Legislature(1999 - 2000)
01/26/2000 03:18 PM House L&C
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
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HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
January 26, 2000
3:18 p.m.
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Department of Labor and Workforce Development Overview
HOUSE BILL NO. 121
"An Act relating to patients' rights under a health care
insurance plan or contract providing coverage for dental care,
and prohibiting certain practices by health care insurers
relating to dental care."
- BILL HEARING CANCELED
TAPES
00-06, SIDES A & B
00-07, SIDE A
CALL TO ORDER
CHAIRMAN NORMAN ROKEBERG convened the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting at 3:18 p.m.
PRESENT
Committee members present were Representatives Rokeberg, Halcro,
Murkowski, Harris and Cissna. Representative Sanders arrived at
3:19 p.m. Representative Harris asked to be excused at 3:30 p.m.
to attend a meeting of the Mayor's Port Authority.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
ED FLANAGAN, Commissioner, Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DLWD), gave an overview of the Department, its
duties, and its new duties arising out of HB 40 from the 1999
session. He discussed the changes over the last year with the
addition of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, job
training programs from the former Department of Community and
Regional Affairs, and the Adult Basic Education program, which
was transferred from the Department of Education and Early
Development. He discussed changes in how Unemployment Insurance
claims are processed. Budget reductions from last year were felt
throughout the department. He discussed a possible bill to
implement user fees in some areas (OSHA and Worker's Compensation
were mentioned).
PAUL GROSSI, Director, Division of Workers' Compensation,
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, answered
questions about the records and statistics, which the division
keeps on hand. He indicated there were 28,000 injuries last
year, resulting in about 1,400 claims filed when disputes arose.
About 500 of those came from petitions that were mostly from
employers. He responded to questions about fraud investigation
and the possible proposals coming from the Workers' Compensation
Committee of Alaska (WCCA).
MR. FLANAGAN continued to brief the committee and discussed the
Labor Standards and Safety Division, OSHA outreach, Wage and
Hour, and Mechanical Inspection. He responded to questions about
elevator inspections, program receipts, budget reductions, the
possibility of various local governments handling elevator
inspections, and census duties concerning reapportionment.
DWIGHT PERKINS, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labor and
Workforce Development, discussed the census responsibilities and
reapportionment procedure.
MR. FLANAGAN, in response to questions, discussed Wage and Hour
employees, who handle 23,000 phone contacts per year.
J. R. "RANDY" CARR, Chief/Labor Standards & Safety, Wage and
Hour, Division of Labor Standards and Safety, Department of Labor
and Workforce Development, responded to questions about the Wage
and Hour web site.
REBECCA GAMEZ, Director, Division of Employment Security,
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, responded to
questions concerning possible federal sanctions if certain
guidelines are not met.
MR. FLANAGAN responded to questions about the combination of
training programs. He discussed the Alaska Human Resources
Investment Council. He also discussed the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance in state buildings and the
process of disability determinations.
PAULA SMITH, Administrative Manager, Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation, Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
indicated Alaska is the test state for a new pilot program
concerning disability determinations.
MR. FLANAGAN continued to discuss job training programs. He
responded to questions concerning STEP program funding and
funding per areas of the state. He also responded to questions
concerning the length of time a person receives unemployment
insurance benefits.
AL DWYER, Director, Division of Labor Standards and Safety,
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, briefed the
committee on the boiler inspection program, backlog, employees,
and the impact of legislation from last year.
MR. FLANAGAN responded to questions about minimum wage
initiative, tip credits, and learning/training wage.
COMMITTEE ACTION
The committee took no action.
ADJOURNMENT
CHAIRMAN ROKEBERG adjourned the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting at 5:00 p.m.
NOTE:
The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were taken. A
copy of the tape(s) and log notes may be obtained by contacting
the House Records Office at the Terry Miller Legislative Office
Building, 129 Sixth Street, Room 229, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182,
(907) 465-2214, and after adjournment of the second session of
the Twenty-First Alaska State Legislature, in the Legislative
Reference Library, Terry Miller Legislative Office Building, 129
Sixth Street, Room 102, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182, (907) 465-
3808.
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