02/26/2025 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Informational Hearing on Tariffs | |
| HB99 | |
| HB23 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 99 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 23 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
February 26, 2025
3:18 p.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Zack Fields, Co-Chair
Representative Carolyn Hall, Co-Chair
Representative Ashley Carrick
Representative Robyn Niayuq Burke
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Julie Coulombe
Representative David Nelson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): INFORMATIONAL HEARING ON TARIFFS
- HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 99
"An Act relating to the business of money transmission; relating
to licenses for money transmission, licensure requirements, and
registration through a nationwide multistate licensing system;
relating to the use of virtual currency for money transmission;
relating to authorized delegates of a licensee; relating to
acquisition of control of a license; relating to record
retention and reporting requirements; authorizing the Department
of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development to cooperate
with other states in the regulation of money transmission;
relating to permissible investments; relating to violations and
enforcement of money transmission laws; relating to exemptions
to money transmission licensure requirements; relating to
payroll processing services; relating to currency exchange
licenses; amending Rules 79 and 82, Alaska Rules of Civil
Procedure; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 23
"An Act relating to the definition of 'employer' for the
purposes of the State Commission for Human Rights."
- MOVED CSHB 23(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 99
SHORT TITLE: MONEY TRANSMISSION; VIRTUAL CURRENCY
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) FIELDS
02/12/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/12/25 (H) L&C, FIN
02/21/25 (H) L&C AT 9:00 AM BARNES 124
02/21/25 (H) Heard & Held
02/21/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/26/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
BILL: HB 23
SHORT TITLE: APPLICABILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) JOSEPHSON
01/22/25 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25
01/22/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (H) L&C, FIN
02/19/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
02/19/25 (H) Heard & Held
02/19/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/24/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
02/24/25 (H) Heard & Held
02/24/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/26/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
KEVIN BERRY, PhD, Professor
Economics, Institute of Social and Economic Research
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered the Informational Hearing on
Tariffs presentation.
GREG WOLF, Executive Director
International Alaska Business Center
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered the Informational Hearing on
Tariffs presentation.
JESSE GROOME, Vice President
Alaska International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union
Seward, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the Informational
Hearing on Tariffs presentation.
ADAM ATLAS, Advisor
Money Services Business Association
Maryland
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 99.
ADAM FLEISHER, Counsel
The Money Services Round Table
Washington, D.C.
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 99.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:18:36 PM
CO-CHAIR CAROLYN HALL called the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:18 p.m.
Representatives Carrick, Coulombe, Burke, Saddler, Nelson,
Fields, and Hall were present at the call to order.
The committee took a brief at-ease at 3:20 p.m.
^PRESENTATION(S): Informational Hearing on Tariffs
PRESENTATION(S): Informational Hearing on Tariffs
3:20:46 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that the first order of business would
be the Informational Hearing on Tariffs presentation.
3:21:11 PM
KEVIN BERRY, PhD, Assistant Professor, Economics, Institute of
Social and Economic Research (ISER), University of Alaska
Anchorage (UAA), as co-presenter of the Information Hearing on
Tariffs, began a PowerPoint [hard copy included in the committee
file], titled "Tariffs," and gave an overview of recently
proposed, potential and/or enacted tariffs, shown on slide 2,
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Jan 27
•Announced plan for new tariffs on computer chips,
semiconductors and pharmaceuticals
Feb 1
•EO's impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10%
on China
•Suspended Canada and Mexico tariffs for 30 days
(begin Mar 4)
•China tariffs enacted Feb 4
Feb 10
•China retaliated with 10%-15% tariffs on $21.2
billion of US exports
•US expanded national security (Section 232) tariffs
on steel and aluminum, ending all exemptions and
raising tariff on aluminum from 10% to 25% starting
Mar 12
Feb 13
•Presidential memo on plan to increase US tariffs in
retaliation for other countries' tariffs, taxes (VAT
in particular), exchange rates, unfair practices and
non-trade barriers
Feb 14
•Plans for additional tariffs on automobiles (~25%)
and semiconductors and pharmaceuticals (~25%+)
starting April 2
DR. BERRY gave a summary of the impacts of tariffs, as shown on
slide 3, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
•A tariff is a tax on goods produced abroad and sold
domestically
•Tariffs reduce the quantity of imports and move the
domestic market closer to its equilibrium without
trade
•Tariffs can decrease both consumer surplus
(wellbeing) and producer surplus (wellbeing)
•They distort incentives
•They have indirect impacts on domestic production
•Inputs to domestic production get more expensive
•Timeline short term tariffs do not guarantee a
market over payback period
DR. BERRY moved to slide 4, drawing committee members' attention
to a line graph representing the effects of international trade
on domestic supply and demand. He summarized the graph, stating
that, in a world without trade, domestic consumers are "better
off" and domestic producers are "potentially worse off."
