The Alaska House of Representatives has passed a pair of bills that make technical changes to state law pertaining to nurse practitioners and the state board of barbers.

In a 39-0 vote (Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, was absent), the House approved House Bill 289 and Senate Bill 53.

SB 53, originally written by Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, passed the Senate in a 19-0 vote last year and now heads back to the Senate for a vote indicating the Senate agrees with changes the House made to the bill.

Rep. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, explained the bill on the House floor.

“It updates our statutes, because right now (they are) actually not correct and doesn’t align with what’s happening nationally,” she said.

Alaska statutes refer to advanced nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists, but the nationally accepted title is “advanced practice registered nurse.”

“This bill does not impact or change the certification, the education requirements, the licensing … nor does it change the scope of practice for any of these titles,” Hughes said.

No one spoke against the bill.

House Bill 289 similarly passed without objection. That bill, brought forward by Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, expands the state Board of Barbers and Hairdressers to include seven seats, not six.

“At six, you can end up with a tie; with seven, it’s fairly unlikely you’ll end up with a tie,” LeDoux said.

One of the seats on the board is now reserved for a nail technician. Last year, the Legislature voted to require nail technicians to be certified by the board.

“Now that they’re getting so much more education, it was found appropriate to designate a seat on the board for those folks,” she said.