Legislature(2017 - 2018)SENATE FINANCE 532
04/26/2018 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB135 | |
| HB150 | |
| HB233 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 135 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 150 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 233 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 150
"An Act relating to pay, allowances, and benefits for
members of the organized militia."
9:55:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK, SPONSOR, offered a Sponsor
Statement:
House Bill 150 is part of the ongoing efforts by the
Alaska State Legislature and the Department of
Military and Veterans' Affairs to modernize the 1955
Alaska Military Code by providing statutory changes
that will better serve our Alaska organized militia.
House Bill 150 would authorize the same pay, allowance
and benefits for the organized militia whether they
are called into state active duty by the Governor or
Adjutant General or called to service under federal
active duty by the President.
The current pay system for the organized militia is
based on compensation for the specific duty when
called into active state service. Under the federal
active duty, service members are paid based on their
grade and rank, not by the specific duty they are
assigned to.
The current pay system is not stable or reliable for
our organized militia and creates a difficult
accounting system that requires many hours to
determine each member's pay. House Bill 150 will
create a streamlined approach to the accounting system
by aligning the pay, allowances and benefits for the
Alaska organized militia whether if called to state or
federal active duty.
Our service members deserve a reliable pay structure,
regardless of where they are called to duty.
9:57:44 AM
KENDRA KLOSTER, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK, reviewed
the sections of the bill. She said that Section 1 would
clarify when members of the organized militia were in
active state duty their wages would mirror the wages of the
federal active service. Section 2 would treat all the
organized militia as one entity for a compensation system
and would retain eligibility for travel allowances under
the state system. Section 3 was the base rate for worker's
compensation calculations. Section 4 specified members of
the Alaska Naval Militia, Air Guard, and Army Guard would
continue to accrue benefits, paid into the Alaska National
Guard and Naval Militia retirement system. Section 5 would
repeal the definition of member because the langue was
redundant.
9:58:57 AM
Co-Chair MacKinnon OPENED public testimony.
BRIAN DUFFY, DIRECTOR, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT
OF MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS, JBER (via
teleconference), announced that he was available to provide
additional comments.
Senator von Imhof looked at an example of a pay grid for
the 2015 Sockeye fire that was prepared by the Department
of Military and Veterans Affairs (copy on file). She
wondered whether the biggest savings, as a result of the
legislation, would be the administrative expense because
the new system would be more streamlined. She understood
that the pay would vary on whether the federal alignment
pay was more or less than the state hazard pay, depending
on the position.
Mr. Duffy agreed.
Co-Chair MacKinnon asked whether the change would affect
state or federal pensions.
Mr. Duffy answered in the negative.
10:02:05 AM
Senator Stevens asked for an explanation of pay by specific
duty; specific duty as compare to rank and grade.
Mr. Duffy used the example of an active duty member
performing administrative duties in the morning and manning
a traffic control point in the evening. He said that the
variety of duties that could be performed form day to day,
even hour to hour, had its own pay scale. He said that the
equation would include the time, multiplied by the amount
of pay for that specific job on that specific day. The new
method would pay a daily rate, by rank, and based on
current pay scales.
Senator Stevens though that the old system sounded
difficult.
10:03:45 AM
BOB DOEHL, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND
VETERANS AFFAIRS, JBER (via teleconference), testified in
support of the bill. He offered several examples of ways
that the bill would benefit the department and military
personnel.
Senator Olson asked what the bill would do for recruitment.
Mr. Doehl believed that the bill would increase
recruitment.
10:05:44 AM
COL. JOHN JAMES, DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS
AFFAIRS, JBER (via teleconference), testified in support of
the bill. He believed that the proposal would provide equal
pay for equal services.
10:06:57 AM
Co-Chair MacKinnon CLOSED public testimony.
Vice-Chair Bishop discussed FN 2 from the Department of
Military and Veterans Affairs. The fiscal impact was
indeterminate. He read from the analysis:
The fiscal impact of this legislation cannot be
accurately determined at this time. The nature,
severity, and duration of any state disaster will
determine the number of members called to active duty
and the extent of their service. Due to multiple
unknown factors, such as when disasters will happen,
the number of militia members called into active
status, their ranks, and other factors, the Department
is unable to calculate the estimated fiscal impact to
the state and therefore submits an indeterminate
fiscal note.
While the Department cannot predict future calls to
active duty, it can look back to recent examples to
provide real-life perspectives on the potential
financial impact of HB 150 on future events.
Co-Chair MacKinnon asked for a cost example that could
provide further detail.
Representative Tuck referenced the Sockeye Fire as a look
back that would be studied to find ways to save the state
money.
10:09:00 AM
Senator von Imhof looked at the Sockeye Fire example, and
considered the administrative hours used to calculate the
payroll at the time. She wondered about how the new system
would compare.
Co-Chair MacKinnon thought knowing administrative costs
would be helpful. She wanted to know state and federal
dollar breakdown of pay.
Vice-Chair Bishop summarized that the bill was supported by
common sense. He thought Mr. Duffy had explained it well.
He thought the bill would create greater efficiency.
Senator Stevens assumed that National Guard members
deployed to the Middle East were paid on a federal scale.
Representative Tuck answered in the affirmative.
Senator Stevens thought that the change in pay could be
confusing to troops.
Representative Tuck stated that the bill would simplify the
matter.
10:12:26 AM
Representative Tuck thanked the committee and expressed
that the bill was a way to make things easier for members
of the National Guard. He agreed to provide the committee
with a further example of how the bill would save the state
money.
HB 150 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair MacKinnon discussed housekeeping.