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." 1:05:03 PM REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN, SPONSOR, introduced the legislation with prepared remarks: First, I want to thank you for hearing House Bill 99. We often talk of making Alaska open and ready for business, House Bill 99 makes sure we're open and ready for business and specific of the business of providing physical and occupational therapy. My office introduced House Bill 99 at the request of the Alaska Physical and Occupational Therapy Associations. House Bill 99 amends the governing statutes for physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, occupational therapists, and occupational therapy assistants practicing in Alaska. These changes are designed to bring Alaska statutes in line with national standards and terminology and overall make the administrative experience of these professions and professionals smoother and up to date. House Bill 99 is supported by the state Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board, which believes House Bill 99 will help the board and its work to protect the public. The letter stating that support is in your bill packet. Currently, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, occupational therapists, and occupational therapy assistants are represented by the state Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board. This board is made up of one physician, three physical therapists, two occupational therapists, and one member of the public. House Bill 99 removes the physician from this board and replaces them with another occupational therapist, thereby balancing the representation of the professions on the board. There is good reason for this. When this statute was originally written, the work of physical and occupational therapists required referral by a physician. This has not been the case in Alaska for more than 30 years. House Bill 99 also enables the board to discipline a therapist who commits infractions under AS 08.84.120 such as conviction of a felony, gross negligence, or abuse of alcohol. Currently, the board has the ability to revoke or deny a license based on infractions but has no ability to discipline. Additionally, House Bill 99 clarifies the language and the requirements for those therapists to receive their training outside of the United States, ensuring that their training is equivalent to a U.S. professional physical therapy program and also exempting therapists trained in an English language program from having to take an English proficiency test. Furthermore, this bill updates language in Alaska statute that referenced an accrediting entity that no longer exists and makes the language more general, allowing the state board to designate the appropriate accrediting entity as needed. Several other updates to terminology are made to update the language. House Bill 99 does not constitute a restructuring of the relevant statute, but it contains several long-awaited changes that will make it easier for professionals to do business in Alaska. 1:07:58 PM LIZZIE KUBITZ, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN, discussed the Sectional Analysis (copy on file): Section 1 AS 08.84.010. Creation and membership of the board. Removes the seat for a physician and balances out the board with 3 physical therapists or physical therapy assistants and 3 occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants along with one public member, to make up the 7-member board. It also changes the term "physical therapy assistant" to "physical therapist assistant" in this section and throughout the entire statute. This change is to conform to the industry title used nationally. Section 2 AS 08.84.030. Qualifications for licensing. Allows the board to have broader authority over what entities will have accreditation oversight over physical therapy & occupational therapy education programs. Some of the accrediting entities listed in statute are now either renamed or no longer exist, making that statute obsolete. Section 2 removes language from the statute relating to additional supervised field work that occupational therapists must complete as these requirements are covered by the accrediting bodies. Section 3 AS 08.84.032. Foreign-educated applicants. Changes the section headline from "trained" to "educated." New language is added that requires foreign-educated physical therapist or physical therapy assistant students to have attended a "substantially" equivalent educational program that is accredited by a U.S. accreditation entity that has been approved by the board. Outdated and obsolete language is removed that can be found on page 4, lines 3 -9 of this bill. Added to subsection (3) of this section is language that would require that a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant pass a test demonstrating competency of the English language only if their program was taught in a foreign language. Subsection (4) requires that a foreign-educated applicant is a legal alien or a U.S citizen. Subsection (7) requires them to pay the required fee and meet any other qualifications for licensure set by the board under 08.84.010(b). All the above changes in Section 3 are replicated for occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants on page 4, lines 27-31 and over to page 5, lines 1-22. Section 4 AS 08.84.060. Licensure by acceptance of credentials. Makes conforming terminology changes. Section 5 AS 08.84.065(c). Temporary changes. Makes conforming terminology changes. Section 6 AS 08.84.075(b). Limited permit. Makes conforming terminology changes. Section 7 AS 08.84.075(c). Limited permit. Changes language that would now require that a limited permit is valid for 120 consecutive days. Section 8 AS 08.84.075(d). Limited permit. Allows only one limited permit per 12-month period. Section 9 AS 08.84.090. Licensure. Updates licensure terminology. Section 10 AS 08.84.120(a). Refusal, revocation, and suspension of license. Adds disciplinary action as a possibility to actions a board might consider for an infraction of their licensure and updates terminology in item (7) and states in (9) that failure to comply with the law or regulations or order of the board might result in disciplinary action or suspension of a license. Section 11 AS 08.04.130(a). False claim of license prohibited. Adds updated credentialing and terminology. Section 12 AS 08.84.130(b). False claim of license prohibited. Updates terminology. Section 13 AS 08.84.190. Definitions. Adds a new paragraph defining the updated term "physical therapist assistant." Section 14 AS 11.41.470(1). Definitions. Updates definitions in criminal law/sexual assault statute. Section 15 AS 47.17.290(14). Definitions. Updates terminology under definitions in child protection statute. Section 16 AS 08.84.190(7). Definitions. Repeals subsection (7), which is the definition using outdated term of physical therapy assistant; according to Leg. Legal, when the actual "term" used for the definition is being changed, the entire citing must be repealed. The new definition is set out on page 8, Section 13, lines 11-14. Section 17 Applicability Sets out the applicability clauses for licensure for sections 2 and 3 of this Act and for sections 7 and 8. Section 18 Uncodified law Transition language for the board vacancy and appointments for the PT/OT board, and states that the changes do not apply to current licensees until it is time for their licensure renewal and then all changes to the law will apply. Ms. Kubitz listed individuals available for questions. 1:12:27 PM Senator Olson asked if state medical associations and/or the Medical Board supported the legislation. He highlighted the bill's proposal to remove a physician [from the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board]. Representative Claman replied that he had spoken with individual physicians. Senator Olson interjected that there were letters of support in the bill packets. Representative Claman replied that the physicians he had spoken to did not have a problem with the bill. Senator Olson asked if there was anything from the boards. Representative Claman replied in the negative. Senator Olson asked for the percentage of foreign medical applicants applying for physical and occupational therapy positions. 1:13:15 PM AT EASE 1:13:35 PM RECONVENED Senator Olson reiterated his previous question. Representative Claman deferred to Ms. Chambers. SARA CHAMBERS, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF CORPORATION, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (via teleconference), replied that she would follow up with the answer. Co-Chair Bishop asked Ms. Chambers to provide the answer to his office for distribution to committee members. Co-Chair Bishop moved to invited testimony. LEEANNE CARROTHERS, AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, ALASKA CHAPTER, WASILLA (via teleconference), spoke in support of the legislation. The association represented approximately 450 licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in Alaska. She stated that the bill provided many needed language changes and terminology changes to the existing statute, which would bring Alaska in line with current national standards, terminology, and practice. She elaborated that the bill provided balanced representation by physical and occupational therapy. Additionally, the bill removed a position from the board, which was a relic of a time when physical and occupational therapists required physician supervision and were accredited by the American Medical Association. The bill reduced administrative burden and costs for individuals who graduated from schools taught in English outside of the United States and provided disciplinary capability to the board. She summarized that the bill provided necessary updates, was noncontroversial, and long overdue. 1:16:23 PM Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony. 1:16:37 PM AT EASE 1:17:03 PM RECONVENED Co-Chair Stedman wondered if there was an error in the printing of the bill. He observed the version before the committee was version A. He was being facetious. Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony. Representative Claman stressed that the bill had received no amendments in the House and there was no committee substitute. SB 99 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.