04/05/2018 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB159 | |
| HB47 | |
| HB152 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 47 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 159 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 152 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
April 5, 2018
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Kevin Meyer, Chair
Senator David Wilson
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator John Coghill
Senator Dennis Egan
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 159
"An Act relating to disbursement options under the Public
Employees' Retirement System of Alaska and the Teachers'
Retirement System of Alaska for participants in the defined
contribution plan; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED SB 159 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 47
"An Act requiring certain municipalities with a population that
decreased by more than 25 percent between 2000 and 2010 that
participate in the defined benefit retirement plan of the Public
Employees' Retirement System of Alaska to contribute to the
system an amount calculated by applying a rate of 22 percent of
the total of all base salaries paid by the municipality to
employees of the municipality who are active members of the
system during a payroll period; authorizing the administrator of
the defined benefit retirement plan of the Public Employees'
Retirement System of Alaska to reduce the rate of interest
payable by certain municipalities that are delinquent in
transmitting employee and employer contributions to the
retirement plan; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 152(STA)
"An Act relating to the organized militia; and relating to the
authority of the adjutant general."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 159
SHORT TITLE: PERS/TERS DISTRIBUTIONS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/24/18 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/24/18 (S) STA, FIN
03/20/18 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/20/18 (S) Heard & Held
03/20/18 (S) MINUTE(STA)
BILL: HB 47
SHORT TITLE: MUNICIPAL PERS CONTRIBUTIONS/INTEREST
SPONSOR(s): FOSTER
01/18/17 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/13/17
01/18/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/17 (H) CRA, FIN
02/28/17 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
02/28/17 (H) Heard & Held
02/28/17 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/02/17 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/02/17 (H) Moved HB 47 Out of Committee
03/02/17 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/03/17 (H) CRA RPT 4DP 1NR 1AM
03/03/17 (H) DP: WESTLAKE, DRUMMOND, FANSLER, PARISH
03/03/17 (H) NR: RAUSCHER
03/03/17 (H) AM: SADDLER
04/06/17 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/06/17 (H) Heard & Held
04/06/17 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/13/17 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/13/17 (H) Moved HB 47 Out of Committee
04/13/17 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/14/17 (H) FIN RPT 5DP 6AM
04/14/17 (H) DP: ORTIZ, GUTTENBERG, GARA, SEATON,
FOSTER
04/14/17 (H) AM: WILSON, KAWASAKI, THOMPSON, TILTON,
GRENN, PRUITT
05/15/17 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
05/15/17 (H) VERSION: HB 47
05/16/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/16/17 (S) STA, FIN
BILL: HB 152
SHORT TITLE: ORGANIZED MILITIA; AK ST. DEFENSE FORCE
SPONSOR(s): MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
03/06/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/06/17 (H) MLV, STA
03/14/17 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/14/17 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
03/23/17 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/23/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/23/17 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
03/30/17 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/30/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/30/17 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
04/04/17 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/04/17 (H) Moved CSHB 152(MLV) Out of Committee
04/04/17 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
04/05/17 (H) MLV RPT CS(MLV) 3DP 2DNP 1NR
04/05/17 (H) DP: SPOHNHOLZ, PARISH, TUCK
04/05/17 (H) DNP: REINBOLD, SADDLER
04/05/17 (H) NR: LEDOUX
05/09/17 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/09/17 (H) Heard & Held
05/09/17 (H) MINUTE(STA)
01/23/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/23/18 (H) Heard & Held
01/23/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
01/25/18 (H) STA AT 3:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
01/25/18 (H) Heard & Held
01/25/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/22/18 (H) STA AT 3:15 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/22/18 (H) Moved CSHB 152(STA) Out of Committee
02/22/18 (H) MINUTE(STA)
02/23/18 (H) STA RPT CS(STA) 2DP 1DNP 3NR
02/23/18 (H) DP: TUCK, KREISS-TOMKINS
02/23/18 (H) DNP: KNOPP
02/23/18 (H) NR: BIRCH, WOOL, LEDOUX
03/07/18 (H) ENGROSSED
03/15/18 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/15/18 (H) VERSION: CSHB 152(STA)
03/16/18 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/16/18 (S) STA, JUD
04/03/18 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/03/18 (S) Scheduled but Not Heard
WITNESS REGISTER
KATHY LEA, Chief Pension Officer
Division of Retirement and Benefits
Alaska Department of Administration
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of SB 159.
REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 47, provided an overview.
PAUL LABOLLE, Staff
Representative Foster
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview and sectional analysis
of HB 47.
SHANDRA HUNTINGTON, City Manager
City of Galena
Galena, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 47.
KATHIE WASSERMAN, Executive Director
Alaska Municipal League
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 47.
KEVIN WORLEY, Chief Finance Officer
Division of Retirement and Benefits
Alaska Department of Administration
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Addressed questions regarding HB 47.
KENDRA KLOSTER, Staff
Representative Tuck
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of HB 152.
REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Chair of the House Military & Veterans
Affairs Committee, commented on HB 152.
BRIAN DUFFY, Administrative Services Director
Alaska Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions regarding HB 152.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:31:06 PM
CHAIR KEVIN MEYER called the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Wilson, Giessel, Coghill, Egan, and Chair
Meyer.
SB 159-PERS/TERS DISTRIBUTIONS
3:31:49 PM
CHAIR MEYER announced the consideration of Senate Bill 159 (SB
159).
3:32:49 PM
KATHY LEA, Chief Pension Officer, Division of Retirement and
Benefits, Alaska Department of Administration, Juneau, Alaska,
announced her availability to answer questions regarding SB 159.
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if SB 159 will have any affect on the
state's unfunded pension liability that continues to grow.
MS. LEA answered no. She specified that the bill deals with
moving the distribution options that are available to
participants at termination from statute into regulation so that
the plan can have better flexibility in offering changing
options. She added that the cost of any of the distribution
options is borne by the participant.
3:34:12 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL referenced the bill's fiscal note and noted
reference to authorizing a lump-sum payment of the entire
balance or a periodic payment option. She inquired if the lump-
sum payment would have a negative impact on the unfunded
liability.
MS. LEA explained that the plan is a defined-contribution
provision so there is no tie to the unfunded liability. She
explained that the lump sum is the participant's account that
contains their contribution and the employer's contribution made
on their behalf.
SENATOR COGHILL commented that he appreciated Ms. Lea's response
because he believed that distribution methods can change from
one generation to another. He asked if Ms. Lea could identify
the "flex points" in the plan that were immediately needed.
MS. LEA replied that there are no plans in changing the existing
options; however, the Alaska Retirement Management (ARM) Board
as well as the Department of Revenue-Treasury Division and the
Division of Retirement have identified a need for more robust
spend-down options for participants. She disclosed that the
division has reviewed eight presentations on different spend-
down options and disclosed that they did not fit into the
current definitions.
3:36:54 PM
CHAIR MEYER opened and closed public testimony.
He summarized that the bill will provide the division with more
flexibility without having to wait for the Legislature to come
into session each time a change is needed.
SENATOR COGHILL disclosed that he was in Tier IV and noted he
appreciated the plan's flexibility.
CHAIR MEYER pointed out that the bill has a zero fiscal note.
3:37:53 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved to report SB 159, version 30-GS2815\A from
committee with individual recommendations and attached zero
fiscal note.
3:38:06 PM
CHAIR MEYER announced that there being no objection, the motion
carried.
3:38:12 PM
At ease.
HB 47-MUNICIPAL PERS CONTRIBUTIONS/INTEREST
3:40:15 PM
CHAIR MEYER called the committee back to order and announced the
consideration of House Bill 47 (HB 47).
3:41:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,
Alaska, sponsor of HB 47, provided an overview as follows:
HB 47 provides relief for communities who have lost 25
percent or more of their population in the last
census, it does this by reducing the required payments
to the [Alaska Public Employees' Retirement System
(PERS)]. Galena, for example, lost 30 percent of its
population in the last census and this was largely due
to the closure of the U.S. Airforce base in Galena.
Municipalities must pay into PERS based on their
current salary level and at a minimum they must pay
based on what their salary level was back in 2008. The
rational is that local governments usually either grow
or they stay the same, but they don't typically
shrink. The problem is Galena's salary level did
shrink and it shrank in half from $1.5 million in 2008
to $770000 in 2012; but, according to PERS, Galena has
to make payments to PERS as if it still had a $1.5
million workforce.
Galena simply does not have the resources to pay into
the retirement system for workers that they do not
have, so they are faced with two options; they can
either let the amount that they owe grow and currently
that bill is $1 million, or they can simply shut the
doors and turnout the lights and close-up shop. So, we
are hopeful that we can find a compromise with this
bill, Galena would still owe for the bill that has
been accumulated, but they would be provided some
relief as they go forward.
