HOUSE BILL NO. 100 "An Act relating to allocations of funding for the Alaska Workforce Investment Board; and providing for an effective date." 9:03:45 AM REPRESENTATIVE ADAM WOOL, SPONSOR, provided a brief reintroduction of the Technical Vocational Education Program (TVEP) bill that provided funding to 10 different vocational schools or programs around the state using .016 percent of unemployment funds. The bill provided for a three year authorization of the program. Co-Chair Merrick OPENED public testimony. 9:04:38 AM FRED VILLA, SELF, PALMER (via teleconference), testified in support of the legislation. He shared that he formerly was the Associated Vice President for workforce programs for the University of Alaska (UA) and administered the TVEP program for 13 years. He believed that the TVEP funding was an extremely important part of the workforce development system. He indicated that the program had been in place for over 20 years. He pointed to the annual program reports that showed the incredible amount of outreach and industry supported training programs that were a strong economic driver and foundation for workforce development in Alaska. He encouraged the legislature to consider continuing the program in perpetuity instead of the proposed three year extension. The program had proven itself in performance and return on investment and was not a mere pilot program. He understood there were other entities that would like to be considered as a recipient of the funds. He suggested that there were opportunities to expand the program to other entities. He reported that the situation was similar to when I?isagvik College [Utqiagvik, Alaska] was added as a TVEP recipient, where the formula was adjusted by .01 percent to accommodate the change. The current recipients were held harmless and did not experience any reduction in their awards. He suggested ways new recipients could apply for TVEP funding. He thanked Representative Wool for bringing the bill forward and was deeply grateful to all the entities involved in the program's success. 9:08:54 AM DAVE REES, FACILITATOR, BUSINESS EDUCATION COMPACT (BEC), EAGLE RIVER (via teleconference), supported the bill. He had been involved in workforce development in Alaska for the past 30 years. He shared that he was a member of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board at the programs inception. He supported TVEP,s continuation for the long- term. He shared that the BEC had continually supported the program over the years as an effective approach to delivering training across the state. The program provided both secondary and post-secondary education for many of the businesses in the state. He appreciated Representative Wool for bringing the bill forward. He stated that the program provided a pathway to jobs in many areas. He spoke to the importance of getting unemployed individuals back in jobs. He reported that the two major funding recipients, UA, and Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) reached students across the state. Other recipients of the funds were very focused on local areas and workforce connections. He reiterated his support for the program and for the programs continuation in the long-term. Representative Carpenter acknowledged that the TVEP program was successful, highly sought after, and useful. He knew there were some opportunities for high school students to use the vocational schools and noted the waitlist for programs. He asked if there were times unemployed members of the community were unable to get into programs while there were high school students enrolled. Mr. Rees answered that he was aware of the situation in rare instances. He was uncertain how prevalent the situation was and deferred the answer to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD). 9:14:14 AM DOUG WALRATH, DIRECTOR, NORTHWESTERN ALASKA CAREER AND TECHNICAL CENTER (NACTEC), NOME (via teleconference), spoke in support of the bill. He explained that TVEP supported a regional training center network that provided workforce development training that was otherwise unattainable in the regions and would increase training expenses for the state. He delineated that in the Nome census area healthcare training was a top priority. Norton Sound Health Corporation was the largest regional employer that partnered with NACTEC to deliver dual credit high school courses and advanced technical training. The students graduated high school and immediately began employment as Certified Nurse Aides and Village Health Aides. He continued that without the funding, graduated students would wait until the following fall to begin a post- secondary education program. In addition to healthcare needs in Nome, in December 2020, Congress had authorized over $379 million for construction of an Arctic deep draft port in Nome. Furthermore, the federal permitting committee designated Graphite Creek as a high priority infrastructure project located 40 miles outside of Nome that had the highest grade and largest known graphite deposit in the country. He informed that committee that NACTED supported both projects and the opportunity to provide workforce training. In addition, NACTEC was a DMV third-party provider for road test examinations and offered drivers education classes because of the state DMV closure in Nome. He believed that as the state budget decreased it became increasingly necessary to develop a technically trained workforce. He restated his strong support of the program. 9:17:31 AM KATIE BENDER, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in favor of the legislation. She shared that TVEP had been a vital part of the universitys funding stream to ensure Alaskan's access to workforce training. The university worked collaboratively with its partners to identify holes in the states training system and addressed the shortfalls with quality education. The university's TVEP success had been solidly demonstrated in the states construction, trades and careers, aviation and marine, mining, oil, and healthcare system by putting people to work and growing their wages. She stated that the system was working and was providing critical training to meet the states needs. Co-Chair Merrick CLOSED public testimony. 9:19:17 AM Co-Chair Merrick asked the departments to review its fiscal notes. LACEY SANDERS, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR (via teleconference), spoke to the published fiscal note (FN1 EED) for the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). She indicated that the fiscal noted reflected an appropriation of $463.4 thousand for the Galena City School District for the Galena Interior Learning Academy. The department distributed the grant funding to the district. 9:20:31 AM DAN DEBARTOLO, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR (via teleconference), spoke to four DLWD fiscal notes related to the program. He turned to the fiscal note appropriated to Employment and Training Services (FN9 (EED)) that showed a reduction in the amount of $68.9 thousand from the FY 2022 governors request. He moved to the fiscal note (FN 8 (EED)) for the Workforce Investment Board that was the department's largest fiscal note related to the TVEP program [$665.4 thousand in FY 2022]. The department handled most of the funds for the program. He highlighted the fiscal note allocated to Unemployment Insurance (UI) (FN10 (EED)) that was specifically for collection and enforcement related to TVEP [$428.8 thousand in FY 2022]. He emphasized that the department could not use UI Trust Fund money for anything other than delivery of benefits. He spoke to the fiscal note (FN7 (EED)) appropriated to the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTC) [$2.351.7 million in FY 2022] used for general operations of AVTC. He noted the $382.3 million reduction to the program in FY 2022. Co-Chair Merrick asked Mr. DeBartolo to address Representative Carpenters earlier question. 9:24:47 AM Representative Carpenter restated his earlier question. He asked if there were situations where high school students were enrolled in TVEP courses and there was a waitlist for unemployed adults to enter the program. Mr. DeBartolo answered that he would respond in writing after further research. 9:25:38 AM CHAD HUTCHINSON, STATE DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY SYSTEM (via teleconference), addressed the fiscal note for UA [FN 11 (UA)] allocated to Budget Reductions/Additions Systemwide. He reported that the anticipated amount of the appropriation in FY 2022 was $5.2 million. He added that the operating expenditures were split evenly between personal services and commodities. 9:26:49 AM AT EASE 9:28:45 AM RECONVENED Co-Chair Merrick announced that the amendment deadline for HB 100 was the end of the day on April 17, 2021. Representative Josephson voiced that the UI benefit amount had not been updated in a long time. He wondered if the benefit amount was updated whether it would affect the program. Representative Wool answered that the percentage for TVEP was .016 percent and if benefits were increased it would be sustainable. He did not believe it would jeopardize the program or the UI program. He thought the issue was separate from funding the TVEP program. HB 100 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. AT EASE 9:31:23 AM RECONVENED 9:32:50 AM