3:26:53 PM
DR. BERRY moved to slide 5, drawing committee members' attention
to a line graph representing the effects of imposing a tariff on
domestic supply and demand. He summarized the graph, stating
that typically, domestic consumers respond to higher prices by
consuming less and domestic producers potentially begin to
supply more products. Additionally, he noted that the
government benefits from revenue from import tariffs. He
described "the inefficiency of barriers to trade," noting that
there are trade agreements that do not occur because of tariffs.
DR. BERRY moved to slide 6, drawing committee members' attention
to a line graph representing the effects of autarky, a world
without trade, on domestic supply and demand. He summarized the
graph, stating that domestic consumers are "dramatically worse
off," but domestic producers are "potentially better off." He
pointed out that while domestic producers under an autarky could
create more products sold at a higher price, they still would
face higher costs in accumulating the ingredients for the final
product.
DR. BERRY moved to slide 7, titled, "For tariffs when demand is
more elastic and supply more inelastic there are large decreases
in domestic consumption." He continued to slide 8, drawing
committee members' attention to a line graph representative of
elastic demand and inelastic supply. He made the argument that
tariffs disrupt markets and make people worse off domestically.
He noted that domestic producers producing protected goods may
be protected.
3:30:27 PM
DR. BERRY, in response to Representative Saddler, revisited the
slides he had showed thus far. He asserted that there is always
a welfare cost of tariffs, and that society is always worse off.
He moved to slide 8, noting that "who pays the cost of ...
tariffs, and the size of that loss and wellbeing, is ...
depend[ent] upon how reactive both demand and supply are to
changes in prices." For example, if there are a lot of
substitutes for a particular product, there may be reduced
impact of a tariff.
DR. BERRY provided an overview of reasons for restricting trade,
as shown on slide 9, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
•Protecting domestic jobs
The gains from trade come from comparative
advantage
•National security
Validity depends upon sector (avocados as
national defense?)
•Infant industry argument
Requires government to pick winners, and
difficult to remove protections
•Unfair competition argument
If other countries are subsidizing their
industries, they are subsidizing our consumption
•Protection as a bargaining chip
The threat may not work or we backdown and lose
credibility
3:36:43 PM
DR. BERRY moved to slide 10, drawing the committee members'
attention to two graphs. He explained that the first graph,
labeled "Panel A. Antidumping against China" was representative
of the price of washers, dryers, refrigerators, and dishwashers
the 48 months prior to the imposition of antidumping tariffs and
48 months after the imposition of antidumping tariffs. He
explained that the second graph, labeled "Panel B. Safeguard
tariffs, 2018" was representative of the price of washers,
dryers, refrigerators, and dishwashers the 48 months prior to
the imposition of safeguard tariffs and 48 months after the
imposition of safeguard tariffs.
