02/21/2020 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

        HB 235-AK WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD:ALLOCATIONS                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:51:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced  that the next order  of business would                                                               
be  HOUSE  BILL NO.  235,  "An  Act  relating to  allocations  of                                                               
funding for the Alaska Workforce  Investment Board; and providing                                                               
for an effective date."                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:51:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ADAM WOOL,  Alaska  State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor,  introduced 235  and  delivered  the sponsor  statement,                                                               
which  read  in its  entirety  as  follows [original  punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     In  2000,   the  Alaska  Legislature   established  the                                                                    
     Technical  Vocational  Education Program  (TVEP).  This                                                                    
     program  is   administered  by  the   Alaska  Workforce                                                                    
     Investment   Board   and    utilizes   a   portion   of                                                                    
     Unemployment  Insurance receipts  to provide  grants to                                                                    
     career  and technical  education  providers across  the                                                                    
     State. The  TVEP program impacts thousands  of students                                                                    
     by  offering  industry-specific training  opportunities                                                                    
     that help Alaskans get to work.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     HB  235  would re-authorize  the  TVEP  program for  an                                                                    
     additional  three years  until  fiscal  year 2023.  The                                                                    
     program currently has ten  recipients which include the                                                                    
     University of  Alaska, the Alaska  Vocational Technical                                                                    
     Education Center, the Alaska  Technical Center, as well                                                                    
     as  other  technical  education  providers  across  the                                                                    
     State.  These  programs  train Alaskans  for  industry-                                                                    
     specific   jobs    in   sectors   such    as   fishing,                                                                    
     transportation, health, mining, and construction.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Please  join me  in supporting  House Bill  235 to  re-                                                                    
     authorize  the  TVEP  program  and  keep  thousands  of                                                                    
     Alaskans ready  for the high  demand careers  our State                                                                    
     has to offer.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:53:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ASHLEY  CARRICK, Staff,  Representative Adam  Wool, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  provided a  PowerPoint  presentation, entitled  "HB
:   Technical   Vocational   Education  Program   (TVEP)   Re-                                                               
Authorization," on behalf of  Representative Wool, prime sponsor.                                                               
She directed attention  to slide 2, "TVEP Program  History."  She                                                               
informed the committee  that TVEP was created in  2000 to provide                                                               
competitive  grant assistance  to  education  entities in  Alaska                                                               
that delivered  specific vocational and technical  training.  The                                                               
program was established under AS  23.15.830 [Alaska Technical and                                                               
Vocational  Education Program  Account] and  sunsets every  three                                                               
years.   In 2014, the  legislature increased the amount  of funds                                                               
diverted to  TVEP from .15  percent of unemployment  insurance to                                                               
.16 percent.   The types  of training that TVEP  recipients offer                                                               
include  aviation,  fisheries,  construction,  renewable  energy,                                                               
mining, information technology,  transportation, health care, and                                                               
other  vocational  training  (slide   3).    Ms.  Carrick  turned                                                               
attention to a flow chart on  slide 4, entitled "How TVEP Funding                                                               
Gets  Distributed."   She pointed  out  that both  STEP and  TVEP                                                               
programs  are  funded   through  unemployment  insurance  receipt                                                               
contributions.   She went  on to say  that the  STEP/TVEP portion                                                               
come directly  from the employee  portion of the  contribution to                                                               
unemployment insurance,  while the employer portion  is deposited                                                               
into  the UI  trust  fund  account.   The  STEP/TVEP portion  are                                                               
designated general funds.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:57:04 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN  referring to  the "STEP/TVEP  Portion" box                                                               
on the flow chart, asked if $103.74 is dollars or millions.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK said that she does not know.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SPOHNHOLZ offered  her understanding  that  it is  $103.74                                                               
dollars.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:57:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK resumed her presentation.   She paraphrased slides 5-                                                               
6, entitled  "TVEP Recipients Over  Time," which read  as follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     In 2000:                                                                                                                 
     University of Alaska: 52%                                                                                                  
     Kotzebue Training Center: 16%                                                                                              
     Alaska Vocational Technical Center: 32%                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     In 2001:                                                                                                                 
     University of Alaska: 63%                                                                                                  
