SB 36-EXTEND BOARD OF NURSING  3:32:45 PM CO-CHAIR WOOL announced that the next order of business would be SENATE BILL NO. 36, "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Nursing; and providing for an effective date." 3:33:10 PM SENATOR CATHY GIESSEL, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor of SB 36, introduced the bill and paraphrased parts of the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read in its entirety as follows [original punctuation provided]: In accordance with AS 08.03.010(c)(14,) the Board of Nursing is scheduled to terminate June 30, 2019. Senate Bill 36 extends the board's termination date six years to June 30, 2025. The Board of Nursing is established under AS 08.68 for the purpose of controlling and regulating the practice of nursing, including APRNs, nurse anesthetists, registered nurses, LPNs and CNAs. The board's mission statement is "to actively promote and protect the health of the citizens of Alaska through the safe and effective practice of nursing as defined by law." The audit of the Board demonstrated that it is meeting this mission. SENATOR GIESSEL addressed the Board of Nursing's sunset audit, which was conducted by the Division of Legislative Audit (DLA) to determine the need for the board's continued existence. She noted that the DLA made four recommendations, all of which have been agreed to by the board. She directed attention to page 11 of the audit and addressed the 337,422-dollar deficit. She pointed out that the board's revenues and expenditures have since been updated to reflect the license renewals from October and November 2018. She assured the committee that, currently, "the cash box is full." 3:36:43 PM CO-CHAIR LEDOUX asked why the DLA recommended a six-year extension as opposed to three or four years. SENATOR GIESSEL offered her understanding that the DLA wanted the ability to follow up and ensure that prior recommendations will be resolved. 3:37:48 PM KAREN BUCHKOSKI, Audit Manager, Division of Legislative Audit, Legislative Affairs Agency, explained that the reduction in extension time was due to the repeat findings. 3:40:52 PM SARAH CHAMBERS, Director, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, in response to a question from Representative Hannan, said that the audit was one of the first things that the new board addressed. She revealed that the board recently approved two sets of regulations to be forwarded for public notice once they are through the legal process. 3:41:56 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN mentioned the opioid crisis and expressed concern that notifications of license suspensions for prescriptive authority weren't being dealt with in a timely matter. She asked how soon the regulations would be in place and wondered if they would adequately address the problem. MS. CHAMBERS explained that the division views the audit's recommendation as an extra safeguard. She said that administrative measures were established 6 months ago to address the problem. She said the board created the regulations as an extra step and to "make sure that it was a mandate on themselves." 3:46:09 PM CO-CHAIR LEDOUX pointed out that the board is still missing one member because one of the appointees didn't meet certain requirements. REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS requested that the DCCED follow up on the review of CNA programs and report back to the committee. MS. CHAMBERS offered to give the committee a current update. She said that timeframe of lookback for the audit covered a period when the board was switching from an independent contractor to a permanent position, which went vacant for a period of time. During that time, she said, "programs approvals fell by the wayside and the board itself didn't pick up that activity." She said once the position was filled, they returned to a regular schedule and a full update on the status of CNA program reviews was reported to the new board at their first meeting. She stated that it is no longer a deficiency. REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS questioned whether all 22 CNA programs are getting inspected. MS. CHAMBERS confirmed that they are all inspected on a biennial basis. She noted that they received a federal grant through the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to offset the cost and ensure that it doesn't fall on the certified nurse aids themselves. 3:48:49 PM CO-CHAIR WOOL questioned whether the 22 CNA [training] programs are mostly affiliated with hospitals or if they are educational. MS. CHAMBERS replied that there is a variety; for example, some are private, and some are affiliated with university programs. Nonetheless, she pointed out that all of them must meet the same standards. 3:49:33 PM CO-CHAIR WOOL announced that SB 36 was held over.