Legislature(2015 - 2016)BARNES 124

04/06/2015 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ HB 46 WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD VETERAN MEMBER TELECONFERENCED
Moved HB 46 Out of Committee
+= HB 47 PERS CONTRIBUTIONS BY MUNICIPALITIES TELECONFERENCED
Moved CSHB 47(CRA) Out of Committee
+= HB 120 TRANSPORT NETWORK SVES. & WORKERS COMP TELECONFERENCED
<Bill Hearing Canceled>
        HB 46-WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD VETERAN MEMBER                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:18:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR OLSON announced  that the first order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO.  46, "An Act relating to membership  in the Alaska                                                               
Workforce Investment Board."                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:18:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  DAN  SADDLER,  Alaska State  Legislature,  stated                                                               
that  this  bill will  improve  the  Alaska Workforce  Investment                                                               
Board's ability to improve employment  prospects for an important                                                               
and growing  segment of the  state's workforce, by adding  a seat                                                               
to represent veterans.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER read from  the following sponsor statement                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     The Alaska  Workforce Investment Board (AWIB)  is a 25-                                                                    
     member board  charged with helping  unemployed Alaskans                                                                    
     find jobs,  and helping current workers  upgrade skills                                                                    
     find  better jobs.  Board  members represent  business,                                                                    
     industry, education, organized  labor, state government                                                                    
     and community-based service organizations.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     However,  there is  no representation  specifically for                                                                    
     veterans,  who  represent  a  significant  and  growing                                                                    
     segment of Alaska's population.  Alaska is home to more                                                                    
     than  73,000  veterans,  and boasts  the  highest  per-                                                                    
     capita  veteran population  in the  nation. Each  month                                                                    
     about  320 service  members  separate  from service  at                                                                    
     Alaska's  three main  military  facilities: Joint  Base                                                                    
     Elmendorf Richardson,  Eielson Air Force Base,  and Ft.                                                                    
     Wainwright.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Polls show 80 percent of  these new veterans would love                                                                    
     to  remain  in Alaska,  but  only  20 percent  do.  The                                                                    
     inability to find  a good job plays  a significant part                                                                    
     in  the state's  loss of  these highly  trained, civic-                                                                    
     minded individuals and their families.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Having  a veterans'  seat  on the  AWIB  will help  the                                                                    
     board  develop workforce  development policies  to meet                                                                    
     this group's significant needs.  It will help provide a                                                                    
     pool of  well-trained employees for  Alaskan employers.                                                                    
     And  it will  help veterans  transition from  uniformed                                                                    
     service, close any skills gap,  find work and remain in                                                                    
     Alaska as productive citizens.  I would appreciate your                                                                    
     support for House Bill 46.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:20:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUGHES asked  for  further  clarification on  the                                                               
definition of veteran in AS 43.20.048.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER answered that veteran  is a person who has                                                               
been honorably  discharged from  the armed  forces of  the United                                                               
States, including the  U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy,  the U.S. Marine                                                               
Corps,  the U.S.  Air Force,  the  U.S. Coast  Guard, the  Alaska                                                               
Territorial  Guard, the  Alaska Army  National Guard,  the Alaska                                                               
Air National Guard, or the Alaska Naval Militia.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:22:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR OLSON opened public testimony on HB 46.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:22:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOSIE WILSON,  Training Manager, CH2M  Hill, spoke in  support of                                                               
HB 46  and a specific  role on AWIB [Alaska  Workforce Investment                                                               
Board]  for a  veteran.    She stated  that  her company  employs                                                               
veterans, noting  that 9 percent  of its employees  are veterans,                                                               
10 percent  of its  construction employees  are veterans,  and 12                                                               
percent of  Point Thomson's employees  are veterans.   She stated                                                               
that CH2M  Hill participates in  the Hero-to-Hired  program (H2H)                                                               
that  provides  additional  education and  support  necessary  to                                                               
transition veterans into  the workforce.  She  offered her belief                                                               
that this  specific bill will help  bridge the gap and  CH2M Hill                                                               
supports it.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:24:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
GREG  CASHEN,   Deputy  Commissioner,   Department  of   Labor  &                                                               
Workforce Development  (DLWD), stated  that he oversees  the AWIB                                                               
[Alaska Workforce  Investment Board]  and formerly served  as the                                                               
executive director of AWIB for five years.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:24:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUGHES  stated  that  the AWIB  has  five  public                                                               
members and approximately 73,000 veterans  reside in Alaska.  She                                                               
asked  whether  any  veterans  have served  on  the  board  since                                                               
approximately 10 percent of Alaskans are veterans.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. CASHEN offered  that the AWIB chair is a  veteran, but he was                                                               
not  certain  about  the  other   members.    He  said  that  the                                                               
department  representative   oversees  the   Employment  Security                                                               
Division  which has  veteran representatives  at its  job centers                                                               
throughout  the  state.    In  addition,  the  department  has  a                                                               
statewide  veterans' coordinator.   He  suggested the  department                                                               
has pretty good representation for  veterans' services within the                                                               
department.    Further,  the  state  job  centers  give  veterans                                                               
priority service, such that they go  to the front of the line for                                                               
services for training and other reemployment benefits.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:26:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUGHES appreciated  that information.   She  also                                                               
appreciated  the  sponsor was  not  increasing  the size  of  the                                                               
board, but was using one of the slots for public members.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:26:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR OLSON,  after first determining  no one wished  to testify,                                                               
closed public testimony on HB 46.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:27:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HUGHES moved  to report  HB 46  out of  committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.   There being no  objection, HB  46 was reported  from the                                                               
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:27:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 3:27 p.m. to 3:29 p.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
HB46 ver A.pdf HL&C 4/6/2015 3:15:00 PM
HB 46
HB46 Sponsor Statement.pdf HL&C 4/6/2015 3:15:00 PM
HB 46
HB46 Fiscal Note-DOLWD-WIB-04-02-15.pdf HL&C 4/6/2015 3:15:00 PM
HB 46
HB46 Fiscal Note-MVA-OOC-04-02-15.pdf HL&C 4/6/2015 3:15:00 PM
HB 46
HB46 Support Documents-Email-Russ Black-SFAC Director-3-25-15.pdf HL&C 4/6/2015 3:15:00 PM
HB 46
HB47(CRA) Fiscal Note-DOA-DRB-04-03-15 with Actuary Letter-3-31-15.pdf HL&C 4/6/2015 3:15:00 PM
HB 47