04/01/2004 01:37 PM Senate L&C
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
April 1, 2004
1:37 p.m.
TAPE(S) 04-29
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Con Bunde, Chair
Senator Ralph Seekins, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Bettye Davis
Senator Hollis French
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 27
"An Act relating to pesticide use; relating to program receipts
collected by the Department of Environmental Conservation for
registrations and licenses relating to pesticides; and providing
for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 305
"An Act relating to the calculation and payment of unemployment
compensation benefits; and providing for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 365
"An Act relating to the regulation of speech-language
pathologist assistants; and providing for an effective date."
MOVED SB 365 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 341
"An Act relating to the dive fishery management assessment."
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 377
"An Act relating to the state's mechanical code, to mechanical
contractors and mechanical administrators, to mechanical
standards and inspections involved in certain housing loans, and
to the adoption of the state's mechanical code; and providing
for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 27
SHORT TITLE: TRACKING OF PESTICIDE USE
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) ELLIS
01/21/03 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/17/03
01/21/03 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/03 (S) L&C, RES, FIN
02/26/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
02/26/04 (S) Heard & Held
02/26/04 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/01/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: HB 305
SHORT TITLE: UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS
SPONSOR(s): LABOR & COMMERCE
05/07/03 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/07/03 (H) L&C, FIN
05/09/03 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM CAPITOL 17
05/09/03 (H) Moved Out of Committee
05/09/03 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
05/10/03 (H) L&C RPT 4DP 2NR
05/10/03 (H) DP: CRAWFORD, GUTTENBERG, DAHLSTROM,
05/10/03 (H) ANDERSON; NR: LYNN, ROKEBERG
05/15/03 (H) FIN RPT 6DP 3NR
05/15/03 (H) DP: KERTTULA, BERKOWITZ, FOSTER,
05/15/03 (H) MEYER, HARRIS, WILLIAMS; NR: HAWKER,
05/15/03 (H) STOLTZE, MOSES
05/15/03 (H) FIN AT 8:30 AM HOUSE FINANCE 519
05/15/03 (H) Moved Out of Committee
05/15/03 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
05/16/03 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
05/16/03 (H) VERSION: HB 305
05/17/03 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/17/03 (S) L&C, FIN
05/19/03 (S) L&C AT 8:00 AM BELTZ 211
05/19/03 (S) Heard & Held
05/19/03 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
02/03/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
02/03/04 (S) Heard & Held
02/03/04 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/01/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: SB 365
SHORT TITLE: SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST ASSISTANTS
SPONSOR(s): LABOR & COMMERCE
03/17/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/17/04 (S) L&C, FIN
04/01/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: HB 341
SHORT TITLE: DIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) WILLIAMS
01/12/04 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/2/04
01/12/04 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/12/04 (H) FSH, RES
02/04/04 (H) FSH RPT 6DP 1NR
02/04/04 (H) DP: GARA, OGG, HEINZE, WILSON,
02/04/04 (H) SAMUELS, SEATON; NR: GUTTENBERG
02/04/04 (H) FSH AT 8:30 AM CAPITOL 124
02/04/04 (H) Moved Out of Committee
02/04/04 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
02/16/04 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
02/16/04 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
02/25/04 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
02/25/04 (H) Moved Out of Committee
02/25/04 (H) MINUTE(RES)
02/26/04 (H) RES RPT 8DP 1DNP
02/26/04 (H) DP: HEINZE, STEPOVICH, GATTO, LYNN,
02/26/04 (H) WOLF, KERTTULA, MASEK, DAHLSTROM;
02/26/04 (H) DNP: GUTTENBERG
03/15/04 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/15/04 (H) VERSION: HB 341
03/17/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/17/04 (S) L&C, FIN
04/01/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
BILL: SB 377
SHORT TITLE: STATE MECHANICAL CODE
SPONSOR(s): LABOR & COMMERCE
03/26/04 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/26/04 (S) L&C, FIN
04/01/04 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 211
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Garan Tarr, Chief of Staff
Senator Johnny Ellis
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 27 for sponsor.
Mr. Everett Walton
American Pest Management
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 27.
Ms. Kristin Ryan, Director
Division of Environmental Health
Department of Environmental Conservation
410 Willoughby
Juneau, AK 99801-1795
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 27.
Representative Tom Anderson
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 305.
