HB 176-PFD ALLOWABLE ABSENCE:DEFENSE WORKERS  9:28:38 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the last order of business was HOUSE BILL NO. 176, "An Act relating to an allowable absence for members of the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce of the United States Department of Defense for purposes of determining eligibility for permanent fund dividends; and providing for an effective date." 9:29:32 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for HB 176, Version 27-LS0224\B, Kirsch, 3/14/11, as a work draft. 9:29:47 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON objected for discussion purposes. 9:29:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE BOB MILLER, Alaska State Legislature, introduced HB 176 as sponsor. He said there is a list of those who are allowed to receive the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, and it came to his attention that there is a small contingent of Alaska residents who work for the U.S. Department of Defense, can be deployed to war zones, and, because of the length of time they are deployed, are not always eligible to receive a PFD. He said HB 176 would establish an allowable absence for those people. 9:31:56 AM TROY BOUFFARD, Staff, Representative Bob Miller, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 176 and answered questions on behalf of Representative Miller, sponsor. In response to Chair Lynn, he explained that there are approximately 53 civilians who are identified in the capacity of the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce. He specified that the bill clearly separates the workforce as that which can be deployed. 9:33:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON directed attention to the terms list on page 1, line 14, through page 2, line 1, of Version M - "combat  zone, qualified hazardous duty area, or a danger pay post" - and asked for a definition of each. CHAIR LYNN requested a definition from the sponsor. REPRESENTATIVE MILLER said he will get that clarification. 9:37:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he would like not only the definitions, but also wants to know where those areas are. 9:38:16 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER noted Section 2 states that the definitions of "Civilian Expeditionary Workforce", "combat zone", and "danger pay post" used in HB 176 are those used in United States Code. He pointed out one possible problem with using federal definitions in determining who will receive a PFD is that those definitions could change, which could affect who would be eligible for the PFD. He asked the bill sponsor if he has any objection to including a full definition of the terms in Alaska statute. REPRESENTATIVE MILLER answered that he has no objection at present, but suggested that plainer language could be used for clarification. CHAIR LYNN said he would like to see the definition in plain language. 9:40:28 AM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON said a military person contacted her regarding HB 176, and this person has been out of the state for 10 years and has qualified every year but this one. She said she does not know which category he/she is in, but wants to know how the person can qualify once more for the PFD. MR. BOUFFARD responded that someone in the active military is beyond the scope of HB 176. REPRESENTATIVE MILLER stated his intent is for HB 176 to cover those who are current residents of Alaska who intend to return to Alaska. 9:43:09 AM MR. BOUFFARD stated his understanding that HB 190 would address the issue to which Representative P. Wilson referred. 9:44:13 AM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked that the federal definitions referenced in Section 2 be provided to the committee. He then directed attention to Section 4, and questioned why the bill sponsor chose retroactivity of two years rather than one. 9:45:17 AM REPRESENTATIVE MILLER, in response to Representative Seaton, said HB 176 would not apply to those teaching children on a military base. 9:48:33 AM MR. BOUFFARD, in response to Representative Seaton, said the contracting civilian issue was a sticking point. He relayed that contractors have the ability to negotiate their salary, thus fall under the category of those who make an economic choice and are excluded from the scope of the bill. 9:49:36 AM MR. BOUFFARD, in response to Representative P. Wilson, said the definition of civilian workforce is a civilian who works for the U.S. Department of Defense who is deployable. REPRESENTATIVE MILLER, in response to Representative P. Wilson, said he would supply a definition clarifying the difference between "deployed" and "assigned". 9:52:04 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON requested a list of the occupations of those who would be included under HB 176, because civilian expeditionary force is ambiguous and some situations sound like economic choice may be involved. 9:54:02 AM CHAIR LYNN noted that Debbie Bitney, the director of the Permanent Fund Division, was available to answer questions. 9:54:38 AM REPRESENTATIVE MILLER offered his understanding that in any given year, HB 176 would cover about six people. 9:55:15 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that HB 176 was heard and held. [The motion to adopt Version B as a work draft was left pending.]