03/03/2025 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB24 | |
| SB50 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 24 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 50 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 81 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
March 3, 2025
1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Chair
Senator Kelly Merrick, Vice Chair
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
Senator Forrest Dunbar
Senator Robert Yundt
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 24
"An Act relating to tobacco, tobacco products, electronic
smoking products, nicotine, and products containing nicotine;
raising the minimum age to purchase, exchange, or possess
tobacco, a product containing nicotine, or an electronic smoking
product; relating to the tobacco use education and cessation
fund; relating to the taxation of electronic smoking products
and vapor products; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 50
"An Act relating to the comprehensive plans of first and second
class boroughs."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 24
SHORT TITLE: TOBACCO/NICOTINE/E-CIG AGE; E-CIG TAX
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEVENS
01/10/25 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25
01/22/25 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (S) L&C, FIN
02/24/25 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/24/25 (S) Heard & Held
02/24/25 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/03/25 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: SB 50
SHORT TITLE: MUNICIPAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS: HOUSING
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) DUNBAR
01/17/25 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/17/25
01/22/25 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (S) CRA, L&C
02/04/25 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/04/25 (S) Heard & Held
02/04/25 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
02/11/25 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/11/25 (S) Moved CSSB 50(CRA) Out of Committee
02/11/25 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
02/12/25 (S) CRA RPT CS 2NR 2DP SAME TITLE
02/12/25 (S) NR: MERRICK, YUNDT
02/12/25 (S) DP: DUNBAR, GRAY-JACKSON
03/03/25 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
TIM LAMKIN, Staff
Senator Gary Stevens
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a summary for SB 24.
ROEY ARMSTRONG, Co-president
Youth Encouraging Alaskan's Health (YEAH)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified by invitation on SB 24.
BRAD BOEDECKER, Owner
Eagle River Chevron
Eagle River, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 24.
JEN GRIFFIS, Vice President
Policy and Advocacy
Alaska Children's Trust
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 24.
TABITHA KARPOW, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 24.
CARRIE NYSSEN, Senior Director
Advocacy
American Lung Association
Vancouver, Washington
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 24.
VALERIA DELGAD, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 24.
ALEX MCDONALD, representing self
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 24.
AARON OSTEREACK, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 24.
JULIE CLEATON, Secretary
Board of Directors
Alaska Public Health Association
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 24.
HAHLEN BEHNKEN, Staff
Senator Forrest Dunbar
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided the sectional analysis for SB 50.
CHRISTOPHER CONSTANT, Chair
Anchorage Assembly
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified by invitation on SB 50.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:32:35 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN called the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Merrick, Gray-Jackson, Dunbar, Yundt and
Chair Bjorkman.
SB 24-TOBACCO/NICOTINE/E-CIG AGE; E-CIG TAX
1:33:34 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 24
"An Act relating to tobacco, tobacco products, electronic
smoking products, nicotine, and products containing nicotine;
raising the minimum age to purchase, exchange, or possess
tobacco, a product containing nicotine, or an electronic smoking
product; relating to the tobacco use education and cessation
fund; relating to the taxation of electronic smoking products
and vapor products; and providing for an effective date."
1:34:17 PM
TIM LAMKIN, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided a summary of SB 24 and
stated that SB 24 raises the minimum age for purchasing,
possessing, and selling tobacco and nicotine products from 19 to
21 and would implement a 25 percent sales tax on cigarettes and
vaping products at the point of sale.
1:35:12 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on SB 24.
1:35:34 PM
ROEY ARMSTRONG, Co-president, Youth Encouraging Alaskan's Health
(YEAH), Anchorage, Alaska, testified by invitation on SB 24 and
stated that YEAH is a youth-led group focused on preventing
nicotine and tobacco use among Alaskan teens, especially in
rural communities. YEAH staff learn about the harms of these
substances and share that knowledge through school visits,
videos, and an annual youth-led summit. She said at the summit,
YEAH staff train teens to educate their own communities. She
said she joined YEAH after attending a virtual summit, inspired
by her dad's struggle with quitting tobacco. She said YEAH has
been active for five years and believes education is the
strongest tool to prevent addiction. She stated that taxes on
tobacco would help fund programs like YEAH and discourage youth
use by raising pricessomething that affects young people more
because young people have limited income. She said higher prices
might stop those who aren't addicted yet but are considering
trying it socially. Once addicted, people will find ways to
access these substances, which is why early prevention is key.
She stated that by adding this tax, YEAH aims to break the
cycleusing funds from nicotine and tobacco sales to educate
youth and prevent future use. In high school, she saw e-
cigarettes in nearly every classroom. She attended a Title I
school where many students lived at or below the poverty line
and were getting addicted because these products were both
accessible and normalized. She stated that raising the legal age
to 21 would help prevent sales to minors. This change would make
enforcement easier and help curb youth addiction before it
grows.
1:42:21 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN opened public testimony on SB 24.
1:42:54 PM
At ease.
1:43:29 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting.
1:43:38 PM
At ease.
1:44:04 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting.
