Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
04/05/2013 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearings|| Regulatory Commission of Alaska|| Board of Marine Pilots|| Board of Pharmacy|| Alaska Workers' Compensation Board | |
| HB32 | |
| HB150 | |
| SB52 | |
| HB121 | |
| HB152 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 32 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 150 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 52 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 169 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 121 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 152 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 32-LINES OF BUSINESS ON BUSINESS LICENSE
3:35:37 PM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the next order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 32 "An Act providing for the issuance of
one business license for multiple lines of business; and
providing for reissuance of a business license to correct a
mistake on the license."
3:35:51 PM
MARY SCHLOSSER, Staff, Representative Mia Costello, Alaska State
Legislature, speaking on behalf of one of the joint prime
sponsors of HB 32, Representative Costello, stated that under
current law a separate business license is required for each
line of business or business activity. This bill would allow
companies with multiple lines of business to obtain only one
business license for their operations. After further
consultation with the department, the sponsor agreed to changes
embodied in the proposed committee substitute, including
changing the lines of business to trade, service, profession, or
activity throughout the bill, she said.
3:36:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 32, labeled 28-LS0192/Y, Martin, 3/19/13,
as the working document. There being no objection, Version Y
was before the committee.
3:37:22 PM
MS. SCHLOSSER, continuing her review of Version Y, pointed out
that on page 1, line 13, the language, "primary and secondary
trade, service, profession, or activity" was inserted. This
language, she explained, was crucial to the department to lower
the fiscal note. On page 2, line 8, a new subsection was added
to allow reissuance of a business license without additional
fees. Additionally, on page 2, line 13, the grace period for
the timeframe in which the department retains the business name
in the database was shortened from the 90-day grace period
previously considered to 30 days. This goal of the bill, she
specified, is to make it possible to license the business rather
than limit it to the line of business. She characterized this
bill as a business-friendly bill as the sponsor wants to make
Alaska friendly to business. She suggested this bill might help
Alaska's rankings in terms of business-friendly states. She
reminded members of a CNBC poll that ranked Alaska 47th out of
50 and a Forbes poll that ranked Alaska as 42nd in the nation.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD objected for the purpose of discussion.
3:39:29 PM
DON HABEGER, Director, Division of Corporations, Business, and
Professional Licensing (DCBPL), Department of Commerce,
Community, & Economic Development (DCCED), said he appreciated
the sponsor's willingness to work through the issues.
3:40:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT referred to the fiscal note and reasons
the fiscal note changed, including that the department wants to
be able to capture the old business licenses. He asked for
clarification on the specific change in the fiscal note.
MR. HABEGER responded that one of the big drivers is the amount
of data the database can handle. The original bill would have
required the department to maintain a number of lines of
business. He recalled the maximum number is about 11 lines of
business with subcategories under it. He suggested the
recording and tracking was rather burdensome and the department
anticipated increased costs to maintain the database. However,
once the requirement to track was limited to the primary and
secondary business, which is subsequently printed on the
license, it reduced the effort necessary to maintain the
database and the department could accommodate the needs of the
statute.
3:41:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said he supports this bill. He asked
whether the cost would be under $10,000.
MR. HABEGER answered yes. While the proposed CS will still
require some changes to the database, the division already has
the primary and secondary methodology in place to track the
information. These changes are not as cumbersome as tracking
multiple lines of business, which he has been advised include up
to 19 lines of business. He concluded that using the tracking
currently in place will reduce the cost to implement the bill.
3:42:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHELLY HUGHES, Alaska State Legislature, as a
prime joint sponsor of HB 32, offered her support for HB 32.
She said that it is important to streamline the process such
that one business name and one business license makes sense, in
particular for the small business owner who has limited margins.
Hence, if the state can help by allowing them to put their money
into expanding their businesses rather than paying license fees,
then this is a good thing.
3:43:53 PM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD, after first determining no one else wished
to testify, closed public testimony on HB 32.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD removed her objection.
3:44:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT moved to report the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 32, labeled 28-LS0192\Y, Martin, 3/19/13,
out of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal note and letter of intent. There being no
objection, CSHB 32(L&C) was reported from the House Labor and
Commerce Standing Committee.