DR. BERRY moved to slide 11 and gave a summary of the impacts of
washer tariffs, a study from which the two graphs on slide 10
were taken, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Raised the median price of washing machines $86
and clothes dryers by about $92
Domestic brands exercise market power to
increase markups prices
Feds raised $82m/y in tariff revenue
Increased total consumer costs by $1.5b/yr
Increased domestic employment by ~1,500 jobs
Located in ~3 towns in Tennessee, South
Carolina
Cost per job $815,000/year (net of govt revenue)
DR. BERRY moved to slide 12, drawing committee members'
attention to two graphs. The first line graph was
representative of the price of washing machines, relative to the
average price from 2017 to 2024. Period of imposed tariffs and
the tariffs' expiration were labeled on the graph. The graph
was accompanied by a summary of highlights, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Trump raised the tariffs on washing machines by about
9%-pts
• And then the price of laundry equipment rose by about
9%
• This tariff expired, cutting the tariff rate by about
9%-pts
• And then the price of laundry equipment fell by about
9%
DR. BERRY drew committee members' attention to the second line
graph, which was representative of the change in the inflation-
adjusted price of laundry equipment since January 2006. The
period of imposed tariffs on washing machines and the tariffs'
subsequent expiration were labeled on the graph. The graph was
accompanied by a summary of highlights, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
• Over a longer horizon, real laundry equipment prices are
falling.
• This trend was interrupted when Trump raised tariffs on
them.
• And the trend resumed again when those tariffs expired.
DR. BERRY surmised that the cost of tariffs is typically passed
from the exporter through to the importer. In response to
Representative Saddler, he confirmed that the tariffs were
specifically on washing machines, while the additional tariff
covered primarily dryers. In response to Representative Burke,
he confirmed that the cost of dryers increased as a result of
the tariff on washing machines; domestic producers [of dryers]
used their market power to also increase the cost of dryers.
3:44:21 PM
DR. BERRY gave an example of the broader economic impacts of
tariffs, as shown on slide 13, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Imports account for 10% of Core PCE [Personal
Consumption Expenditures Price Index], 6% direct and
4% indirect
25% tariff on Canada & Mexico, 10% China =
inflation impact of 0.5 to 0.8 percentage points
(depending on the markup assumption)
DR. BERRY moved to slide 14, drawing committee members
attention to a table representative of United States
(U.S.) imports at-risk under the current federal
administrations tariff proposals.
3:46:42 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 3:46 p.m.
3:47:24 PM
DR. BERRY, as he moved to slide 14, clarified to Representative
Saddler that the unit on slide 14 was representative of billions
of dollars imported into the U.S. He stated that not only do
tariffs make the final consumption of goods more expensive, but
that [tariffs] also raise of the price of the production of
domestic goods, as many U.S. imports are "inputs it uses to make
things." He then moved to slide 15, drawing committee members'
attention to a table representative of the "state level total
Imports and Exports" by country. He noted that Canada, Mexico,
and China are the largest trading partners for Alaska.
DR. BERRY moved to slide 16, drawing committee members'
attention to two tables, representative of Alaska's imports and
exports. He noted that Alaska exports a lot of minerals,
natural resources, and seafood. Additionally, he reported that
Alaska imports fuel oils, electronics, and machineries used in
resource development. Dr. Berry cited research from a paper,
titled Tariff Pass-Through at the Border and at the Store:
Evidence from US Trade Policy, stating that American products
targeted by retaliatory tariffs are more likely to be those that
are less differentiable, and that Americans are more likely to
bear the burden of import tariffs [imposed by other countries on
the U.S.]. He concluded that America tends to export a few
specific commodities that are not very differentiable and tends
to import inputs into production processes. He concluded that
America does not possess a lot of market power.
DR. BERRY thanked committee members for their time.
3:51:56 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL invited questions from committee members.
3:52:05 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS queried the impact of lumber prices on housing.
He asked how much of the cost of a house constitutes the price
of the lumbar. He further asked what affect an increase in 25
percent of lumber prices would have.
3:52:35 PM
DR. BERRY stated that he has seen estimates that 30 percent of
softwood lumber and 30 percent of appliances are imported, both
of which he labeled as key cost-drivers for the cost of a house.
He further stated that he has seen estimates that the materials
for a house constitute approximately 60 percent of the [total]
cost of a home. He asserted that increased costs of materials
would almost certainly be passed along to the consumer, i.e. the
homebuyer, due to the impacts of global tariffs and America's
limited market power.
3:53:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER requested a summary of the impact of
tariffs on Alaska.
