05/07/2007 01:30 PM Senate FINANCE

                                                                                                                                
     CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 124(L&C)                                                                                            
     "An  Act  relating  to unemployment  contributions  for  the                                                               
     Alaska  technical and  vocational education  program and  to                                                               
     the  allocation   of  money   appropriated  to   the  Alaska                                                               
     Workforce Investment  Board; and providing for  an effective                                                               
     date."                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
This was the  second hearing for this bill in  the Senate Finance                                                               
Committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Senator Olson, the bill's sponsor, moved  to adopt CS SB 124, 25-                                                               
LS0751\V, Kane, dated May 7, 2007, as the working document.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
There being  no objection, the  Version "V"  committee substitute                                                               
was ADOPTED as the working document.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:42:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Olson  stated  that  the  purpose of  the  bill  was  to                                                               
increase the  percent of  wages employers remit  to the  State as                                                               
specified in AS 23.20.175. This  money would assist in increasing                                                               
funding  to current  Alaska  Technical  and Vocational  Education                                                               
(Voc-Tec) training  program entities  as well  as the  four other                                                               
training programs added  by the bill. The entities  that would be                                                               
supported by this action are specified  in Sec. 2 page 2, lines 7                                                               
through 16 of the bill.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:43:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DAVE  GRAY, Staff  to  Senator Donny  Olson,  explained that  the                                                               
Version  "V" committee  substitute added  a new  participant, the                                                               
Ketchikan Job Center,  to the list of  Voc-Tec entities specified                                                               
in the Senate  Labor and Commerce committee  substitute. In order                                                               
to adequately  fund the  new participant,  a slight  reduction in                                                               
funding  was  made to  the  other  entities.  None of  the  other                                                               
participants in the program object to this change.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:45:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Hoffman moved  to report  CS SB  124, 25-LS0751\V  from                                                               
Committee  with   individual  recommendations   and  accompanying                                                               
fiscal notes.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There  being  no objection,  CS  SB  124(FIN) was  REPORTED  from                                                               
Committee with two new fiscal  notes: a $41,300 fiscal note dated                                                               
May  7, 2007  from  the  University of  Alaska  and a  $2,912,200                                                               
fiscal note  dated May 7, 2007  from the Department of  Labor and                                                               
Workforce Development.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
AT EASE 2:46:21 PM / 3:28:20 PM