04/08/1998 03:15 PM House L&C
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HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
April 8, 1998
3:15 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Norman Rokeberg, Chairman
Representative John Cowdery, Vice Chairman
Representative Jerry Sanders
Representative Joe Ryan
Representative Tom Brice
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Bill Hudson
Representative Gene Kubina
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 34
Establishing a Joint Committee on Electric Utility Restructuring.
- MOVED CSHCR 34(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 235(FIN)
"An Act extending the termination date of the Board of Certified
Real Estate Appraisers."
- MOVED CSSB 235(FIN) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 268
"An Act relating to the assignment to the Department of Labor of
certain wage claims; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED SB 268 OUT OF COMMITTEE
(* First public hearing)
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HCR 34
SHORT TITLE: JT COM ON ELEC UTILITY RESTRUCTURING
SPONSOR(S): LABOR & COMMERCE
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
03/30/98 2788 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
03/30/98 2788 (H) LABOR & COMMERCE
04/06/98 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 17
BILL: SB 235
SHORT TITLE: BOARD OF CERTIFIED REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS
SPONSOR(S): LABOR & COMMERCE
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/14/98 2194 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/14/98 2194 (S) L&C, FIN
01/27/98 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP RM 203
01/27/98 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
02/10/98 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP RM 203
02/10/98 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
02/11/98 2479 (S) L&C RPT 3DP
02/11/98 2479 (S) DP: LEMAN, HOFFMAN, MILLER
02/11/98 2479 (S) ZERO FISCAL NOTE (DCED)
03/11/98 (S) FIN AT 9:30 AM SENATE FINANCE 532
03/12/98 (S) RLS AT 12:00 PM FAHRENKAMP RM 203
03/12/98 (S) MINUTE(RLS)
03/12/98 2839 (S) FIN RPT CS 6DP 1NR SAME TITLE
03/12/98 2839 (S) DP: SHARP, PHILLIPS, PARNELL,
TORGERSON
03/12/98 2839 (S) DONLEY, PEARCE NR: ADAMS
03/12/98 2840 (S) PREVIOUS ZERO FN (DCED)
03/19/98 2895 (S) RULES TO CALENDAR 3/19/98
03/19/98 2896 (S) READ THE SECOND TIME
03/19/98 2896 (S) FIN CS ADOPTED UNAN CONSENT
03/19/98 2896 (S) ADVANCED TO THIRD READING UNAN
CONSENT
03/19/98 2896 (S) READ THE THIRD TIME CSSB 235(FIN)
03/19/98 2896 (S) PASSED Y15 N- E5
03/19/98 2901 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
03/20/98 2673 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
03/20/98 2673 (H) L&C, FINANCE
04/08/98 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 17
BILL: SB 268
SHORT TITLE: WAGE CLAIM ASSIGNMENTS TO DEPT. OF LABOR
SPONSOR(S): LABOR & COMMERCE BY REQUEST
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
01/28/98 2334 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/28/98 2334 (S) L&C, JUD
02/24/98 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM FAHRENKAMP RM 203
02/24/98 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
02/25/98 2645 (S) L&C RPT 4DP
02/25/98 2645 (S) DP: LEMAN, KELLY, MACKIE, HOFFMAN
02/25/98 2645 (S) ZERO FISCAL NOTE (LABOR)
03/20/98 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ ROOM 211
03/20/98 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
03/23/98 2944 (S) JUD RPT 2DP 1NR
03/23/98 2944 (S) DP: TAYLOR, PEARCE; NR: PARNELL
03/23/98 2944 (S) PREVIOUS ZERO FN (LABOR)
03/24/98 (S) RLS AT 11:45 AM FAHRENKAMP RM 203
03/24/98 (S) MINUTE(RLS)
03/25/98 2989 (S) RULES TO CALENDAR 3/25/98
03/25/98 2990 (S) READ THE SECOND TIME
03/25/98 2991 (S) ADVANCED TO THIRD READING UNAN
CONSENT
03/25/98 2991 (S) READ THE THIRD TIME SB 268
03/25/98 2991 (S) PASSED Y20 N-
03/25/98 2991 (S) EFFECTIVE DATE(S) SAME AS PASSAGE
03/25/98 2996 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
03/26/98 2746 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
03/26/98 2746 (H) LABOR & COMMERCE
04/08/98 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 17
WITNESS REGISTER
MIKE PAULEY, Legislative Assistant
to Senator Loren Leman
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 123
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 465-3841
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 235.
ANNETTE KREITZER, Legislative Assistant
to Senator Loren Leman
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 113
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 465-3844
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered question on SB 235; presented SB 268.
AL DWYER, Director
Division of Labor Standards and Safety
Department of Labor
P.O. Box 21149
Juneau, Alaska 99802-1149
Telephone: (907) 465-4855
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 268.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 98-46, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIRMAN NORMAN ROKEBERG called the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. Members present
at the call to order were Representatives Rokeberg, Cowdery,
Sanders, Ryan and Brice.
HCR 34 - JT COM ON ELEC UTILITY RESTRUCTURING
Number 0130
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG announced the committee's first order of business
would be HCR 34, Establishing a Joint Committee on Electric Utility
Restructuring.
REPRESENTATIVE JERRY SANDERS made a motion to rescind the
committee's action on the proposed committee substitute for HCR 34
[April 6, 1998]. There being no objections, it was so ordered.
Number 0138
REPRESENTATIVE TOM BRICE made a motion to move to HCR 34 out of
committee as amended, with individual recommendations and any
fiscal notes.
