HB 99-PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BD/PRACTICE  4:23:35 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 99, "An Act relating to the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; relating to the practice of physical therapy; and relating to the practice of occupational therapy." 4:24:09 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on HB 99. 4:24:32 PM SCOTTY ORR, Legislative Chair, Alaska Occupational Therapy Association, testified in support of HB 99. He shared that he is the former president of the association. He reflected that in addition to balancing out the licensure board by including three physical therapists and three occupational therapists on the board. HB 99 would also help streamline the process for people who are educated in a country outside of the United States, whether they speak English or not. Currently, if an English-speaking, foreign-educated applicant tries to apply for licensure in Alaska, the applicant would be required to take an English proficiency exam, even considering that the applicant may have been educated in another English-speaking country such as Canada or England. CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ added that the committee supports making it easier for individuals to get licensed if they are qualified. 4:25:54 PM LEEANNE CARROTHERS, Government Affairs Liaison, Alaska Physical Therapy Association, noted that the Alaska Physical Therapy ("PT") Association which represents 450 licensed physical therapists and assistants in Alaska. She declared that the Alaska PT Association supports HB 99 and thinks that the bill would provide many needed language and terminology changes to the existing statutes. This would bring Alaska in line with current national standards and terminology. She added that the bill would appropriately remove the physician from the board and add an occupational therapist, which would make the representation of physical and occupational therapists on the board equal. She noted that the association is particularly happy to see the proposed changes to language referring to physical therapist assistants. She explained that currently in Alaska, physical therapist assistants are referred to as physical therapy assistants, which is a term that hasn't been used nationwide since 1969. She said that the bill would update terminology referring to educational accrediting bodies and also give the board the freedom to maintain approval in case one of the names of the accrediting bodies changes without a subsequent change in statute. 4:28:13 PM KEITH POORBAUGH, State Licensing Board for Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, testified in support of HB 99, which would modernize Alaska standards and bring them in line with the national standards. 4:29:23 PM NANCY LOVERING, Alaska Speech and Hearing Association, testified in support of HB 99. She echoed the remarks of previous testifiers and said that the proposed changes would align Alaska with national standards and terminology for both occupations. She added that it would also allow physical and occupational therapists to work independently without needing the supervision of a physician. 4:30:35 PM JULIE AMENT, Physical Therapist, North Pole Physical Therapy, said that she has been in practice in her own clinic for 22 years, and she supports the passage of HB 99. She shared that she has worked to achieve additional education while practicing and said that Alaska's laws should stay current as well. She stated that she agrees with the addition of an occupational therapist on the Board of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy. She shared that she also agrees with the proposal to update language in existing statutes and remove the requirement for an English language proficiency test for individuals coming to the United States from other English-speaking countries. She gave an example of a physical therapist she worked with who was trained in Scotland but still had to do an English language proficiency assessment. 4:32:31 PM MEGHAN PUDELER, State Affairs Manager, American Occupational Therapy Association, noted that the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the national professional organization representing the interests of more than 213,000 occupational therapists, students of occupational therapy, and occupational therapy assistants. She continued that AOTA strongly supports the role of state government in regulating the practice of occupational therapy. She expressed that AOTA has diligently advocated for state occupational therapy laws with the same three core licensure requirements: successful completion of academic requirements of an educational program for occupational therapists and assistants that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE?); successful competition of supervised field work experience; and the passing of the entry-level examination. She shared her understanding that HB 99 proposes to revise qualifications for licensing for occupational therapists and assistants by removing from state statutes names of organizations that exercise certification (indisc.) over occupational therapy, and clarifying requirements of foreign- educated applicants. By making these changes, she continued, the bill will be removing obsolete language. She echoed the sentiments of previous testifiers by saying that she also supports the replacement of a physician on the licensure board with an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant. 4:34:36 PM DANIEL MARKELS, State Affairs Manager, American Physical Therapy Association, stated that he was called from Alexandria, Virginia, to testify on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) in support of HB 99. He echoed the comments from previous testifiers that the proposed bill is an important modernization, and said that replacing a physician with an occupational therapist or assistant on the licensure board, and adding language regarding the board's disciplinary actions are examples of the improvements proposed by HB 99. He concluded by urging the committee to pass HB 99. 4:36:52 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ, after ascertaining that there was no one else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 99 [HB 99 was set aside and taken up again later for the purpose of a motion.] HB 99-PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY BD/PRACTICE  4:42:12 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business would be a return to HOUSE BILL NO. 99, "An Act relating to the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board; relating to the practice of physical therapy; and relating to the practice of occupational therapy." 4:42:12 PM REPRESENTATIVE SCHRAGE moved to report HB 99 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 99 was reported out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.