SB 10-FREE/REDUCED TUITION FOR ESSENTIAL WORKER  10:05:50 AM CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 10 "An Act establishing a grant program to provide to essential workers the tuition and fees to attend a state-supported postsecondary educational institution." He stated his intent to hear the bill, take public testimony, and hold the bill in committee for further review. He called on Senator Begich and staff to introduce the bill. 10:06:10 AM SENATOR TOM BEGICH, speaking as sponsor of SB 10, explained that bill is a thank you to essential workers for the work they did the past year. Whether they delivered groceries, took care of young children, picked people up from the airport, cleaned offices, or handled the mail, essential workers made the ultimate sacrifice, sometimes at great risk to themselves and their loved ones. A recent study published by the Occupational Environmental Medicine Journal reported that over 20 percent of grocery store employees tested positive for COVID-19. Of that 20 percent, more than 95 percent reported getting it from contact through their jobs. That is precisely why the bill is before the committee. The bill, besides being good policy, is a thank you to those workers, those workers who put their lives on the line for each person. During COVID everyone fell behind. As more is learned about the road ahead, it is clear the country is in a wildly uneven recovery. SB 10 is about giving those essential workers a hand up after the dust settles. SENATOR BEGICH reminded the members who heard the bill in the Labor and Commerce hearing that the Department of Labor displayed a graphic that showed that a year later, the state is still 25 percent down in employing the lowest income labor force, while the labor market for the upper end went up 1 percent a year later. The department data shows that higher education attainment equates to higher weekly earnings. A recent University of Alaska workforce report states that median income earnings for those with just a high school diploma is about $35,000 in Alaska while those with bachelor's degree earn on average $57,000 a year. Education matters. The bill is a pathway to education for those who choose it to take it. The same report states that 96.3 percent of working graduates are Alaska residents. Going to school in Alaska keeps people in Alaska. By providing path for essential workers to earn a postsecondary education in Alaska, the state will stop the attrition of Alaska's future. 10:08:58 AM SENATOR BEGICH said that as stated in Labor and Commerce, his office has some changes to work on in committee substitute to reflect the intent of bill. It will include all of the essential workers identified in the handout in the committee packet called Alaska's Essential Services and Critical Workforce Infrastructure. That came from a lot of commentary to his office. It includes those who worked in the front lines for the nonprofit sector, like Bean's Caf? workers and postal workers. This all came up in testimony. After a review of the legislation with the executive director of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, his office recognized that although the bill meant to permit attendance at any state-supported postsecondary institution for a student who has not yet received an undergraduate degree, some phrasing must be fixed. It is minor, but it clarifies that intent. He has had good discussion about the program start and end dates, which now are tied to the expiration of the federal emergency declaration. He plans to provide an amendment that permits interested parties to apply for consideration until the end of this year and then repeal the entire program by 2025, giving people four years to actively participate in it. The state of Michigan has enacted this program. Michigan used CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act funding to enact it. With the $1.1 billion coming to the state, he is certain that the Finance Committees will be able to redirect some of that resource. His fiscal note shows that it will not be over $10 million for the entire period of the grants program. 10:10:59 AM LOKI TOBIN, Staff, Senator Tom Begich, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis for SB 10. She noted that Senator Begich will offer an amendment to Section 1 relating to the list of occupations. Section 1. Establishes an Essential Worker Grant Program as new uncodified law of the State of Alaska. Directs the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to establish an undergraduate tuition grant program for essential workers employed at the start of or during the declared federal public health emergency. This section also includes a comprehensive listing of occupations that qualify as essential for the purpose of this grant program. Provides stipulations for qualifying essential workers, including employment status, postsecondary enrollment status, residency requirement, high school or equivalency completion requirement, grade point minimum, completion of federal aid application, and post-secondary credit hour limitations. Includes grant program