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if the bill has been previously presented
to the Legislature.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER answered that the legislation has gone
through the Legislature several times but has not "crossed the
finish line." He noted that HB 47 is the first time the
legislation has made it to the Senate.
3:43:34 PM
PAUL LABOLLE, Staff, Representative Foster, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided an overview of HB 47 as
follows:
In 2007-2008, we had SB 125 that pooled the PERS
systems in the individual municipalities which used to
be siloed systems and in that pooling we required a
22-percent payment of their gross salaries; there was
concern during discussion on that bill that what you
might have with that system is municipalities laying
off employees so they can put them out on contract
thereby reduce their contribution and yet their
liability remains the same, and it would distribute
that to the rest of the PERS employers. A couple of
different options were looked at for addressing that,
what was settled upon was the 2008 floor, which is you
have to pay it at the 2008 floor or gross salaries,
which ever is greater. Existing statute also had the
penalty payment for delinquent payments, if you didn't
make the full payment then it's one-and-a-half times
the actuarial amount or in our case is 12-percent
interest on delinquent payments.
3:45:02 PM
He provided a sectional analysis as follows:
Section 1
Clean up language that is needed for implementation of
section 4 that the administrator is authorized to
determine the rate of interest assessed under the
statute referenced in section 4.
Section 2
Portion of the bill that addresses the 2008 floor
problem. What it does is put a new subsection under
subsection (a)(2) that allows for the floor to be
reestablished for FY2012 if the community has lost
more than 25 percent of its population between the
2000 and 2010 census.
Section 3
Conforming language.
Section 4
Addresses the delinquent interest payment that is at
12 percent. The current version of the bill allows the
administrator to negotiate the interest rate for
delinquent payments. In several iterations of the bill
we had gone through different ideas of setting
different rates, deliberation led us to the conclusion
that setting the rate in statute was problematic to
begin with. The administration would have liked to
have helped them with their burden, but they are
directed to charge 12-percent interest and there's
nothing they can do about it, so we give them the
ability in these situations to negotiate that interest
rate.
MR. LABOLLE addressed the cost of not implementing the bill as
follows:
Right now, they have about a $1.5 million outstanding
balance they owe the state. As that accrues, you run
into different scenarios where the state could cutoff
community assistance, bar them from participating in
certain revolving loan programs, and you could end up
at a place where the city can no longer function, and
bankruptcy is not an option for municipalities in the
State of Alaska. Cities can dissolve but they can't
dissolve unless they pay all of their debts, and if
they can pay all of their debts they would not be in
the situation. What that leaves them with is basically
they could turnoff the lights and give the keys to the
state in which case we would now be on the hook for
the entire amount rather than paying on their current
salaries and or the new established floor.
3:48:01 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked how many communities would be affected by the
bill.
MR. LABOLLE answered that there are five communities that meet
the population metric: Atka, St. George, Pelican, Galena, and
Anderson. He detailed that actuarial analysis cites only three
communities that are affected, that being: Pelican, Galena, and
St. George. He added that St. George was not an ongoing issue.
CHAIR MEYER asked why St. George was not an ongoing issue.
MR. LABOLLE replied that Kevin Worley from the Division of
Retirement and Benefits could better address Chair Meyer's
question.
CHAIR MEYER asked what Galena's economy is.
MR. LABOLLE detailed that Galena functions as a sub-regional hub
in addition to fishing. He reiterated that Galena's main economy
used to be the Air Force base which closed.
CHAIR MEYER said he knew Galena's base closing caused a
population decrease. He asked if the population will ever go
back up to the level prior to the base closing.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER noted that Galena also has the Galena
Interior Learning Academy and students from throughout the state
attend the academy.
SENATOR WILSON noted that the Air Force left Galena with
substantial assets that the community could leverage to pay off
some of its debts.
MR. LABOLLE concurred that assets were left. He admitted that
the question remains as to how much is an asset and how much is
a liability. He noted that one asset that has been a major help
to Galena has been the fuel that was left behind by the Air
Force, the fuel has been used to offset the community's fuel
bills.
3:50:44 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked what happened in the other communities that
caused the population decreases.
MR. LABOLLE explained that Pelican was impacted by the closing
of its processing plant. He admitted that he did not know the
reasons for Atka, Anderson, and St. George.