     Kotzebue Training Center: 11%                                                                                              
     Alaska Vocational Technical Center: 22%                                                                                    
     Galena Project Education Training Center: 4%                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     In 2004:                                                                                                                 
     University of Alaska: 55%                                                                                                  
     Kotzebue Training Center: 11%                                                                                              
     Alaska Vocational Technical Center: 22%                                                                                    
     Galena Project Education Training Center: 4%                                                                               
     Southwest Alaska Vocational Education Center: 4%                                                                           
     Yuut Elitnaurviat, Inc., People's Learning Center: 4%                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     In 2008:                                                                                                                 
     University of Alaska: 45%                                                                                                  
     Kotzebue Training Center- Alaska Technical Center: 9%                                                                      
     Alaska Vocational Technical Center: 17%                                                                                    
     Galena Project Education Training Center: 4%                                                                               
     Southwest Alaska Vocational Education Center: 3%                                                                           
     Yuut Elitnaurviat, Inc., People's Learning Center: 9%                                                                      
     Delta Career Advancement Center, Partners for Progress                                                                     
     Delta, Inc.: 3%                                                                                                            
     Amundsen Educational Center: 2%                                                                                            
     Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center: 3%                                                                        
     University of Alaska Southeast: 5%                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK directed attention to slide 7, entitled "Current                                                                    
TVEP Recipients," which read as follows [original punctuation                                                                   
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                              
     In 2014 and again in 2017:                                                                                               
     Statewide: University of Alaska: 45%                                                                                       
     Kotzebue: Alaska Technical Center: 9%                                                                                      
     Seward: Alaska Vocational Technical Center: 17%                                                                            
      Galena: Galena Project Education Training Center: 4%                                                                      
       Dillingham: Southwest Alaska Vocational Education                                                                        
     Center: 3%                                                                                                                 
       Bethel: Yuut Elitnaurviat, Inc., People's Learning                                                                       
     Center: 9%                                                                                                                 
     Delta: Partners for Progress Delta, Inc.: 3%                                                                               
     Kenai: Amundsen Educational Center: 2%                                                                                     
     Nome: Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center:                                                                     
     3%                                                                                                                         
     Utqiagvik: Illisagvik College: 5% (Added in 2014)                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:00:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STUTES   asked  if  the  Illisagvik   College  in                                                               
Utqiagvik is part  of the University of Alaska system.   She also                                                               
asked what Partners for Progress Delta, Inc. is.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CARRICK said  Illisagvik College  is  a private  institution                                                               
that's not part  of the UA system and Partners  for Progress is a                                                               
vocational center.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK  returned attention to  the table exhibited  on slide                                                               
8, entitled "TVEP  Distributions."  She explained  that the table                                                               
displays the  current TVEP  distributions including  the proposed                                                               
distributions for FY2021 for each of the recipients.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:01:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked Ms. Carrick  to highlight the changes,                                                               
if any, from 2017.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK  asked if  Representative Story  is referring  to the                                                               
percent of distribution or the actual dollar amount.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STORY said  the percent  of distribution,  if any                                                               
has changed.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  CARRICK reported  that percentages  have  not changes  since                                                               
2014.   She explained  that there was  a reauthorization  in 2017                                                               
that kept  the current percentages.   The only change,  she said,                                                               
is  that the  governor's  supplemental  budget offers  additional                                                               
funding  from the  unemployment  insurance base  to bolster  this                                                               
year's distribution, which  is why it's slightly  higher than the                                                               
formula.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked how much higher.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:02:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL offered  his understanding  that it  was the                                                               
additional  allocation  to  Alaska  Vocational  Technical  Center                                                               
(AVTEC) of 4 million dollars.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:03:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked if the  average annual wage in Alaska                                                               
has fluctuated  in the last four  years and how that  affects the                                                               