eligibility requirements, including grade point minimum, program progression, and enrollment status. Directs the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to establish policies and procedures for application and admission to the program, including establishing evaluation process of program efficacy. Section 2. Establishes an Essential Worker Grant Program Report as new uncodified law of the State of Alaska. Directs the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to submit the report of program efficacy to the Alaska State Legislature on or before December 31st. Section 3. Repeals Section 1 on the date of expiration or determination of the declaration of a federal public health emergency. MS. TOBIN noted that as mentioned by the sponsor, an amendment to Section is forthcoming. Section 4. Sets a repeal date of January 1, 2025 for Section 2 of this Act. CHAIR HOLLAND called on invited testimony. 10:13:56 AM TERI COTHREN, Associate Vice President for Workforce Development, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, said she would present Reskilling and Upskilling for Alaskans. With legislation such as SB 10, the university can train more Alaskans and support Alaska's economic recovery. She said she will explain how training Alaska's workforce is a critical part of the university's mission. MS. COTHREN described Alaska's system of higher education on slide 2. MS. COTHREN presented slide 3, UA's Critical Workforce Mission: • Alaska's most comprehensive provider of workforce training o UA offers more than 200 programs in workforce development o Non-credit industry recognized certifications, endorsements, certificates o Associate Degrees o Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate Degrees • Programs in high-demand industries needed for Alaska's economic growth MS. COTHREN presented slide 4, Value of Postsecondary Education. The median earnings data is from analysis by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and make abundantly clear the economic value of training and education. The data shows that more education and training correlate strongly with lower unemployment rates and this was highlighted during the pandemic: • Median earnings jump from: o $35,328 for high school graduates o $44,619 for Alaskans with an associate degree o $57,708 for those with a bachelor's degree o $77,402 for holders of graduate or professional degrees • Lower unemployment rates • Provide skills required for new and advancing careers 10:17:02 AM MS. COTHREN displayed slide 5, UA Workforce Reports Industries Highlighted. Through a recent project, the university strengthened its partnership with Research and Analysis at the Department of Labor to demonstrate graduate outcomes across key Alaska industries that resulted in the development of nine workforce reports. MS. COTHREN displayed slide 6, UA Workforce Reports, which showed an example of the data in one report, including average wages of graduates and hiring trends of the industry being featured. 10:18:25 AM At ease 10:18:32 AM CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and suspended Ms. Cothren's presentation because of audio technical difficulties. 10:19:11 AM JOELLE HALL, President, Alaska AFL-CIO, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that her organization represents 60,000 workers in a variety of fields. Many, such as first responders, hospital and state employees, and grocery store workers, have worked under difficult conditions during the pandemic. Her organization represents many frontline workers, but many do not benefit from collective bargaining agreements, such as childcare workers, delivery drivers, personal care attendants, to name a few. Much was learned during the pandemic. She hopes that one thing sticks out in people's collective hearts and memories. Without childcare and grocery story workers, everyone is in deep trouble. The pandemic resulted in huge job losses. As a community, Alaska needs to do everything it can to get Alaskans back to work. One way to make a big difference is job training. Providing training and opportunities to a better way of life for families is the cornerstone of the work that the labor movement does. A market economy is enhanced when workers have easy access to affordable training. This bill will reward many who have given so much with a gift that helps them and their families. As is noted in the sponsor statement, better trained workers also help employers, so this bill is a win-win for workers and their current and future employers. This is a good idea that will helps so many who have given so much. AFL-CIO is in full support of this bill. She had had conversations with Senator Begich about apprenticeships. The apprenticeship systems that AFL-CIO is involved with are already free to the student, so Alaska's union apprenticeships are free of charge, but AFL-CIO would look forward to expanding those training opportunities. In order to do that, its supply-and-demand system is based on work. If there are infrastructure bills or geobond bills, AFL-CIO stands ready to expand up its training modules and training