03/24/2011 02:00 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

        HB  28-TEMP LICENSE/FEE WAIVER FOR PROFESSIONALS                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:50:26 PM                                                                                                                    
VICE CHAIR PASKVAN announced HB 28 to be up for consideration.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MENARD  moved to  adopt  SCS  CSHB  28( ),  labeled  27-                                                               
LS0192\T.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR PASKVAN objected for discussion purposes.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:52:10 PM                                                                                                                    
KACI SCHROEDER,  staff for Representative  Thomas, sponsor  of HB
, said the CS makes two changes.  The first one is in section 2                                                               
on  page 2,  line  29, through  page 3.  She  explained that  the                                                               
previous  version had  a  section that  dealt  directly with  the                                                               
service member  and since the  rest of  the bill deals  only with                                                               
military spouses,  the drafter suggested  moving that  section to                                                               
another area  of law that  also deals with service  members. Now,                                                               
the new  section deals only  with military spouses and  the other                                                               
section deals only with service members.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
The  other change  is  on page  3,  line 3,  where  a period  was                                                               
inserted  after   "area"  breaking  up  a   run-on  sentence  and                                                               
clarifying that the exemption is good for 180 days.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS. SCHOREDER said  that HB 28 focuses on bettering  the lives of                                                               
military  families   whose  lives   are  dominated   by  frequent                                                               
deployments,   relocations  and   extended   periods  of   single                                                               
parenthood. Military  spouses are  extremely transient  with 14.5                                                               
percent  of them  crossing state  lines each  year as  opposed to                                                               
only 1.1  percent of their  civilian counterparts. They  are less                                                               
likely to  be employed  and if  they are  employed, they  tend to                                                               
earn  less than  their civilian  counterparts. However,  they are                                                               
not unlike  their civilian  counterparts in  that they  depend on                                                               
two  incomes   and  they   want  to   achieve  their   goals  and                                                               
aspirations.  So, HB  28 allows  a  military spouse  to obtain  a                                                               
temporary  license   so  they  can  work   while  fulfilling  the                                                               
requirements  for  a  full  Alaskan   license  in  their  various                                                               
professions.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MENARD posed a situation in  which a military spouse is a                                                               
dental hygienist  and there  is strict  licensing with  that. So,                                                               
now they're going to  go from the West Coast to  the East Coast -                                                               
would that  be temporary  or is  it just  for people  coming into                                                               
Alaska.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. SCHROEDER replied just for people coming into Alaska.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MENARD  said she  knows  these  professions become  very                                                               
volatile and asked if she had  been in contact with the different                                                               
highly qualified fields, the medical field especially.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. SCHROEDER replied yes; the  bill has changed drastically from                                                               
the  first draft  based  on feedback  from  the professions,  the                                                               
department and Senator Giessel in the last committee.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:55:24 PM                                                                                                                    
MARK  SANSOUCI, Regional  Liaison for  Military Families  for the                                                               
Northwest, U.S.  Department of  Defense, said  he would  be brief                                                               
since he  saw two of  the three members  passed this bill  out of                                                               
State Affairs  two days ago.  This bill doesn't require  a fiscal                                                               
note. This temporary license issue  is part of what they consider                                                               
"a kitchen table"  issue for families who need  the dual incomes.                                                               
It  frequently determines  whether the  family will  stay in  the                                                               
military as experienced NCOs or officers.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
He  said since  most military  spouses are  women that  among the                                                               
wage  gap  earners discussed  earlier  and  these situations  get                                                               
exacerbated  when the  spouse who  tends to  be a  professionally                                                               
licensed person may  be hung up on requirements and  can't get to                                                               
work quickly.  This measure  will help in  that respect  also. It                                                               
has  no intent  to professionally  license  a person  who is  not                                                               
going to  meet Alaskan  requirements; it just  gets them  to work                                                               
earlier while they work on fulfilling those requirements.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:57:13 PM                                                                                                                    
Finally,  Mr.  Sansouci  said,  military  spouse  employment  and                                                               
careers is  one of the  top ten key  issues of the  Department of                                                               
Defense state liaison office.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GIESSEL thanked Ms. Schroeder  for her work and said this                                                               
is very clearly written now.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:59:25 PM                                                                                                                    
VICE  CHAIR  PASKVAN thanked  everyone  for  their testimony  and                                                               
finding  no further  questions, closed  public testimony.  [HB 28                                                               
was  held in  committee.]  Finding no  further  business to  come                                                               
before the committee, he adjourned the meeting at 2:59 p.m.