SENATOR WILSON asked what the cost is to the state from the
communities' population decreases and reduced PERS
contributions.
MR. LABOLLE deferred the question to Mr. Worley.
3:52:27 PM
CHAIR MEYER opened public testimony.
3:52:33 PM
SHANDRA HUNTINGTON, City Manager, City of Galena, Galena,
Alaska, testified in support of HB 47. She disclosed that she
was born and raised in Galena and served as the city clerk and
currently as city manager. She said she would explain the
importance of HB 47 for communities like Galena that have seen
significant population decline between 2000-2010.
MS. HUNTINGTON specified that the Air Force base in Galena
closed October 1, 2010, but the shutdown process started in
2006. She explained that prior to the base's closure the
population in Galena was 675 residents, after the closure there
were 470 residents. She added that a flood occurred in 2013 that
led to a disaster declaration for Galena.
She detailed Galena's PERS contribution challenges and noted
that the law was not designed to consider sharply declining
populations from events outside of decisions made by the city.
She explained the city's financial challenges in dealing with a
cashflow crisis. She set forth that HB 47 will not undermine the
underlining goals and structure of PERS while helping to ensure
municipalities facing significant population loss are able to
continue contributing to PERS.
3:59:48 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked if there were assets left by the Air Force
after the base closing.
MS. HUNTINGTON answered that the Air Force left one million
gallons of fuel. She noted that the fuel was specifically left
for the Galena Interior Learning Academy, but the fuel has
nearly run out. She disclosed that Galena had to take out a $4
million loan to upgrade the heating system and water utilities
that were left in poor condition by the Air Force for the city
to receive a grant. She added that the buildings left by the Air
Force were built in the 1960s and require maintenance.
4:01:16 PM
At ease.
4:02:00 PM
CHAIR MEYER called the committee back to order. He asked Ms.
Huntington if there was any hope for Galena's population coming
back.
MS. HUNTINGTON answered that Galena always has hope. She noted
that the city has the Galena Interior Learning Academy. She
opined that the city can grow, but maintenance will have to
occur to the buildings and infrastructure at the closed Air
Force base.
4:03:23 PM
KATHIE WASSERMAN, Executive Director, Alaska Municipal League,
Juneau, Alaska, testified in support of HB 47. She concurred
with previous testimony that the legislation related to HB 47
has been around for quite some time. She noted that Pelican's
population drop occurred when a cold storage business closed in
2002 but noted that the community had paid off its PERS debt.
She explained that St. George no longer has PERS employees, but
their PERS debt remains. She explained that the population
decreases in the five communities was due to circumstances
outside of the communities control.
4:07:00 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked if additional communities can be expected to
have population decreases in the future.
MS. WASSERMAN answered that she did not have numbers to back her
response but opined that populations will stabilize but the
debts will not go away.
CHAIR MEYER noted that Ms. Wasserman addressed SB 125 in her
overview and asked if that the bill passed in a previous
Legislature.
MS. WASSERMAN specified that SB 125 was PERS legislation passed
by Senators Hoffman and Stedman in 2006.
CHAIR MEYER asked if the state went to the defined-retirement
plan in 2006.
MS. WASSERMAN answered yes.
SENATOR GIESSEL addressed PERS employee-count data from FY2008-
FY2016. She noted in FY2016 that Galena had 18-PERS employees, 0
in Nenana and St. George, and 5 in Pelican.
MS. WASSERMAN remarked that a lot of the communities have gone
out of their way to not let go of employees because they do not
want to trigger a termination study.
CHAIR MEYER asked why the time frame of 2000 to 2010 was chosen.
MS. WASSERMAN surmised that it was when "this legislation
started."
4:11:27 PM
CHAIR MEYER closed public testimony.
CHAIR MEYER asked Mr. Worley to address the bill's fiscal notes.
He asked if there were two fiscal notes and one forthcoming.
4:12:08 PM
KEVIN WORLEY, Chief Finance Officer, Division of Retirement and
Benefits, Alaska Department of Administration, Juneau, Alaska,
stated that HB 47 has no fiscal impact on the division. He
explained that the division would provide updated actuarial
numbers and a new fiscal note soon.
CHAIR MEYER pointed out that the fiscal note that he reviewed
was dated FY2017 when the bill was introduced. He detailed that
it showed $121,000 for FY2018, and then $112,000 for FY2019. He
asked if those numbers will be adjusted.