Ms. Pam LaBolle, President
Alaska State Chamber of Commerce
217 Second Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SCS HB 305(L&C)
Mr. Don Etheridge, President
AFL-CIO
710 West 9th Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SCS HB 305(L&C).
Commissioner Greg O'Claray
Department of Labor & Workforce
Development
PO Box 21149
Juneau, AK 99802-1149
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 305.
Ms. Laura Young-Campbell
Alaska Speech and Hearing Association
No address provided
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 365.
Ms. Patricia Olmstead
Alaska Speech Language and Hearing Association
PO Box 774462
Eagle River AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 365.
Ms. Dixie Alms
Public School Speech Pathologist
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 365.
Ms. Nancy Lovering, President
Alaska Speech and Hearing Association
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 365.
Ms. Marjorie Kassier, Director of Training
Center for Human Development
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 365.
Mr. Tim Barry
Staff to Representative Bill Williams
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 365 for sponsor.
Ms. Julie Decker, Executive Director
Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association (SARDFA)
PO Box 2138
Wrangell AK 99929
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports HB 341.
Mr. Zach Warwick
Staff to Senator Gene Therriault
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 377 for sponsor.
Mr. Eugene Rutland, Executive Director
Mechanical Contractors of Alaska
Fairbanks AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supports SB 377.
Mr. Doug Mathers
Building Official
City of Kodiak
Kodiak, Alaska 99615
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
Mr. Greg Moore
Nana/Colt Engineering
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
Mr. Colin Maynard
Alaska Professional Design Council (APDC)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
Mr. Craig Fredeen, Mechanical Engineer
ASCG, Inc.
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 377.
Mr. Jeff Robinson
Klebs Mechanical, Inc.
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
Ms. Eden Larson, President
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
Mr. Sam Kito, III
Alaska Professional Design Council (APDC)
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
Mr. Craig Stevenson, Regional Manager
Governmental Relations Office
International Code Council (ICC)
No address provided
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposes SB 377.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 04-29, SIDE A
SB 27-TRACKING OF PESTICIDE USE
CHAIR CON BUNDE called the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:37 p.m. Present were Senators
Ralph Seekins, Hollis French, Bettye Davis and Chair Con Bunde.
The first order of business to come before the committee was SB
27.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS moved to adopt CSSB 27(L&C), version \D,
for discussion purposes. There were no objections and it was so
ordered.
CHAIR BUNDE pointed out the changes, which are the result of an
agreement between the administration and the bill's sponsor. On
page 1, line 9, the registration fee is changed to $80; page 2,
line 10, adds a new subsection that requires the department to
compile and make available on the Internet a list of pesticides
registered for use in the state; page 2, line 30, defines notice
of spraying on properties adjacent to the location; page 4, line
24, says the department "shall" conduct this study; page 6, line
19, refers to development of the household survey to be used by
the department to gather information relating to household
pesticides; page 7, line 6, makes the appointments to the board
effective immediately; page 8, line 9, removes a section; page
8, line 20, removes the Pesticide Advisory Board; and page 9,
sections 7 - 9, make the effective date June 30, 2008.
MS. GARAN TARR, Chief of Staff to Senator Johnny Ellis,
acknowledged the changes iterated by Chair Bunde and said that
the CS is supported by the administration, the department and
Senator Ellis.
SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH asked why the effective date is delayed.
MS. TARR explained that the Pesticide Board didn't have an end
point…the original bill was created with three-year staggered
terms. The department felt that added a layer of bureaucracy
that it wasn't interested in maintaining for the long-term. So,
it was agreed that the board would become responsible for
tangible results like development of the household survey,
helping implement the tracking program, and help retail
establishments with the notification component. Once those
things were done, it would be appropriate to sunset the board
and the department would maintain what it had put in place.
SENATOR FRENCH acknowledged her answer and then pointed out that
changing the registration fee from $150 to $80 is one of the
major changes and asked how that number was chosen.
MS. TARR replied that the nationwide average is actually $135
and the sponsor wanted to stay with that higher number because
the extra revenue could have gone to other important programs
the department maintains or into the general fund. However, the
department felt more comfortable with the $80 fee. A consumer
group wrote a letter saying that manufacturers would be
comfortable with a fee that paid for the program, but didn't
feel they should be charged in excess of that. The $80 fee pays
for all that.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if she was able to win industry support for
the bill's changes.
