Legislature(2025 - 2026)
2026-04-28 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2388 HB 78 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) "An Act relating to the public employees' retirement system and the teachers' retirement system; providing certain employees an opportunity to choose between the defined benefit and defined contribution plans of the public employees' retirement system and the teachers' retirement system; and providing for an effective date" was read the third time. Senator Kawasaki moved the bill be returned to second reading for all amendments offered today. Without objection, the bill was returned to second reading. Senator Kawasaki offered Amendment No. 1 : Page 2, line 3: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 3, line 3: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 3, line 7: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 3, line 8: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 3, line 24: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 3, line 25: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2389 Page 3, line 26: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 14, line 19: Delete "2025" Insert "2026" Page 20, line 11: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 20, line 26: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 26, line 6: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 34, line 1: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 34, line 4: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 34, line 12: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 34, line 15: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 34, line 16: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2390 Page 35, line 13: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 35, line 14: Delete "2026" in both places Insert "2027" in both places Page 45, line 7: Delete "2025" Insert "2026" Page 52, line 11: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 54, line 24: Delete "2026" in both places Insert "2027" in both places Page 54, line 26: Delete "2027" Insert "2028" Page 55, line 4: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 55, line 5: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 55, line 11: Delete "2027" Insert "2028" Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Page 55, line 12: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2391 Page 55, line 23: Delete "2026" in both places Insert "2027" in both places Page 56, line 11: Delete "2026" Insert "2027" Senator Kawasaki moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 1. Without objection, Amendment No. 1 was adopted. Senator Kiehl offered Amendment No. 2 : Page 22, following line 7: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 39. AS 14.25.540(c) is amended to read: (c) Each eligible member who elects to participate in the defined contribution retirement plan shall have transferred to a new account the member contribution account balance held in trust for the member under the defined benefit retirement plan of the teachers' retirement system. An [A MATCHING] employer contribution equal to 88 percent of the transferred account balance shall be made on behalf of that employee to the new account. The administrator [EMPLOYER] shall make the payment for that purpose [MATCHING CONTRIBUTION] from [FUNDS OTHER THAN] the sub-trust established under AS 14.25.086 [TRUST FUNDS OF THE DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT PLAN]. The amount of the [MATCHING] employer contribution is subject to, and may not exceed, the limitation of 26 U.S.C. 415(c) during the applicable limitation year as defined in AS 14.25.590. If the [MATCHING] employer contribution would exceed the limits during the limitation year in which the transfer occurs, the remaining amount of the [MATCHING] employer contribution shall be made in the next limitation year, if the limits during that year would not be exceeded." 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2392 Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 53, following line 25: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 99. AS 39.35.940(c) is amended to read: (c) Each eligible member who elects to participate in the defined contribution retirement plan shall have transferred to a new account the employee contribution account balance held in trust for the member under the defined benefit retirement plan of the public employees' retirement system. An [A MATCHING] employer contribution equal to 63 percent of the transferred account balance shall be made on behalf of that employee to the new account. The administrator [EMPLOYER] shall make the payment for that purpose [MATCHING CONTRIBUTION] from [FUNDS OTHER THAN] the sub-trust [TRUST FUNDS OF THE DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT PLAN] established under AS 39.35.281 [AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680]. The amount of the [MATCHING] employer contribution shall be subject to, and may not exceed, the limitation of 26 U.S.C. 415(c) during the applicable limitation year as defined by AS 39.35.990. If the [MATCHING] employer contribution would exceed the limits during the limitation year in which the transfer occurs, the remaining amount of the [MATCHING] employer contribution shall be made in the next limitation year, if the limits during that year would not be exceeded." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 55, line 12: Delete "sec. 101" Insert "sec. 103" Page 55, line 30: Delete "secs. 40 and 41" Insert "secs. 41 and 42" Page 56, line 4: Delete "secs. 1 - 39 and 41 - 100" Insert "secs. 1 - 40 and 42 - 102" 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2393 Page 56, line 10: Delete "Section 102" Insert "Section 104" Page 56, line 11: Delete "sec. 103" Insert "sec. 105" Senator Kiehl moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 2. Senator Stedman objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 2 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Second Reading Amendment No. 2? YEAS: 11 NAYS: 9 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Stevens, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Olson, Rauscher, Stedman, Tilton, Yundt and so, Amendment No. 2 was adopted. Senator Kiehl offered Amendment No. 3 : Page 47, line 21: Delete "is at least 50 years of age and" Senator Kiehl moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 3. Senator Stedman objected then withdrew his objection. