SB 145-VETS' RETIREMENT/LOANS/HOUSING/EMPLOYMENT                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:06:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR OLSON  announced that the  next order of business  would be                                                               
SENATE  BILL  NO.   145,  "An  Act  relating   to  the  Teachers'                                                               
Retirement  System,  the  Judicial  Retirement  System,  and  the                                                               
Public  Employees'  Retirement   System  for  qualified  military                                                               
service; relating to the definition  of 'veteran' for purposes of                                                               
housing,  eligibility for  veterans'  loans,  and preferences  in                                                               
state employment hiring; and providing for an effective date."                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:06:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CURTIS  THAYER,   Commissioner,  Department   of  Administration,                                                               
stated that this  bill provides clean-up to statutes.   First, he                                                               
commented  that the  state has  hiring preferences  for veterans.                                                               
However, these statutes  have not been updated  since the Vietnam                                                               
War, so this  bill would update the statutory  definitions to the                                                               
federal  definition to  recognize  veterans that  have served  in                                                               
military conflicts  such as  the 1991  Gulf War,  Operation Iraqi                                                               
Freedom, and any  conflicts arising after September  11, 2001, as                                                               
qualifying  for the  state's hiring  preference.   He noted  that                                                               
veterans who apply  for state service obtain  a hiring preference                                                               
for  having served.   Additionally,  the  Alaska Housing  Finance                                                               
Corporation  (AHFC) Veterans'  Housing  Preference definition  is                                                               
outdated  and needs  updating.   These  changes  would bring  the                                                               
AHFC's  statutes in  alignment with  the federal  definition used                                                               
for  public  housing and  mortgage  loans.   Finally,  this  bill                                                               
updates the provisions related to  the Heroes Earnings Assistance                                                               
and Relief  Tax Act of 2008  (HEART Act), which is  a federal law                                                               
passed in  2008.   Basically, this  would require  additional tax                                                               
and health benefits for employees  who are absent from state work                                                               
due  to duty  in the  uniformed military  service.   For example,                                                               
someone who serves  in the military reserve is called  up to duty                                                               
and  subsequently  killed in  the  line  of  duty would  have  an                                                               
effective  date of  service coinciding  with the  day the  person                                                               
left state service.  This means  the family would be eligible for                                                               
any  vesting  the military  individual  would  have had  for  the                                                               
period of time since they left  state service through the time of                                                               
military service until  his/her death.  It would  also allow them                                                               
to collect life insurance benefits.   He pointed out that this is                                                               
a  federal  requirement  and  the   state  is  currently  out  of                                                               
compliance.   He referred to an  upcoming audit due in  2015, and                                                               
this bill  would clean up  some veterans' statutes and  allow the                                                               
department to be compliant by 2015.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:09:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR OLSON related  two committee members are  veterans and have                                                               
taken advantage of programs.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked  for any costs to  "back date" the                                                               
life insurance for veterans.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  THAYER  answered that  the  department  has a  zero                                                               
fiscal note  for all three  provisions.   He said that  the state                                                               
was lucky that it did not  have any state employee who was called                                                               
up for duty  and killed.  He explained that  actuaries review the                                                               
past to predict the future  so currently the actuary's prediction                                                               
is  zero.   In  further response  to a  question,  he agreed  the                                                               
department briefed the legislature earlier in the year on this.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:10:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  OLSON,  after first  determining  no  one else  wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on SB 145.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON  moved to  report SB  145 out  of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.   There being no objection,  SB 145 was reported  from the                                                               
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.