MR. WORLEY answered correct.
CHAIR MEYER asked him to confirm that the bill modifies the 2008
salary floor and it has to do with the 25-percent decrease in
population between 2000-2010. He asked why time range was
between 2000 and 2010.
MR. WORLEY answered that the years were based on the U.S. Census
from 2000 and 2010.
CHAIR MEYER asked if the 25-percent population decrease only
applies to the five communities.
MR. WORLEY answered yes. He noted that the division confirmed
the five impacted communities participating in PERS with the
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
4:14:31 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked if there could be other communities asking for
the same relief in the future or if the bill precludes the state
from providing relief again.
MR. WORLEY answered that the legislation was very date-specific
between 2000 to 2010 and only deals with the five communities.
He believed that new legislation would have to be enacted for
communities that suffer the same decline in the future.
CHAIR MEYER admitted that population loss in smaller communities
is concerning due to fragile economies. He asked Mr. Worley if
he believed that the fiscal note will be presented soon.
MR. WORLEY answered that he will present the fiscal note the
following day.
4:16:05 PM
CHAIR MEYER held HB 47 in committee.
4:16:47 PM
At ease.
HB 152-ORGANIZED MILITIA; AK ST. DEFENSE FORCE
4:18:31 PM
CHAIR MEYER called the committee back to order and announced the
consideration of House Bill 152 (HB 152).
4:19:02 PM
KENDRA KLOSTER, Staff, Representative Tuck, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided an overview of HB 152 as
follows:
This bill is part of a series of bills for updating
our Alaska Military Code. Our military code was in
1955 and we are just starting to work on updating it
now, so a lot of it has been out of date. So, this is
one of four bills going through the Legislature this
year to help update that code.
House Bill 152 will help ensure organized militia's
four components, which is the Army Guard, Air Guard,
Alaska State Defense Force, and Alaska Naval Militia,
have an efficient military force to respond to the
needs of Alaskans.
A couple of the key parts of this bill is clarifying
that the adjutant general (TAG) has control and
command of the organized militia under the direction
of the governor as the commander and chief. The TAG
already possesses statutory control over the organized
militia, but this bill will clarify command. Command
and control are important functions in any military
organization. Commanders are set for the response of
the organizations' priorities, goals, missions, while
people have the authority to direct people to
accomplish those missions; it's logical, however it is
not clearly set in statute, so this is one of the
clarifications in House Bill 152.
This will also ensure that the adjutant general has
the ability to adopt regulations as needed, it
clarifies and lists that the Alaska State Defense
Force may exist only with the express consent of the
U.S. Congress. House Bill 152 will also streamline
some of the day-to-day matters; for example, the TAG
can be able to accept resignations of commissioned
officers or place the name of commissioned officers on
a retirement list, right now it can go through the
governor, but we are moving that to the adjutant
general.
This also relaxes the requirement from militia units
to be served by an active armory. So, right now the
Department of Military Veterans' Affairs is trying to
grow that. Currently in some of our small communities
it doesn't necessarily make sense to build an armory
before we can have some of our State Defense Force
members there, it's just not needed at this point and
it costs a lot of money to build an armory, so that
part is being removed.
There's a tuition assistance program for organized
militia, we are adding the Alaska State Defense Force
to that statute. We are not increasing the fiscal note
or asking for any money for this, it's just allowing
to make sure that all members of our organized militia
are listed under there for the opportunity if money
does become available for tuition assistance.
Some of the changes that came out of the House, there
was some concerns over parts of the bill which were
removed and that was imminent authority going to the
adjutant general in certain times, I just want to
explain the history of how we got to this version. In
the first version it would expand the ability of the
TAG to call in an organized militia when the governor
was unavailable; for example, if he was unreachable
and we had another big earthquake and we couldn't get
ahold of the governor, the TAG would have been able to
call in an organized militia; at this time they cannot
do that you have to get ahold of the governor, but
there are a lot of concerns over that so we removed
that part, going to go on more discussion on that and
so that was really the major change in the State
Affairs Committee that was made.
4:22:51 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked if the bill was brought forward at the request
of the governor.
MS. KLOSTER answered that the bill is a committee bill that
Military and Veterans' Affairs worked on with the governor's
office.
CHAIR MEYER pointed out that the governor would be delegating
some of their authority to the adjutant general.