3:53:39 PM
DR. BERRY broadly summarized his presentation by asserting that
Alaska would face a greater cost due to the imposition of
current and proposed federal tariffs, and that Alaska consumers
would face a higher cost for the goods that they consume. He
reminded the committee that Alaska and the U.S. operate in a
global marketplace that depends upon free trade, and that the
imposition of tariffs make markets less efficient.
3:54:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE offered her assumption that higher
tariffs are generally negative for the consumer. She asked if
the former president raised tariffs. She asserted that the cost
of everything has increased in the past four years.
3:55:02 PM
DR. BERRY confirmed that both President Trump and former
President Biden have passed tariffs. He explained that
President Biden [during his 2016-2020 term] maintained some
tariffs put in place during President Trump's first
administration and added new tariffs. He further explained that
the current administration would raise tariffs that already
exist or apply new tariffs.
3:55:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE queried whether President Biden focused
on the same products when applying tariffs. She asked whether
there was overlap between the current and the former
administrations.
3:55:55 PM
DR. BERRY responded that microchips, driven by a "feeling that
the manufacturing of microchips is the future" and potential
military applications with artificial intelligence (AI), have
been a key focus in trade policy for both administrations. He
pointed out one difference, stating that President Trump was
focusing on many new products in addition to microchips.
3:56:45 PM
GREG WOLF, Executive Director/President/CEO, International
Alaska Business Center formerly World Trade Center Alaska, began
by giving a brief history of the International Alaska Business
Center and a brief summary of his professional qualifications.
He asserted that the U.S. was currently in what he classified as
a "tariff war," not a "trade war." He described tariff wars as
short-lived and lose/lose situations, where consumers of
countries on either side bear the financial burden. He
explained that President Trump was imposing import tariffs and
provided an anecdote about Apple iPhones to illustrate how
domestic consumers would pay the cost of the tariff. He claimed
that many people do not understand the true mechanism of
tariffs. He stated that President Trump's assurance that "China
... Mexico ... Canada is gonna send us billions of dollars" was
false.
4:03:22 PM
MR. WOLF echoed Dr. Berry's points regarding additional costs
for Americans and Alaska, stating that tariffs would lead to
higher prices and higher inflation. Mr. Wolf noted that he
works with exporters, ranging in all sizes, who sell their goods
and services overseas. He reported that there are an estimated
300 exporters in Alaska, with close to 70 percent described as
small or medium-size enterprises. He shared that export
companies were concerned about the impact of tariffs on their
overseas markets. He cited retaliatory tariffs from China on
liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, coal, and rare earth
minerals in response to President Trump's increased tariffs. He
shared uncertainty regarding the permanence of tariffs and their
true function - are they bargaining chips, or not? He
additionally shared concerns from Alaska exporters on their
products' competitiveness with the potential increase in or
addition of new tariffs.
4:07:09 PM
MR. WOLF reported that Alaska exported $5.93 billion in goods to
overseas markets in 2024. He stated that Alaska's number one
customer since 2011 has been China, which paid $1.5 billion for
minerals and seafood in 2024. He gave a list of the top five
importers of Alaska goods, which was as follows: China,
Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Canada. Dr. Wolf shared his
concern over the impact of retaliatory tariffs on Alaska when
considering Alaska's top customers.
DR. WOLF reported that President Trump has given his staff until
April 1, 2025, to research global markets. He spoke to blanket
versus targeted tariffs, noting that typically tariffs are
targeted.
4:11:40 PM
DR. WOLF provided an example of the effects of tariffs by
sharing that in 2018, after the federal administration put
tariffs on China, the exports to China decreased by "several
hundred millions [of] dollars."
DR. WOLF asserted that there is a danger that some natural
resources from Alaska may be tariffed twice, because many
minerals, seafood, forest products, and metals found in Alaska
are processed outside of Alaska. He provided an example,
stating that much of the seafood caught in Alaska is sent to
China for processing, and then the final product is sent back to
be sold in Alaska.
4:16:41 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL, after confirming that Dr. Wolf was concluded with
his presentation, invited questions from committee members.
