Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/03/2003 01:35 PM Senate L&C
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
April 3, 2003
1:35 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Con Bunde, Chair
Senator Ralph Seekins, Vice Chair
Senator Bettye Davis
Senator Hollis French
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Gary Stevens
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 64(JUD)
"An Act relating to court approval of the purchase of structured
settlements."
MOVED CSHB 64(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 124
"An Act relating to commercial motor vehicle drivers and their
employers and to railroad-highway grade crossings; and providing
for an effective date."
MOVED HB 124 OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 95
"An Act relating to strikes by employees of a municipal school
district, a regional educational attendance area, or a state
boarding school, and requiring notice of at least 72 hours of a
strike by those employees."
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 64
"An Act requiring certain consumer reporting agencies to provide
individuals with certain information without charge."
MOVED SB 64 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS ACTION
SB 64 - See Labor and Commerce minutes dated 2/20/03.
HB 64 - See Labor and Commerce minutes dated 3/27/03.
HB 124 - See Labor and Commerce minutes dated 3/27/03.
SB 95 - See HESS minutes dated 3/17/03 and 3/24/03.
WITNESS REGISTER
Mr. Todd Larkin
Staff to Representative Jim Holm
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 124 for the sponsor.
Ms. Kim Floyd
PO Box 874699
Wasilla AK 99687
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 95.
Mr. Tom Harvey, Executive Director
National Education Association of Alaska (NEA)
114 Second Street
Juneau AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 95.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 03-18, SIDE A
SB 64-CREDIT INFORMATION
CHAIR CON BUNDE called the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. Present were SENATORS
SEEKINS, DAVIS and FRENCH. SENATOR STEVENS was excused. Chair
Bunde announced SB 64 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR DAVIS moved to adopt Amendment 1.
CHAIR BUNDE objected for discussion purposes.
SENATOR FRENCH, sponsor of SB 64, explained that the purpose of
Amendment 1 is to clarify where responsibility lay for spreading
the word to consumers about this bill should it become law.
Concern was expressed that the responsibility would devolve upon
small businesses that offer credit, but it shouldn't be a burden
on them. Typically, information like this is posted on a state's
website under a consumer report section.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if it would be possible to put this language
in the statute itself. He noted, "Sometimes intent makes pretty
thin soup."
SENATOR FRENCH responded that conversely some attorney would
have to get involved to force a small business to disseminate
the information. He said it would certainly be more cumbersome
to put the language in statute.
SENATOR SEEKINS said it is just as easy to put the language in
the bill as it is to do a letter of intent and that he wouldn't
vote for the bill unless the language was in it.
SENATOR FRENCH said he would take a look at that.
SENATOR SEEKINS added that it's very clear the committee's
intent is to put the burden solely on the people who collect the
information.
SENATOR DAVIS moved to rescind her motion. There were no
objections.
CHAIR BUNDE asked Senator French if he knew how similar
legislation has impacted credit agencies in other states and how
often consumers use it.
SENATOR FRENCH replied at least one of the credit agencies has
posted directions on how to get a free credit report on its own
website. He sensed that the credit agencies are not resisting it
and are willing partners.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if there is any evidence that the cost of
credit reports has increased in the states that have enacted
similar legislation.
SENATOR FRENCH replied not that he was aware of.
CHAIR BUNDE stated the committee would hold this bill until next
Tuesday.
CSHB 64(JUD)-PURCHASE OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS
CHAIR BUNDE announced CSHB 64(JUD) to be up for consideration.
He said he had a question about the zero fiscal note at the last
meeting and talked to a representative of the court system who
felt the number of settlements in one year would likely be less
than a dozen, so the cost would not be a significant factor in
the court system's budget.
MR. PAUL LABOLLE, staff to Representative Foster, sponsor, was
present to answer questions.
SENATOR SEEKINS moved to pass CSHB 64(JUD) and its attached
fiscal note from committee with individual recommendations.
The roll was called. SENATORS DAVIS, SEEKINS, FRENCH, and BUNDE
voted yea, therefore CSHB 64(JUD) moved from committee.
HB 124-COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVERS/EMPLOYER
CHAIR BUNDE announced HB 124 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked if this language would bring the state
into compliance with federal requirements.
