Legislature(2009 - 2010)CAPITOL 120
04/13/2009 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR10 | |
| HB213 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 213 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SJR 10 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
April 13, 2009
1:12 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jay Ramras, Chair
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom, Vice Chair
Representative John Coghill
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Lindsey Holmes
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Max Gruenberg
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE JOINT RESOULTION NO. 10
Urging the United States Congress to adopt S. 371, the
Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of
2009.
- MOVED SJR 10 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 213
"An Act relating to contributions, interest, penalties, and
payments under the Alaska Employment Security Act; and providing
for an effective date."
- MOVED HB 213 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SJR 10
SHORT TITLE: ADOPT S. 371 IN CONGRESS
SPONSOR(S): SENATOR(S) THOMAS
02/27/09 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/27/09 (S) JUD
03/13/09 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
03/13/09 (S) -- MEETING CANCELED --
03/16/09 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
03/16/09 (S) Moved SJR 10 Out of Committee
03/16/09 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/18/09 (S) JUD RPT 4DP
03/18/09 (S) DP: FRENCH, THERRIAULT, WIELECHOWSKI,
MCGUIRE
03/27/09 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
03/27/09 (S) VERSION: SJR 10
03/30/09 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/30/09 (H) JUD
04/13/09 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
BILL: HB 213
SHORT TITLE: UNEMPLOYMENT AMENDMENTS: TRIBES/NPO
SPONSOR(S): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
04/01/09 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/01/09 (H) L&C, JUD
04/08/09 (H) L&C REFERRAL WAIVED
04/13/09 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
SENATOR JOE THOMAS
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SJR 10.
JOSEPH HARDENBROOK, Staff
Senator Joe Thomas
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of the sponsor, Senator Thomas,
provided a comment during discussion of SJR 10.
GUY BELL, Assistant Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Along with Dr. Nelson, presented HB 213 on
behalf of the governor, sponsor by request.
THOMAS W. NELSON, D.Ed., Director
Central Office
Division of Employment Security
Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Along with Mr. Bell, presented HB 213 on
behalf of the governor, sponsor by request.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:12:25 PM
CHAIR JAY RAMRAS called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:12 p.m. Representatives Ramras, Lynn,
Holmes, Dahlstrom, and Coghill were present at the call to
order.
SJR 10 - ADOPT S. 371 IN CONGRESS
1:12:35 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the first order of business would be
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10, Urging the United States
Congress to adopt S. 371, the Respecting States Rights and
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009.
1:12:44 PM
SENATOR JOE THOMAS, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, explained
that SJR 10 urges passage of the federal Respecting States
Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 - S. 371 -
which would establish a nationwide reciprocity agreement for
carrying concealed firearms. Such nationwide reciprocity would
allow a citizen who is permitted to carry a concealed firearm in
his/her own state to do so in other states with similar laws,
though the person must follow the laws of the state in which
he/she is traveling, including laws restricting the carrying of
firearms in certain locations; furthermore, under S. 371, anyone
who is prohibited by federal law from carrying a firearm would
continue to be so prohibited. Many states currently offer
reciprocity agreements with other states that have similar laws,
but such agreements can change or lapse, making it difficult for
the bearer of a concealed firearm to keep track of which states
offer reciprocity. Passage of the federal legislation would
ensure that Alaskans could enjoy the same rights as residents in
other states with concealed carry laws. In conclusion, Senator
Thomas urged support of SJR 10 and Alaskans' Second Amendment
right.
1:14:59 PM
JOSEPH HARDENBROOK, Staff, Senator Joe Thomas, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Senator Thomas, added
that the House Judiciary Standing Committee is SJR 10's sole
committee of referral in the House.
1:15:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM moved to report SJR 10 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, SJR 10 was reported from the
House Judiciary Standing Committee.
HB 213 - UNEMPLOYMENT AMENDMENTS:TRIBES/NPO
[Contains brief discussion of SB 178, the Senate companion bill
to HB 213, and SB 170, the Senate bill into which the language
of SB 178 was inserted.]
1:16:20 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 213, "An Act relating to contributions, interest,
penalties, and payments under the Alaska Employment Security
Act; and providing for an effective date."
1:16:54 PM
GUY BELL, Assistant Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD), explained
that passage of HB 213 is required in order for the State to
comply with the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA).
1:17:43 PM
THOMAS W. NELSON, D.Ed., Director, Central Office, Division of
Employment Security, Department of Labor & Workforce Development
(DLWD), added that Alaska is part of a nationwide unemployment
insurance system, and has agreed to operate its program in
conformance with federal law - specifically 26 U.S.C. 3304 - and
regulations for the administration of the unemployment insurance
program. In order to be in compliance with the FUTA, Alaska
must now also cover services performed by employees of tribal
entities, and must give federally-recognized tribes the choice
of becoming reimbursable employers for purposes of paying
unemployment insurance taxes. Alaska has always covered
employees of federally-recognized tribal entities, but currently
only those entities on the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
list of Native entities eligible for services from the U.S.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are to be offered this choice,
and there are a total of 229 Alaska Native entities on the DOI's
latest list [included in members' packets] dated April 4, 2008.
