Legislature(2015 - 2016)BILL RAY CENTER 208
06/03/2016 11:00 AM House LABOR & COMMERCE
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB4002 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB4002 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB4002-INS. FOR DEPENDS. OF DECEASED FIRE/POLICE
11:02:55 AM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 4002, "An Act relating to major medical insurance
coverage under the Public Employees' Retirement System of Alaska
for certain surviving spouses and dependent children of peace
officers and firefighters; and providing for an effective date."
11:04:04 AM
KATE SHEEHAN, Director, Division of Personnel and Labor
Relations, Department of Administration, said she was present to
answer questions.
CHAIR OLSON asked whether Ms. Sheehan was involved in the
drafting of the bill.
MS. SHEEHAN said no.
11:04:54 AM
MICHELE MICHAUD, Chief Health Official, Division of Retirement
and Benefits, Department of Administration, informed the
committee the bill was drafted primarily by the Department of
Law, and she was involved as well. In further response to Chair
Olson, she said due to time constraints, the drafters limited
the options of the bill to the pension plan.
CHAIR OLSON noted that the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners provided a summary of what other states have done;
he expressed his and others' concern about the amount of the
fiscal note, and questioned what other options "had been looked
at and maybe not accepted for one reason or another ...."
MS. SHEEHAN directed attention to a written response to
questions from DOA, dated 9/14/15, which was provided in the
committee packet. The response indicated that DOA bargained
some additional benefits into collective bargaining agreements,
including life insurance and travel accident insurance, in 2013
and 2014.
CHAIR OLSON said one aspect was to increase the cap on life
insurance.
MS. MICHAUD said yes. The previous cap was $48,000 and now
there are options for life insurance coverage up to $300,000.
In further response to Chair Olson, she said state employees can
also elect up to $300,000, and the new cap was first available
during open enrollment in 2015.
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT asked whether life insurance is elective
or mandatory.
MS. MICHAUD stated that life insurance is a voluntary benefit
available to purchase during open enrollment, or when one is
first employed.
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT asked whether travel and accident
insurance are negotiated into the contract, or are options for
members to elect.
11:09:54 AM
MS. SHEEHAN responded that the aforementioned are negotiated,
and do not have to be elected. In further response to
Representative Chenault, she said the travel and accident
insurance is paid to a member in travel status in addition to
what may be settled, for example, with an airline carrier.
CHAIR OLSON offered that a settlement from an airline would
reimburse workers' compensation. The Division of Insurance,
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, will
provide further testimony regarding insurance coverage.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON understood that the life insurance
premium is paid by the employee.
MS. MICHAUD explained that are two types of life insurance: the
basic policy is covered by the employer, and an employee has the
option of adding coverage up to their annual salary, including
the travel/accident. In addition, there are voluntary benefits
elected during open enrollment, which are paid by the member as
a pretax contribution. In further response to Representative
Josephson, she clarified that the voluntary benefits include the
policy up to $300,000.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO surmised that the bargaining agreements do
not contain survivor benefits for health care premiums, thus
resolving this issue is the purpose of HB 4002.
MS. SHEEHAN said correct.
CHAIR OLSON asked about coverage for children if there is no
surviving spouse.
MS. MICHAUD advised that currently, if a member dies an
occupational death and there is no surviving spouse, a dependent
child is not entitled to medical benefits.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO pointed out the Department of Health and
Social Services has not commented on whether the children would
become wards of a foster parent, of the state, or of a relative,
and thereby may be eligible for insurance under guardianships.
11:14:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked whether the bill covers a member
working in an office who dies of natural causes.
MS. MICHAUD said there are some limits to voluntary benefits,
such as suicide, but for the most part there is a payable
benefit in the event of a death.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked what percent of members apply for
voluntary benefits, and whether members are encouraged to apply.
MS. MICHAUD was unsure.
CHAIR OLSON requested DRB provide a response by [6/6/16].