1:44:41 PM
BRAD BOEDECKER, Owner, Eagle River Chevron, Eagle River, Alaska,
testified in opposition to SB 24 because of its unintended harm
to businesses like his. He stated that if someone was to look at
his store's vapor section, people would see he follows federal
regulations and offers legal products responsibly. The nicotine
cap in SB 24 would eliminate about 75 percent of his vapor
inventory, even though it's federally legal, hurting his ability
to meet customer needs and pushing people toward unsafe black-
market products. He stated that the added tax structure would
also make remaining products less competitive, while unregulated
products with higher nicotine content stay cheaper.
1:47:06 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN asked if he had a suggestion regarding the cap on
nicotine.
1:47:15 PM
MR. BOEDECKER answered that he doesn't have a suggestion and
that whatever products hes been using seem to be federally
regulated.
1:47:41 PM
JEN GRIFFIS, Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, Alaska
Children's Trust, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB
24 as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
I am testifying in support of Senate Bill 24 which
addresses the minimum purchase age and consistent taxing of
tobacco products, including vaping products. Alaska
Children's Trust believes in a future where Alaska's
children, youth and families have the knowledge, skills,
supports, and resources they need to thrive.
To help achieve this vision, we support policies that
promote the health and wellbeing of Alaska's children and
youth.
Senate Bill 24 supports the reduction in underage tobacco
usage by aligning state law with federal statute, raising
the minimum purchase age for all tobacco products from 19
to 21.
Additionally SB24 establishes a sales tax for e-cigarette
products, also commonly known as vapes, making the tax on
vaping products consistent with taxes on other tobacco
products in the state.
Tax policies and age restrictions on purchases are policies
associated with a reduction in the underage use of tobacco
products.
According to KIDS COUNT 2024, 17 percent of Alaska high
school students reported having used a vape in the past
month. In 2022, vapes were the most used nicotine product
by youth.
Limiting access to youth through targeted taxation is a
policy choice that is currently implemented in Alaska for
other substances, including cigarettes and alcohol. Both
cigarette smoking and use of alcohol have consistently
declined since the introduction of taxes on these specific
items. Alaska's last peak in underage alcohol use was in
2017.
Additionally research in other states has demonstrated that
increased prices on e-cigarette products through taxes has
resulted in a lower rate of use among youth.
The policy changes in Senate Bill 24 would promote safe
behaviors in Alaska's youth, increasing youth health and
wellbeing.
1:49:54 PM
TABITHA KARPOW, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, testified
in support of SB 24 and stated that as a lifelong Alaskan, she's
deeply concerned about how easy it is for kids to access tobacco
and e-cigarettes. She said one of her children was given a vape
at school and got in trouble. While the school partners with a
prevention program, nothing is available on-site, so he was
suspended. She said a nonprofit program helped him return five
days early after completing a class. She fully supports a tax
that funds prevention programs directly, so schools can offer
support in-house and help kids stay in school. She said e-
cigarettes are currently untaxed because e-cigarettes emerged
after the 2004 cigarette tax.
1:52:12 PM
CARRIE NYSSEN, Senior Director, Advocacy, American Lung
Association, Vancouver, Washington, testified in support of SB
24 and stated that in 2018, the U.S. Surgeon General declared
youth vaping an epidemic, which continues today. SB 24 helps
address this by taxing e-cigarettes and funding prevention
programs. She said these are not cessation products and no
manufacture has sought to have the products approved as quit
programs. The products contain harmful substances like lead and
ultrafine particles. Flavored vapes, sound safe but pose serious
risks when inhaled. She said raising the purchase age to 21 and
supporting education are essential steps to protect youth
health.
1:54:21 PM
VALERIA DELGAD-LOPEZ, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified in support of SB 24 and stated that vaping has reached
elementary schools giving an example of a school in Anchorage
where fourth and fifth grade students were caught trading
chocolate milk for e-cigarette puffs. Middle and high school
students continue to vape, often in bathrooms, fueling early
addiction due to high nicotine levels. She said one young adult
shared she started using nicotine as a teen, not knowing
nicotine was addictive, and now struggles to quit. Parents often
can't detect e-cigarette use because the devices are easy to
hide. She stated that studies have shown that for every 10
percent increase in the price of tobacco products, the smoking
rate drops about 4 percent amongst adults and 7 percent among
youth, which is significant. She said that raising the purchase
age to 21 and increasing taxes are proven strategies to reduce
youth vaping and support prevention.
1:56:28 PM
ALEX MCDONALD, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified
in opposition to SB 24 and stated that vaping is not smoking
there's no combustion or smoke, which is why many former smokers
like him made the switch. He said he lost his grandmother to
cancer from smoking and didn't want the same fate. Even the FDA
recommends switching to safer products like e-cigarettes, and
youth vaping rates in Alaska are now at record lows. He said
taxing safer alternatives is counterproductive and will possibly
push people back to smoking. This proposed sales tax would even
apply to existing local wholesale taxes, creating a double tax
burden that unfairly penalizes people trying to quit smoking.