MS. TARR answered that she wasn't sure they were jumping on
board, even with the changes, but they felt $80 was a more
appropriate fee. She has every reason to believe the department
will make implementation of the program easy for industry,
especially with use of the Internet.
MR. EVERETT WALTON, American Pest Management, said that until a
competitor called an hour ago to tell him about it, he didn't
know anything about the bill and asked that industry be given
more notification in the future. He said his company might buy
only $100 worth of a certain chemical in a whole year and the
$80 registration fee would not be practical in that instance.
The chemicals his company deals with are some of the most modern
with the least toxicity available. New York and California can
charge a $135 fee because they have 30 million or 40 million
people, but there are only 600,000 people in Alaska - mostly in
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Ketchikan - in many instances,
small companies wouldn't have incentive to do any registration
at all.
Right now they are doing blanket registrations because
it's free. If they have to pick and choose, they might
just decide that it's too much trouble, because
there's no profit margin there and that is a concern I
have.
MR. WALTON also pointed out that most of the bill is already
covered by existing municipal or state statutes. All this bill
will do is add to the cost of doing business and it has no
enforcement provisions.
He said the same groups pushing this issue are trying to stop
development all over the state. Of the seven or eight companies
in Alaska, only two have more than one employee. He also thought
that the big chain stores like Fred Meyer and Wal-Mart should
have been invited to have input on this bill. In response to
communities that do not want aerial spraying, he pointed out
that Nebraska has the longest life expectancy in the nation and
also has one of the highest spraying rates. A DEC tracking
system is okay with him, but he didn't want to have to add a
person to the payroll just to feed information to the state.
CHAIR BUNDE pointed out that the bill has two more committees to
go through and there was a substantial amount of time for input
on these issues.
MS. KRISTIN RYAN, Director, Division of Environmental Health,
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), said the
pesticide program is in the laboratory services component of the
department's budget. The registration fees are in alignment with
other states and would be sufficient to cover costs for the
Pesticide Advisory Board, creating the web-based information
system for pesticide use and doing a household use survey of
pesticides. Alaska is currently the only state without a
pesticide fee.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if she felt the $80 fee would be burdensome to
the point of eliminating the availability of pesticides in
Alaska.
MS. RYAN replied that she didn't think so. Many pesticides are
registered because their companies want to be able to say they
are registered in 50 states. If their chemical is not used here,
there is no point in doing so if they would have to pay a fee.
She expected a certain amount of attrition of pesticides names,
but not their use.
CHAIR BUNDE reiterated that the department is not making money
on the $80 fee. It's not a hidden tax.
MS. RYAN said the CS has a new fiscal note and explained the
state has primacy and employs four staff people. The state
contributes a $56,000 match for the revenues it receives from
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
SENATOR GARY STEVENS arrived at 1:55 p.m.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if this bill would require new labeling by
stores like Wal-Mart.
MS. RYAN replied yes. It would require a placard to be posted
for certain chemicals the department thought needed additional
warning. Homeowners are the ones who misuse chemicals most
often; commercial applicators are certified and it's their
business to apply them correctly.
SENATOR FRENCH asked her if she thought Round Up would be
required to have a placard.
MS. RYAN replied that she didn't know, but a recent Washington
state court decision required that to occur for 10 - 15
pesticides.
SENATOR FRENCH commented that he was trying to get a handle on
the burden this law would put on retailers and asked her what
pesticides are commonly used.
MS. RYAN replied that she didn't have any idea right now. Over
500 are registered for use in the state. Maybe 10 percent would
be required to have that placard.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS asked if farmers or landowners are
required to register their use of pesticides either by the state
or the federal government.
MS. RYAN replied that the registration process is a
responsibility of the product maker. A product cannot be used or
sold in a state where it is not registered. A farmer would be an
applicator and is required by the federal government to be
certified to use certain pesticides. The state has the
additional responsibility, in regulation, to require a permit
for spraying by airplane or helicopter. If one farmer were to
spray multiple farmers' properties, he would need to get a
permit.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked if section 5 would require a farmer or
private landowner to give notice of applying pesticides.
MS. RYAN answered that only certified applicators have to give
notification.
CHAIR BUNDE said he would hold the bill for more information on
its impact to retailers.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked why information listed on page 6, line 2,
was being gathered if it wasn't going to be regulated in the
future.
CHAIR BUNDE referred the question to Ms. Ryan to answer when the
bill came up in committee again.