TVEP program.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL deferred to Lennon Weller.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:04:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LENNON   WELLER,    Economist/Unemployment   Insurance   Actuary,                                                               
Research  & Analysis  Section, Department  of  Labor &  Workforce                                                               
Development,  in  response  to Representative  Hannan,  confirmed                                                               
that the taxable  wage base fluctuates.  He said  that four years                                                               
ago, there  were two years of  decline in the taxable  wage base;                                                               
however,  over  the  last  several years  it  has  been  steadily                                                               
increasing at approximately $600  per year, which should continue                                                               
into the near future.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HANNAN  asked  what   happens  "when  we  have  a                                                               
specific budget  line item that's  increasing one of  the parties                                                               
receiving  the TVEP  distributions,  how does  that  go into  the                                                               
calculations to everybody else's allocations.   Does it skew them                                                               
- do they still get the  same percentage and AVTEC's just getting                                                               
that specific  $4,000 but that's part  of their 17 percent  or is                                                               
that additional to their 17 percent."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK offered to follow  up with the requested information.                                                               
She offered  her understanding that  because this was  funding in                                                               
the  supplemental and  this formula  is in  statute, "they  would                                                               
still receive however  much they would have  received through the                                                               
formula.   In  addition, they  are also  receiving the  funds the                                                               
governor has added in the supplemental."                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:06:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY pointed out that  there are more career tech                                                               
programs coming online  in Alaska.  She asked at  what point they                                                               
should get added to TVEP.  She  said this is a question that will                                                               
need to be looked at thoroughly in the future.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL   in  response  to   Representative  Hannan,                                                               
explained that TVEP is only  one funding source for the entities,                                                               
adding that they all receive funding from other sources.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:10:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TERI  COTHREN, Associate  Vice President,  Workforce Development,                                                               
University  of   Alaska,  provided  a   PowerPoint  presentation,                                                               
entitled  "University of  Alaska  Technical Vocational  Education                                                               
Program."  She informed the  committee that the presentation will                                                               
offer an  overview of how TVEP  is managed at the  university and                                                               
provide examples of  what the funds are used for,  as well as the                                                               
outcomes it  contributes to.   She stated that  UA is one  of the                                                               
most   comprehensive   providers    of   workforce   development,                                                               
delivering  92  percent  of  postsecondary  education  in  Alaska                                                               
through   three  separately   accredited   universities  and   13                                                               
community  campuses.   UA manages  it's  TVEP funds  as a  single                                                               
allocation  within  the  university   system.    The  program  is                                                               
administered  through  a  competitive   RFP  process  by  the  UA                                                               
workforce development  committee.  The funding  is distributed as                                                               
the result  of a process  that is  inclusive of all  campuses and                                                               
programs  in  the UA  system  that  meets the  following  funding                                                               
priorities:  align   with  TVEP   statutes,  responsive   to  the                                                               
industry,     strategic     one-time     infrastructure/equipment                                                               
investments, and develops and enhances  partnerships.  It is also                                                               
requested that  the proposals demonstrated the  ability to garner                                                               
match funding or  a plan for maintaining the  program beyond TVEP                                                               
funding.  Specifically,  TVEP is to be used at  the university as                                                               
a  short-term funding  source to  initiate  or enhance  workforce                                                               
development programs.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS.  COTHREN  directed  attention  to  two  charts  on  slide  4,                                                               
entitled  "UA  FY19 TVEP  -  $4.9M  Funding Distribution."    She                                                               
pointed  out  that  TVEP supports  high  priority  industries  in                                                               
Alaska,   including   the   health  industry   at   34   percent.                                                               
Furthermore,  funding  is  distributed across  all  six  economic                                                               
regions of the  state.  She continued to slide  5, noting that UA                                                               
TVEP served a total of 4,492  students in FY19.  She proceeded to                                                               
give  specific examples  from slides  6-12 of  how TVEP  supports                                                               
UA's   ability  to   be  responsive   to  Alaska's   high  demand                                                               
industries, as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     Oil & Gas  TVEP Investments & Outcomes                                                                                   
     INVESTMENTS                                                                                                                
     ? Expand access to fabrication, manufacturing, and 3D                                                                      