MR. TODD LARKIN, staff to Representative Jim Holm, sponsor, said
it would.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked Mr. Larkin if he had an opinion from the
Department of Law on that.
MR. LARKIN responded that the Administration found the
discrepancy and had its lawyers look into it. Legislative Legal
and Research Services took their word for it. His discussions
with departments and officials since then have confirmed that
position. The federal regulation is in members' packets and its
language is a close duplication.
SENATOR SEEKINS moved to pass HB 124 from committee with
individual recommendations.
The roll was called. SENATORS FRENCH, SEEKINS, DAVIS and BUNDE
voted yea, therefore HB 124 moved from committee.
SB 95-72-HOUR NOTICE OF TEACHER STRIKE
CHAIR BUNDE announced SB 95 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR GREEN, sponsor of SB 95, said this measure would require
notification to a school district 72-hours prior to a walk-out
resulting from a labor action. SB 95 was requested by school
districts that have recurring fears that students will either be
left at bus stops or at empty schools. Without proper
notification, districts will be unable to inform parents of
either a change in the schedule or the arrangements for the
school day.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if the bill should contain language saying
that districts should notify parents as well.
SENATOR GREEN said she hadn't considered that but the onus would
be on school districts to complete notification, as they would
normally do in the course of business.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if a district would be required to provide 72-
hour notice if it chose to lock out teachers.
SENATOR GREEN replied that isn't covered in this legislation and
that Legislative Legal and Research Services could not come up
with language that would work.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if she had the chart of cooling-off
periods. She indicated that she did. He asked if they are
talking about a required notice.
SENATOR GREEN replied that all of the steps had been undertaken
at this point. This was an actual decision by a group of public
employees who serve that district to strike and walk out.
MS. KIM FLOYD, Mat-Su Borough parent, said she is the parent of
two school age children and is a public information specialist
for the Mat-Su Borough School District. She strongly supports SB
95, which would require education bargaining groups to provide
72-hours advance notice of a strike. She stated:
From my position, this bill is about our children's
safety. It's not about contracts. It's not about the
adults. It's not about the unions or the balance of
power. It is about, again, children and their safety.
She pointed out that about 40 percent of the Valley workforce
commutes to Anchorage on a daily basis. Many people leave home
by 6:00 a.m., which is well before students report to bus stops
for school. It is her responsibility to communicate full closure
information to parents, which is a challenge because her
district covers a 25,000 square mile area, roughly the size of
West Virginia. She noted:
Currently, the media is the only resource we have to
notify parents of a change in the school day. When our
district does close a school, which has only happened
two days in the past seven years, the decision is made
at approximately 4:00 a.m. This leaves little more
than an hour to alert media and ask for assistance in
announcing the closure. While we have a local radio
station, it only serves the greater Palmer and Wasilla
areas. Anchorage media [is] helpful, but they do not
begin reporting until 6:00 a.m., well after many
commuters leave for work. On poor weather days,
parents and caregivers are more likely to tune into
broadcast media for school closure reports. On normal
winter or spring weather days, it is highly unlikely
that the community would consider school closures a
possibility.
Therefore, many people would be left unaware of any
changes to the school day and, in the event school is
to be cancelled at the last minute due to an
unannounced employee strike, children will be placed
at risk. Without adequate notice, children may be left
unattended at bus stops and at home or arrive in the
cold without adequate staffing and supervision.
Parents send their children to school with the
reasonable expectation that they will be cared for and
supervised. It is our professional and moral
obligation to provide for a safe learning environment.
Our ability to do so in the event of a strike is
minimal. Parents at work or on their way to work may
be in a position where they can't return home to
supervise their children. If they're not tuned into
the news, they may never hear of a school closure. If
and when they are alerted to this situation, home may
be more than an hour away. There will be no [indisc.]
if they can't leave their work and children may be
left without supervision.
Again, a failure to give notice puts our children at
risk; it is not acceptable. For these reasons, again,
I strongly support this legislation. The 72-hour time
frame is necessary to cover the Friday to Monday
weekend period. Communicating closures over that
timeframe is even more challenging as many of our
Valley residents are outdoors or elsewhere. Again, I
believe this bill is about children's safety and first
and foremost, we should do all that we can to protect
them. As a parent and a professional communicator for
our school district, I respectfully ask you to
strongly consider this bill as a school safety effort
and as a means to protect our children from
unnecessary harm, because I do believe that one small
child left unattended is one too many.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if there isn't a lengthy procedure to go
through before a strike can be declared.
