SB 139-EXTENSIONS OF OCCUPATIONAL BDS/AGENCIES  CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SB 139 to be up for consideration. TOM MAHER, staff to Senator Therriault, sponsor, explained the provisions in SB 139 stem from two audit reports prepared by the Division of Legislative Audit. MR. MAHER explained that SB 139 extends the sunset date for Board of Marital and Family Therapy from June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2010 as per the audit. It also incorporates recommendations contained in an audit of the sunset process itself. Section 2 clarifies for boards that are terminated that their authority for regulatory and disciplinary powers is transferred to the Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED). Currently this happens, but statutes don't give the department the authority to those activities. Sections 3 and 4 change the standard sunset period for occupational boards in AS 08.03.020(c) and non occupational boards in AS 44.66.010(c) from not to exceed four years to not to exceed eight years. Increasing the standard sunset period allows for better use of audit staff and make the sunset process less consuming for the legislature, the boards and regulatory agencies. Finally, section 5 adds two criteria that must be considered in the course of a sunset review by the auditors. They are the extent to which the board, commission or agency has effectively attained its objectives and the efficiency with which it has operated and the extent to which the board, commission or agency duplicates activities of another governmental agency or the private sector. Expanding the criteria will assure that auditors will measure the efficiency and effectiveness of boards, commissions and the agencies under review. 1:40:39 PM SENATOR BEN STEVENS joined the committee. 1:42:11 PM PAT DAVIDSON, Division of Legislative Audit, said she recommends extension of the Board of Marital and Family Therapy. During the course of her review she looked at whether it should be combined with other behavioral health boards. But if they continue on separately as they are, she recommends a five-year extension. The audit looks at efficiency and the effectiveness of the Alaska sunset process, a process that came to Alaska in 1977 when a lot of other states started using it also. Since then, six states have suspended their sunset process and six have outright repealed it. Alaska has a standard four-year extension, another group are at six years and another is at ten years. Given the times the boards and commission have come under review, it really isn't a question any more that they be continued. She is now looking more at efficiency and effectiveness issues. 1:45:20 PM RICK URION, Director, Division of Occupational Licensing, said he was a legislator when the 1977 sunset law was passed and he supported SB 139 now. He noted that the Board of Opticians is scheduled to sunset and sooner or later the law will need to be clarified about what the department does in that case. 1:46:44 PM CHAIR BUNDE moved Amendment 1 as follows for discussion purposes: Delete section 2 and insert: Sec. 2. AS 08.02.020(a) is amended to read: (a) Upon termination, each board listed in AS 08.03.010 shall continue in existence until June 30 of the next succeeding year for the purpose of concluding its affairs. During this period, termination does not reduce or otherwise limit the powers or authority of each board. One year after the date of termination, a board not continued shall cease all activities, and all statutory authority of the board is transferred to the department. MR. URION explained that it clearly establishes that all the board's statutory authority is transferred to the department. A new section (4) makes it clear that any litigation, investigations and licenses that have been issued are in place until changes are made. CHAIR BUNDE said there were no objections and Amendment 1 was adopted. 1:48:14 PM CHAIR BUNDE moved Amendment 2 as follows for discussion purposes: Add a new section to the bill: Sect. 4. AS 08.03.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (d) The department shall carry out the functions of a board that has been terminated and ceased all activities. Litigation, hearings, investigations and other proceedings pending at the time the board ceased activities continue in effect and may be continued or completed by the department. Licenses, certificates, orders and regulations issued or adopted by the board and in effect at the time the board ceased activities, remain in effect for the term issued, or until revoked amended, vacated or repealed by the department. 1:48:59 PM SENATOR BEN STEVENS asked if the legislature allows the board to sunset, does that automatically confer its authority to the department. MR. URION replied that is correct. For example, if the Board of Opticians sunsets, the department would continue to license and follow the criteria in the law. He added, "We license a whole lot of people in the state without boards." 1:50:30 PM MS. DAVIDSON explained that two legal opinions, one from the Department of Law and one from Legislative Legal, address what happens when a board sunsets. One opinion said that from the time the board sunset, no one can be issued a license, but those licenses don't go away. But nothing can move forward in terms of licensing. The second opinion was that if a board goes away, then the regulations that refer to it are moot. In which case, if you have no regulations to carry out the function of the statute, there is no process for people that are licensed to continue with the license or it goes into a limbo. Last year she recommended allowing the Board of Opticians to sunset and starting up a registration process that would allow for individuals who want to call themselves registered dispensing opticians to meet certain qualifications and criteria. MS. DAVIDSON said if any board is going to sunset, it goes into a wind-down year. But boards don't want to wind down; they really hope for an extension. This bill lets the department step into that space providing for an orderly process. 1:53:24 PM SENATOR BEN STEVENS said the decision to shut down comes from the legislature and he asked if the department could manage without further input from it. MS. DAVIDSON replied that the legislature would have to take further actions by eliminating all the statutes if it wanted the whole licensing function to go away. Eliminating the board would be a first step in that process. SENATOR BEN STEVENS asked if the department would continue licensing under regulation until that happened. MS. DAVIDSON replied, "Yes, it would." 1:55:48 PM CHAIR BUNDE assumed that the boards are charging enough to be self-supporting, but if the departments have to issue licenses, he thought a fiscal note might be necessary. MS. DAVIDSON replied that the statute says any occupations being regulated by the division have to be self-supporting. 1:56:19 PM SENATOR STEVENS asked what other boards would fall under provision. MR. URION replied about 20 more licensing boards. CHAIR BUNDE said he thought it was an administrative goal to eliminate some of the boards, but he didn't see a lot of movement in that direction. 1:56:59 PM CHAIR BUNDE said there was no further objection to Amendment 2 and it was adopted. He said he would hold CSSB 139(L&C) for another hearing.