MS. KLOSTER provided a sectional analysis as follows:
Section 1
Clarifies control and command of the organized
militia.
Section 2
Describes the circumstances under which a governor may
order the organized militia into active state service.
Section 3
Describes when the adjutant general may call the
organized militia into active state service but
reviewed by the governor.
Section 4
Clarifies existing law specifying the Alaska State
Defense Force may exist only with the expressed
consent of the U.S. Congress.
Section 5
Adds the Alaska State Defense Force to the organized
militia definition.
Section 6
Establishes the adjutant general and the assistant
adjutant generals are subject to regulations under the
chapter and paid according to state law.
Sections 7-9
Authority going from the governor to the adjutant
general to allow the adjutant general to accept
resignations and add commissioned officers to the
retired list.
Section 10
Relaxes the authority to not have to build an armory
when expanding the Alaska State Defense Force.
Section 11
Allows the adjutant general to authorize when funds
are available for the tuition assistance program; or
adding in the Alaska State Defense Force with the Air
Guard, Army Guard, and Naval Militia for eligibility
under the tuition assistance program.
Section 12
Specifies regulations adopted in the statute cannot be
contrary to federal law.
Section 13
Directs regulations adopted under the statute must
conform when governing by the armed forces of the
United States.
Section 14
Allows the governor to delegate authority and provide
a sub-delegation except for the powers given to the
governor to convene a general court-marital.
Section 15
Repeals existing statute which is no longer necessary
or amended because of the bills that are currently
going through.
4:26:33 PM
CHAIR MEYER addressed section 4, lines 29-31 regarding members
of the Alaska State Defense Force performing inactive duty or
training and pointed out the line, "Shall receive benefits if
they suffer an injury or disability." He asked if lines 29-31
was new and a possible cost to the state.
MS. KLOSTER answered that lines 29-31 were also part of
conforming language. She noted that another bill was coming
through the Legislature that dealt with the part lines 29-31
addressed. She noted that the statute relates to "pay and
allowances, AS 26.05.260."
CHAIR MEYER reiterated that he wondered if there would be an
impact on the fiscal note.
4:28:20 PM
SENATOR COGHILL addressed section 2, "The organized militia may
not be used against to mitigate a lawful activity including
organized labor." He asked if the verbiage was something new as
a policy call or something conforming to a policy call that
already exists regarding organizing.
MS. KLOSTER replied that the part Senator Coghill referenced was
moved from another section and cleaned-up in the Military and
Veterans' Affairs Committee where language was added to ensure
the organized militia would not be sent out for lawful
activities.
CHAIR MEYER asked what would happen if the lawful activity
became unruly.
SENATOR COGHILL specified that the section says, "lawful
activity." He asked if the section was already in statute and if
it was a policy that has already been enforced and contemplated
or if it was new.
MS. KLOSTER explained that section 2 used to be much larger and
a lot of language was moved around via statute clean-up.
SENATOR COGHILL asked Ms. Kloster to address the "repealers" in
section 15.
MS. KLOSTER detailed as follows:
AS 26.05.170
A relationship between the governor and adjutant
general regarding control and command of the organized
militia.
AS 26.05.235
Mandatory annual active duty training at sites other
than regular bases.
AS 26.05.340
Use of organized militia against labor organizations.
AS 26.05.340(d)
Necessary regulations adopted by the adjutant general
and approved by the governor.
She noted that the sections addressed for AS 25.05.340 were
repealed and reenacted in another part of the bill.
SENATOR COGHILL asked if the sections address the authorities of
those taking place but were rewritten.
MS. KLOSTER explained that a lot of the bill is cleaning up the
statute at the same time.
4:31:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS TUCK, Chair of the House Military &
Veterans Affairs Committee, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,
Alaska, said HB 152 clearly defines the control authority and
the command authority between the governor and the adjutant
general. He noted that Title 26 has not been changed since 1955.
He detailed that the first change occurred three years ago with
the Military Code of Justice and followed by a series of bills
to make it flow evenly so that everyone understands what their
roles are.
CHAIR MEYER pointed out that HB 152 has a zero fiscal note. He
reiterated that there seems to be the possibility that costs are
being added, specifically in section 4 regarding disability
while on the line of duty. He remarked that the zero-fiscal note
may be attributed to the fact that injury was not being
anticipated.
