Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
04/05/2012 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB351 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s): Alaska Public Offices Commission | |
| SCR17 | |
| SB53 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | SCR 17 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 351 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 53 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 53-COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
9:46:50 AM
VICE CHAIR KELLER announced that the final order of business was
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 53(FIN), "An Act reestablishing the
Alaska Commission on the Status of Women; and relating to the
purpose and powers of the Alaska Human Relations Commission."
9:46:54 AM
SENATOR BETTYE DAVIS, Alaska State Legislature, introduced SB 53
as sponsor.
9:47:36 AM
CELESTE HODGE, Staff, Senator Bettye Davis, Alaska State
Legislature, presented SB 53 on behalf of Senator Davis,
sponsor. In reference to her more in-depth presentation of SB
53 given to the House State Affairs Standing Committee [on
4/3/12], Ms. Hodge summarized that staggering statistics
regarding the high rate of female victims of sexual assault and
domestic violence in Alaska support the need to reestablish the
Alaska Women's Commission.
9:48:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG emphasized his support of SB 53.
9:48:53 AM
ARLISS STURGULEWSKI noted that she served in the Alaska State
Legislature just shortly after the original legislation was
passed in 1978, and was there for its reactivation. She said
she was sorry to see the bill [sunset]. She stated that there
are real issues in foster child care and in the number of high
school students that are dropping out. She said there is a
strong economic divide between rural and urban Alaska, and she
opined there is a real need for a commission that can do special
studies, consider major issues, and distribute information to
people. She asked the committee to support the proposed
legislation, and she emphasized the need for funding so that
people can do outreach throughout the state.
9:51:47 AM
BARBARA BELKNAP, Vision 2020, said she was present as one of two
delegates to Vision 2020, which is a Drexel University College
of Medicine program seeking to achieve equality for women by
2020 in the following specific areas: to increase the number of
women in senior leadership positions in American life; to
achieve pay equity; to educate employers about the value of
policies and practices that enable men and women to share fairly
their family responsibilities; to educate new generations of
girls and boys to respect their differences; and to mobilize
women to vote.
MS. BELKNAP said she remembers that a couple months after the
Alaska Commission on the Status of Women shut its doors during
the administration of former governor Walter J. Hickel, women
from around the state gathered during a conference at Centennial
Hall and stayed afterwards to discuss the governor's decision.
From that meeting came two ideas: a web site that connects
women across the state, called the Alaska Women's Network (AWN),
and a writers' journal for Alaska Women, called Alaska Women
Speak. She said she was one of the co-founders for the network,
as well as its president for many years, and she is a
contributor to the journal. She said that while both were good
vehicles for communicating across the vast state, they could not
replace an official women's commission with staff and resources.
She said AWN has many resources, but does not generate new
resources for the women of Alaska. She said women have found a
way to "make it work" until someone in a position of power could
bring the commission back.
MS. BELKNAP said Governor Sean Parnell has made reducing
violence against women one of his top priorities. She said the
Alaska Commission on the Status of Women printed a handbook
regarding criminal law and violence against women, which also
covered adoption, name changes, and other legal matters that
might surface for a woman in Alaska. She mentioned another
report by the former commission that was a statewide study
showing why girls dropped out of school, which she said is still
a timely issue. Ms. Belknap said in addition to updating old
studies, the commission could look at the wage gap between men
and women in Alaska. She said even though it is against federal
law to pay a woman less than a man for the same job,
discrimination occurs in Alaska and impacts the women, their
families, their communities, and the state. She said the Juneau
Economic Development Council's 2011 report on Juneau and
Southeast economic indicators related the wage disparity in
every civilian job and education level. The report stated that
nationally men earned 29 percent more than their female
counterparts in 2009. In Alaska, men earned 37 percent more for
full-time, year-round employment. In Juneau, where one would
expect wage parity, she said, men earned 42 percent more than
their female counterparts. She related that in 1946,
Representative Munoz' grandmother, Thelma Engstrom, introduced
legislation in the Alaska Territorial Legislature for pay equity
between men and women. Ms. Belknap said, "That was 66 years
ago, and we aren't there."
9:56:06 AM
MS. BELKNAP expressed the following as facts: far too many
women get paid less than men for the same jobs, which is
illegal, unfair, and [adversely] impacts the economy; Alaska
leads the country in violence of men against women; and because
the cost of living in Alaska is high, women with low incomes can
get stuck in dangerous relationships, because they cannot afford
to take care of themselves and their children. Ms. Belknap said
pay equity and prevention of violence against women are two of
her interests, and SB 53 encompasses a wide range of women's
issues that need to be addressed. She said there are
approximately 200 state and city women's commissions in the U.S.
She said she is struck by the volunteer work women do in the
state to make Alaska a better place. She stated that the
governor and the legislature can send all Alaskans the message
that the women are valued for the contributions they make in
Alaska. She urged the committee to support SB 53. She
concluded, "No non-profit can do the caliber of work an official
women's commission can do if it is fully funded, nonpartisan,
and supported by the governor and the legislature."
9:58:03 AM
CAREN ROBINSON, Lobbyist, Alaska Women's Lobby (AWL), testified
in support of SB 53. She stated that a women's commission could
provide relevant materials to policy makers in both the
executive and legislative branches of government geared toward
improving the lives of women. Furthermore, a commission could
provide a forum for women across the state to exchange ideas and
strategies for improving their lives. She listed the following
that a women's commission could address going forward: issues
that would bring women voters to the polls and involve them in
the political process; jobs in which young women, ages 16-20,
would be interested and education and skill-building
opportunities for those women; pay equity between men and women;
the reduction of barriers to women's access to health care; and
the economic status of older women. She said AWL would
appreciate the committee's moving forward SB 53.
[SB 53 was held over.]