Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
03/26/2025 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB97 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 97 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 26, 2025
1:03 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Andrew Gray, Chair
Representative Chuck Kopp, Vice Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid
Representative Genevieve Mina
Representative Jubilee Underwood
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Sarah Vance
Representative Mia Costello
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 97
"An Act relating to theft; relating to organized retail theft;
relating to property crimes; relating to aggravating factors at
sentencing; establishing a statewide marketplace facilitator
sales tax; and establishing the organized retail theft fund in
the general fund."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 97
SHORT TITLE: ORG. RETAIL THEFT/FUND;MKTPLACE SALES TAX
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) FIELDS
02/12/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/12/25 (H) JUD, FIN
02/26/25 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/26/25 (H) Heard & Held
02/26/25 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
03/05/25 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/05/25 (H) Heard & Held
03/05/25 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
03/17/25 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/17/25 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
03/26/25 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
NATE GRAHAM, Staff
Representative Andrew Gray
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a summary of changes to HB 97, on
behalf of Representative Gray.
JOHN SKIDMORE, Deputy Attorney General
Criminal Division
Department of Law
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
97.
EVAN ANDERSON, Staff
Representative Zack Fields
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
97.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:03:47 PM
CHAIR ANDREW GRAY called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:03 p.m. Representatives Underwood, Mina,
Eischeid, Kopp, and Gray were present at the call to order.
HB 97-ORG. RETAIL THEFT/FUND;MKTPLACE SALES TAX
1:04:26 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 97, "An Act relating to theft; relating to
organized retail theft; relating to property crimes; relating to
aggravating factors at sentencing; establishing a statewide
marketplace facilitator sales tax; and establishing the
organized retail theft fund in the general fund."
1:04:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 97, Version 34-LS0109\T, C. Radford,
3/25/25 ("Version T"), as the working document.
REPRESENTATIVE MINA objected.
1:05:29 PM
NATE GRAHAM, Staff, Representative Andrew Gray, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Gray, gave a summary of
changes in Version T from the written explanation of changes
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Section 1:
Conforming Language
Section 2:
Language from HB 106 (GOV) establishes the new crime
of organized theft. A person is guilty of organized
theft if the person commits a felony level theft
(value of over $750) in concert with three or more
other persons who have committed two or more felony
level thefts for the benefit of, at the direction of,
or in association with the group. Organized theft is a
class A felony.
Section 3:
Conforming language, removes lower theft thresholds.
Section 4:
Conforming language, removes lower theft thresholds.
Amends theft in the second degree (class C felony) to
include property that is medical records or other
medical information.
Section 5:
Conforming language, removes lower theft thresholds.
Amends theft in the third degree (class A misdemeanor)
to include the theft of mail.
Section 6:
Language from HB 77. Creates an exemption to the crime
of mail theft for employees of a correctional
facility, juvenile detention facility and juvenile
treatment facility.
Section 7:
Conforming language removes lower theft thresholds.
Section 8:
Conforming language.
Section 9:
Creates the crime of wage theft in the first, second
and third degrees.
Section 10:
Defines "aggregate value"
Section 11:
Creates restitution for wage theft.
Section 12:
Adds organized theft to factors in aggravation.
Section 13:
Applicability statutes
Section 14:
Creates an effective date for section 1-12
1:07:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD, referring to Section 6, asked whether
employees or care providers need a power of attorney to open
mail or whether they would need an exemption to avoid
prosecution under the proposed bill.
1:07:59 PM
JOHN SKIDMORE, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Department of Law (DOL), agreed that DOC would need an
exemption; however, he was unsure whether that exemption is
already in law. He offered to follow up.
1:08:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked whether there were redundancies or
conflicts in the incorporation of HB 106 and HB 77 in Version T.
MR. SKIDMORE said he saw no redundancies or issues in the way
the bills were combined. He pointed out that wage theft was
added into the CS and said he had a chance to consider its
impact, nor had he resolved the interplay between the additional
language about aggregate value and its existing statute.
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked for a follow up.
1:10:35 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 1:10 p.m.
1:11:14 PM
CHAIR GRAY made the following prepared remarks about the added
crime of wage theft:
Wage theft is a serious crime, and it's time our laws
reflect that reality.
According to the Economy Policy Institute, wage theft
costs employees up to $50 billion annually. A figure
that dwarfs losses from more traditionally prosecuted
crimes like robbery, burglary, or car theft. And yet,
wage theft often goes unpunished, and victims rarely
receive the compensation they're owed.
