Legislature(2003 - 2004)
01/22/2003 03:04 PM House L&C
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
January 22, 2003
3:04 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Tom Anderson, Chair
Representative Bob Lynn, Vice Chair
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Norman Rokeberg
Representative Harry Crawford
Representative David Guttenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
TAPES
03-1, SIDE(S) A & B
CHAIR TOM ANDERSON called the meeting of the House Labor and
Commerce Standing Committee to order at 3:04 p.m.
Representatives Anderson, Lynn, Rokeberg, Crawford, and
Guttenberg were present at the call to order. Representatives
Gatto and Dahlstrom arrived as the meeting was in progress.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
CHAIR TOM ANDERSON introduced his chief of staff and committee
aide Josh Applebee.
GREG O'CLARAY, Commissioner, Department of Labor & Workforce
Development, said that Governor Frank Murkowski and agency
personnel believe this department should be a labor and
management partnership that includes all workers and businesses.
He read the department's mission statement:
The Department of Labor is responsible to "foster and
promote the welfare of the wage earners of the state,
improve their working conditions and advance their
opportunities for profitable employment."
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY said the mission of the department is
changing because in 1998, Congress adopted the Workforce
Investment Act. In turn, the Alaska State Legislature in 1999
passed HB 40; this law moved several functions from the former
Department of Community and Regional Affairs to the Department
of Labor, adding the title and programs of "Workforce
Development" to the agency's name. The private sector will play
a key role in advising state officials about the spending of
federal dollars for training and retraining workers. He
answered questions from Representative Guttenberg about the
reorganization required by HB 40 and offered to follow up on
various issues raised by other committee members.
COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY introduced officials of his department who
in turn described their divisions' missions. He explained that
Katherine Farnham, the director of the new Division of Business
Partnerships, is absent because she is finishing up her private-
sector job.
ED FISHER, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Labor & Workforce Development, observed that the
department's Division of Business Partnerships will incorporate
business people in the policy-making aspect of workforce
development, identifying what skills the business community will
need two or three years from now.
JOELLEN HANRAHAN, Acting Director, Division of Administrative
Services, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, listed
the three functions of her division: management services, labor
market information, and data processing. The latter two
functions pose special challenges to the department because
technology is changing so rapidly and because the federal
government requires faster turnaround on required reports.
PAUL GROSSI, Director, Division of Workers' Compensation,
Department of Labor & Workforce Development, described the
agency's three components: workers' compensation, the Second
Injury Fund, and the Fishermen's Fund. Workers' Compensation in
Alaska is a privatized system. The division resolves disputes,
operates a retraining program, and administers the self-
insurance program for larger agencies. He answered questions
from Representatives Gatto, Anderson, and Rokeberg about
declining accident rates, the number of controverted cases, the
number and qualifications of hearing officers, and the impact of
increased benefits for injured workers on the insurance
underwriting market. Representative Dahlstrom inquired whether
reemployment determinations and the appeal process for injured
workers adequately consider medical advice.
TED BURKE, Acting Director, Division of Employment Security,
Department of Labor & Workforce Development, recounted how his
agency operates 22 Job Centers in 18 communities. The division
administers the following programs: employment services, job
training, unemployment services, and adult basic education.
Commissioner O'Claray mentioned that some employees from this
division will be transferred to the new Division of Business
Partnerships.
HALI DENTON, Acting Director, Division of Labor Standards &
Safety, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, described
the division's largest program of Occupational Safety and
Health. Alaska has local oversight over federal regulations and
works directly with Alaskan employers. The division also
administers the Wage and Hour program that helps workers get
unpaid or underpaid wages and that enforces the prevailing wage
rates and employment preferences on public works projects.
Division personnel conduct mechanical inspections and staff the
Alaska Safety Advisory Council. She answered members' questions
about child labor issues, including progress on implementing HB
128 [Approval for Employment of Minors], which passed in 2002
and reduced paperwork for hiring young farm workers.
DAVE QUISENBERRY, Acting Director, Division Vocational
Rehabilitation, stated that the mission of the agency is to
assist people with disabilities to return to work and to live
independently. Of the eight components in the division, client
services is the largest. Other division programs include
vocational rehabilitation, independent living rehabilitation,
disability determination, assistive technology, and
administration of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
MR. QUISENBERRY and COMMISSIONER O'CLARAY fielded questions from
Representatives Lynn, Guttenberg, and Dahlstrom about whether
Access Alaska and other independent living facilities might be
closed by budget cuts.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD voiced his concern that implementing the
new workforce development program would move personnel away from
the division's traditional services, such as courtesy safety
inspections. From his personal experience, he said state
workers are not in the field to the extent they were and the
Alaska workplace is not as safe as a result. He also urged the
administration to support increased unemployment benefits. He
said Alaska's replacement benefits are currently among the
lowest in the country. The state is losing trained out-of-work
employees who leave the state because they cannot financially
survive the winter months.
REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG identified key issues that he will be
addressing to the commissioner and the committee at the future
meetings. His concerns are: whether increased funding for
boiler and pressure vessel inspectors has cut into the backlog;
how to resolve the "building-code war" caused by three
departments involved in licensing the construction industry; the
problems created by new department regulations that force
private rural utilities to pay prevailing wages; the
department's proposed adjustment in unemployment insurance; and
how the department is using the employer tax under the STEP
[State Training and Employment Program].
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CHAIR ANDERSON announced that future meetings of the House Labor
and Commerce Standing Committee will begin at 3:15 p.m.
COMMITTEE ACTION
The committee took no action.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at
4:33 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 State Capitol, Room 3,
Juneau, Alaska 99801 (mailing address), (907) 465-2214, and
after adjournment of the second session of the Twenty-Third
Alaska State Legislature, this information may be obtained by
contacting the Legislative Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.
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