1:59:13 PM
AARON OSTEREACK, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, testified
in support of SB 24 and stated that he's not saying e-cigarettes
don't affect youth, but he believes the impact may be greater
than the previous testifier suggested. He said in the Anchorage
School District, vaping is the second leading cause of
suspensions. Youth of all ages are getting access, and early use
often leads to long-term nicotine addiction. He said as a parent
of three, he has seen this firsthand with his oldest who avoided
substances until recently but was influenced by peers and is now
trying to quit vaping. He said education and support programs
are essential, so youth understand the risks and make informed
choices. Schools across Alaska need resources to address
addiction early and help prevent health and academic
consequences.
2:02:50 PM
JULIE CLEATON, Secretary, Board of Directors, Alaska Public
Health Association, Wasilla, Alaska, testified in support of SB
24 and stated that her organization supports efforts to reduce
tobacco use, a leading cause of preventable death in Alaska,
responsible for around 600 deaths annually and costing the state
hundreds of millions in healthcare and lost productivity. She
said in January, the Alaska Public Health Association passed a
resolution urging the state to prioritize six proven policy
actions:
• Increase funding for tobacco prevention and education.
• Raise taxes on all tobacco and nicotine products, including e-
cigarettes.
• Strengthen clean indoor air laws.
• Ban flavored tobacco products.
• Raise the legal purchase age to 21.
• Remove penalties for youth possession and use.
2:04:36 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN closed public testimony on SB 24.
2:05:02 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 24 in committee.
2:05:06 PM
At ease.
SB 50-MUNICIPAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS: HOUSING
[CSSB 50(CRA) was before the committee.]
2:08:07 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 50 "An Act relating to the
comprehensive plans of first and second class boroughs."
2:08:33 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR speaking as sponsor, provided a brief summary for
SB 50 and stated that SB 50 makes a small but meaningful change
to Alaska's local government planning laws by adding "a housing
plan" to the list of elements in comprehensive plans under Title
29. He stated that initially, his office thought comprehensive
plans were required by state law, but the statute uses "may,"
not "shall," so this is more a recommendation than a mandate,
still it's symbolically important. SB 50 is supported by groups
like Housing Alaskans Public Partnership, UAA's Center for
Economic Development, and Assembly Member Anna Brawley, a
planner who helped develop SB 50. He said this effort stems from
Alaska's housing crisis that lacks sufficient attainable housing
at nearly all income levels. SB 50 is part of a broader push to
encourage housing development statewide.
2:10:20 PM
HAHLEN BEHNKEN, Staff, Senator Forrest Dunbar, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided the sectional analysis for
SB 50 as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
SECTIONAL ANALYSIS
SB 50: MUNICIPAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS: HOUSING
Section 1: AS 29.40.030(a): Adds a new subsection 5 to
AS 29.40.030(a) stating that a housing plan will now
be one of the components that may be included in a
comprehensive plan. Redesignates the former subsection
5 as subsection 6.
2:11:12 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR stated that his office spoke with Director
Mueller and her team over the summer, and while the division
plans a full Title 29 rewrite in the coming years, that's a
long-term effort. Her office had no objection to his office
moving forward with this smaller change in the meantime. SB 50
doesn't require local governments to revise current
comprehensive plans or incur new costs. Instead, as cities
update their planstypically every 10 yearsthey'll add a
housing plan going forward. He stated that he understands
comprehensive planning is a heavy lift for local governments,
which is why this approach is gradual and practical.
2:12:18 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on SB 50.
2:12:34 PM
CHRISTOPHER CONSTANT, Chair, Anchorage Assembly, Anchorage,
Alaska, testified by invitation on SB 50 and stated that housing
is a crisis affecting homelessness, youth leaving the state, and
seniors seeking suitable homes. He said Senator Sullivan once
hosted a discussion with HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and housing
developers highlighting the severe shortage of new homes and the
barriers to building them. Problems can't be solved without a
plan, and SB 50's "may" language encourages communities to
include housing plans without mandating them. He said Anchorage
isn't subject to this, but solutions must work statewide,
including rural areas, since people move across communities.
Encouraging thoughtful housing planning improves the chances of
addressing this persistent challenge effectively.
2:15:15 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 50 in committee.
2:15:42 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Bjorkman adjourned the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting at 2:15 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB24 Public Testimony-Letter-Shaun D'Sylva 02.22.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 24 |
| SB24 Public Testimony-Letter-ANHB 02.28.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 24 |
| SB50 ver N.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
| SB50 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
| SB50 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
| SB50 Fiscal Note-DCCED-DCRA-01-31-25.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
| SB50 Public Testimony-Letters Received 02.11.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |
| SB81 ver A.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM SL&C 4/4/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 81 |
| SB81 Sponsor Statement ver A.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM SL&C 4/4/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 81 |
| SB81 Sectional Analysis ver A.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM SL&C 4/4/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 81 |
| SB50 Public Testimony-Anna Brawley 03.03.25.pdf |
SL&C 3/3/2025 1:30:00 PM |
SB 50 |