HB 169: "An Act relating to occupational licensing fees for low-income workers and military families; relating to licensing of individuals with criminal records; relating to apprenticeship programs; relating to the minimum wage; relating to lobbying; and relating to municipal occupational licensing fees and requirements."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 169 01 "An Act relating to occupational licensing fees for low-income workers and military 02 families; relating to licensing of individuals with criminal records; relating to 03 apprenticeship programs; relating to the minimum wage; relating to lobbying; and 04 relating to municipal occupational licensing fees and requirements." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 08.01.065(c) is amended to read: 07 (c) Except as provided in (f) - (m) [(f) - (j)] of this section, the department 08 shall establish fee levels under (a) of this section so that the total amount of fees 09 collected for an occupation approximately equals the actual regulatory costs for the 10 occupation. The department shall annually review each fee level to determine whether 11 the regulatory costs of each occupation are approximately equal to fee collections 12 related to that occupation. If the review indicates that an occupation's fee collections 13 and regulatory costs are not approximately equal, the department shall calculate fee 14 adjustments and adopt regulations under (a) of this section to implement the
01 adjustments. In January of each year, the department shall report on all fee levels and 02 revisions for the previous year under this subsection to the office of management and 03 budget. If a board regulates an occupation covered by this chapter, the department 04 shall consider the board's recommendations concerning the occupation's fee levels and 05 regulatory costs before revising fee schedules to comply with this subsection. In this 06 subsection, "regulatory costs" means costs of the department that are attributable to 07 regulation of an occupation plus 08 (1) all expenses of the board that regulates the occupation if the board 09 regulates only one occupation; 10 (2) the expenses of a board that are attributable to the occupation if the 11 board regulates more than one occupation. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 08.01.065 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 13 (k) The applicable board or department shall waive initial occupational 14 licensing fees and examination fees for an individual who applies for a waiver and 15 who 16 (1) meets the low-income threshold established by the department; 17 (2) is a current or former member of the armed forces of the United 18 States; or 19 (3) is the spouse of a current or former member of the armed forces of 20 the United States. 21 (l) An individual seeking waiver of initial occupational licensing fees and 22 examination fees under (k) of this section must apply to the appropriate licensing 23 board or the department in a format prescribed by the licensing board or department. 24 The licensing board or department shall process the application within 30 days after 25 receiving it from the applicant. 26 (m) The licensing board or department shall adopt regulations necessary to 27 implement (k) and (l) of this section. The regulations must include a low-income 28 threshold for waiver of licensing fees and examination fees that is based on enrollment 29 in a state or federal public assistance program or on the applicant's household adjusted 30 gross income being under 130 percent of the federal poverty line, unless a higher 31 threshold is set by the department.
01 * Sec. 3. AS 08.01.077 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 02 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the licensing board or 03 department may not consider an arrest that is not followed by a conviction as the basis 04 for the denial or nonrenewal of a license or grounds for disciplinary action. 05 (c) A licensing board and the department shall specify in regulation the 06 criminal convictions that disqualify an applicant from obtaining a license and shall 07 define "good moral character" or "moral turpitude" in regulation if either standard is 08 used by the licensing board or department in determining whether to issue or renew a 09 license. A disqualifying criminal conviction must directly relate to the duties and 10 responsibilities of the applicable licensed occupation. 11 (d) In determining whether to deny a license to an applicant with a criminal 12 conviction, the board or department shall consider 13 (1) the nature and seriousness of the crime; 14 (2) the amount of time that has passed since the conviction; 15 (3) the relationship between the nature of the crime and the duties and 16 responsibilities of the occupation for which the license is sought; and 17 (4) evidence of rehabilitation or treatment undertaken by the applicant 18 since the conviction. 