Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
04/28/2023 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB55 | |
| HB166 | |
| HB124 | |
| HB21 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 166 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 124 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 21 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 21-SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSUR
4:17:20 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that the final order of business would be
HB 21, "An Act relating to group insurance coverage and self-
insurance coverage for school district employees, employees of
the University of Alaska, and employees of other governmental
units in the state; and providing for an effective date." [On
4/24/23, the committee adopted Amendment 1 and left a motion to
adopt Amendment 2, with objection, pending.]
4:17:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS repeated the motion to adopt Amendment 2
to HB 21, as amended, labeled 33-LS0254\A.2, Klein, 4/17/23,
which read as follows:
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REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that Amendment 2 would eliminate
the provision allowing for the usage of the public education
fund for the purpose of onboarding new groups to Alaska Care.
4:18:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER expressed the belief that it is unfair to
characterize the provision as the ability to "raid" the public
education fund. He stated that his objection stems from the
idea that this would be an appropriate use of the fund because
it would act as a short-term loan.
4:19:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor of HB 21, stated that the amendment would be detrimental
to the bill. Without the ability to use the public education
fund, it would place a strain on the existing health care.
4:20:45 PM
JAKE ALMEIDA, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska State
Legislature, stated that the Department of Administration (DOA)
sent a letter in which it said that passing the bill without
this provision would potentially lead to Alaska Care having
insufficient funds to pay claims.
4:21:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS commented that the bill would currently
mandate DOA to allow any school district wishing to join, be
allowed to join. He said that the amendment would protect the
department.
4:22:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE asked how DOA arrived at the figure of
$100 million.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE expressed uncertainty concerning the
department's determination of the amount. She expressed the
understanding that DOA is comfortable with the figure because
only small amounts would be taken out at a time.
MR. ALMEIDA added that DOA referenced rising health care costs
in determining the amount.
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE commented that the amount of money
referenced in the proposed legislation for onboarding seems
"outlandish."
4:26:26 PM
ANDREA MUECA, Health Operations Manager, Division of Retirement
and Benefits, Department of Administration, stated that there
are certain drugs that can cost millions of dollars.
4:27:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE questioned the average cost for a
month's worth of care.
MS. MUECA answered that she would follow up to the committee
with an answer.
4:28:13 PM
CHAIR SUMNER asked whether the $100 million figure would be per
school district.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE answered that it would be the total for all
groups wishing to join Alaska Care.
4:29:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked how much money is in the public
education fund.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE expressed uncertainty. In response to a
follow-up question, she said that school districts would only be
required to pay back any expenditures and no lost revenue from
the fund's earnings.
4:30:46 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Fields and Carrick
voted in favor of Amendment 2. Representatives Saddler, Wright,
Prax, Ruffridge, and Sumner voted against it. Therefore,
Amendment 2 failed by a vote of 2-5.
4:31:59 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:31 p.m. to 4:33 p.m.
4:33:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that he would not offer Amendment 3
or Amendment 4 to HB 21.
4:33:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS moved to adopt Amendment 5 to HB 21, as
amended, labeled, 33-LS0254\A.5, Klein, 4/21/23, which read as
follows:
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REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER objected.
4:34:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that Amendment 5 would change the
word "shall" to "may" in regard to allowing school districts to
join Alaska Care. He said it would give DOA the chance to
reject a potential group from joining Alaska Care if its costs
were deemed to be too high.
4:34:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for the bill sponsor's thoughts on
the amendment.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that the intent of the legislation
is to lower health care costs for school districts. She
expressed the opinion that the amendment would be harmful to
this process. In response to a follow-up question, she said
that the idea behind the bill is to reduce the health care costs
of everyone by enlarging the pool.
4:37:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS noted that the proposed bill would cover
other state employees and would not be limited to school
district employees.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE responded that the offered amendment
referenced a section of the bill pertaining to school district
and University of Alaska employees.
4:38:36 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Fields and Carrick
voted in favor of Amendment 5 to HB 21, as amended.
Representatives Ruffridge, Saddler, Wright, Prax and Sumner
voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 5 failed by a vote of 2-
5.
4:39:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that he would not offer Amendment
6, Amendment 7, or Amendment 8.
4:39:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK moved to adopt Amendment 9 to HB 21, as
amended, labeled 33-LS0254\A.9, Klein, 4/21/23, which read as
follows:
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or the University of Alaska"
Insert "or a regional educational attendance
area"
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"(2) "school employer" means a municipal
school district or a regional educational attendance
area."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
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CHAIR SUMNER announced there being no objection, Amendment 9 was
adopted.
4:40:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER moved to rescind the committee's action
in adopting Amendment 9. There being no objection, it was so
ordered, and Amendment 9 was once again before the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER stated his objection to Amendment 9.
4:40:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK stated that the amendment would remove
the ability of the University of Alaska employees to join Alaska
Care. She stated that the university does not have an official
statement on the bill, and it recently renegotiated its health
care contracts to give employees more health care options. She
expressed her concern that the bill would create unintended
consequences for the public education fund and described the
relationship between the state and the university as unique
compared to other state employees.
4:42:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether the university has the option
to choose not to enroll in Alaska Care.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE answered yes.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that he is unsure why the
university should not be given the choice to join Alaska Care.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK responded that the amendment is concerned
with the stability of the public education fund, not the
University of Alaska employees. She expressed concern that the
large size of the university could be detrimental to Alaska
Care.
4:46:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER expressed the opinion that university
employees do not have a unique place as public employees. He
expressed the understanding that the proposed legislation would
help manage the state's health care expenditures.
4:47:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX expressed the opinion that HB 21 should be
passed to the floor with a minimal number of amendments.
4:48:43 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:48 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.
4:50:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER maintained his objection.
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Carrick and Fields
voted in favor of Amendment 9 to HB 21, as amended.
Representatives Wright, Saddler, Ruffridge, Prax, and Sumner
voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 9 failed to be adopted
by a vote of 2-5.
4:50:47 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:50 p.m. to 4:51 p.m.
4:51:24 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that HB 21, as amended, was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 124 Support Letter Teamsters 3.27.23.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Sectional Analysis version A.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Support Letter Alaska Chamber 4.19.23.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Sponsor Statement version A.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 version A.PDF |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Alaska CDL Manual.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 DOLWD Press Release 4.11.2023.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 ELDT Info.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Fiscal Note.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 eCFR 49 CFR 383.23 -- Commercial Driver's License.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 CH 104 SLA 1985.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 APM Article 4.11.2023.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 ADN Article 4.12.2023.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 166A PFAS.PDF |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |
| HB166 PFAS Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |
| HB 166 PFAS Pollution Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |
| HB166 Support.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |
| HB 166 PFAS Fiscal note DPS.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |
| HB 166 PFAS Fiscal Note DOT.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |
| HB166 Support Letters.pdf |
HL&C 4/28/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 166 |