House Finance advances bill extending sunset dates for six professional boards

Co‑Chair Foster said the House Finance Committee took up Senate Bill 211 at its May 17 session in Juneau and invited sponsor Senator Jesse Bjorkman to explain the measure. Bjorkman said SB 211 would extend the sunset dates for six professional boards, including professional counselors, marriage and family therapy, psychologists, psychological examiners, the Real Estate Commission and certified real estate appraisers, and social work examiners. He said the extensions follow recommendations from the legislative auditor.

The committee heard no public testimony on SB 211. Sylvan Raab, director of the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, presented the fiscal note: the governor’s request includes $147,600 in fiscal 2027, continuing at that level through fiscal 2031 and dropping to $115,800 in fiscal 2032 to reflect a wind‑down year for the Real Estate Commission if it were not extended. Raab said these costs are receipt‑supported and will be paid by licensees for the six programs covered by the bill.

Representative Bynum said he would not offer amendments in the committee given absences and a need to consult the sponsor, and then moved SB 211 out of committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. There were no objections and the committee authorized Legislative Legal to make technical and conforming changes. Senator Bjorkman said he preferred the board provisions remain together in a single piece of legislation to ensure an orderly process for resolving outstanding issues.

The committee’s action was procedural: the measure was reported out of House Finance to the next steps in the legislative process with individual recommendations. The committee invited anyone wishing to submit written testimony to email house.finance@akleg.gov.