Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
05/14/2024 10:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB159 | |
| HB275 | |
| SB204 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 151 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 34 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 183 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 275 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 159 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 99 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 149 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 24 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 12 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 204 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 259 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 190 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 397 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 396 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SENATE BILL NO. 204
"An Act relating to the issuance of certificates of
fitness for plumbers and electricians; relating to
fees for certificates of fitness for plumbers and
electricians; and providing for an effective date."
Co-Chair Foster relayed that the committee would hear an
introduction and public testimony, review the fiscal note,
address an amendment, and report the bill out if it was the
will of the committee. He asked the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development (DLWD) to provide an introduction of
the bill. He noted the legislation was by request of the
administration.
1:52:31 PM
KIMBERLY KOLVIG, LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, relayed that the legislation
pertained to certificates of fitness for plumbers and
electricians. The bill made two changes. First, the bill
would change the trainee level certificate of fitness for
plumbers and electricians from two years to six years.
Currently, if a trainee failed to renew their certificate
of fitness, the hours worked during the lapsed time could
not be counted towards the journeyman certification. In the
past five years, approximately 36,000 days of labor were
worked by electrical and plumbing trainees with a lapsed
certificate and the time was not counted towards their
journeyman license.
Ms. Kolvig elaborated that changing to the six-year
certificate of fitness took into consideration the
apprenticeship period, which was typically about four
years, plus anything unforeseen that may occur during the
apprenticeship period. Trainee certificates after July 1,
2022, and before the effective date of the act, would not
be required to reapply or repay the fees. Second, the
amendment would increase the fee for issuance of journeyman
level certificates or renewal certificates from $200 to
$300. The journeyman two-year certification had been in
effect since 2006 and it had been 18 years since the fee
had increased. The fee increase would cover the loss in
revenue created by the changes to trainee certificate of
fitness as the Mechanical Inspection Unit was funded
through program receipts. She noted that there had been no
changes to the legislation along the way. She shared that a
colleague would speak to any questions on an amendment that
may be offered. She added that the unions all supported the
legislation.
Ms. Kolvig relayed that the legislation would avoid the
difficult situation of having to reject training hours
because the certificate of fitness was not valid.
Additionally, the bill would eliminate days in trainees
becoming a journeyman plumber or electrician who were much
needed in Alaska. She noted a colleague was online to
review the fiscal note and respond to any questions related
to an amendment.
1:54:55 PM
Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony.
Co-Chair Foster CLOSED public testimony.
1:56:15 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked the department to review the fiscal
note.
TANYA KEITH, DIRECTOR, LABOR STANDARDS AND SAFETY,
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (via
teleconference), reviewed the DLWD fiscal note, OMB
component 346, control code cHaip. The fiscal note
reflected the change in fees. She noted that fees were
increased based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). There
would be a reduction in fees associated with the less
frequent updating of the certificate of fitness. The fiscal
note showed the projected increase in revenue to be
collected by DLWD as a result of the legislation.
1:58:20 PM
Representative Galvin understood that many sectors had been
reducing fees in order to encourage people to choose that
line of work. She wondered what the discussion was around
the particular line of work for plumbers and electricians.
She asked if there was a sense that the increase would not
deter anyone from going into the field. She observed that
the fee was going up $100 and she recognized the
certificate would be good for six years instead of two. She
noted that individuals would be at the beginning of their
career, and she wanted to ensure the change would not deter
individuals from the specific line of work.
Ms. Keith responded that the change in fee would only apply
to the journeyman license. She clarified that the
certificate of fitness for the trainee license would remain
at the $200 every six years. The department recognized that
people entering the trades were earning much less at a
training rate.
Representative Galvin thought she saw the change on page 2,
line 6.
Representative Tomaszewski believed it seemed like a big
increase. He noted that he paid the fee every two years
because he held an electrician journeyman level
certificate. He surmised he would be paying $25 per month
to continue to have his license. He asked if there had been
any discussion in changing the journeyman's timeframe to
four or six years. He estimated the cost was $12.50 per
month for two years. He asked how many journeyman level
plumbers and electricians there were in Alaska and how much
money the new fee would generate.
Ms. Keith responded that in 2023, there were 3,386
electrical journeyman and 1,184 plumbers. The fee increase
was due to an inflationary increase. The department did not
want a fee increase to have a substantial impact;
therefore, it had increased the fee based on the amount of
inflation.
Representative Tomaszewski estimated the combined number of
electricians and plumbers was about 4,570. He asked what
the $100 increase would generate in a two-year period.
Ms. Keith responded that the fiscal note reflected the
increase in revenue the department would collect based on
the increase in fees. She explained that the Mechanical
Inspection Unit was self-funded. Since inflation and costs
had increased, the unit had to cut back on services. She
relayed that the lapsed time the certificate of issuance
certificate increased dramatically making plumbers and
electricians waiting for their licenses to wait for a
longer period of time. Increasing the fees would enable the
department to update databases and services in order to
provide services to the public in a timelier manner.
Representative Tomaszewski asked if the change equaled
$105,000.
Ms. Keith responded in the affirmative.
2:04:19 PM
Co-Chair Foster moved to the amendment.
Representative Josephson MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1, 33-
GS2370\A.3 (Gunther, 5/8/24) (copy on file):
Page 2, following line 1:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"*Sec. 2. AS 18.62.020 is amended by adding a new
subsection to read:
(b) The department may adopt regulations allowing for
the issuance of a provisional certificate of fitness
to an individual who applies for a certificate of
fitness under (a) of this section and holds a
comparable certificate in another jurisdiction."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Representative Stapp OBJECTED for discussion.
