HB 113-MILITARY FAMILY EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE  2:15:45 PM CHAIR LEDOUX announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 113, "An Act relating to employment preferences for spouses and children of veterans, disabled veterans, former prisoners of war, members of the national guard, and deceased service members." 2:16:22 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. 2:16:35 PM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 113, labeled 31-LS0715\U, Wayne, 4/15/19, as the working draft. 2:16:50 PM CHAIR LEDOUX objected for the purpose of discussion. 2:17:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON, prime sponsor of HB 113, paraphrased parts of the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read in its entirety as follows [original punctuation provided]: The purpose of House Bill 113 is to allow hiring preferences to military spouses and dependent children in the State of Alaska and the private sector. Military families fall into two categories: Blue Star or Gold Star Families. Blue Star families are military spouses and dependents of active service members and veterans. Gold Star families are usually spouses and children of a deceased service members while in active duty. In Alaska, veterans with a disability receive a 10 point/or 10% hiring preference and service members transitioning receive a 5 point/5% preference. Current law allows for either automatic interviews or points on a test if a test is required. HB 113 would extend these benefits to spouses and dependents. A recent report from the Department of Defense found that a quarter of military spouses are unemployed or underemployed. There are several efforts being done in all 50 states, but Alaska is one of the few states that do not give employment preferences to military spouses HB113 would also make Alaska the first state to support Gold Star Families. There are roughly 151,881 military dependents out of 68 thousand active members according to the Alaska Department of Military & Veteran Affairs. This is a small but significant way to honor our service members and their families, who often fall under the cracks while also making a sacrifice to serve their country. 2:20:42 PM ERICK CORDERO GIORGANA, Staff, Representative Sharon Jackson, Alaska State Legislature, explained that HB 113 extends current hiring preferences to military and Blue Star spouses and dependents, and to Gold Star spouses and dependents. A Gold Star is a military member who died in active duty, while a Blue Star is an active duty service member or veteran. He stated that military spouses are among the highest unemployed group in the United States despite their education or experience. He said that this is often due to gaps in their resume and the instability of constantly relocating. Under Alaska's current law, service members who are applying for a job get a 5-point hiring preference, while veterans with disabilities get a 10- point preference - HB 113 will extend these benefits to spouses and dependents. If the employer can't assign points because they don't use the hiring rubric that results in a numerical score, then the benefit will be the guarantee of an interview. He noted that 24 other states currently provide veterans' preference to spouses or surviving spouses. 2:24:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON noted that current statutes allow the state and private employers the ability to give hiring preferences to veterans and members of the National Guard; however, the statutes do not extend those preferences to military spouses or dependents. She added that the current bill would "extend our work pool and give the opportunity for military spouses to integrate more in our communities." 2:25:47 PM MR. CORDERO GIORGANA addressed the changes from the original bill. He said, "the original bill did not spell out active service members in the section that expands the benefits to spouses and families," adding that the CS makes that clear. The CS also clarifies active service members or veterans who identify as disabled. He further noted that Legislative Legal Services, Legislative Affairs Agency, made changes to amend the State Personnel Act [AS 39.25] to reference definitions in HB 113 for consistency. MR CORDERO GIORGANA turned attention to the sectional analysis of the CS for HB 113, version U. He stated that section 1 does not prohibit a private employer from having hiring preferences for persons described in Section 2 of this bill. Section 2 repeals and reenacts the current statute by adding definitions removed from Section 1 for clarity. This section does not prohibit a private employer from having hiring preferences to active-military, veterans and families. This section adds language to include spouses and dependent children of deceased service members to the list. Section 3 amends the State Personnel Act to reference definitions as stated in Section 4 of this bill for consistency. Section 4 amends the employment preference for veterans or former prisoners of war by adding new language to include families of an active-duty service member, veteran, or former prisoner of war. He said, "this section clarifies the type of preference given the hiring process and whether the applicant is disabled or not." Section 5 clarifies that a person may receive an employment preference under only one of the categories described in sections 3 and 4. A person may use the preference without limitation when being considered for a position for which persons who are not currently state employees are being considered. If the recruitment for a position is limited to state employees, preference under (a) or (c) of this section may not be counted. Section 6 states that this bill does not involve interpreting amendments of a collective bargaining agreement and makes a reference to subsection (a) of Section 4. Section 7 defines a dependent child as anyone age 0-19 years old or up to age 23 if they are a full-time student at an accredited educational or technical institution that is recognized by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Finally, section 8 removes language that has been included in section 4. 2:30:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked why they decided on age 23 for dependents when healthcare can continue for a "child" up to the age of 26. REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON offered her understanding that "according to the statutes it covers a child up to 23 as long as they are in college." MR. CORDERO GIORGANA explained that healthcare provisions are federal, adding that in Alaska the age is usually 23. He further noted that the state also provides educational benefits to Gold Star families by waiving their tuition and fees if they want to enroll in the state education system. 2:31:41 PM CHAIR LEDOUX removed her objection. There being no further objection, Version U was before the committee. REPRESENTATIVE TARR returned attention to the definition of a dependent child and asked if it excluded stepchildren. MR. CORDERO GIORGANA replied that, currently, the language does not include stepchildren. REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON offered her understanding that the DD 214 [U.S. Department of Defense Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty] lists dependents without distinction. 2:33:10 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR suggested extending the definition of dependent to include trade schools or apprenticeships. 2:34:43 PM VERDIE BOWEN, Director, Office of Veterans Affairs, Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs, explained that any programs including trades or on-the-job training that are certified through the post-secondary institution would be included in this bill. 2:35:18 PM CHAIR LEDOUX opened public testimony. 2:36:58 PM MR. BOWEN expressed his full support of HB 113. He stated that the hiring preferences will provide a benefit to both Blue Star and Gold Star military families by getting them a job interview. He said it will show them that the state cares about the sacrifices they made. 2:40:24 PM TERRE GALE, Director, Division of Labor Standards and Safety, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, noted that, because its voluntary, there will be no direct fiscal impact on the division of Labor Standards and Safety, Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD). 2:40:58 PM DANA MANCIAGLI, President, DM Consult, informed the committee that she is a national expert on "the military spouse plight" and expressed her support for HB 113. She stated that the military community has been left behind in terms of their unemployment and underemployment statistics and gave a description of the numbers that support this statement. 2:46:20 PM JAMIE ALLARD gave a short description of her educational background and experience working with military spouses and teaching them how to get jobs. She suggested including part- time students in the current bill to allow them to receive employment benefits, noting that some kids can't take a full class schedule and work at the same time. 2:48:45 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if problems are intensifying for military spouses because of the military's active engagement in the Middle East for the last 20 years. MS. ALLARD mentioned that she was in the military in the 1990s during Desert Storm and stated that they faced the same ongoing problems because of constant relocation and deployed family members. CHAIR LEDOUX closed public testimony. [HB 113 was held over.]