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 3 was adopted. Senator Bjorkman offered Amendment No. 4 : Page 42, line 4: Delete "24" Insert "22" 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2394 Senator Bjorkman moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 4. Senator Stedman objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 4 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Second Reading Amendment No. 4? YEAS: 10 NAYS: 10 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Olson, Rauscher, Stedman, Stevens, Tilton, Yundt and so, Amendment No. 4 failed. Senator Wielechowski moved the Senate rescind its previous action in failing to adopt Amendment No. 4. The question being: "Shall the Senate rescind its previous action?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Second Reading Rescind action on Amendment No. 4? YEAS: 10 NAYS: 10 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Olson, Rauscher, Stedman, Stevens, Tilton, Yundt and so, the action was not rescinded. Senator Claman offered Amendment No. 5 : Page 34, lines 4 - 8: Delete "; 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2395 (A) by the State of Alaska; or (B) by an employer that is a political subdivision or public organization of the state that elects to provide" Insert ", by an employer that provides" Page 34, lines 16 - 17: Delete "the state or by an employer that elects to provide" Insert "an employer that provides" Page 35, line 9: Delete "the state or of an employer that elects to provide" Insert "an employer that provides" Page 55, line 10, following "plan": Insert ", unless the member's employer elects under sec. 101 of this Act not to provide defined benefits under AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680" Page 55, line 11: Delete ", or" Insert ". The election may be made" Page 55, line 12: Delete "elects" Insert "does not make an election" Page 55, lines 13 - 14: Delete "to provide defined benefits under AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680 to employees who first become members of the plan after June 30, 2006" Page 55, line 23, following "elect": Insert "not" Page 55, lines 25 - 26: Delete ", and who do not participate in the defined contribution retirement plan under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990" Senator Claman moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 5. Objections were heard. 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2396 The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 5 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Second Reading Amendment No. 5? YEAS: 11 NAYS: 9 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Stevens, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Olson, Rauscher, Stedman, Tilton, Yundt and so, Amendment No. 5 was adopted. Amendment No. 6 was not offered. Senator Tobin offered Amendment No. 7 : Page 55, line 6, following "may": Insert ", before January 1, 2028," Page 55, lines 10 - 14: Delete "The election may be made before January 1, 2027, by an employee of the state, or during the period beginning October 1, 2026, and ending December 31, 2026, by an employee of an employer that elects under sec. 101 of this Act to provide defined benefits under AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680 to employees who first become members of the plan after June 30, 2006." Page 55, line 23: Delete "July 1, 2026" Insert "January 1, 2027" Delete "September 30, 2026" Insert "June 30, 2027" Senator Tobin moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 7. Senator Cronk objected, then withdrew his objection. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 7 was adopted. 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2397 Senator Dunbar offered Amendment No. 8 : Page 42, line 4: Delete "24" Insert "22.5" Senator Dunbar moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 8. Senator Cronk objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 8 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Second Reading Amendment No. 8? YEAS: 11 NAYS: 9 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Olson, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Rauscher, Stedman, Stevens, Tilton, Yundt and so, Amendment No. 8 was adopted. Amendment No. 9 was not offered. Senator Kiehl offered Amendment No. 10 : Page 33, line 22, through page 34, line 9: Delete all material and insert: "Sec. 39.35.095. Applicability of AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680. The [FOLLOWING] provisions of AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680 [THIS CHAPTER] apply only to (1) members first hired before July 1, 2006, who (A) have not elected under AS 39.35.940 to participate in the defined contribution retirement plan under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990; or (B) have elected under 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2398 AS 39.35.940 to participate in the defined contribution retirement plan under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990 and are former members of the defined contribution retirement plan under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990; (2) members hired by the state, or by an employer that is a political subdivision or public organization of the state that elects to provide defined benefits under AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680 to employees who first become members of the plan after June 30, 2006, who are (A) former members of the defined contribution retirement plan under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990 first hired after June 30, 2006, and before July 1, 2026; or (B) members first hired after June 30, 2026 [: AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680]." Page 45, following line 21: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 82. AS 39.35.530 is amended to read: Sec. 39.35.530. Service credit and limit [LIMIT] on pension benefits. An employee may not simultaneously receive a pension under more than one section of AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680. However, benefits under AS 39.35.420(b), 39.35.430, 39.35.440, [OR] 39.35.450, or the defined contribution retirement plan under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990 shall be paid in addition to the benefits or service credit a person is entitled to receive because of the person's own membership in the defined benefit retirement plan. An employee may not (1) receive duplicate credit under the defined benefit retirement [THIS] plan for the same period of service, (2) receive more than one year of service credit in the course of any calendar year, or (3) receive a benefit while accruing service credit under the [THIS] plan, except as provided in this section." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2399 Page 51, lines 30 - 31: Delete "do not participate in" Insert "are not active members of " Page 52, line 7: Delete "do not elect to participate in" Insert "are not active members of " Page 53, lines 20 - 25: Delete all material and insert: "(a) An employee may not be an active member of the defined contribution retirement plan and the defined benefit retirement plan at the same time, except as provided in this subsection. An [SUBJECT TO (i) OF THIS SECTION, AN] active member of the defined benefit retirement plan of the public employees' retirement system is eligible to participate in the defined contribution retirement plan established under AS 39.35.700 - 39.35.990 if that member (1) has not vested in the defined benefit retirement plan; or (2) was first hired after June 30, 2006, and is employed by an employer that is a political subdivision or public organization of the state that does not elect to provide defined benefits under AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680 to employees who first become members of the plan after June 30, 2006 [. PARTICIPATION IN THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN IS IN LIEU OF PARTICIPATION IN THE DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT PLAN ESTABLISHED UNDER AS 39.35.095 - 39.35.680]." Page 55, line 12: Delete "sec. 101" Insert "sec. 102" Page 56, line 4: Delete "41 - 100" Insert "41 - 101" 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2400 Page 56, line 10: Delete "Section 102" Insert "Section 103" Page 56, line 11: Delete "sec. 103" Insert "sec. 104" Senator Kiehl moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 10. Senator Myers objected, then withdrew his objection. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 10 was adopted. SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S was automatically in third reading. Senator Stedman called the Senate. The call was satisfied. The question being: "Shall SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S "An Act relating to the public employees' retirement system and the teachers' retirement system; providing certain employees an opportunity to choose between the defined benefit and defined contribution plans of the public employees' retirement system and the teachers' retirement system; and providing for an effective date" pass the Senate?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Third Reading - Final Passage YEAS: 12 NAYS: 8 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Olson, Stevens, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Rauscher, Stedman, Tilton, Yundt and so, SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S passed the Senate. Senator Giessel moved for the adoption of the effective date clauses. 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2401 The question being: "Shall the effective date clauses be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Effective Date Clause(s) YEAS: 20 NAYS: 0 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Cronk, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kaufman, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Myers, Olson, Rauscher, Stedman, Stevens, Tilton, Tobin, Wielechowski, Yundt and so, the effective date clauses were adopted. HB 78 Senator Giessel gave notice of reconsideration on SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S and moved and asked unanimous consent it be taken up. Senator Myers objected. The question being: “Shall reconsideration be taken up same day on SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S?” The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Take up Reconsideration Same Day? YEAS: 15 NAYS: 5 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Olson, Stedman, Stevens, Tobin, Wielechowski, Yundt Nays: Cronk, Kaufman, Myers, Rauscher, Tilton And so, SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S was before the Senate on reconsideration. The question to be reconsidered: "Shall SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S "An Act relating to the public employees' retirement system and the teachers' retirement system; providing certain employees an opportunity to choose between the 2026-04-28 Senate Journal Page 2402 defined benefit and defined contribution plans of the public employees' retirement system and the teachers' retirement system; and providing for an effective date" pass the Senate?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Third Reading - On Reconsideration YEAS: 12 NAYS: 8 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Olson, Stevens, Tobin, Wielechowski Nays: Cronk, Hoffman, Kaufman, Myers, Rauscher, Stedman, Tilton, Yundt and so, SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 78(FIN) am S passed the Senate on reconsideration. Senator Giessel moved for the adoption of the effective date clauses. The question being: "Shall the effective date clauses be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: SCS CSHB 78(FIN) am S Effective Date Clause(s) YEAS: 20 NAYS: 0 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Bjorkman, Claman, Cronk, Dunbar, Giessel, Gray-Jackson, Hoffman, Kaufman, Kawasaki, Kiehl, Merrick, Myers, Olson, Rauscher, Stedman, Stevens, Tilton, Tobin, Wielechowski, Yundt and so, the effective date clauses were adopted and the bill was referred to the Secretary for engrossment.