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON posited a case of a trooper who did not
elect a higher benefit and suffered a tragedy, and his/her
dependents received the mandatory, automatic benefits of $60,000
to $100,000. He asked if there are other benefits that the
dependents would receive.
MS. MICHAUD explained that without electing the option of
voluntary benefits, the dependents would receive the basic and
travel and accident insurance, as well as unpaid leave, and any
occupational death benefits to which they are entitled.
REPRESENTATIVE COLVER asked what amount workers' compensation
would pay on an occupational injury.
MS. MICHAUD was unsure.
CHAIR OLSON said he thought "70 percent," if there is a spouse
and children.
11:18:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON suggested that the committee hear
testimony in this regard from the Division of Workers'
Compensation, Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
11:19:15 AM
There followed general discussion regarding the substance and
hearing schedule of the bill.
11:19:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX referred to an untitled document in the
committee packet provided by DOA and dated 6/1/16, which
indicated there were more Department of Transportation & Public
Facilities (DOTPF) deaths than state trooper deaths. She asked
for the percentages instead, noting that there are more DOTPF
employees.
MS. SHEEHAN said DOTPF has 3,000 employees and there are
approximately 300 state troopers. In further response to
Representative LeDoux, she agreed that the percentage of
troopers who are lost in the line of duty is probably greater,
and said she would provide the requested percentages.
CHAIR OLSON observed that there are eight agencies with
fatalities.
REPRESENTATIVE COLVER suggested creating a pool of designated
funds to pay health and life insurance policies for "risky
occupations."
CHAIR OLSON agreed that if most state employees voluntarily
participate in that type of program, premiums could go down.
[There followed discussion related to designated funding and the
fiscal information necessary to review the bill.]
11:26:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE COLVER suggested a levy of $0.02 per hour to pay
for a benefit package that could include life insurance to
insure "all of these families," not as an elective benefit, but
to cover on-the-job injuries.
CHAIR OLSON stated his intention is for the proposed legislation
to do as much as possible with the money that is available, so
the bill can proceed through two finance committees.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON expressed his interest in working on
all of the foregoing issues; however, the governor's call [for
the fourth special session of the Twenty-Ninth Alaska State
Legislature, HB 4002] is restricted to specific circumstances,
and has a reasonable fiscal note attached. He suggested working
on the other broader tasks during interim.
CHAIR OLSON questioned the demand for a broader scope from the
administration.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX relayed her preference is to proceed with
[HB 4002] which is a simple bill to take care of a specific
group of people, with a small fiscal note attached. She
suggested that the committee deal with HB 4002 and the issues
included in the governor's call, and then continue to work on
the more complex problems next session.
CHAIR OLSON opined there is time to address these issues now.
11:31:24 AM
JAKE METCALFE, Executive Director, Public Safety Employees
Association, Inc. (PSEA), Local 803, stated that from the
perspective of PSEA, HB 4002 provides major medical insurance to
survivors, including the spouse and children of peace officers
and firefighters killed in the line of duty. The effect of the
bill is limited to peace officers and firefighters because these
employees must serve in dangerous situations, and other
employees do not have to risk their health and safety. Further,
the beneficiaries of the bill only receive benefits if a spouse
or parent dies in the line of duty. Fourteen other states
provide this benefit to police officers and firefighters, and
the U.S. military provides this and additional coverage to
officers killed in the line of duty. Mr. Metcalf said HB 4002
has overwhelming support statewide from political and community
leaders; in fact, the fiscal note of the bill should be
indeterminate because benefits have been provided to "the three
families that are, are at issue here," and future situations are
unknown. Furthermore, HB 4002 is not an equal protection
problem, since none of the other states providing similar
coverage have been sued, and research indicates that the
legislation is a legally justified benefit. Mr. Metcalf
concluded that the benefit provided is limited to major medical
coverage to a spouse and survivors of a peace officer,
firefighter, or police officer killed in the line of duty in
Alaska - which the state should provide - and he urged for
passage of the bill.
11:37:07 AM
CHAIR OLSON asked what life insurance benefits are provided
under PSEA's current contract.
