00 HOUSE BILL NO. 65 01 "An Act relating to an allowable absence for certain military civilian employees and 02 civilian contractors for purposes of determining eligibility for permanent fund 03 dividends; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 43.23.008(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) Subject to (b) and (c) of this section, an otherwise eligible individual who 07 is absent from the state during the qualifying year remains eligible for a current year 08 permanent fund dividend if the individual was absent 09 (1) receiving secondary or postsecondary education on a full-time 10 basis; 11 (2) receiving vocational, professional, or other specific education on a 12 full-time basis for which, as determined by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 13 Education, a comparable program is not reasonably available in the state; 14 (3) serving outside of the state as a civilian employee or civilian 01 contractor of the armed forces of the United States while under orders to deploy, 02 serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, or 03 accompanying, as that individual's spouse, minor dependent, or disabled dependent, an 04 individual who is 05 (A) serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of 06 the United States; and 07 (B) eligible for a current year dividend; 08 (4) serving under foreign or coastal articles of employment aboard an 09 oceangoing vessel of the United States merchant marine; 10 (5) receiving continuous medical treatment recommended by a 11 licensed physician or convalescing as recommended by the physician who treated the 12 illness if the treatment or convalescence is not based on a need for climatic change; 13 (6) providing care for a parent, spouse, sibling, child, or stepchild with 14 a critical life-threatening illness whose treatment plan, as recommended by the 15 attending physician, requires travel outside the state for treatment at a medical 16 specialty complex; 17 (7) providing care for the individual's terminally ill family member; 18 (8) settling the estate of the individual's deceased parent, spouse, 19 sibling, child, or stepchild, provided the absence does not exceed 220 cumulative days; 20 (9) serving as a member of the United States Congress; 21 (10) serving on the staff of a member from this state of the United 22 States Congress; 23 (11) serving as an employee of the state in a field office or other 24 location; 25 (12) accompanying a minor who is absent under (5) of this subsection; 26 (13) accompanying another eligible resident who is absent for a reason 27 permitted under (1), (2), (5) - (12), (16), or (17) of this subsection as the spouse, minor 28 dependent, or disabled dependent of the eligible resident; 29 (14) serving as a volunteer in the federal peace corps program; 30 (15) because of training or competing as a member of the United States 31 Olympic Team; 01 (16) participating for educational purposes in a student fellowship 02 sponsored by the United States Department of Education or by the United States 03 Department of State; 04 (17) for any reason consistent with the individual's intent to remain a 05 state resident, provided the absence or cumulative absences do not exceed 06 (A) 180 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 07 claimed under (3) of this subsection if the individual is not claiming an absence 08 under (1), (2), or (4) - (16) of this subsection; 09 (B) 120 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 10 claimed under (1) - (3) of this subsection if the individual is not claiming an 11 absence under (4) - (16) of this subsection but is claiming an absence under (1) 12 or (2) of this subsection; or 13 (C) 45 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 14 claimed under (1) - (16) of this subsection if the individual is claiming an 15 absence under (4) - (16) of this subsection. 16 * Sec. 2. AS 43.23.008 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 17 (e) For purposes of (a)(3) of this section, 18 (1) "civilian contractor" means a self-employed individual or an 19 employee of a business under contract to do work in support of the armed forces of the 20 United States; 21 (2) "civilian employee" means 22 (A) an individual employed by a branch of the armed forces of 23 the United States or by the United States Department of Defense; or 24 (B) an activated military reservist in the armed forces of the 25 United States; 26 (3) "orders to deploy" means a letter of authorization or travel paper 27 issued by the United States Department of Defense or a branch of the armed forces of 28 the United States that requires the recipient to report for duty for a specific time, place, 29 and duration. 30 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read: 01 APPLICABILITY. Notwithstanding permanent fund dividend application procedures 02 or deadlines, a person who qualifies for a 2008 or 2009 permanent fund dividend because of 03 the amendment to AS 43.23.008(a)(3) made in sec. 1 of this Act and the addition of 04 AS 43.23.008(e) in sec. 2 of this Act may apply for the dividend by December 31, 2009. The 05 Department of Revenue shall prepare a form for application under this section. 06 * Sec. 4. Sections 1 and 2 of this Act are retroactive to January 1, 2007. 07 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).