HB 305-UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced HB 305 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS moved to adopt SCS HB 305(L&C), version
\D, for the working document. There were no objections and it
was so ordered.
CHAIR BUNDE summarized the CS saying that Legislative Legal
Services advised using effective dates to make the bill more
efficient. Another change on page 14, line 24, says if someone
left suitable work voluntarily, was fired for good cause,
discharged for misconduct or failed to seek reemployment in a
comparable job, the five-week waiting period for benefits would
change to a 25-week waiting period. Another change increases the
amount of benefits to as much as $312. Alaska's rank would go
from 47 to 30 in the nation in unemployment benefits after the
final increase. This increases cost for employers also, but it
is slowly phased in through 2010.
REPRESENTATIVE TOM ANDERSON, sponsor, said the current bill is
the result of negotiations and a compromise by the
administration, labor organizations and those businesses
directly affected by the bill. Employee representatives are
concerned that the idea of leaving work voluntarily for whatever
reason is broad on page 14. If someone were fired unfairly,
making him wait for 25 weeks would be unfair. It's also viewed
that both versions don't affect hotel, restaurant and tourism
jobs in general, because the increase in benefits begins at a
wage of about $27,000 per year and most of those jobs are below
that.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON said employees are an integral part of
the unemployment insurance system by contributing to the fund
themselves. Increasing the waiting period is not consistent with
the other two states that have a similar design that believe it
isn't right to punish the worker who pays under the system.
Mortgages and car payments are only some of the things that
could be in jeopardy and would adversely affect the employee. He
urged the committee to change the waiting period or the
definition of good cause for discharge in the CS.
CHAIR BUNDE suggested working with his staff to tighten up that
language to avoid someone being treated unfairly.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked if good cause is defined currently in
regulation.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON answered that he assumed it was defined
some place and suggested using a computer search to find all the
places.
SENATOR FRENCH asked where the 25-week waiting period came from.
CHAIR BUNDE indicated that Pam LaBolle, Alaska State Chamber of
Commerce, would answer that question in later testimony.
MS. PAM LABOLLE, President, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce,
supported SCS HB 305(L&C). She found the actuarial study done by
the Department of Labor noting that Alaska has the most liberal
policy in the nation for paying unemployment insurance benefits.
Forty-seven states totally deny benefits for anyone who is fired
for misconduct, refuses an offer of suitable work or quits
voluntarily without good cause.
Paying unemployment to people who quit their jobs encourages a
poor work ethic, but on the other hand, one of the divisions in
the Department of Labor is to train people so they are more
employable. Alaska is second only to Connecticut as far as the
percentage of people who are unemployed who gain benefits.
Alaska is one of twelve states that provides benefits for up to
three dependents ($24 per week) above the national benefit
amount. The department has reported that 50 percent of
applicants receive benefits for dependents, which would put
Alaska above the 30 place.
CHAIR BUNDE said he understood that receiving the dependent's
th
allowance would put those who receive maximum benefits up to 11
or 12 in the nation.
2:25 p.m.
TAPE 04-29, SIDE B
MS. LABOLLE said studies indicate that 50 percent or more of UI
recipients assisted in the Case Management Program were fired or
quit their job.
So, they are voluntarily unemployed. The employers' UI
tax rates are higher than they need to be in order to
cover benefits to individuals who quit or were
fired.... We fully believe in the Unemployment
Insurance Program. We absolutely believe that
employees who are involuntarily, who through no fault
of their own, which is language that the national law
uses in this statement, are unemployed, they should
receive assistance and it should be of an amount that
will hold them over till they get their jobs. It's
only those who choose to be unemployed either through
their actions or voluntary efforts or their lack of
desire to accept another job that shouldn't receive
benefits at all.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if she recognized that a person who is
unemployed through no fault of his or her own, who has five
children, should probably get more unemployment than a single
worker.
MS. LABOLLE replied that by doing it that way, the state policy
appears to be based on need, not based on what insurance is
usually based on - how much you paid in. Philosophically,
though, she felt it was important for families to have benefits.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if she agreed that parents, who are
unemployed, need to have a way to feed their family.
MS. LABOLLE assented - on the condition that an employee became
unemployed through no fault of his own.
