pointed to the Board of Nursing which had three specific recommendations. First, the appropriate entities should be notified when an advanced nurse practitioner's authority to write prescriptions was revoked or suspended by the board. Second, the board needed to improve its oversight of certified nurse's aide training programs. Sporadic onsite reviews had been conducted; however, there had been no processing or review of the self-evaluation forms that were submitted biannually. Third, the current licensed practical nurse (LPN) appointed to the board did not meet the statutory qualifications. She explained that according to statute the board position was to be held by an LPN working in an institutional nursing situation, but the current board member was working as an emergency medical technician. The board had built up a substantial financial surplus as a result of past accounting errors and had indicated its intention to drop fees as much as 20 percent in the FY 11/FY 12 renewal cycle. 9:36:57 AM Representative Wilson asked how long the division gave a board to fill a position when a member was asked to resign. Ms. Davidson replied that the Division of Legislative Audit did not have the ability to enforce its recommendations. She specified that once the issue had been identified that it was up to the appropriate division to take corrective action. Representative Gara wondered whether the boards that had received recommendations for a member to resign would report to the committee once the resignation had occurred. Co-Chair Stoltze explained that Don Habeger with the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (CCED) would address the question. Vice-chair Fairclough wondered whether it would be helpful for Representative Hawker to issue a letter to the department on behalf of the House Finance and Legislative Budget and Audit Committees that requested compliance on the recommendations and asked it to follow-up with the committee no later than the end of session or the following year. She discussed the ability to know whether boards were in compliance prior to a bill vote on the House floor. Representative Guttenberg wondered about the purpose of the prohibition that existed in AS 44.66.050 (e) that prevented the bill from reestablishing more than one board or commission. Ms. Davidson replied that according to statute, a bill should have no more than one board extension associated with it. She did not know the history of the statute. Co-Chair Stoltze remembered a bill that had included 12 to 15 board extensions before his time in the legislature. 9:40:21 AM DON HABEGER, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, addressed an earlier question from Representative Gara. He believed that the member in question had surrendered the license, which brought the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers into compliance. He would get back to the committee with an affirmative answer. Mr. Habeger examined other issues and concerns that had been discussed. The division was working diligently to correct the timely investigation issue that had been highlighted in each legislative audit. As a result of the audit the division had replaced an old database that lacked a mechanism to flag older cases. The division was working to implement a new system that was specifically made for licensing activities nationwide. The division hoped to report the following year that the timely investigation problems had been resolved. Mr. Habeger communicated that there had been a $1.4 million roll-forward related to nurses' fees. Fees were reviewed and adjusted on an annual basis. Some of the fees he had reviewed had increased and others had remained the same. He explained that any existing surpluses were used to amortize licensing fees. Representative Neuman recalled that the Board of Nursing had lacked the ability to resolve a situation in which a non-licensed nurse practitioner had written prescriptions. He wondered whether Mr. Habeger was familiar with the situation. Mr. Habeger replied that he was familiar with one case that the division had recently handled. He relayed that licensing actions had been brought against the individual. He had worked with the board's chair and executive director to develop a way to make reporting available to a broader group. He added that the Board of Nursing website included information on licensing action. 9:45:12 AM Representative Neuman asked about the inappropriately occupied positions on the Board of Nursing that had been cited in the audit. He contemplated whether a reduction to the eight-year board term was necessary in order to increase the legislature's oversight. He wondered how to deal with the board positions that were filled inappropriately. Mr. Habeger responded that he did not recall the issue with the Board of Nursing. He agreed that it was a challenge to keep track of the 129 board members on approximately 20 boards. He noted the concern and would keep it in mind. Representative Wilson cited the Legislative Budget and Audit recommendation that the director of boards should fill the LPN position with an individual that was currently involved in institutional nursing services. She understood that the current Board of Nursing LPN position was filled by an individual in the emergency field and asked CCED to notify the committee when the issue had been corrected. Representative Gara asked how quickly CCED could let the committee know about the course of action related to removing the board member. He noted that once the committee approved the board that it had no authority to get the department to replace the position. Mr. Habeger replied that he would work with the governor's office, as it was responsible for the appointment of board positions. He believed that the issue had been rectified shortly after the legislative audit had been released. He would provide the committee with a detailed answer as soon as possible. Co-Chair Stoltze referenced earlier commentary regarding the eight-year board term and noted that any member on the committee could introduce legislation to address a dysfunction. Representative Gara requested that CCED notify the Legislative Audit Division when the issues related to the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers and the Board of Nursing had been resolved. He asked the Legislative Audit Division to let the committee know whether it felt that the concern had been addressed. Mr. Habeger responded in the affirmative. Co-Chair Stoltze observed that the governor's office was ultimately responsible for making the substantive changes. Vice-chair Fairclough communicated that the committee could zero-out the fiscal note or ask the House Rules Committee chair to hold the bill until the requested answers had been provided. Co-Chair Stoltze was comfortable moving the fiscal note forward. He reflected on more challenging issues related to boards and commissions in the past. He opined that the current issues were substantive, but solvable. 9:51:09 AM Representative Doogan expressed his expectation that affirmative answers would be provided prior to a bill hearing on the House floor. Co-Chair Stoltze responded that the committee would ask the House Rules Committee chair to hold the bill until the answers had been received. Representative Doogan did not anticipate any problems, but was aware that problems did happen. Ms. Delbridge responded that the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee would be happy to make certain that concerns were addressed and to ensure that audit recommendations were followed. Vice-chair Fairclough MOVED to report CSHB 126(FIN) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. Representative Gara OBJECTED for purpose of discussion. He wanted to make certain that the controversial RCA and ABC boards were voted on during the current session, given that both boards sunset in the current year. Co-Chair Stoltze believed the issues related to the boards were more substantive, but not controversial. He relayed that the committee would address each of the boards. Representative Gara WITHDREW his OBJECTION. CSHB 126(FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with a new fiscal note by the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. 9:54:12 AM AT EASE 9:57:12 AM RECONVENED