AK HB351

Alaska would join the Multistate Nurse Licensure Compact, allowing registered nurses and licensed practical nurses with multistate licenses to practice across all member states without obtaining separate licenses in each state

Hospitals must establish nurse staffing committees with at least 50% membership from non-management nurses, which will set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for all hospital units and report compliance annually to the Board of Nursing

During nursing strikes, healthcare entities may only hire nurses with Alaska single-state licenses or those already employed under multistate privileges before the strike notice was received

Multistate license holders would pay approximately half the regulatory costs compared to single-state license holders, with the remaining costs collected from Department of Health-regulated entities

The compact provisions contain a sunset clause repealing multistate licensure on July 1, 2032, reverting Alaska to single-state licensing only unless the legislature acts to continue the compact