HB 78-EXTEND BOARD OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY 4:21:36 PM CHAIR OLSON announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 78, "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Public Accountancy; and providing for an effective date." 4:22:20 PM KONRAD JACKSON, Staff, Representative Kurt Olson, Alaska State Legislature, and as staff to the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee, sponsor of HB 78, stated that the bill would extend the Board of Public Accountancy and noted the auditors recommended the board be extended for four years. 4:23:35 PM PAT DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative Audit, Alaska State Legislature, explained to members that the audit for the Board of Public Accountancy was contracted out. She explained that the Division of Legislative Audit's office is staffed with many certified public accountants (CPAs). Thus, the auditors were not considered independent and a private consultant was hired to conduct the audit. The consultant used the criteria in statute, and as Mr. Jackson indicated the audit recommends that the Board of Public Accountancy be extended for four years. She pointed out that the board is working to change how it operates with less oversight by the board, and more oversight by the national organization. Therefore, the auditors recommended a shorter extension time for the board to ensure public interest is served. MS. DAVIDSON elaborated that the audit recommended board member terms be filled more timely. Secondly, the board is financially self-supporting, and the auditors found that a surplus was increasing. Thus, the auditors recommended that license fees should be reduced. Finally, in reviewing the investigative efforts, auditors found periods of inactivity on some of the investigations and auditors found the tracking mechanism associated with the investigative software is not very good. She opined that the investigators need better software to better enable them to track case management on investigations. 4:26:42 PM CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 78. 4:26:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN moved to report HB 78 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, HB 78 was reported from the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee. 4:27:20 PM The committee took an at-ease from 4:27 p.m. to 4:28 p.m.