systems in the construction industry to rapidly respond to the free market demand for those workers. If the legislature invests in geobonds or infrastructure, that allows an uptake of these workers into things like the apprenticeship system, whether they are union or nonunion, and putting more workers into the construction workforce, which in Alaska is considered a graying workforce and would allow Alaska to keep its workers here. She described SB 10 as a great bill. 10:22:16 AM CHAIR HOLLAND called on Teri Cothren to continue her presentation. MS. COTHREN explained that slide 6 on workforce reports highlights graduate outcomes. MS. COTHREN presented a graph on slide 7, Summary of First-Year Employment. The graph shows industries where first-year graduates are employed. Health care is projected to grow at twice the rate of the rest of the economy overall and total 54,000 jobs by 2028, so it is not a surprise that nearly 24 percent of graduates work in the health care industry. Graduates are in educational services, mining and gas, as well as transportation and construction industries. MS. COTHREN displayed a graph on slide 8, Average Wages of UA Graduates, and said that Alaska has some of the best employment data in the country. [Audio connection was lost.] 10:25:02 AM SENATOR BEGICH said that he had no idea how detailed the data is until Ms. Cothren presented data to his office. That data has driven his desire to see the bill move. When the state can get folks into these jobs, they become fully functioning participants in the state's system. That is what her presentation is underscoring, how many of these Alaskans improved their income level and contribution to the state and become productive citizens. That is a critical component of the presentation. 10:25:58 AM SENATOR HUGHES said she supports people furthering their education to lift themselves up into a better position. She and her husband did that years ago. She said her problem with the bill is that people were unemployed in the state who were not in the category of essential worker do not qualify because they were able to continue working and earn a wage, but many had to close small business and could not go to work and got hit hard. SENATOR BEGICH responded that one of the things about the bill is that it does try to provide opportunity for people who were on the front lines and may have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. That is the intent in the amendment, to cover those workers she described. If people were unfortunate enough to lose their jobs during that time period, they would potentially be eligible for the grants program. That is part of the plan. They would have qualified as an essential worker before losing their job. SENATOR HUGHES offered her understanding that some of the jobs that were lost do not meet the definition for essential worker so they would not qualify. She asked if she misunderstands that. SENATOR BEGICH answered that he is not sure. He can look into that and find an answer that satisfies both her and himself. CHAIR HOLLAND shared that is also his concern. He thought essential workers worked through the pandemic. His concern is that those are people who didn't miss a paycheck, but there are people who shut down businesses. 10:28:40 AM At ease 10:28:53 AM CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and opened public testimony on SB 10. 10:29:11 AM PANU LUCIER, Director, Alaska's System for Early Education Development (SEED), thread, Anchorage, Alaska, said that SEED is Alaska's statewide professional development system in early childhood. In Alaska and across the nation early childhood teachers have remained in the lower income bracket. In Alaska the median hourly wage for childcare workers is $13.21 Many early childhood educators have families of their own and struggle to make ends meet and do not have extra money for training or higher education. Many work two jobs to make ends meet. The COVID pandemic shed light on how essential childcare is for working families. Alaska's early educators have been on the frontlines as essential workers throughout the pandemic. SB 10 would provide much needed assistance. 10:30:52 AM CHAIR HOLLAND asked Teri Cothren to continue her presentation. MS. COTHREN said that to speak to the final two slides, starting with slide 8, the state has rich employment data, thanks to the research from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The graph on slide 8 of UA wage outcomes shows that more education and training correlate strongly with more earning potential. The average first-year wages of these graduates are more than $50,000 and the fifth-year wages exceed the average Alaska wage by nearly $10,000. MS. COTHREN displayed the graph on slide 9, which shows that 96 percent of working graduates are Alaska residents. The university supports SB 10 to help remove a potential barrier for essential workers. SENATOR BEGICH said that on page 2, line 1, of the bill does say was permanently or temporarily laid off as one of the conditions. 10:34:11 AM CHAIR HOLLAND closed public testimony and held SB 10 in committee.