19 (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the licensing board or 20 department may not disqualify an applicant for more than three years from the later of 21 the date of the most recent criminal conviction or release from incarceration based on 22 a criminal conviction, unless the 23 (1) disqualifying conviction is for a violation of AS 11.41 or a crime in 24 another jurisdiction that has similar elements; or 25 (2) applicant has been convicted of any other crime during the 26 disqualification period. 27 (f) An individual with a conviction of record may petition the licensing board 28 or department for a determination of whether the individual's conviction will 29 disqualify the individual from obtaining a license. The licensing board or department 30 may charge a fee not to exceed $25 for each petition. The board or department shall 31 inform the individual of its determination within 30 days after receiving the
01 individual's application. 02 (g) If the board or department denies an application based on an applicant's 03 prior criminal conviction, the board or department shall notify the applicant 04 (1) of the grounds and reasons for the denial or disqualification; 05 (2) of the applicant's right to a hearing; 06 (3) of the earliest date the applicant may reapply for the license; and 07 (4) that evidence of rehabilitation or treatment may be considered upon 08 reapplication. 09 (h) Before denying an application, the board or the department shall find, by 10 substantial evidence in light of the whole record, that an applicant's criminal 11 conviction is a disqualifying conviction and is directly related to the duties and 12 responsibilities of the licensed occupation. The board or department shall document 13 written findings for each of the factors under (d) of this section. 14 (i) The board or department shall have the burden of proof to show that a 15 disqualifying criminal conviction directly relates to the occupation for which the 16 license is sought. 17 * Sec. 4. AS 08.02 is amended by adding a new section to read: 18 Sec. 08.02.060. Apprenticeship programs. (a) Notwithstanding any other 19 provision of this title, a board or the department shall grant an occupational license to 20 an applicant who 21 (1) has completed eighth grade; 22 (2) has successfully completed an apprenticeship approved by the 23 appropriate licensing board, the department, or the United States Department of Labor, 24 or that is otherwise permitted under state or federal law; 25 (3) has passed the appropriate licensing examination, if applicable; 26 (4) is at least 18 years of age; and 27 (5) has completed the number of apprenticeship hours equal to the 28 number of hours required for licensing training. 29 (b) This section does not apply to a license or certificate issued under 30 AS 08.04.100, 08.04.110, AS 08.11.010, AS 08.29.110, AS 08.36.110, AS 08.38.030, 31 AS 08.42.050, AS 08.45.030, AS 08.63.100, AS 08.64.200, 08.64.205, 08.64.225,
01 AS 08.68.170, AS 08.72.140, AS 08.80.110, AS 08.84.030, 08.84.032, AS 08.86.130, 02 08.86.162, AS 08.95.110, or AS 08.98.165. 03 (c) The applicable board or department may adopt regulations to implement 04 this section. 05 * Sec. 5. AS 29.10.200 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 06 (68) AS 29.35.143 (municipal occupational licensing fees and 07 requirements). 08 * Sec. 6. AS 29.35 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Sec. 29.35.105. Minimum wage. A municipality may not enact or enforce a 10 minimum wage that differs from the state minimum wage calculated under 11 AS 23.10.065. 12 * Sec. 7. AS 29.35 is amended by adding a new section to read: 13 Sec. 29.35.143. Municipal occupational licensing fees and requirements; 14 lobbying services. (a) Except as specifically provided by statute, the authority to 15 regulate and establish occupational licensing fees and requirements is reserved to the 16 state, and, except as specifically provided by law, a municipality may not enact or 17 enforce an occupational licensing fee or requirement that was not enacted before the 18 effective date of this Act. 19 (b) For an occupational licensing fee enacted by a municipality before the 20 effective date of this Act, the municipality shall waive initial occupational licensing 21 fees for an individual who qualifies for a waiver under AS 08.01.065(k) and who 22 applies for a municipal license on or after the effective date of this Act. An individual 23 seeking a waiver under this subsection must apply to the municipality in a format 24 prescribed by the municipality. The municipality shall process the application within 25 30 days after receiving it from the applicant. 26 (c) A municipality may not purchase lobbying services from a professional 27 lobbyist or private entity that provides lobbying services for a municipal licensing 28 board or agency. 29 (d) This section applies to home rule and general law municipalities. 30 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read:
01 APPLICABILITY. AS 29.35.143(c), added by sec. 7 of this Act, applies to the 02 purchase of lobbying services and contracts relating to lobbying services entered into on or 03 after the effective date of this Act.