SENATOR FRENCH said the department's numbers show that in 2002,
only 10 percent of Alaskan claimants received the maximum
dependents allowance. He extrapolated that 90 percent of the
other claimants didn't get the maximum dependent's allowance.
So, it isn't that we can automatically add the maximum
dependent's allowance on to the average claim of the
Alaskan worker, because that would be misleading. We
wouldn't be looking at the real picture. The document
goes on to point out that the average dependent's
allowance for FY02 is $19.30, which is quite a bit
less than that maximum of $72. What it doesn't tell
you is what percentage [of claimants] take no
dependent's allowance, whatsoever.... I wouldn't want
anyone to get the impression from the testimony here
today that we're lavish with our dependent allowance -
that we throw a lot of it around - that it's a big
change in our unemployment. It looks like the average
change is $19.
MS. LABOLLE replied that last year, 44 percent of claimants had
dependents and received dependent coverage, although they might
not all have been at the maximum weekly benefit amount and the
number of dependents wasn't indicated.
CHAIR BUNDE said he wanted more information from the department
about the last three years on the number of claimants who
claimed dependents.
SENATOR SEEKINS said he wanted clarification as well.
MS. LABOLLE reminded the committee that the proposed increase in
the maximum weekly benefit amount has an $8 million cost to the
private sector employers, but it would cost the state, the
largest employer, as well. The last fiscal note was zero and she
wanted to know how that could be.
MR. DON ETHERIDGE, Alaska State AFL-CIO, opposed SCS HB 305(L&C)
and didn't want anything but the original bill passed. He said
it's real easy to talk about people getting fired for cause or
voluntarily quitting, but when you are in the business of
representing people, you realize that people quit a job
voluntarily, but don't want to. It's to the point where they
have to quit. Many times the stress of a particular job gets to
someone and they have to quit for their health reasons. His
concern is not for the construction workers who would get a
little bit more, but for the people who don't make as much
money. Sometimes, processing a grievance takes a year and in the
meantime, people have lost their homes, maybe lost their family,
been on welfare, or whatever. "We just can't buy into this. We'd
just as soon see it go away as to make this change to it."
CHAIR BUNDE asked Commissioner Greg O'Claray to comment and to
prepare a chart showing three to five years of numbers of folks
who claim maximum dependents to no dependents and any other
information that he thought would be useful.
COMMISSIONER GREG O'CLARAY, Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DOLWD), acknowledged his request and said that the
department supported the original bill, but not the SCS.
There are a couple of facts that I think I need to
enter into the record. One of the prior witnesses
testified that to her knowledge, over 50 percent of
the claimants fit into the voluntarily quit,
terminated for cause, refusal to accept suitable
employment [category]. That's not exactly a fact in
this case. Last year, there were 64,000 claimants for
UI benefits.
SENATOR SEEKINS interrupted to clarify that he heard that
testimony regarding the group was in the case management study,
not the overall universe.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY continued:
I just wanted to say that because I didn't want anyone
to be misled and I'm sure that Ms. LaBolle didn't
intend to mislead anyone, either, but the number of
folks that would fall within the CS for denial of
benefits of up to 25 weeks under the bill were 13,758.
That's what we denied last year or required the
waiting period that fit into that particular category,
out of the total of 64,000 claimants. That was in the
neighborhood of about 27 percent of the total
claimants.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked if paying dependent benefits shortchanged
people without dependents who qualify for a benefit. According
to his interpretation of the chart, the state is only paying
10.7 percent of what someone deserves.
CHAIR BUNDE jumped in saying he didn't think that was accurate.
He read it to say ten percent of the claimants received the
maximum dependent's allowance.
SENATOR SEEKINS wanted to make sure everyone received what they
were entitled to.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY commented that he would provide the
information that was requested. He said that the department paid
out $174 million in benefits last year. Nearly 80 percent of
those dollars found their way into the Alaskan economy and
making claimants wait for 25 weeks takes a pretty big bite out
of the Alaskan economy. There is a difference of opinion on why
Alaska is more liberal in terms of its qualification for payout,
but it is because of the high cost of remaining in Alaska during
an unemployed period. Prior legislatures have recognized that.
CHAIR BUNDE thanked everyone for their comments and said he
looked forward to bringing the bill up at another time.
SB 365-SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST ASSISTANTS
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SB 365 to be up for consideration and
said that it was introduced on the behalf of the Alaska Speech
Pathologists. There is currently a shortage of speech and
language pathologists in Alaska and this bill aims to give
credentials and supervisory authority to speech and language
pathologist assistants. The use of an assistant does not replace
the work of a pathologist, but rather extends it.
