HOUSE BILL NO. 144 "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Veterinary Examiners; and providing for an effective date." 9:09:29 AM REPRESENTATIVE SAM KITO III, SPONSOR, read the sponsor statement: House Bill 144 extends the termination date for the Board of Veterinary Examiners until June 30, 2025. Legislative Audit conducted their review of this board and determined that "the board is serving in the public's interest by effectively licensing and regulating veterinarians and veterinary technicians. The board monitors licensees and works to ensure only qualified individuals practice. Furthermore, the board develops and adopts regulations to improve the veterinarian and veterinary technician occupations in Alaska. In accordance with AS 08.03.010(c) (22), the board is scheduled to terminate on June 30, 2017. We recommend that the legislature extend the board's termination date to June 30, 2025." The board currently oversees 784 active licensees and is made up of five members. State law requires four board positions be filled by licensed veterinarians that have been engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine in the state for at least five years prior to appointment. The remaining position is to be filled by an individual from the general public. The continuation of the Board of Veterinary Examiners is important to the health and safety of Alaska's pets and livestock. Thank you for your support of House Bill 144. Representative Kito reported that an issue regarding lack of rural veterinary care was identified in the audit. The issue was indirectly related to the board and was not a primary function. He indicated that providing veterinary care in rural areas was fiscally difficult for veterinarians. The House Labor and Commerce Committee committed to meet during the interim to address possible options and formulate recommendations for improving rural veterinary care. The board sunset June 30, 2017 and needed approval to continue its licensing functions in the state. 9:12:22 AM Representative Wilson ascertained that the board was in arrears for $25.8 thousand and noted the audit recommendation to reduce fees. She wondered how the deficit was created. Representative Kito spoke to the bi-annual license renewal cycle affecting the board's balance each year. The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) were required to review a board's accounting each year and adjust fees every other year, or each biennium, to keep reserves close to zero. Representative Wilson asked whether increasing fees was one of the audit findings. Representative Kito deferred the answer to the department. 9:14:22 AM KRIS CURTIS, LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, ALASKA DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, summarized the findings of the audit. She reported that "the board is serving in the public's interest by effectively licensing and regulating veterinarians and veterinary technicians" and recommended the maximum allowable extension of 8 years. She referred to page 7 of the audit and cited the only recommendation: "The board chair should review the annual report for accuracy and completeness before final submission to the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development." Ms. Curtis indicated that the department staff examiner erroneously included information from a different board in the board's annual report and submitted the report on the board's behalf without review by the board chair. She referred to a chart on page 5 of the audit (copy on file) that depicted the total licenses issued from FY 13 through February 2016 and noted a 57 percent increase in licensees. She directed attention to a chart on page 6 containing the schedule of revenues and expenditures from FY 13 through February 29, 2016. She explained that at the end of FY 13 the board was running a surplus of $108.8 thousand, resulting in a fee reduction. Conversely, the board was currently running a deficit of $25.8 thousand. She determined that "overall" the board was well-run. Representative Wilson asked about a prior sunset audit that recommended the governor fill vacant board seats in a timely manner. Ms. Curtis responded that Legislative Audit did not discover any extended vacancies. Co-Chair Foster noted that Co-Chair Seaton joined the meeting. Representative Wilson requested an answer from the department about how the deficit was being handled. She thought that the significant increase in licensees would result in a surplus rather than a deficit. 9:18:07 AM JANEY HOVENDEN, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, reported that fees were substantially increased for the last renewal period. The veterinary license fees increased from $300 to $500 and the fees for technicians increased from $50 to $100. The current FY 17 second quarter report ending on December 13, 2017 reported a surplus of $25.3 thousand. Co-Chair Foster noted that Representative Coleen Sullivan Leonard, Representative Kito and Representative Claman were present. 9:19:19 AM Co-Chair Foster OPEND Public Testimony for HB 144. 9:19:41 AM RACHEL BERGNGARTT, DOCTOR OF VETRINARY MEDICINE AND BOARD MEMBER, related that the board engaged in "extensive" discussions over the past year on ways to improve services and remedy the budgetary issues. She reminded the committee that the board existed to license veterinarians and technicians and not dictate where licensees needed to practice. She voiced that options for rural veterinary services existed. She pointed out that the board's job was to enable licensees to practice in the areas of their choosing and the board never denied a license to anyone appropriately qualified regardless of what area of the state they worked in. The board did not track where Alaskan veterinarians practiced. She communicated that private non- profits like the The Alaska Veterinary Rural Outreach offered spay, neuter, and well pet services in over 200 Alaskan communities. She furthered that the board offered a courtesy license for out-of-state veterinarians for approximately $75 to veterinarians who travel to Alaska to assist Alaskan veterinarians on a temporary basis. She indicated there were over 30 out-of-state veterinarians that helped with the Iditarod. 9:24:24 AM ERIC JAYNE, DOCTOR OF VETERINARIAN, HAWAII (via teleconference), asserted that the board had attempted to control veterinary services in rural Alaska through the provisions that allowed non-profit groups to work in the state. He communicated that the board offered two types of temporary licenses that allowed out-of-state veterinarians to practice in Alaska. One type, good for a period of 60 days, was called "a temporary permit" used for relief veterinarians. The temporary permit was offered at a low cost, easy to apply for, did not require board approval, and did not limit the scope of practice. The other was a "special event courtesy license." He maintained that the board inserted a provision that allowed veterinarians from non-profit spay neuter groups from out-of-state to perform services in communities off the road system under the license. He contended that the courtesy licensing process was very arduous, and he discovered that only two veterinarians applied for the license. He reported that the fee was large, the license was subject to board approval, and limited to only spay and neuter services. He currently worked for 8 spay-neuter clinics. He ascertained that many other veterinarians from out-of-state would volunteer their services in rural Alaska if they felt welcomed by the board. He believed the board's special event license provisions inhibited non-profits from operating in rural Alaska and that the board wanted to protect the financial interest of Alaskan veterinarians. He also pointed out that the cost for the lack of rural veterinary care was "tremendous" and "spent unnecessarily." He cited that 7 children were mauled to death since 1994 in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. He spoke of hundreds of bite wounds and the associated costs that were treated using Medicaid dollars. He maintained that there were several different policy changes the board could implement to mitigate the problem. He recommended allowing a rural member on the board. Co-Chair Foster CLOSED Public Testimony. Co-Chair Foster indicated that amendments were due on Friday, April 7, 2017. HB 144 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.