"An Act relating to dispensing opticians and dispensing optician apprentices."

HB 502 clarifies the education and training requirements to become an optician, allows qualified opticians from other states to practice in Alaska, and sets out requirements to fit and sell contact lenses. This bill also transfers the Optician's apprenticeship program to the U.S. Department of Labor. Currently, the amount of training does not meet the threshold for the Department of Labor. The State of Alaska needs to be on par with other states and require a high amount of training and high degree of licensing in this field.

The current statute is unclear and inadequate. HB 502 puts specific qualifications on the amount of hours an optician must have to qualify for both spectacles and contact lenses. This legislation raises the amount of hours required to least 4,000 hours of training to dispense eyeglasses and at least 2,000 more hours to dispense contact lenses. This distinction clarifies the language and requires an appropriate amount of training for the Opticians in Alaska to effectively serve the public.

# # #