MS. LAURA YOUNG-CAMPBELL, Mat-Su Speech Pathologist, said she is
also on the executive board of the Alaska Speech and Hearing
Association and that there is a nationwide shortage of language
and speech pathologists. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor
statistics, 34,000 additional language and speech pathologists
will be needed nationwide to fill the demand between 2000 to
2010, a 39 percent increase. Alaska is experiencing a shortage
in schools, private practice and hospitals and has been trying
to deal with the shortage for years.
The Alaska Speech and Hearing Association has been working with
the University of Alaska and other organizations to bring up
programs or develop training opportunities specific to our
unique needs. The Prince William Sound Community College offers
a Speech Pathology Assistant Program where students graduate
with an associate degree, which includes appropriate course work
specific to speech language pathology and practical experience
in a variety of employment settings. One of the larger needs for
speech and language pathologists is in schools. When a speech
pathologist is absent or needs to attend a meeting, usually
speech therapy is cancelled. Having an assistant would
facilitate consistent and ongoing therapy treatment. Having an
assistant would allow students to work in smaller groups and
receive more individual instruction. In a majority of cases,
with consistent and enhanced services, students will complete
their goals in less time.
SB 365 will allow speech pathology assistants to be
recognized for their training while providing them
with a scope of practice, which is under the
supervision of a licensed or certified speech language
pathologist. Due to the forecast of long-term
shortages, I feel that SB 365 does support these
services to all Alaskans. I urge you to pass this
bill.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if this bill runs counter to any federal
requirements in the area of special education.
MS. CAMPBELL replied no and that it would meet the professional
standards in the No Child Left Behind Act.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if the American Speech and Hearing Association
(ASHA) had taken a position on this bill.
MS. CAMPBELL replied that ASHA drafted guidelines in March and
31 states currently recognize the use of support personnel.
Twenty-two of those use registration and the others use
licensure.
CHAIR BUNDE indicated there were no further questions for her.
MS. PATRICIA OLMSTEAD said she is a life-long Alaskan and
returned in 1979 to practice as a certified speech language
pathologist. She has been traveling mostly remote regions since
that time, both in school district capacities and with the early
intervention network. She is the official legislative counselor
for the Alaska Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists
Association, representing them at the American Speech Language
Hearing Association where she was applauded when she announced
these initiatives were taking place in Alaska.
She said there is a tremendous shortage because there is more
demand in schools, hospitals and private settings. She supported
previous testimony on how use of assistants will help services
to be extended. Practically speaking, she relies almost
exclusively on third-party payment. She will be able to bill for
an assistant if he or she is appropriately trained and certified
by her.
MS. DIXIE ALMS said she has been a public speech pathologist in
Juneau for 29 years. She urged the committee's support of SB
365. She is currently split between Riverbend and Gastineau
Elementary Schools. She has about 22 kids at Riverbend, but her
caseload at Gastineau is 30 and climbing. She has formally
written a complaint to both of her principals and the school
district to document the challenges she is experiencing at
Gastineau because she can't do her job. If she had a trained
assistant, her kids would receive better and more competent and
complete services than she can provide half-time.
MS. NANCY LOVERING, President, Alaska Speech and Hearing
Association, said she is also a licensed speech language
pathologist in private practice in Anchorage for the past 14
years. She supported SB 365. Many of these assistants would
receive their training from a program offered through Prince
William Sound Community College and the University of Alaska
Anchorage. She explained that the program includes courses such
as Introduction to Communication Disorders, Voice and Diction,
Communication Disorders for Adults and Children, Therapy
Techniques, Early Childhood Communication Disorders and two 100-
hour practicums - one being in a generalized special education
arena and the other in specific speech and language services.
DR. MARJORIE KASSIER, Director of Training, Center for Human
Development, UAA, said this program was started by a request
from the Alaska Speech Language and Hearing Association. All of
the course work and training has been developed with the
cooperation of speech language pathologists. Currently, about 60
students are working towards the assistant degree at the
associate level. More than two-thirds of them are in small bush
and rural hub communities. The program is distance delivered,
which allows training for potential assistants all over the
state. The Mental Health Trust Authority has provided
substantial scholarships and grants have been received from the
federal Department of Education and the Department of Labor.