MR. METCALF said there is a life insurance benefit of $200,000,
which is an increase from a prior contract. He remarked:
The Toll family, the, the Rich family, or the ...
Scott Johnson family, they got the $100,000 benefit
because they died before the new contract went into
effect.
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT asked whether employees have to pay for
the $200,000 life insurance policy.
MR. METCALF said no. During negotiations, the state offered to
increase life insurance from $100,000 to $200,000.
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT questioned if in the other fourteen
states, health care coverage for dependents of slain officers
was effected by legislation, or negotiated in contracts.
MR. METCALF advised there were various methods, but all were by
statute. In Michigan, legislation was passed with a zero fiscal
note; in Minnesota, the benefit garnered "no cost, it was passed
by statute," and the most recent state was Utah in 2015, with an
indeterminate or zero fiscal note. He offered to provide
further research.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO surmised that the bill covers all police
officers and firefighters in the state who are members of PERS;
contract negotiations would cover those employees within the
state bargaining units, such as troopers, or within a municipal
bargaining unit for police officers. Thus, the bill guarantees
that a [qualified] employee in the PERS system, at a municipal
or state level, would receive a health benefit without further
negotiation, with the exception of Village Public Service
Officers (VPSOs).
MR. METCALF agreed, and pointed out that although PSEA
represents municipal police departments, as well as state police
officers, some municipalities are not represented by collective
bargaining, and the bill extends the benefit to members of PERS.
CHAIR OLSON asked whether the City of Kenai was represented by
PSEA.
MR. METCALF said no. In further response to Chair Olson,
related to an incident in the past, he said the bill would
provide for others affected in a similar manner.
11:44:25 AM
SHAUN KUZAKIN, Alaska State Trooper, Division of Alaska State
Troopers, DPS, and Southeast vice president, Public Safety
Employees Association (PSEA), informed the committee that VPSOs
are not state employees, but are trained at the Department of
Public Safety Training Academy. Mr. Kazukin said that VPSOs are
employed by regional corporations.
CHAIR OLSON said he was told that VPSOs in Barrow are covered by
PERS.
MR. KUZAKIN deferred the question to DPS. He added that VPSOs
are not certified by the Alaska Police Standards Council, DPS,
as all other peace officers are and do not have a badge. Some
are armed by authorizations through regional corporations.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON clarified that Point Hope has its own
highly-trained police force whose members work for the North
Slope Borough and are PERS employees. In [NANA Regional
Corporation Inc.] region, there are troopers, the Kotzebue
Police Department, and VPSOs. He said he is convinced that the
greater issue concerning VPSOs should be considered during
interim.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX stated that although VPSOs would not be
affected by HB 4002, there are other VPSO employment problems
that need attention.
CHAIR OLSON said he would not disagree, and the issue needs to
be addressed.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX opined the issue does not need to be
addressed "in the context of this bill."
11:48:00 AM
The committee took an at ease from 11:48 a.m. to 11:52 a.m.
11:52:25 AM
BRAD WILSON, Business Manager, Alaska Correctional Officers
Association, spoke in favor of the bill on behalf of all
correctional officers. Along with all police officers, at
certain times correctional officers deal with combative
individuals and must respond. This is a very important bill
that will protect families by providing the insurance they need.
CHAIR OLSON asked about accidental death benefits that are
provided through the collective bargaining process.
MR. WILSON said correctional officers are "consistent" with
others regarding benefits.
CHAIR OLSON spoke on an unrelated matter regarding blood borne
pathogens.
There followed discussion regarding upcoming public testimony.
11:56:42 AM
CHAIR OLSON announced HB 4002 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB4002 Supporting Documents-Occupational Deaths, SOA and PoliSubs 06-01-16.pdf |
HL&C 6/3/2016 11:00:00 AM |
HB4002 |
| HB4002 Supporting Documents-Assorted emails and letters 06-02-16.pdf |
HL&C 6/3/2016 11:00:00 AM |
HB4002 |