HB 271-LIMIT OVERTIME FOR REGISTERED NURSES 4:35:29 PM CHAIR WILSON announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 271, "An Act relating to limitations on overtime for registered nurses in health care facilities; and providing for an effective date." CHAIR WILSON described the two subcommittee meetings that were held, resulting in the new version of the bill. She pointed out that the Governor's budget includes funding to increase the state employed nurses wages, providing a market competitive compensation. During the second meeting of the subcommittee, she reported, nurses from New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington responded to inquiries regarding the recently implemented bans on mandatory overtime in their states, and how it has been working for them. She explained that these states have each implemented a system which requires a nurse to lodge a complaint, thus instigating an investigation to identify and deal with a possible overtime infraction. The nurses who testified, unanimously affirmed that this system works well; however, there is no data available to back up their testimony, and the hospitals contacted did not offer comment. CHAIR WILSON delineated the specific changes that the concerned "stakeholders" agreed to in the bill: the penalty aspect was removed, facilities will not incur a penalty should they use mandatory overtime; the bill excludes Certified Nurses Aides (CNAs), critical access hospitals are included in the bill; each facility is required to provide a semiannual report [to Department of Health and Social Services] showing monthly totals of mandatory overtime hours, voluntary overtime hours, on-call hours, and contract nurses hours; and the state nursing wage will be increased in the 2007 budget. She stressed the importance for having the data reported, and explained how it will be crucial for future analysis and planning. In response to a question, she explained that the CNAs were excluded, as they are not affected by the mandatory overtime issue. 4:43:15 PM CHAIR WILSON moved to adopt CSHB 271, Version 24-LS0j838\P, Bullock, 2/23/06, as the working document. There being no objection, Version P was before the committee. 4:44:04 PM JOHN BITNEY, Lobbyist, Alaska Nurses Association (ANA), stated support for Version P, as a reasonable compromise that establishes a policy to allow nurses to say "no" to working overtime without fear of retribution, and the language acknowledges and respects a nurses' professional standard for responsive patient care. 4:46:00 PM CHAIR WILSON directed the committee's attention to the written testimony provided by Rod Betit, President of the Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association (ASHNHA), and suggested that they take a moment to review its contents. The committee took an at-ease from 4:46:47 PM to 4:47:13 PM. [The committee returned attention to HB 271 later in the hearing.] 4:47:22 PM HB 271-LIMIT OVERTIME FOR REGISTERED NURSES CHAIR WILSON returned the committee's attention to HOUSE BILL NO. 271, "An Act relating to limitations on overtime for registered nurses in health care facilities; and providing for an effective date." 4:51:04 PM LAURIE HERMAN, Regional Director, Government Affairs, Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association (ASHNHA), Providence Alaska Medical Center, stated support for CSHB 271, Version P, save opposition for Section 18.09.010, which provides that the nurse will be the sole determiner of whether overtime is appropriate, thus removing management from the process. 4:52:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked why it would not be appropriate for the individual to decide whether they could safely continue to work. LAURIE HERMAN explained that the nurse makes the decision whether the overtime was mandatory or voluntary, for the purposes of filling out the monthly overtime report. CHAIR WILSON clarified that the reports are generated by the hospitals, and it will be apparent to the individuals involved whether the overtime was mandatory or voluntary. She said, "That's the reality of what started the bill to begin with." 4:53:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER moved to report CSHB 271, Version 24- LS0838\P, Bullock, 2/23/06, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 271(HES) was reported out of the House Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee. 4:54:21 PM