MS. KLOSTER disclosed that Representative Tuck has a bill going
through the Legislature where the Alaska State Defense Force is
covered for while on active-duty status for workers'
compensation. She detailed that the proposed bill, HB 126, would
include workers' compensation for training as well. She added
that HB 126 has a zero-fiscal note. She reiterated that the
three bills moving through the Legislature intermingle with one
another, so HB 152 is part of the conforming language between
the bills.
4:34:24 PM
CHAIR MEYER asked if the three bills are a "package deal."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK replied there is a package of five or six
bills.
MS. KLOSTER detailed that there are three bills sponsored by the
Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee and there is one that
is also the Alaska Code of Military Justice update, so there are
four bills going through the Legislature to clean up the
statutes. She explained that the intent was to break up the
legislation into pieces due to complex issues that were going
on.
SENATOR GIESSEL referenced section 4 regarding the liability
issue and pointed out the reference to, "Or community service."
She asked if the reference to community service was also covered
or was being added.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK explained as follows:
Right now the Alaska Defense Force, I believe, are
covered under community service but when they are
performing in active duty or training, that's where we
are covering them in case they get hurt because we are
still obligated but they are not covered under the
workers' compensation, it really costs us a lot more
when we have to pay right out without having insurance
coverage for them, so it encompasses them for all of
those activities now.
CHAIR MEYER noted previous testimony on section 4 regarding
liability concerns and asked Mr. Duffy from the Alaska
Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs if he anticipated
any costs associated with liability.
4:36:13 PM
BRIAN DUFFY, Administrative Services Director, Alaska Department
of Military and Veterans' Affairs, Joint Base Elmendorf-
Richardson (JBER), Alaska, answered questions regarding HB 152
as follows:
The only cost we have seen to date with members of the
Alaska State Defense Force being injured while in
service of the state but not on state-active duty was
one incident and I think it was a tort claim that was
settled for about $50,000, maybe with additional fees
for legal services to the department. We don't
anticipate a significant cost, it's a bit hard to
judge but what we will be able to gain through the
other legislation Ms. Kloster mentioned is coverage
for those members when they are in non-active-duty
status, but they are acting in service of the state.
SENATOR COGHILL addressed section 2 related to an organized
militia not being allowed to be used against or to mitigate a
lawful activity including an organized labor activity. He asked
if the legislation rewrites something that has already been
done.
4:38:46 PM
MR. DUFFY replied as follows:
You've seen other improvements covered elsewhere, the
Alaska Code of Military Justice affords the adjutant
general and chain of command opportunity to correct
behavior of the likes of which you described which are
counter to good order and discipline within the
National Guard.
SENATOR COGHILL asked if addressing organized labor as a lawful
activity was done for the first time.
MR. DUFFY answered as follows:
The intent here really is to ensure that it is
codified in statute that the elements of the militia
cannot be called into service to counter lawful
activities that are being done in the state.
SENATOR COGHILL asked if there was organized labor within the
state's militia.
4:40:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK specified as follows:
This section is dealing with any type of lawful
activity that civilians may be performing, whether
it's a demonstration, a march or any other lawful
activity including organized labor activity. I think
we've seen in the history in the past, especially in
the turn of the 19th century, organized militia was
used against [lawful activities].
SENATOR COGHILL remarked as follows:
I remember people putting flowers in guns at Kent
State. What I was wondering is would it ever be used
to prevent organized labor from saying," Well, we're
flight-line operators and we want to organize," and I
just didn't know if that was even within the realm of
possibility within our militia?
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK replied as follows:
That's a very good question because in the 1980s we
had the Professional Air Traffic Controllers
Organization (PATCO) strikes and at that time the
president said to return back to work according to law
and according to collective bargaining agreements. I
don't think organized militia was used or any type of
militia was used to enforce collective bargaining
agreements or to force people to return back to work
because it is a lawful activity to not have to return
back to work, but they did feel the consequences of
being terminated as a result of that. I don't know of
any time in history where people were forced to return
back to work. I can tell you that the Sherman Anti-
Trust Act one time had looked at any type of monopoly
including a loose monopoly in organized labor and if
you withheld or held back on commerce, labor was
considered commerce at the time, so you could be
jailed for not working; later on, there was an
amendment to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act that removed
labor from that so you that you couldn't use that as a
means of forcing people to go to work.