Number 0150
REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS objected for discussion. He thanked the
chairman for his indulgence in allowing the committee to hold HCR
34 shortly, noting the motion had passed but the chairman had
backed up and allowed the members to vote. With that comment,
Representative Sanders withdrew his objection.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked to make a short statement before the
objection was withdrawn. He stated, "As this bill does move
through, I hope that we can provide a little bit more thought
though into possibly allowing some form of industry representation
on this committee that this legislation seeks to establish, as well
as possibly extending the length of time. It is a complicated
issue, but I would just encourage the chair to continue to look at
those issues."
Number 0230
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG assured Representative Brice if the chairman has
any part, the industry will be more than adequately represented in
any way, shape or form. There being no further objection, CSHCR
34(L&C) moved out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee.
[IT APPEARS FROM TAPED TESTIMONY CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG CALLED A BRIEF
AT EASE AT THIS POINT BUT THIS WAS NOT INDICATED IN THE TAPE LOG
NOTES]
CSSB 235(FIN) - BOARD OF CERTIFIED REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS
Number 0270
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG announced the committee's next order of business
was CSSB 235(FIN), "An Act extending the termination date of the
Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers."
Number 0285
MIKE PAULEY, Legislative Assistant to Senator Loren Leman, came
forward to testify. He stated SB 235 simply extends the
termination date for the Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers
(BCREA). The board was created in 1990 after enactment of the
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act
guidelines of 1989, which required all appraisals in connection
with federally-related transactions to be performed by state-
licensed or state-certified appraisers.
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked Mr. Pauley to briefly comment on the
January 7, 1998, legislative audit, indicating the audit had
apparently not been addressed by the Senate Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee.
MR. PAULEY said he had not reviewed the audit report, noting he had
only recently received responsibility for this legislation.
Number 0390
ANNETTE KREITZER, Legislative Assistant to Senator Loren Leman,
came forward to testify. She commented she had reviewed the audit,
stating there were things the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee did consider in that audit. Ms. Kreitzer said the
committee held the bill for two weeks to allow the Real Estate
Commission the opportunity to come up with any amendments the
commission felt necessary. The commission did not do this and the
Senate House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee moved the bill.
Number 0439
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE drew the chairman's attention to page 7,
paragraph 3, of the audit, "In our view the BCREA serves a public
purpose, is operating in an efficient and effective manner, and
continues to propose changes to statutes and regulations to remain
in compliance with federal mandates." Representative Brice made a
motion to move CSSB 235(FIN) out of committee with individual
recommendations and zero fiscal note. There being no objections,
it was so ordered.
SB 268 - WAGE CLAIM ASSIGNMENTS TO DEPT. OF LABOR
Number 0489
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG announced the committee's next order of business
was SB 268, "An Act relating to the assignment to the Department of
Labor of certain wage claims; and providing for an effective date."
Number 0505
ANNETTE KREITZER, Legislative Assistant to Senator Loren Leman,
came forward to testify. She stated that currently under AS
23.05.220(c), the Department of Labor (DOL) is authorized to accept
claims of unpaid wages in amounts up to $5,000. These are claims
for unpaid last paychecks, failures to pay entirely, or failure to
pay amounts due by contract. Such claims are often settled
administratively, but when that is not possible the department
files the matter in small claims court. She stated it is just
$5,000 the way the current statute is written, noting legislation
last year increased the small claims limit to $7,500 (chapter 33,
SLA 1997). In the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee she
stated there was a question about the DOL being essentially a
collection agency for the state. She referred to a letter in the
committee members' packets from the DOL commissioner's office
speaking to that issue to satisfy the concerns of the Senate Labor
and Commerce Standing Committee. She stated the DOL does not, and
is not statutorily authorized, to collect a fee, and no one from
the Senate committee addressed any further concerns after receipt
of the DOL's letter. The March 2, 1998, letter from Dwight
Perkins, Special Assistant, DOL, reads:
During the Department of Labor's February 24th testimony
on SB 268, Senator Kelly asked if the department charged
a fee for collection wages owed to employees. The answer
is "no."
AS 23.05.060(4) specifically prohibits the Department of
Labor from charging employees for instituting court
proceeding against an employer, and there is no authority
in Chapter 23 statutes to charge a fee to the employer.
Under AS 23.05.190, the Department is required to
investigate possible violations and institute actions for
penalties. In addition to the actual wages collected,
all civil penalties are paid to the employee.
AS 23.05.210 states, "The attorney general may prosecute
a civil case arising under this chapter that is referred
to the attorney general by the department for that
purpose." Both the Department of Labor and the
Department of Law agree that rather than tie up the
Attorney General's office, Small Claims Court should be
utilized whenever possible. However, AS 23.05.220(c)
limits acceptable claims to $5,000 or less. The Small
Claims Court's maximum is now $7,500; hence this bill
would allow the Department of Labor to gain the maximum,
and most-cost efficient use of Small Claims Court.
Number 0595
REPRESENTATIVE JOE RYAN asked how much this was in excess of the
maximum amount and how much the DOL was going to collect.
MS. KREITZER indicated the amount in excess would be $2,500, up to
the small claims limit of $7,500.
Number 0609
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG added that he would suspect that is because the
legislature adopted (indisc.) to move that limit up, and so if
there is any further adjustments in that rate, this remedial
legislation would not be necessary. He asked Ms. Kreitzer if that
was correct.
MS. KREITZER answered in the affirmative.
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG asked if Mr. Dwyer had anything to add.
Number 0623
AL DWYER, Director, Division of Labor Standards and Safety,
Department of Labor, replied he could not add anything to what had
been said.
Number 0648
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE made a motion to move SB 268 out of committee
with individual recommendations and zero fiscal note. There being
no objection, it was so ordered.
ADJOURNMENT
Number 0678
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG adjourned the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting at 3:25 p.m.
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