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Senate Bill 83
Sponsored by our office, Senate Bill 83 will require that health care insurers in the State of Alaska reimburse health care services provided using telehealth at the same rate as in-person services. This legislation centers on the principle of pay parity, ensuring providers receive the same compensation for delivery of comparable care, regardless of whether it’s provided in-person or remotely, using technology. Telehealth is particularly helpful for affordably delivering health care services in rural communities.
Many physicians who have implemented telehealth in their practices continue to provide care in-person. Providers may be disincentivized to offer telehealth services without pay parity, which could limit patient choice and potentially exacerbate existing health disparities. Pay parity ensures that providers can continue to dedicate the necessary resources to deliver high-quality telehealth services.
The Senate passed the bill 14-6.
Senate Bill 54
Senate Bill 54 will extend the statutory authorization for the Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS Board), add Registered Interior Designers to the board’s jurisdiction, and make statutory changes requested by the board. This bill will allow the AELS Board to continue the important work of regulating design professionals in Alaska and add a qualified interior designer to the board.
An important part of SB 54 is the opportunity for qualified interior designers to register with the AELS Board. Those wishing to practice registered interior design in buildings of public occupancy within a regulated scope of services impacting public health, safety, or welfare will now have a pathway to registration. The legislation does not affect interior designers working on residential projects and other non-commercial structures. SB 54 will allow designers practicing in public occupancy buildings to be qualified to do so, providing another measure of public safety protection and risk-mitigation for commercial buildings. It will increase the design professionals able to work independently within the commercial real estate industry. Passage of SB 54 will allow Alaska to join other forward-looking states in providing a construction document stamp to allow registered interior designers to submit their own work for permitting.
SB 54 passed the Senate 18-2.
Senate Bill 183
The Legislative Auditor and the Division of Legislative Audit (DLA) are the legislature’s independent audit agency. They provide lawmakers and the public with objective, professional assessments of how effectively executive branch agencies comply with the law and manage public funds. To fulfill this role, DLA relies on the cooperation of state agencies to provide timely and properly formatted information. In recent years, however, executive branch cooperation has become increasingly inconsistent.
Recently, the Department of Revenue declined to compile necessary oil and gas tax audit assessment data, asserting that current law does not require it to prepare or format information that is not already available in the requested form. This position marks a significant departure from long-standing precedent and has the practical effect of limiting the legislature’s ability to conduct thorough oversight.
Senate Bill 183 addresses this problem by clarifying the legislature’s authority to obtain the information it needs to perform effective audits. The bill requires that all state agencies must provide full cooperation to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee and DLA, including assembling, generating, or furnishing information in the form or format requested. Without this change in statute, there is a growing risk that executive agencies may set their own terms for transparency and accountability, undermining the legislature’s ability to act as a meaningful check on the executive branch.
The bill passed the Senate 19-1.
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