4:42:27 PM
SENATOR COGHILL asked if there was any organized labor within
the state's militia force and would they then be in a cross-
tension within the militia itself.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK replied that he did not know. He noted that
military and agricultural workers are exempt from the National
Labor Relations Act.
MR. DUFFY explained as follows:
There are no organized labor elements within the
uniformed portions of the organized militia. The non-
uniform, normal state employees, certainly there are
bargaining units that govern them and if by chance a
member were to refuse his or her assigned duties or
refused to report, refused to preform, those are
matters the chain of command would take up in
accordance with the Alaska Code of Military Justice.
SENATOR COGHILL responded as follows:
That's what I was looking for, I didn't know what that
tension within the organization would be. I appreciate
the fact that we don't want to use the military to
intercede lawful civic activities.
4:43:59 PM
CHAIR MEYER remarked that the section dealing with the organized
militia appears to have been amended in Military and Veterans'
Affairs.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK answered yes and noted that sections were
moved in the committee while making sure organized labor
activities were still included.
MS. KLOSTER concurred and specified that organized labor was
moved from one section to another and amended in the Military
and Veterans' Affairs Committee to clean up the language.
SENATOR EGAN noted that he served in the National Guard while
serving as a union worker and state employee in civilian life.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK pointed out that Senator Egan served in the
capacity of a collected bargaining agreement as a union worker
in civilian life and then was called into active duty. He noted
that Mr. Duffy said serving in any type of organized militia
with a bargaining agreement is not allowed.
4:46:19 PM
CHAIR MEYER announced that public testimony would be left open.
He referenced a letter submitted by Mr. Wood regarding his
concern that too much authority was being delegated to the
adjutant general.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK answered as follows:
There was a section that we had in the bill, it was
allowing the adjutant general to act on behalf of the
governor when the governor was incapacitated in any
way, within up to 72 hours; for example, we almost had
that situation with the recent earthquake at Kodiak
and tsunami warnings where the governor was about to
board an airplane, if he wasn't able to be reached we
were giving permission for the adjutant general to act
on behalf of the governor because we may not have time
to actually reach the governor and if the lieutenant
governor is not available, there's a little bit of
delay of saying that the governor is incapacitated and
then swearing in the lieutenant governor; a lot of
people had problems with that section, so we went
ahead and removed that.
SENATOR EGAN recalled when the adjutant general was lost in a
plane crash when responding to the 1964 earthquake.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK replied that Senator Egan's example was the
reason why the previously noted provision was initially in the
bill but later removed.
MR. DUFFY addressed Mr. Woods' letter and commented as follows:
I would just offer one thought to the committee
members, the changes that are proposed in this
legislation, although they enhance the ability of the
adjutant general to perform command and control
activities, at no point is the authority of the
governor compromised, it remains supreme the entire
time.
4:49:40 PM
CHAIR MEYER held HB 152 in committee.
4:50:34 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Meyer adjourned the Senate State Affairs Committee at 4:50
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 47 Version A.PDF |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Actuarial Letter.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents amended statutes.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents cities impacted by the floor.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents DOA-RAB letter.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents effected employers.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents Gross Salaries.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents Huntington PERS.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents PERS cities by 2010 population.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents PERS Employer Salaries for FY08 - FY12.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents testimony Korta PERS.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Supporting Documents Total PERS employers.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 47 Fiscal Note DOA OMB 64.pdf |
SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 47 |
| HB 152 Version N.PDF |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| HB152 ver N Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| HB152 Memo of Changes 3.20.18.pdf |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| HB152 Additional Documents-DMVA Letter and bill info 3.19.18.pdf |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| HB152 Supporting Document-DMVA Letter and Sectional 3.19.18.pdf |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| HB152 Opposing Document-Letter Lawrence Wood 3.19.18.pdf |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| HB 152 Fiscal Note.pdf |
SSTA 4/3/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
HB 152 |
| SB 159 Version A.PDF |
SSTA 3/20/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
SB 159 |
| SB 159 Hearing Request.pdf |
SSTA 3/20/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
SB 159 |
| SB 159 DOA Presentation in SSTA 3.20.18.pdf |
SSTA 3/20/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
SB 159 |
| SB 159 Tranmsittal Letter PERS and TRS.pdf |
SSTA 3/20/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
SB 159 |
| SB 159 Fiscal Note.pdf |
SSTA 3/20/2018 3:30:00 PM SSTA 4/5/2018 3:30:00 PM |
SB 159 |