Representative Josephson characterized Amendment 1 as a
friendly amendment that he believed was supported by the
department and labor. He had been told secondhand that the
industry supported it. The amendment would allow people to
receive a provisional certificate of fitness when applying
for a certificate of fitness.
Co-Chair Foster asked if DLWD had any comments on the
amendment.
Representative Josephson corrected that he did not know the
department's position.
Ms. Keith relayed that the department was in support of the
amendment. She explained that individuals licensed in
another state (with a similar licensing structure to
Alaska) coming to work in Alaska had to take a test before
they were allowed to work, which could result in a waiting
period of up to a month or longer. The amendment would
allow DLWD to offer a provisional license so individuals
could work while waiting for their certificate of fitness
in Alaska to come through.
2:06:42 PM
Representative Stapp noted that he had heard the argument
previously related to other issues. He WITHDREW the
OBJECTION.
Co-Chair Foster OBJECTED for discussion.
Representative Hannan asked about a scenario where an out-
of-state contractor came to Alaska to work and brought
their own electricians and plumbers. She asked if the
individuals had to be licensed in Alaska to work under a
general contractor in the state.
Ms. Keith responded that anyone coming into Alaska to
perform any type of trade work had to have an Alaska
certificate of fitness. She explained that the scenario
provided by Representative Hannan was exactly the situation
where DLWD would be looking to grant individuals with a
provisional certificate of fitness to allow them to begin
work immediately.
Representative Galvin asked if a one-month period for the
provisional certificate was sufficient. She wondered if
there was concern that if the provisional certificate was
good for longer than one month that individuals would come
to the state to work for a month and would leave [without
ever obtaining their certificate of fitness]. She assumed
the goal was to have individuals eventually get the
certificate.
Ms. Keith responded that she was not sure if she had seen
the particular version of the amendment currently under
consideration. The amendment she had seen did not include a
timeframe.
Representative Galvin thought she had heard one of the
speakers mention one month but she considered that perhaps
a timeframe was not in the amendment. She asked the
amendment sponsor to clarify.
Representative Josephson responded that he did not know the
timeline. He agreed with Ms. Keith that the amendment would
enable the department to adopt regulations.
Representative Galvin thought that it would make sense to
attach a specific timeframe to a provisional certificate.
She believed "provisional" implied that something was
temporary until another hurdle or paperwork was complete.
She noted she was agnostic on the issue.
Ms. Keith responded that the department would make
regulations that would specify a time frame. She assumed it
would be closer to 90 days to give an individual the time
to complete the steps needed to obtain the certificate of
fitness.
Co-Chair Foster WITHDREW the OBJECTION.
There being NO further OBJECTION, Amendment 1 was ADOPTED.
2:11:50 PM
Representative Tomaszewski asked about the fiscal note. He
remarked that it had been stated there were 4,570
electricians and plumbers and the bill would increase their
fee by $100 for the two-year period. He calculated the
total as $228,500 per year. He highlighted that the fiscal
note specified the department was losing $58,700 and
increasing $164,500 in other license fees with a total
revenue change of $105,000. He wondered where the other
$64,000 was going.
Ms. Keith believed the reduction reflected the amount the
department would lose associated with the trainee
certificate of fitness. There were some additional licenses
outside of journeyman electricians and plumbers including
boilermakers. She noted the additional licenses may make up
the amount.
Representative Tomaszewski remarked that based on the
department's testimony related to electricians and plumbers
there was an increase of $457,000 over two years, which was
$228,500 per year. He reasoned that the department was only
getting rid of $58,000. He stated that the numbers did not
add up to him, but he assumed there were other factors in
play.
Ms. Keith responded that Representative Tomaszewski could
be right. She relayed that the fiscal note was vetted
through DLWD and budget and "that is the amount of the
change in increase."
2:14:06 PM
Representative Stapp MOVED to REPORT HCS SB 204(FIN) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal note.
There being NO OBJECTION, HCS SB 204(FIN) was REPORTED out
of committee with five "do pass" recommendations, two "no
recommendation" recommendations, two "amend"
recommendations and with one previously published fiscal
impact note: FN2 (DOL).
Co-Chair Foster noted that the committee gave Legislative
Legal Services the authority to make technical and
conforming changes with the adoption of the amendment. He
noted that a number of committee members needed to leave
for a meeting. He remarked that the committee may reconvene
later to address HB 149. He thanked the House Finance
Committee nonpartisan staff, finance members, and his
staff.
2:16:54 PM
AT EASE
2:17:09 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Foster thanked the committee and staff for their
work throughout session. He RECESSED the meeting to a call
of the chair.
[Note: the meeting never reconvened.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 204 Amendment 1 051424.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 204 |
| SB 204 Amendment 1 Backup DLWD 051424.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 204 |
| SB204 Additional Documents-MI Licensing Review Charts 5.8.24.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 204 |
| SB204 Sectional Analysis ver A 5.8.24.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 204 |
| SB204 Sponsor Statement 5.8.24.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 204 |
| SB204 Supporting Documentation Letters of Support 5-8-24.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 204 |
| SB 12 Public Testimony Rec'd by 051324.pdf |
HFIN 5/14/2024 10:00:00 AM |
SB 12 |