DR. NELSON explained that if such an entity chooses this
reimbursement method, the entity would be subject to more
stringent rules such as having to pay 100 percent of
unemployment insurance benefits and 100 percent of extended
benefits, would be under additional scrutiny for late payments,
and would be required to post a surety bond. Because of this,
it may not benefit a Native entity to select this option, but
the department is prepared to work with each of them, one-on-
one, to layout the tax history and current tax rate that each
employer has so that the entity can make informed choices. If
State law conforms to federal requirements, [contributory]
employers in Alaska would continue to receive an annual FUTA
credit totaling 5.4 percent, currently valued at approximately
$111 million, and Alaska would continue to receive its "base
fund" to administer the unemployment insurance program - [this
base fund] is currently valued at approximately $20 million.
Dr. Nelson, in response to questions, said that [the bill] was
prepared before the start of the legislative session but
required modification before its introduction, and that it has
an immediate effective date.
1:21:14 PM
MR. BELL, in response to questions, said that there is a Senate
companion bill - [SB 178]; that the text of that companion bill
has been added to another piece of legislation - [SB 170]; that
the administration supports [HB 213] as a stand-alone [bill];
that the component now in [SB 170] that would enable the State
to comply with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA) is not supported by the administration; and that SB
170 passed the Senate this morning.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL surmised that SB 170 would be referred to
the HFIN committee.
DR. NELSON, in response to further questions, said that Alaska
has been out of compliance [with the FUTA] for several years;
that from the perspective of the unemployment insurance program,
[HB 213's proposed changes] are primarily housekeeping changes,
addressing a method of registering federally-recognized entities
so as to be able to pay the appropriate taxes, and clarifying
the definitions of the term "employer"; that the proposed
changes won't give entities an unfair business advantage or
affect their current tax rates or require them to become
reimbursable employers. The analysis done thus far shows that
the majority of entities would benefit from remaining
contributory employers, since they currently only pay 76 percent
of the benefits, with the remainder being borne by the
employee's contributions.
1:25:02 PM
MR. BELL, in response to further questions, said that HB 213 is
completely neutral from a tax collection perspective. The
unemployment insurance program is supported entirely by
employers and employees, with the funding being maintained by
the federal government and kept solvent by taxes paid into the
fund; the State administers the program, but it's based on
federal laws. Again, HB 213 allows Alaska to comply with
federal law. There are two methods of paying unemployment
insurance: one is through paying a tax applicable to private
employers and most other entities, and the other is to be a
reimbursable employer, which requires the employer to become
self insured, reimbursing the system for actual benefits paid to
employees that worked last for that employer.
DR. NELSON, in response to more questions, said that local
political subdivisions and private nonprofit corporations are
also reimbursable employers; some examples include Nine Star
Enterprises, Inc., Southeast Regional Resource Center (SERRC),
and Adult Learning Programs of Alaska.
MR. BELL clarified that such entities have the option of being
self insured, but, again, a number of employers may choose not
to be self insured because they would then be liable for 100
percent of the benefits, so generally it can often be less
expensive to "go on to a tax rate" [as a contributory employer].
DR. NELSON, in response to questions, reiterated portions of his
earlier explanation, adding that contributory employers would
pay, up front, a rate based on their history of employee
turnover. In response to further questions, he concurred that
compliance with the FUTA as it relates to federally-recognized
tribal entities would protect the whole FUTA system for all
Alaskan employers.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL characterized the aforementioned DOI's
list of Alaska's federally-recognized tribal entities as well
established.
1:34:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM moved to report HB 213 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 213 was reported from the
House Judiciary Standing Committee.
The committee took an at-ease from 1:35 p.m. to 1:39 p.m.
CHAIR RAMRAS noted that in the committee room later on in the
day there would be a [caucus] meeting between a representative
of the DOL and Bush caucus members to discuss the issue of
monopolies and duopolies [as they pertain to fuel pricing] in
rural Alaska, and that members of the House Judiciary Standing
Committee are invited to attend.
1:40:07 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:40 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB192 HJUD Pkt. 4.13.09.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 192 |
| HB2123BillPacket.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB2123 |
| SB96 HJUD Pkt 4.13.08.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2009 1:00:00 PM |
SB 96 |
| HB36 HJUD Pkt. 4.13.09.pdf |
HFIN 3/15/2010 1:30:00 PM HFIN 3/16/2010 9:00:00 AM HJUD 4/13/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 36 |
| HB21326GH1045A.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB2132 |
| SJR10BillPacket.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2009 1:00:00 PM |