Legislature(2019 - 2020)DAVIS 106
03/18/2020 07:45 PM House RULES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB308 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 308 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RULES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 18, 2020
7:48 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Chuck Kopp, Chair
Representative Jennifer Johnston, Vice Chair
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative DeLena Johnson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 308
"An Act relating to unemployment benefits during a period of
state or national emergency resulting from a novel coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak; and providing for an effective
date."
BILL: HB 308
SHORT TITLE: UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR COVID-19
SPONSOR(s): LABOR & COMMERCE
- MOVED HB 308 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 308
SHORT TITLE: HB 308-UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR COVID-19
SPONSOR(s): HOUSE LABOR & COMMERCE
03/18/20 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/18/20 (H) RLS
03/18/20 (H) RLS WAIVD PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE, RULE
23 - UC
03/18/20 (H) RLS AT 07:45 PM DAVIS 106
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE IVY SPOHNHOLZ
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 308 on behalf of the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee, sponsor.
PATSY WESCOTT, Director
Division of Employment and Training Services
Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
308.
LENNON WELLER, Actuary
Research and Analysis
Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
308.
TRISTAN WALSH, Staff
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
308.
DAN WAYNE, Attorney
Legislative Legal Services
Legislative Affairs Agency
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on HB
308.
ACTION NARRATIVE
7:48:44 PM
CHAIR CHUCK KOPP called the House Rules Standing Committee
meeting to order at 7:48 p.m. Representatives Edgmon, Johnston,
Thompson, and Kopp were present at the call to order.
Representatives Stutes, Johnson, and Pruitt arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
HB 308-UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR COVID-19
7:49:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP announced that the only order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 308, "An Act relating to unemployment
benefits during a period of state or national emergency
resulting from a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak;
and providing for an effective date."
7:50:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE IVY SPOHNHOLZ, Alaska State Legislature,
presented HB 308 on behalf of the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee, sponsor. She stated that COVID-19 [a novel
coronavirus disease] is both a public health and an economic
emergency for Alaskans; in just a few short weeks it has spread
to many countries and to Alaska - with nine confirmed cases in
Alaska at this point in time. She relayed the many impacts to
Alaska - the closure of schools, restaurants, childcare centers,
and malls - and emphasized that there is a myriad of economic
impacts of following the public health recommendation of "social
distancing."
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ paraphrased from the sponsor statement,
included in the committee packet, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
This legislation ensures Alaska employees can receive
Unemployment Insurance whether they are furloughed,
laid off, lose work hours, or are forced to stay home
to care for children as a result of the COVID-19
outbreak. It is imperative we cut red tape to ensure
Alaskans who have been paying into Unemployment
Insurance can receive benefits they have earned during
this time of unprecedented economic and public health
crisis.
The traditional Unemployment Insurance system was not
designed for a global pandemic that shuts down
schools, businesses, and childcare simultaneously.
This legislation provides emergency relief during the
COVID crisis so that workers facing an array of
economic challengeswhether it's a layoff or lost work
hourscan recoup some lost wages and avoid compounding
impacts of income loss.
This legislation:
1) waives the standard one week waiting requirement to
begin receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits.
2) Increases the weekly per-dependent benefit from $25
to $75, providing some relief for families who have
lost childcare and income simultaneously.
Many families and small businesses face economic
devastation as a result of a collapsing economy, and
relief cannot wait.
This legislation is designed to provide emergency
relief for up to one year.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ concluded that moving the proposed
legislation is urgent; other states have seen dramatic increases
in unemployment insurance (UI) claims. She maintained that the
intent of HB 308 is to ensure that Alaskans are not personally
harmed by following the public health recommendations.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ clarified that HB 308 offers three
provisions: 1) the one week waiting requirement would be
waived; 2) the requirement that the recipient be looking for a
job would be waived; and 3) the weekly per-dependent benefit
would be increased from $24 to $75.
7:54:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether the Department of Labor &
Workforce Development has the capacity to process the increased
numbers of applicants and what it would need to be as responsive
as possible to the increased workload.
7:55:01 PM
PATSY WESCOTT, Director, Division of Employment and Training
Services, Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD),
answered yes, the department is working to realign resources by
using staff from other units to address the influx of calls and
claims that is anticipated as a result of COVID-19. She said
that the division is working to simplify the application
process. The fiscal note is indeterminate due to ongoing
evaluation of the expected workload and the effect on Alaska's
Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. She added that the division
is evaluating the need for additional staff and is authorizing
overtime hours for current staff.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether benefits can be applied
for through "myAlaska" [an authentication and electronic
signature system for citizens to interact with State of Alaska
services].
MS. WESCOTT responded yes. She maintained that the division is
encouraging individuals who are currently unemployed as a result
of COVID-19 to file through the myAlaska online application;
they may also utilize the UI call centers.