CHAIR BUNDE asked if a speech language pathologist assistant
would be analogous to a teaching assistant at the elementary
level of a public school.
DR. KASSIER replied, "Absolutely. In fact, that's a very good
way of describing what they would do...."
CHAIR BUNDE also pointed out that becoming an assistant would
lead the way to becoming a fully certified pathologist.
DR. KASSIER agreed and said that although the program is only
three years old, it already has 10 graduates. That doesn't sound
like much, but most of the students already have full time jobs
and families. They are extremely motivated and competent. This
suggests to her that they may go on and get bachelor degrees.
SENATOR SEEKINS moved to pass SB 365 and attached fiscal note
with individual recommendations. Senators Bettye Davis, Ralph
Seekins, Hollis French and Chair Con Bunde voted yea; and SB 365
moved from committee.
HB 341-DIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced HB 341 to be up for consideration.
MR. TIM BARRY, staff to Representative Bill Williams, sponsor,
explained that the bill was requested by the Southeast Alaska
Regional Dive Fisheries Association (SARDFA). It's essentially a
housekeeping measure to give the organization more flexibility
in its operations. SARDFA is an effective management
organization and is composed of fishermen, processors and
representatives of a number of Southeast Alaska communities; it
works closely with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
(ADF&G) to develop management plans for the various dive
fisheries. Members of SARDFA pay a tax based on a percentage of
the value of their catch and the revenue is spent on managing
the dive fisheries. Under current state law, association members
elect to tax themselves at a rate of either 1%, 3%, 5% or 7% of
the value of their landings in a particular dive fishery. HB 341
would give association members the additional option to tax
themselves at 2%, 4% or 6% rates. There is a zero fiscal note.
CHAIR BUNDE asked how the members would choose to change their
assessment.
MR. BARRY replied that the members of the association in a
particular dive fishery would vote to change the tax rate. This
legislation was modeled on the Alaska Seafood Marketing
Association (ASMI) and the aquaculture association models.
MS. JULIE DECKER, Executive Director, Southeast Alaska Regional
Dive Fisheries Association (SARDFA), said its mission is to
develop, expand and enhance new and existing dive fisheries in
Southeast. She said that geoducks and sea cucumbers are taxed at
5 and 7 percent for sea urchins. The assessments help pay for
the increased cost of management and surveying associated with
expansion of the fisheries and for special developmental
projects, which allow them to increase the ex-vessel value of
the resources.
CHAIR BUNDE said that similar legislation in other fisheries
didn't have unanimous agreement on taxing themselves and asked
if she had polled her membership.
MS. DECKER replied that she has received overwhelming response
to this legislation and over two-thirds voted to tax themselves
in each of the fisheries.
3:12 p.m.
TAPE 04-30, SIDE A
MS. DECKER explained that the association sees the need for
flexibility in the future and wants to have this in place ahead
of time.
SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH asked her exactly how the tax money would
be spent.
MS. DECKER responded that each year the association develops an
annual operating plan in cooperation with ADF&G. Some of the
funds are used to pay for SARDFA administration costs and for
ADF&G to survey new areas, a little bit of research that is
necessary for sustainable management of the resource and some
water and PSP testing costs for the geoduck fishery. Some funds
could be used for starting small pilot enhancement projects,
which basically consists of reseeding certain areas.
SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS moved to pass HB 341 from committee with
individual recommendations.
SENATOR FRENCH objected, because he hadn't had enough time to
look at it.
CHAIR BUNDE said he would hold HB 341 over until the next
meeting.
SB 377-STATE MECHANICAL CODE
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SB 377 to be up for consideration for
its first hearing and that he didn't intend to move it today.
MR. ZACH WARWICK, staff to Senator Gene Therriault, sponsor,
said it is designed to solve a problem that arose in 2001 when
the Department of Public Safety (DPS) adopted a new brand of
building code for the State of Alaska.
The state has five codes for building construction: plumbing,
electrical, mechanical, building and fire. The Department of
Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) has the statutory
authority to adopt the mechanical and electrical codes; the DPS
by default has used the following statute to adopt the other
three codes. It states:
The Department of Public Safety may adopt regulations
for the purpose of protecting life and property from
fire and explosion by establishing minimum standards
for fire and safety criteria in commercial,
industrial, business, institutional or other public
buildings and buildings used for residential purposes
containing four or more dwelling units.
