04/27/2004 03:50 PM House L&C

HB  94-OVERTIME PAY FOR AIRLINE EMPLOYEES                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ANDERSON  announced that the  next order of  business would                                                               
be HOUSE  BILL NO. 94, "An  Act exempting flight crew  members of                                                               
certain air carriers from overtime pay requirements."                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Number 1548                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM moved to adopt  CSHB 94, Version D dated                                                               
4/23/04,  as the  working document.   There  being no  objection,                                                               
Version D was before the committee.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ANDERSON highlighted that HB 94  is the companion to SB 54,                                                               
which exempted flight  crews from the [Alaska] Wage  and Hour Act                                                               
per the  request of  flight crews.   Last year  SB 54  passed the                                                               
legislature with a  unanimous vote.  He explained  that Version D                                                               
of HB  94 removes the language  that was already passed  in SB 54                                                               
and inserts language to establish the  effective date of SB 54 as                                                               
January 1,  2000.   The aforementioned  will preserve  many small                                                               
airlines in  rural Alaska from  costly legal  action.  This  is a                                                               
major  policy  call and  Version  D  would merely  establish  the                                                               
effective date  of the  policy.  Chair  Anderson noted  that this                                                               
legislation was  brought forward upon  the request of  some rural                                                               
airlines.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Number 1633                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD related his  understanding that the rural                                                               
airlines wanted this  policy to be retroactive  because there was                                                               
a class action  lawsuit that was won by an  employee.  Therefore,                                                               
passage   of  [Version   D]  would   make  the   result  of   the                                                               
aforementioned lawsuit moot.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  ANDERSON  said  he  couldn't   answer  the  question,  and                                                               
therefore he  said he  would have  one of  the requestors  of the                                                               
legislation  speak  to Representative  Crawford's  understanding.                                                               
He announced  that CSHB 94 would  be held over.   Chair Anderson,                                                               
in response to Representative Dahlstrom,  explained that in SB 54                                                               
in the Twenty-First Alaska State  Legislature, the effective date                                                               
wasn't included.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD  said he  believes that in  SB 54  in the                                                               
Twenty-First  Alaska State  Legislature  there  was an  immediate                                                               
effective date and  the decision was not to  make the legislation                                                               
retroactive.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
[HB 94 was held over.]