MS. FLOYD replied that those regulations had been rescinded.
There is no oversight of a strike notice or a requirement to
notify the district of a strike vote.
CHAIR BUNDE said he was referring to the negotiating process and
asked if it is lengthy and covered in the media.
MS. FLOYD said her district had never reached the point where a
strike occurred.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if a precipitous strike had been called
anywhere in Alaska.
MS. FLOYD replied there was one in the Anchorage School
District. The district requested 24-hour notice of a strike and
the union sent a letter back refusing to do so.
MR. TOM HARVEY, Executive Director, National Education
Association of Alaska (NEAA), said SB 95 is a solution looking
for a problem, however the NEAA is not in opposition to it. He
does not believe that acrimonious actions leading to a strike
are unknown by anybody. The referenced community clearly had
become knowledgeable about the circumstances and it has been
NEAA's practice to provide notice to the community in advance of
going on strike. An extended process must be undertaken before
reaching an impasse situation in order to be able to go on
strike. He said the 72-hour notice is fine, but he didn't know
why it wouldn't be 24 or 48-hours notice. He suggested finding a
different solution to eliminate strikes by public school
employees in Alaska if this issue is really one of safety for
children. He indicates:
But we want you to be assured and the committee
members to be assured that we do in fact, in every
circumstance take the safety of the children and the
notification of the community into consideration in
every circumstance that we have been engaged in in the
state of Alaska in the history of the bargaining law.
CHAIR BUNDE asked what he meant by processes in other states.
MR. HARVEY replied that there is a process that has become
useful in other states called binding arbitration, last best
offer, issue by issue. It has led to far less arbitration
because the parties get to the position of becoming reasonable.
If one party is not, the arbitrator doesn't have a choice, as in
normal binding arbitration, but to award the party that is
closest to being reasonable. Therefore, neither party wants to
take the risk of being unreasonable when they get to settlement,
which should be the preference of both parties.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if a precipitous strike had ever been called
from his bargaining unit.
MR. HARVEY replied that the NEAA has never gone on strike in
Alaska without the community and the school district knowing
that they were going to strike.
CHAIR BUNDE asked what strike Ms. Floyd was referring to.
MR. HARVEY replied that Ms. Floyd could speak to that, but he
knew of a strike that did not provide a 72-hour notice in the
Anchorage school district. It was by a local bargaining unit,
called Totem, who was not affiliated with any state or national
organization. It represents about 1,200 public school employees:
secretaries, teacher aides, etc. Everyone in the community knew
of the potential of a strike. The exact time it would take place
was announced by the chief spokesperson for Totem and that
person at the time was a school board member in the Mat-Su area.
MR. BOB DOYLE, Chief School Administrator, Mat-Su School
District, said he represents over 14,000 children. He noted he
served on the Alaska Labor Relations Agency for over nine years
and is thoroughly familiar with labor relations law in Alaska.
He said this bill is totally about student safety and that Totem
was a union and its actions affected school children. Special
education children in Anchorage, due to the precipitous strike,
had their individual education plans (IEP) violated. That is a
serious concern to him as a school administrator even if it's
not of concern to NEAA.
In his bargaining units he has gone the extra mile through all
processes. In the last negotiations he accepted the arbitration
results. The association rejected those. When he asked for
notice to be given, the association refused. He told member:
I have a major concern about the safety for our
children, as Kim mentioned before, due to the fact
that we have 40% of our commuters going to Anchorage
every day. Seventy-two-hours notice won't affect the
balance of power, but it will enable parents and
children to be safely supervised during a strike if it
ever came to be.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if advanced notification could be crafted in
the event that a district wanted to do a lock-out.
MR. DOYLE said he didn't think that would be a problem.
CHAIR BUNDE thanked participants for their testimony and said he
would hold the bill for further consideration.
SB 64-CREDIT INFORMATION
SENATOR SEEKINS moved to pass SB 64 from committee with
individual recommendations.
The roll was called. SENATOR DAVIS, SEEKINS, FRENCH and BUNDE
voted yea; and SB 64 passed from committee.
CHAIR BUNDE adjourned the meeting at 2:13 p.m.
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