MR. WARWICK explained that when the DPS adopted the new codes,
which are different than the Uniform Codes, it was done under
the guise that if the new codes weren't adopted, the state would
lose Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money. That was
a completely untrue statement. Mechanical contractors who are
the ones in the field doing the installations didn't have any
input on design or installation procedures; the code was
primarily designed by architects, engineers and building
officials.
Currently, a lawsuit before the Supreme Court of Alaska is
trying to revert back to the uniform family of codes. This bill
would solve that problem by removing all references to the
Uniform Mechanical Code.
CHAIR BUNDE said about 10 people wanted to testify and there
were about 11 minutes left and that another hearing would be
held at another time.
MR. EUGENE RUTLAND, Executive Director, Mechanical Contractors
of Alaska, supported SB 377. He explained that recently Alaska
adopted a Mechanical Code and a Plumbing Code that was published
by two different entities who did not coordinate their
publications with each other.
We need to have these codes under one agency where
they can be coordinated. The Department of Public
safety only performs mechanical and electrical plan
review for fire and life safety requirements. The
balance of the mechanical code is not enforced at this
time. The Department of Labor and Workforce
Development has field inspectors who physically
inspect actual installations. Since mechanical and
plumbing are so closely intertwined, these same
inspectors could and should inspect the mechanical
installation, also.
Finally, the owners of our member firms are licensed
mechanical administrators. They have both plumbing and
mechanical category endorsements on their licenses.
State statutes require them to sign off on each
project they are responsible for. This certifies that
the project has been solved in accordance with the
applicable mechanical or plumbing codes. The penalty
for violation ranges from a fine to a loss of
license.... We support the passage of SB 377.
MR. DOUG MATHERS, Building Official, City of Kodiak, opposed SB
377. His reasoning is in the fax he sent to the committee.
MR. GREG MOORE, Nana/Colt Engineering, said they are an oil and
gas engineering firm and opposed SB 377.
We oppose it because we haven't finished the business,
yet, of the Safety Codes Task Force. If we would
finish our business there, those items that we're
talking about in this bill would be taken care of....
We also oppose it because this bill only tries to
solve the problem for 477 mechanical administrators
that will be affected by this bill. There are 6,166
engineers, designers and residential builders that
will also be affected by this bill, except in a
negative way.
MR. COLIN MAYNARD, Alaska Professional Design Council (APDC),
opposed SB 377.
We believe that the process that the department of
Public Safety has used to adopt the mechanical code
for over 40 years has always been the same. The code
was written by The International Conference of
Building Officials (ICBO) that they have adopted for
the last 40 years. ICBO now, under the name of
International Code Council (ICC), has written the
International Mechanical Code that we're using, so
it's not a different code. It's the same people with
the same code.
MR. CRAIG FREDEEN, Mechanical Engineer, ASCG, Inc. opposed SB
377. He thought the code should stay in the Department of Public
Safety because it has a more open and public process.
MR. JEFF ROBINSON, Klebs Mechanical, Inc., opposed SB 377.
MS. EDEN LARSON, President, Associated Builders and Contractors,
(ABC), opposed SB 377.
MR. SAM KITO III, Alaska Professional Design Council (APDC),
said it represents over 5,000 design professionals in the State
of Alaska and opposed SB 377.
MR. CRAIG STEVENSON, Regional Manager, Governmental Relations
Office, ICC, said it is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation
whose history is in three former groups - one of them known as
ICBO. Although their process of code development is similar to
what ICBO used to do, it's much expanded and includes much more
industry in the decision making process. The Uniform Mechanical
Code that has been adopted by the State of Alaska was the ICBO
version and that is not promulgated and updated by them any
more; however, the assets of ICBO are owned by the ICC. His
organization helps facilitate a process for safety codes to be
used by local and state government. He suggested that SB 377 be
held for further investigation to see if it meets the spirit and
intent of AS 44.62, Administrative Procedures, and if it meets
the state's policy for public meetings. He opposes the bill on
the grounds that there hasn't been a complete inquiry into all
the organizations, their processes and what others have in terms
of providing solutions. Lastly, he noted faulty references on
page 1, lines 10, 11 and 13.
CHAIR BUNDE asked him to forward his comments in writing to the
committee. There being no further business to come before the
committee, he adjourned the meeting at 3:30 p.m.
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