00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 277                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to occupational licensing fees charged by state agencies for certain                                   
02 veterans."                                                                                                              
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 44.99 is amended by adding a new section to article 1 to read:                                     
05            Sec. 44.99.050. Occupational licensing fees for veterans. (a)                                              
06       Notwithstanding AS 08.01.065 and any other provision of law or regulation under                                   
07       which a license fee is authorized, a state agency may not charge or collect from a                                
08       veteran a license fee for the first license for which the veteran applies subsequent to                           
09       the veteran's discharge.                                                                                          
10            (b)  The prohibition in (a) of this section does not apply to a fee for renewal of                           
11       a license.                                                                                                        
12            (c)  A state agency that issues licenses shall, each month, submit to the                                    
13       Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development a list of all                                         
14       veterans who have applied for a license issued by that agency or who have applied to                              

01       that agency to take an examination required to issue a license. A state agency shall                              
02       consult the list maintained by the Department of Commerce, Community, and                                         
03       Economic Development to determine if a veteran who has applied for a license issued                               
04       by that state agency has previously applied for or received a license from a state                                
05       agency.                                                                                                           
06            (d)  A state agency may adopt regulations necessary to implement this section.                               
07            (e)  In this section,                                                                                        
08                 (1)  "license" means a license, certificate, permit, or registration or                                 
09       similar evidence of authority issued for an occupation by a state agency but does not                             
10       include a driver's license or a commercial driver's license as defined in AS 28.33.190;                           
11                 (2)  "license fee" means an examination fee, an application fee, a fee                                  
12       for initial licensure, or any other fee required by a state agency to issue an initial                            
13       license;                                                                                                          
14                 (3)  "state agency" means a department, institution, board, commission,                                 
15       division, authority, public corporation, or other administrative unit of the executive,                           
16       legislative, or judicial branch of state government;                                                              
17                 (4)  "veteran" means a person who served in the armed forces of the                                     
18       United States and who was discharged or released from the armed forces under                                      
19       conditions other than dishonorable.                                                                               
20    * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
21 read:                                                                                                                   
22       TRANSITION. (a) The prohibition in AS 44.99.050, enacted in sec. 1 of this Act,                                   
23 applies to license fees collected on or after the effective date of this Act.                                           
24       (b)  In this section, "license" and "license fee" have the meanings given in                                      
25 AS 44.99.050(e), enacted by sec. 1 of this Act.