1997-03-05                     Senate Journal                      Page 0574
SB 116                                                                       
The Alaska Welfare to Work program mirrors the federal work                    
opportunity tax credit program and should operate seamlessly with              
that national effort so the Department of Labor can easily administer          
both programs and avoid confusion for employers.  Unlike the                   
federal program, though, the Alaska credit would only apply to the             
hiring of people in Alaska.  Because thats the whole point of this             
program--hiring Alaskans--this bill also eliminates a current provision        
in state law that allows out-of-state corporations to take a credit on         
their Alaska income tax for hiring someone on public assistance in             
Los Angeles, or Detroit, or anywhere in the other 49 states.  That             
federal credit is actually relatively small compared to the credit in          
this proposal.  Corporations hiring Alaskans stand to gain much more           
under the Welfare to Work plan than they would lose in applying                
the federal credit to Alaska corporate income tax.                             
                                                                               
Jobs are the answer to reducing our welfare rolls.  To the extent this         
new program can encourage the private sector to help people work               
their way off public assistance, we are all better served.  Lets               
continue the work we began last year by passing this bill and getting          
Alaskans to work.                                                              
                                                                               
						Sincerely,                                                               
						/s/                                                                      
						Tony Knowles                                                             
						Governor                                                                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
SB 117                                                                       
SENATE BILL NO. 117 BY SENATOR DONLEY, entitled:                               
                                                                               
An Act relating to an infant care curriculum in the                           
public school system.                                                          
                                                                               
was read the first time and referred to the Health, Education and              
Social Services and Finance Committees.