03/14/2023 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB25 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 25 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
March 14, 2023
1:03 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Stanley Wright, Chair
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Cliff Groh
Representative Andrew Gray
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Ben Carpenter
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 25
"An Act relating to eligibility for the permanent fund dividend;
and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 25
SHORT TITLE: PFD ELIGIBILITY UNIFORMED SERVICES
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) STORY
01/19/23 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/9/23
01/19/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/23 (H) STA, MLV, FIN
01/31/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/31/23 (H) Heard & Held
01/31/23 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/16/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/16/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
02/21/23 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/21/23 (H) Moved CSHB 25(STA) Out of Committee
02/21/23 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/22/23 (H) STA RPT CS(STA) NEW TITLE 5DP 1NR
02/22/23 (H) DP: ARMSTRONG, ALLARD, STORY,
CARPENTER, SHAW
02/22/23 (H) NR: C.JOHNSON
03/09/23 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/09/23 (H) Heard & Held
03/09/23 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
03/14/23 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE ANDI STORY
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, gave an overview of HB
25.
SETH WHITTEN, Staff
Representative Andi Story
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 25 on behalf of
Representative Story, prime sponsor.
GENEVIEVE WOJTUSIK, Director
Permanent Fund Division
Department of Revenue
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information relating to HB 25.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:03:38 PM
CHAIR STANLEY WRIGHT called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:03 p.m.
Representatives Gray, Rauscher, Groh, Shaw and Wright were
present at the call to order. Representative Saddler arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HB 25-PFD ELIGIBILITY UNIFORMED SERVICES
1:04:24 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 25, "An Act relating to eligibility for the
permanent fund dividend; and providing for an effective date."
[Before the committee was CSHB 25(STA).]
CHAIR WRIGHT advised the committee that there is a revised
indeterminate fiscal note.
1:05:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ANDI STORY, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, provided an overview of HB 25. She said the bill
provides absence allowance for members of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officers Corps and
the Public Health Service Commissioned Officer Corps when
applying for the permanent fund dividend (PFD). She said CSHB
25(STA) added merchant marines, as well a section on medical
exemptions.
1:06:30 PM
SETH WHITTEN, Staff, Representative Andi Story, Alaska State
Legislature, said he had overestimated a figure in a question
posed at the last meeting regarding the cost impact the changes
would have on individual dividends. Using the 2022 dividend of
$3,284 as an example, he had advised that it would cost $4 for
every 100 additional people added to the dividend.
Subsequently, he checked the figure with the Legislative Finance
Division, who advised that the actual impact per 100 new
applicants would be $.52 cents rather than $4.00.
1:07:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER queried Representative Story about page
4, line 7, of the bill. The language states that: "Section 3.
AS 43.23.011 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
(d)An otherwise eligible individual may apply for a current year
dividend after March 31 and before October 1 of that year." He
asked what the genesis was of the language "and before October
1."
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said the language is from an amendment she
had worked on with Representative Shaw. She shared a
hypothetical scenario where a person experiences a medical
emergency and is unable to apply for the dividend before March
31.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER relayed his understanding that existing
statute already provides that if a parent or guardian does not
apply for a PFD on behalf of their child, the child can apply
for retroactive dividends upon turning 18. He said he is unsure
how the proposed language in Section 3 melds with existing law.
1:09:35 PM
MR. WHITTEN responded that the proposed section deals with
dependents, in that the language allows the parent or guardian
to file on the dependent's behalf in the case of a medical
emergency preventing the dependent from filing before March 31.
1:10:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked Representative Story about the long-
term PFD eligibility for members of public health service. He
relayed his understanding that deployment in public health "is a
voluntary thing," and said that once a person is hired, they are
not forced to relocate. He posed a hypothetical scenario: A
person is hired by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
in Alaska; there are no FDA jobs in the state but there are
positions in Wisconsin, and the person then works out of state
for decades. He stressed that his main concern is individuals
receiving dividend payments over a long period of time while
never stepping foot in Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY offered her understanding that Legislative
Legal Services is looking into the matter.
1:12:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER suggested that Ms. Wojtusik from the
Permanent Fund Dividend Division might be able to answer
Representative Gray's question.
1:12:39 PM
GENEVIEVE WOJTUSIK, Director, Permanent Fund Division,
Department of Revenue, confirmed that Representative Saddler is
referring to the five-year rule. In referring to an earlier
line of questioning, she noted regulation around retroactive
PFDs for 18-20 years of age whose parent or guardian did not
file for them: 15 AAC 23.133. She also noted existing
regulation on medical conditions as it relates to PFD
applications: 15 AAC 23.123. She said she is unsure whether the
proposed language is in addition to, or competes with, existing
law. She mentioned that the five-year rule falls under AS
43.23.008(d), which read as follows:
(d) After an individual has been absent from the
state for more than 180 days in each of the five
preceding qualifying years, the department shall
presume that the individual is no longer a state
resident. The individual may rebut this presumption by
providing clear and convincing evidence to the
department that
(1) the individual was physically present in the
state for at least 30 cumulative days during the past
five years; and
(2) the individual is a state resident as defined
in AS 43.23.295.
1:14:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said she will investigate whether the
language conflicts and determine if any changes need to be made.
1:15:23 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT set an amendment deadline for Wednesday, March 15,
at 4 p.m.
[HB 25 was held over.]
1:15:47 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CSHB 25 Fiscal Note DOR-PFD 2.24.23.pdf |
HMLV 3/14/2023 1:00:00 PM |
HB 25 |