SB 4-MILITARY TRAINING CREDIT  2:05:21 PM CHAIR DUNLEAVY reconvened the meeting and noted the arrival of Senator Stedman. CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced that the final order of business would be SB 4. "An Act relating to applying military education, training, and service credit to occupational licensing and certain postsecondary education and employment training requirements; providing for a temporary occupational license for qualified military service members; and providing for an effective date." 2:06:09 PM SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, sponsor of SB 4, explained that the bill directs state boards to accept relevant military education training and service as equivalent to some or all qualifications for applying for licenses or certificates. It also directs the University of Alaska and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education to implement policies and procedures to accept relevant military education as credit toward a degree or technical certificate. The bill is an effort to stem the high unemployment rates for veterans. This is particularly important for Alaska because it has the highest percentage of veterans in the country. He related that a number of states have this legislation and it's the number one priority for the U.S. Department of Defense. He noted that he introduced an identical bill last year. 2:08:22 PM SENATOR MICCICHE asked what happened to the bill last year. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI explained that companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate and the House bill became the vehicle, but it died on the last night of the session. CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if this bill was identical. KENDRA KLOSTER, Staff, Senator Bill Wielechowski, said this bill is substantially the same, but the previous committee removed language that allowed a temporary license to be extended for 180 days. 2:09:45 PM SENATOR OLSON asked why the 180-day provision was removed. MS. KLOSTER said a member of that committee was concerned about such an extension for the medical profession. It was a policy call and the sponsor accepted the change. MARC SAN SOUCI, Northwest Regional Liaison, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), Tacoma, Washington, provided information related to SB 4. He highlighted that 28 states have passed similar legislation granting veterans credit toward either occupational licensing and/or academic credit. He emphasized that the request is not for direct licensure if it is not equivalent. It's only credit where credit is due. He pointed out that the public has already paid for veterans' training by paying taxes. MR. SAN SOUCI reported that the Department of Defense recently released a new Joint Service Transcript (JST) that is generic to all branches of the military. The goal is to make it easier to evaluate course descriptions and training among the different branches. 2:14:21 PM SENATOR OLSON asked how the military grades its students. MR. SAN SOUCI said it varies based on the length and type of program, and sometimes there is variation between the branches of the service. The new JST is intended to make it easier to evaluate the courses for credit. SENATOR OLSON asked what categories of training besides medicine are available and have benefitted by these training credits. MR. SAN SOUCI said many job categories have benefitted, among these are cosmetology and engineering. SENATOR OLSON asked about firefighters and pilots. MR. SAN SOUCI responded that licenses that are federally regulated, such as for pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians, probably wouldn't be included, but licenses for firefighters, engineering technicians, landscapers, and surveyors would be. 2:17:57 PM SENATOR MICCICHE asked if the $137,600 fiscal note was a "one timer" for travel costs for the various occupational boards to get together, plus $30,000 for staff costs for regulation changes. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said yes. He explained that the Senate Bill last year had a delayed effective date and that eliminated the fiscal note. The House bill had an immediate effective date and it had a fiscal impact. Senator Huggins preferred an immediate effective date, and that's what SB 4 has; thus, the fiscal note. 2:19:02 PM CHAIR DUNLEAVY stated he would hold SB 4 in committee and take public testimony at the next hearing.