4:17:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COULOMBE said that China uses slave labor and has
no environmental protections. She queried how the U.S. could
compete with China without tariffs, given that "[China is]
making everything [and] industries are disappearing overseas."
4:18:20 PM
MR. WOLF shared that he was not optimistic about a return of
manufacturing to the U.S. He stated that many American
corporations have "offshored" productions to countries overseas.
He emphasized that America, as a capitalist society, aims to
produce a good at the lowest possible price to sell at the
highest possible price to maximize profits. He spoke to the
cost differential on labor from country to country, emphasizing
that its very difficult to compete with laborers from other
countries who provide the same work at a much lower cost than
laborers in the U.S. He continued that one could bring back
manufacturing to the U.S. but would have to prepare for a
significant lifestyle change, such as products tripling or even
quadrupling in cost.
DR. WOLF spoke to other factors that can impact manufacturing,
including utility cost, land cost, or sheer scale of size. He
referenced Representative Coulombe's example of the
manufacturing of iPhones. He explained that one company called
Foxconn makes all of the Apple products and reported that at one
factory he toured, there were 300,000 employees making Apple
products. He concluded by stating that he is not sure it is
completely possible to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
4:22:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER stated that international trade was not a
statewide issue. He queried what the State of Alaska could do
to alleviate the associated problems.
4:23:18 PM
MR. WOLF encouraged all state legislators and the congressional
delegation to pursue an "Alaska-first policy over an America-
first policy." He asserted that occasionally, the national
agenda does not align with the Alaska agenda. He cited
instances when Alaska had sued the federal administration over
policies that have been damaging to Alaska. He cited Alaska's
relationship with China, asserting that while the current
administration does not generally hold favorable views toward
China, China was "Alaska's number one customer," and Alaska has
a positive, friendly relationship with the country.
MR. WOLF additionally stated that Alaska could reestablish
international trade offices in Asia. He explained that Alaska
was the first American state to open a trade office in Japan in
1965, the first American state to open a trade office in Korea
in 1985, and one of the first American states to open a trade
office in Taiwan in 1989. He reported that one of his final
acts while working for Alaska was opening a trade office in
Beijing, China, in 2002. He additionally noted that between
2002 and 2011, exports from Alaska to China grew from $100
million to $1 billion. He argued that India should be a large
trade partner in the future.
DR. WOLF encouraged committee members to consider reestablishing
Alaska's physical presence in key [international trade] markets.
4:27:29 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL thanked the invited presenters. She invited
questions from committee members for the final presenter.
4:28:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE queried the types of materials that come
through the ports in Alaska. She further asked about freight
customers and their supporting industries.
4:28:14 PM
JESSE GROOME, Vice President, Alaska International Longshoremen
and Warehouse Union (AKILWU), replied that they primarily
receive pipe, fracking sand, building supplies, and tourists.
Her said that the primary industries supported by these imports
are the oil and gas industries.
4:28:44 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL asked about the origin of products that go to the
North Slope [Borough] (NSB).
4:29:01 PM
MR. GROOME replied that pipe comes from a variety of countries,
such as South Korea, Italy, Mexico, and Japan. He said that the
fracking sand comes from China. He stated that all of Spenard
Builders Supply (SBS) building materials come from Canada.
CO-CHAIR HALL asked whether there have been any changes in
industry with recent developments and discussion in regard to
tariffs.
MR. GROOME responded that toward the end of 2024, AKILWU saw a
major push for pipe ships and fracking sand ships to come in
before the end of the year. He stated that several ships
scheduled for spring arrival have canceled. He speculated that
many are waiting to see the effects of tariffs.
MR. GROOME, in a response to a follow-up question from Co-Chair
Hall about where the canceled ships were intended to deliver,
responded the NSB.
4:30:41 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:30 p.m. to 4:34 p.m.
