Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
01/22/2026 03:15 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB133 | |
| HB124 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 133 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 124 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 133-PAYMENT OF CONTRACTS
3:20:36 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 133 "An Act establishing a 30-day deadline for
the payment of contracts under the State Procurement Code;
establishing deadlines for the payment of grants, contracts, and
reimbursement agreements to nonprofit organizations,
municipalities, and Alaska Native organizations; relating to
payment of grants to named recipients that are not
municipalities; and providing for an effective date."
3:21:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 133, Version 34-LS0114\L, Dunmire,
1/20/26, as the working document.
CHAIR CARRICK objected for the purpose of discussion.
3:22:27 PM
STUART RELAY, Staff, Representative Ashley Carrick, introduced
the changes associated with the CS for HB 133 [included in the
committee file], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1: Unchanged
Section 2: Page 2 line 33 page 2 line 28. Deleted
Section 2: Unchanged, former section 3
Section 3: Former section 4. Effective date changed
from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027.
3:23:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND wondered why section 2 was removed with
the CS and asked for the impact of taking this out.
3:24:44 PM
ELLA LUBIN, Staff, Representative Rebecca Himschoot, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Himschoot, prime
sponsor, explained changes associated with the CS to HB 133.
Section 2 would amend current statute, and it was decided not to
amend current statute at this time.
3:25:14 PM
CHAIR CARRICK corrected an earlier statement that CS for HB 133
was just technical changes.
CHAIR CARRICK removed her objection to adopting the CS for HB
133, Version 34-LS0114\L, Dunmire, 1/20/26. There being no
objection, Version L was before the committee.
3:26:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT, as prime sponsor, reintroduced HB 133,
Version L, and clarified the intent of the bill. She said HB
133 is a good governance bill. When the state is late with
payments, there is no harm to the state and lots of harm to the
contractor. She talked about the payment of contracts and the
small margins to support groups while waiting for state payment
of contracts. She is seeking to find parity between groups:
Non-profits, tribes and municipalities, and private contractors.
3:27:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked for any questions.
3:27:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked Representative Himschoot about
conversations regarding this bill, and any updates on what can
be done to shorten the agencies' timeline.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT answered it is different in every
agency; a couple are on time, and some are in arrears from 60 to
90 days. The reasons are different across the board.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked if this bill would be more effective
in making these changes.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT stated what this bill would do is give
the legislature standing. She said every year through budget
process the legislature tries to give agencies what it asks for
but it is not always what it needs. The legislature wants to
provide the 10 percent penalty that agencies provide to
contractors to non-profits, tribes, and municipalities.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she can see the mechanism for
why, but the catch would be on the executive branch. She asked
Representative Himschoot how she envisions a complaint being
resolved under the proposed legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT answered that it remains to be seen.
The legislation can't be enforced until it exists. She said
that she would imagine that a few groups would come together and
bring a case to the state.
3:31:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR asked a follow-up to Representative
Vance's question about enforceability and who would pay the
fine, the executive branch or the agencies.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT clarified that the agency would be
responsible.
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR stated this gives him a clearer picture
of what the legislature are talking about and asked if there was
anyone available from the agency who deals with grants.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSHOOT stated there is an agency representative
available.
3:34:25 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:34 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.
3:34:31 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that Hannah Lager was available to
answer questions.
3:35:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR asked how many grants does the state
puts out annually.
HANNAH LAGER, Director of Administrative Services, Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) replied
that she could not speak for the whole state. She said DCCED
usually is in the 100s range. Most grants fall under grants to
new recipients or grants to municipalities, so it would affect a
small portion of the grants.
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR asked for a ballpark number of grants
that would fall under Alaska Statute 45.45.010, grants that
exceed $25,000.
MS. LAGER said that most of grants are above $25,000. In
response to follow-up questions, she said the number of DCCDC
grants that would be impacted by the legislation would vary year
by year. The grant portfolio currently is larger than $1
million. She gave examples of grants that it would apply to.
She noted that the vast majority are granted to recipients not
affected by this legislation.
3:39:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked the bill sponsor if she had ever
thought about 45 days instead of 30 days.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said she had not thought about 45 days
as she is trying to level the playing field.
ELLA LUBIN added that some agencies are already making the 30-
day deadline.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether there is an idea of the
current contracts, the amount of cost that is paid in penalties.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said that it has been difficult to get
information from the agency's side. Contractors don't want to
provide this information to avoid having a black mark with the
agency and allowing them to be competitive on future contracts.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said she would think in legislative audit
books, there would be a category for arrears payments. This
would be a question for the auditor.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said it is a great question.
3:42:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked the bill sponsor whether she had
any thoughts about how this can be used so that this Healthcare
Transformation Act funding which is coming quickly can help the
non-profits to be more successful.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said that she would like to have this
in place before $72 million starts to flow.
3:44:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE noted that the Department of Transportation
& Public Facilities (DOT&PF) was one of the agencies that hadn't
been timely. She said the Department of Health has many
contracts. A lot of doctors don't want to work with the state
because of the delay. A large percentage of these dollars are
federal, and the dollars must be distributed in a certain way
and timeline. She asked whether the legislature understands the
root of the problem and if part of the problem may be the timing
of the federal dollars.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT responded that at DOT&PF the issue is
with private contracts. She offered her understanding that
nothing is awarded until the state has the funding and then the
award is given and then the clock starts.
3:47:02 PM
CHAIR CARRICK said that last session when discussing this bill,
the committee asked what some of the challenges are. Challenges
identified were low staffing, high turnover, low institutional
knowledge, and one agency had just one type of software. She
asked Representative Himschoot if she sees HB 133, Version L, to
help agencies do some cleanup.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT answered that she checked with those
agencies where it is working, and it was suggested having one
grant payment system like in other states. Some standardization
would help across agencies. She hoped the legislation would help
the process to become more efficient and effective.
CHAIR CARRICK acknowledged it was a loaded question.
3:49:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR said he is "a budget guy" and looking
at the break down in the fiscal notes, he observed that the
agencies listed $1.3 million in the undesignated general fund
(UGF). He asked how the legislature would fund this.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT said that the legislature needs to
figure it out.
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR asked wont this increase the fiscal
note?
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT stated that the goal is to not pay out
interest; that is the purpose of the bill.
3:52:17 PM
REPRESENTED ST. CLAIR asked Ms. Lager about software that the
agency would like to get and put into place.
3:52:40 PM
MS. LAGER said she was pleased to say that new grant software
has been rolled out.
REPRESENTATIVE ST. CLAIR asked if other agencies are using grant
software.
MS. LAGER stated other departments are using grant software.
The one chosen for DCCED was very specific and chosen through
the procurement process.
3:54:18 PM
CHAIR CARRICK reminded members that there were a couple hearings
on this in the previous session and set an amendment deadline.
CHAIR CARRICK announced HB 133, Version L, was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CS HB 133 STA Ver. L.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 133 |
| HB133.Summary of Changes Ver. T to Ver. L.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 133 |
| HB 133 Fiscal Note Packet Updated 1-22-26.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 133 |
| HB 124 Sponsor Statement Ver. A.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Ver. A.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Sectional Analysis Ver. A.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Backup Whitepaper Ver. A.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Presentation 1-22-26.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Written Testimony 2025.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Backup - Docs from AIDEA.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB 124 Backup AIDEA Annual Report 2025.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |
| HB124-DCCED-AIDEA-01-21-26.pdf |
HSTA 1/22/2026 3:15:00 PM |
HB 124 |