7:57:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked for comment on the amount in the
trust fund.
7:58:18 PM
LENNON WELLER, Actuary, Research and Analysis, Department of
Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD), stated that the latest
trust fund balance was $492 million, which is above the
department's target for solvency. He maintained that Alaska is
well-situated to handle a significant increase in claims. He
added that until the current situation occurred, benefit
expenses were in the $8-10 million range monthly; the fund can
handle significantly greater costs in the next few months
without resulting in detriment to the fund.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked for an estimate for the next
month's expenses.
MR. WELLER answered that a worst-case scenario would be that
about 70,000 jobs are impacted immediately by COVID-19 and the
closure of businesses; that represents about $60-80 million in
benefit costs for next month.
8:00:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ confirmed for Representative Edgmon
that the intent is that the proposed legislation be in effect
for the duration of COVID-19 and repealed April 1, 2021.
8:00:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked whether the increase in the weekly
per-dependent benefit would apply to anyone receiving benefits
or only those affected by COVID-19.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ expressed her understanding that it
would apply to anyone.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked why the provision of the increased
benefit was applicable to any beneficiary.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ responded that the maximum weekly [UI]
benefit for an Alaskan is $370 per week; an additional amount is
given for dependents - currently $25 per child per week with a
cap of $72 total; that amount is insufficient to feed a child.
She stated that the core benefit package would not increase,
just the amount paid for children. She deferred to Ms. Wescott
to comment on the benefit amount and how Alaska compares with
other states.
MS. WESCOTT stated that legislation cannot be passed on a state
level that discriminates against individuals applying for UI for
reasons other than COVID-19; therefore, the provision regarding
dependent allowance must apply to any individual applying for UI
during the time the legislation is effective.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked whether the department would prepare
people - who are receiving UI benefits for a reason other than
COVID - for the decrease in the benefit amount when the
provision expires.
MS. WESCOTT answered absolutely. She maintained that the
department would conduct an aggressive outreach to ensure that
anyone applying after the sunset date of the legislation is
fully aware that the dependent allowance would change.
8:05:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON commented that the proposed legislation
speaks to the potential widespread nature of COVID-19 and
speculated that different eligibility criteria for beneficiaries
would be burdensome to department staff.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked how the expiration date was
determined.
8:06:52 PM
TRISTAN WALSH, Staff, Representative Ivy Spohnholz, Alaska State
Legislature, suggested that the expiration date may have been
selected based on provisions of an emergency declaration.
8:07:10 PM
DAN WAYNE, Attorney, Legislative Legal Services, Legislative
Affairs Agency, stated that the expiration date was chosen with
the expectation that the COVID-19 emergency would end before
[April 1, 2021]. He added that the sunset date would give the
legislature time to either extend the protections beyond April 1
or to end them sooner. He maintained that it was difficult to
choose a date and the intent was to give the legislature an
opportunity to extend the date if necessary.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ relayed that there are many unknowns;
the date was a compromise between a dramatic expansion of
benefits and ensuring Alaskans would not be harmed. She offered
that the date was an attempt to "play it safe" to minimize
financial harm to individuals.
8:09:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ relayed that viruses sometimes rebound,
therefore, didn't want to put too short a timeline on HB 308,
while still hoping for the COVID-19 outbreak to end in four
months.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked whether legislation would need to be
introduced to revert the statutes, if the COVID-19 outbreak ends
before April 1,2021.
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ explained that the beneficiaries would
be required to provide documentation periodically that their
unemployment or underemployment is related to COVID-19.
MS. WESCOTT stated that the division has methods in place to
check in with the UI claimants, work with them to establish
reemployment plans, and establish work search requirements, to
get them back into the workforce as the immediate crisis
subsides. She said that the [Governor Mike Dunleavy]
administration is supportive of HB 308 and wants to ensure that
with all the closures, unemployed workers have immediate access
to benefits. She maintained that part of the mission of the
division is to work with unemployed individuals to return them
to work - if not the same job, then into a new job with the help
of a reemployment plan and work search activities.
8:13:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP opened public testimony on HB 308. After
ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, he
closed public testimony.
8:14:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON moved to report HB 308 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
note. There being no objection, HB 308 was reported from the
House Rules Standing Committee.
8:15:25 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Rules Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 308 UI General Information Brochure 03.18.2020.pdf |
HRLS 3/18/2020 7:45:00 PM |
HB 308 |
| HB 308 UI Emergency Bill Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HRLS 3/18/2020 7:45:00 PM |
HB 308 |
| HB 308 UI Emergency Bill Sponsor statement.pdf |
HRLS 3/18/2020 7:45:00 PM |
HB 308 |