     printing                                                                                                                   
     ? Improve welding program alignment across campuses                                                                        
      ? Develop/deliver BS degree in Occupational Safety &                                                                      
     Health                                                                                                                     
      ? Lease of state-of-the art shop and classroom space                                                                      
     for process technology                                                                                                     
     ? Well Control training                                                                                                    
     OUTCOMES                                                                                                                   
     Time period: FY17-19                                                                                                       
     TVEP Investment: $1.9M                                                                                                     
     Graduates: 1,937                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Mining  TVEP Investments & Outcomes                                                                                      
     INVESTMENTS                                                                                                                
     ? Delivery of hard skills mine training camps                                                                              
      ? Millwright program expansion  dual enrollment and                                                                       
     statewide delivery through partnerships                                                                                    
     OUTCOMES                                                                                                                   
     Time Period: FY17-19                                                                                                       
     TVEP Investment: $704K                                                                                                     
     Graduates: 335                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Health Sciences  TVEP Investments & Outcomes                                                                             
     INVESTMENTS                                                                                                                
        ? High-demand health program development and/or                                                                         
     expansion                                                                                                                  
    ?   State-of-the-art   simulators   and   instructional                                                                     
     technology                                                                                                                 
       ? Student-centered advising, tutoring, and summer                                                                        
     bridge programs                                                                                                            
     ? Pre-medicine programs                                                                                                    
     OUTCOMES                                                                                                                   
     Time Period: FY17-19                                                                                                       
     TVEP Investment: $4M                                                                                                       
     Graduates: 2,011                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Aviation  TVEP Investments & Outcomes                                                                                    
     INVESTMENTS                                                                                                                
     ? Airplanes, equipment, and technology upgrades                                                                            
     ? Flight simulator                                                                                                         
     ? Aviation maintenance apprenticeships                                                                                     
     OUTCOMES                                                                                                                   
     Time Period: FY17-19                                                                                                       
     TVEP Investment: $290K                                                                                                     
     Graduates: 327                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Maritime  TVEP Investments & Outcomes                                                                                    
     INVESTMENTS                                                                                                                
     ? Maritime program development and expansion                                                                               
       Development of career awareness resources                                                                                
     ? Equipment and technology upgrades                                                                                        
     ? Portable maritime training to expand access                                                                              
     OUTCOMES                                                                                                                   
     Time Period: FY17-19                                                                                                       
     TVEP Investment: $2M                                                                                                       
     Graduates: 3,000                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. COTHREN, in conclusion, turned to  slide 13.  She stated that                                                               
UA  strongly  supports  the  reauthorization   of  TVEP.    State                                                               
funding, including  TVEP, will  continue to  be critical  to UA's                                                               
ability  to  create  pathways,   deliver  programs,  and  provide                                                               
professional development to meet Alaska's workforce needs.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:19:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS questioned  whether the  university tracks                                                               
both completions and employment in industries of training.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. COTHREN said the university  works with research and analysis                                                               
at  the Department  of Labor  & Workforce  Development (DLWD)  to                                                               
look at those metrics.  She  said the annual TVEP report that the                                                               
legislature  receives is  specific  to TVEP  but  also speaks  to                                                               
employment and wage outcomes for TVEP.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS  sought to clarify whether  the measurement                                                               
among TVEP programs is consistent across recipients.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS. COTHREN confirmed that.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:20:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that HB 235 was held over.