Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
02/26/2025 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Informational Hearing on Tariffs | |
| HB99 | |
| HB23 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 99 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 23 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 99-MONEY TRANSMISSION; VIRTUAL CURRENCY
4:34:07 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 99, "An Act relating to the business of money
transmission; relating to licenses for money transmission,
licensure requirements, and registration through a nationwide
multistate licensing system; relating to the use of virtual
currency for money transmission; relating to authorized
delegates of a licensee; relating to acquisition of control of a
license; relating to record retention and reporting
requirements; authorizing the Department of Commerce, Community,
and Economic Development to cooperate with other states in the
regulation of money transmission; relating to permissible
investments; relating to violations and enforcement of money
transmission laws; relating to exemptions to money transmission
licensure requirements; relating to payroll processing services;
relating to currency exchange licenses; amending Rules 79 and
82, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an
effective date."
CO-CHAIR HALL opened public testimony on HB 99.
4:34:52 PM
ADAM ATLAS, Advisor, Money Services Business Association,
testified in support of HB 99. He stated that he is part of an
association of businesses that include payment processers,
mobile payment companies, and virtual currency exchanges. He
stated that the proposed legislation is based on a model act
developed by the Conference of State Banking Supervisors (CSBS)
and 24 other states that have already adopted law based on this
model law. He stated that HB 99 would provide robust
protections for consumers and states and benefit businesses and
the associated industries. He asserted that customers are
likely to benefit from a consistent framework of protections "in
and around" sending and receiving money. He asserted that HB 99
would allow Alaska-based businesses to expand virtually into
other states by creating common points of reference and common
standards for the payments industry across multiple states. He
offered his belief that the proposed law would encourage
businesses to provide additional services to both business and
consumer residents in Alaska. He stated that consumers benefit
from access to the financial services that are regulated by the
Uniform Money Services Act (UMSA).
MR. ATLAS concluded by asserting that any possible fees imposed
would be set by the state regulator, who is an "expression of
the will of the people." He concluded by stating that the
association he represents supports HB 99 and believes that the
proposed legislation would be good for the people of Alaska, as
well as for the rest of the U.S.
4:39:24 PM
ADAM FLEISHER, Counsel, The Money Services Round Table,
explained that The Money Services Round Table is a consortium
comprising the largest money transmission service providers in
the United States, all of which operate in Alaska. He gave
American Express and MoneyGram as examples. He stated that he
represents numerous companies that engage in payment processing,
bill payments, money orders, et cetera. He echoed the other
speaker, stating that HB 99 is modeled after the Money
Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA), created by CSBS, with
extensive input from regulators and stakeholders. He explained
that MTMA is essentially an updated version of UMSA, upon which
the current Alaska law is based. He stated that the goal of the
model act is a single common regulatory baseline for the
regulation of money transmission companies across the country.
He further explained that money transmission companies are
regulated on a state-by-state basis, with historically diverging
laws. He stated that the goal of the model act is to enable
states to bring laws back into harmonization for the purpose of
regulating money transmission companies effectively,
consistently, predictably, and with the same standards for
compliance and consumer protections. He cited CSBS, asserting
that adoption of the model law is a crucial step in advancing
multi-state harmonization in regulation of the money
transmission industry.
MR. FLEISHER summarized his points by stating that HB 99 would
provide a robust national standard of consumer protection, clear
definitions of regulated and non-regulated activities with
guidelines for reporting, and more efficient state examination
of overseas money transmitters. He concluded by offering his
support for HB 99.
4:43:13 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 4:43 p.m.
4:43:22 PM
CO-CHAIR HALL, after ascertaining that there was no one else who
wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 99.
CO-CHAIR HALL announced that HB 99 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| House L&C PPT-Impact of Tariffs in AK 2.26.2025.pdf |
HL&C 2/26/2025 3:15:00 PM |
Informational Hearing-Impact of Tariffs on Alaska |