I recently read an article by CBS News which found
that even when workers win their wage theft claims,
more than a third of those cases result in no money
ever recovered leaving hardworking people out in the
cold, despite clear rulings in their favor.
And the consequences are devastating. The average
amount stolen in these cases is just under $1,000 an
amount that might seem small on paper, but is enough
to create financial hardship for working families and
would be a felony if it was considered property.
A lot of people in my community and throughout Alaska
are living paycheck to paycheck. If you're missing
$1,000, what do you say to you landlord. To the
grocery store, to the utility company? You can't just
say, 'My employer didn't pay me, so I can't pay you.'
Whether a worker is paid late by eight months, a year,
or never at all, the outcome is the same: they're out
a paycheck. And for many families, that means falling
behind on rent, skipping meals, or choosing between
medicine and electricity.
With this addition to the legislation, we are saying
clearly: wage theft is theft, and it belongs in the
criminal code.
We're working to ensure that workers who are
victimized by this crime aren't left waiting
indefinitely for justice or left without it
altogether.
This bill will help ensure that when workers are
robbed of their wages, there's a system in place that
not only holds employers accountable but ensure
victims can actually recover what they're owed.
I am happy to bring forth this committee substitute
and begin a long overdue conversation in Alaska about
wage theft.
With that are there any additional questions?
1:13:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked whether other states have enacted
similar laws.
CHAIR GRAY confirmed that the bill was modeled after other
states.
MR. GRAHAM offered to follow up with the states utilizing wage
theft statutes.
1:14:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked whether other departments would be
involved in enforcing or investigating wage theft, such as
Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD).
CHAIR GRAY said he imagined that the DLWD would be intimately
involved with this aspect of the bill.
MR. GRAHAM said DLWD would forward cases to DOL and individuals
could also bring it to the attention of police or the
department.
1:16:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked whether DOL or DLWD had indicated a
need for this in Alaska statutes.
MR. GRAHAM responded that both departments would be providing
insights into the legislation next Wednesday via invited
testimony.
1:17:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked with regard to wage theft, whether
the burden of proof would be placed on the employer.
MR. GRAHAM said the burden would be on the state to prove
intentional misclassification of an employee.
CHAIR GRAY added that employees are often misclassified as an
independent contractor, resulting in a loss of certain benefits.
1:19:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked how wage theft is currently being
enforced and questioned how the bill would impact existing law.
CHAIR GRAY stated that the bill would criminalize the conduct of
wage theft.
MR. GRAHAM confirmed that wage theft is not currently in the
criminal statutes and would be considered a civil matter. He
added that the bill would allow DOL to criminally prosecute
these employers and restitution would be compensate the full
cost as part of a plea or conviction.
CHAIR GRAY explained that currently, recouping lost wages may
take a year in civil court, which ends up victimizing those who
can least afford to push back.
1:22:05 PM
EVAN ANDERSON, Staff, Representative Zack Fields, Alaska State
Legislature, said the folks at Wage and Hour are under resourced
and do not have adequate reach. He said adding wage theft to
the criminal code would give state regulators another tool and
additional recourse for those who have been victimized.
1:23:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA inquired about repeat offenders and asked
whether criminalizing this conduct would impact employee pay.
MR. GRAHAM said if the first offense is less than $1,000, it
would be a Class A misdemeanor, which would move up to a class C
felony if the individual had been convicted on 3 or more
separate occasions in the past 10 years in Alaska or a similar
jurisdiction. Ultimately, it would get progressively worse for
repeat offenders who knowingly withhold or fail to pay
employees.
CHAIR GRAY expressed his hope that establishing the crime of
wage theft would deter employees from engaging in this conduct.
He said the goal is to discourage the crime from being committed
in the first place, not lock people up.
1:25:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP shared an anecdotal example and said he is
interested in hearing from DOL and DLWD to see whether the bill
would "move the needle" on this issue.
CHAIR GRAY added that some of the most vulnerable workers are
seasonal workers because they aren't familiar with state law.
Furthermore, those with a language barrier are particularly easy
to take advantage of. He expressed his hope that the bill would
send a message to employers that this behavior will not be
tolerated.
1:28:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA removed her objection. There being no
further objection, Version T was adopted as the working
document.
CHAIR GRAY announced that CSHB 97, Version T, would be held
over.
1:29:17 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 1:29 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 97 CS JUD Ver T.pdf |
HJUD 3/26/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB 97 Summary of Changes A to T.pdf |
HJUD 3/26/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 97 |