HB 99-MONEY TRANSMISSION; VIRTUAL CURRENCY
4:34:07 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 99, "An Act relating to the business of money
transmission; relating to licenses for money transmission,
licensure requirements, and registration through a nationwide
multistate licensing system; relating to the use of virtual
currency for money transmission; relating to authorized
delegates of a licensee; relating to acquisition of control of a
license; relating to record retention and reporting
requirements; authorizing the Department of Commerce, Community,
and Economic Development to cooperate with other states in the
regulation of money transmission; relating to permissible
investments; relating to violations and enforcement of money
transmission laws; relating to exemptions to money transmission
licensure requirements; relating to payroll processing services;
relating to currency exchange licenses; amending Rules 79 and
82, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an
effective date."
CO-CHAIR HALL opened public testimony on HB 99.
4:34:52 PM
ADAM ATLAS, Advisor, Money Services Business Association,
testified in support of HB 99. He stated that he is part of an
association of businesses that include payment processers,
mobile payment companies, and virtual currency exchanges. He
stated that the proposed legislation is based on a model act
developed by the Conference of State Banking Supervisors (CSBS)
and 24 other states that have already adopted law based on this
model law. He stated that HB 99 would provide robust
protections for consumers and states and benefit businesses and
the associated industries. He asserted that customers are
likely to benefit from a consistent framework of protections "in
and around" sending and receiving money. He asserted that HB 99
would allow Alaska-based businesses to expand virtually into
other states by creating common points of reference and common
standards for the payments industry across multiple states. He
offered his belief that the proposed law would encourage
businesses to provide additional services to both business and
consumer residents in Alaska. He stated that consumers benefit
from access to the financial services that are regulated by the
Uniform Money Services Act (UMSA).
MR. ATLAS concluded by asserting that any possible fees imposed
would be set by the state regulator, who is an "expression of
the will of the people." He concluded by stating that the
association he represents supports HB 99 and believes that the
proposed legislation would be good for the people of Alaska, as
well as for the rest of the U.S.
4:39:24 PM
ADAM FLEISHER, Counsel, The Money Services Round Table,
explained that The Money Services Round Table is a consortium
comprising the largest money transmission service providers in
the United States, all of which operate in Alaska. He gave
American Express and MoneyGram as examples. He stated that he
represents numerous companies that engage in payment processing,
bill payments, money orders, et cetera. He echoed the other
speaker, stating that HB 99 is modeled after the Money
Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA), created by CSBS, with
extensive input from regulators and stakeholders. He explained
that MTMA is essentially an updated version of UMSA, upon which
the current Alaska law is based. He stated that the goal of the
model act is a single common regulatory baseline for the
regulation of money transmission companies across the country.
He further explained that money transmission companies are
regulated on a state-by-state basis, with historically diverging
laws. He stated that the goal of the model act is to enable
states to bring laws back into harmonization for the purpose of
regulating money transmission companies effectively,
consistently, predictably, and with the same standards for
compliance and consumer protections. He cited CSBS, asserting
that adoption of the model law is a crucial step in advancing
multi-state harmonization in regulation of the money
transmission industry.
MR. FLEISHER summarized his points by stating that HB 99 would
provide a robust national standard of consumer protection, clear
definitions of regulated and non-regulated activities with
guidelines for reporting, and more efficient state examination
of overseas money transmitters. He concluded by offering his
support for HB 99.
4:43:13 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 4:43 p.m.
4:43:22 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL, after ascertaining that there was no one else who
wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 99.
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that HB 99 was held over.
HB 23-APPLICABILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
4:43:34 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 23, "An Act relating to the definition of
'employer' for the purposes of the State Commission for Human
Rights." [Before the committee, adopted as a working document
on 2/24/25, was the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB
23, Version 34-LS0249\I, A. Radford, 2/21/25 ("Version I").]
4:44:01 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL opened public testimony on HB 23, Version I.
After ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify,
she closed public testimony on HB 23.
4:44:30 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS moved to report CSHB 23, Version 34-LS0249\I, A.
Radford, 2/21/25, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHB 23(L&C) was reported out of the House Labor
and Commerce Standing Committee.
4:45:21 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
4:45 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| House L&C PPT-Impact of Tariffs in AK 2.26.2025.pdf |
HL&C 2/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
Informational Hearing-Impact of Tariffs on Alaska |