HB 176-UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FEES  8:07:45 AM CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 176, "An Act relating to notice of new fees and fee increases from the University of Alaska; relating to billing statements from the University of Alaska; and providing for an effective date." 8:08:06 AM REPRESENTATIVE ASHLEY CARRICK, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, presented HB 176 to the committee. She read from the sponsor statement for HB 176 [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Student fees in the UA system have been consolidated at each of the three main campuses since at least 2020. These consolidated fees are easier for University of Alaska administration to process, though consolidation provides far less transparency for students. In addition to the lack of fee transparency, the University system is not required to consult students in the creation or raising of fees. Until last year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks involved student leaders in the fee process through the Tuition and Fee Committee. However, UAF changed its committee structure to only allow student involvement in tuition decisions, not fees, and there is no formalized process for student involvement at either of the other main campuses. This lack of student involvement coupled with the lack of transparency in what fees students actually pay are concerning for student choice and freedom of information. HB 176 seeks to provide more transparency for students in the fee process. It would require the Board of Regents to give students notice when a new fee is implemented or when fees are raised. It would also require all UA schools to provide itemized billing statements detailing how much students pay for each component of their fees. While the fee categories and the amount of the consolidated fee are required to be published online, it is often extremely difficult to find the amount allocated to each category. Students can see the general categories their fees pay for, but they usually do not see the dollar amount paid for each service, such as student activities or recreation. With HB 176, our hope is to provide more information to students about what students seeking higher education pay for and to support their right to transparency for where their dollars will be spent. 8:11:29 AM GRIFFEN SUKKAEW, Staff, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Ashley Carrick, prime sponsor, presented HB 176 to the committee. He read from the sectional analysis for HB 176 [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Section 1: Page 1, Lines 5-7 Section 1 creates a short title for this bill. Section 2: Page 1, Lines 8-14 and Page 2, Lines 1-3 This section adds subsection AS 14.40.170 which requires the Board of Regents to specify three things before imposing a new fee: • the amount of the fee • the reason for the fee • the fee's status as temporary or permanent Section 3: Page 2, Lines 4-7 Adds a new section, AS 14.40.252, that requires the University of Alaska to provide students with itemized billing statements showing all tuition and fees that were charged to the student. Section 4: Page 2, Line 8 This section establishes an effective date of July 1, 2027 8:12:34 AM REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked what the current consolidated fees at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) are comprised of and asked if there is a dollar amount that could be attributed to the fee. REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK answered that the UAF consolidated fee currently includes things like gym memberships, Information & Technology services, and Administrative services. She explained how a student attending UAF before 2020 would have received a tuition bill that individually listed out each fee, not simply a consolidated fee like the one that is presently used. 8:15:50 AM REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked what different types of fees are represented within a consolidated fee issued by UAF. REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK answered that there are "probably" 6-10 fees represented within a consolidated fee issued by UAF. 8:17:33 AM CO-CHAIR STORY asked Representative Carrick if she could obtain a list of items within the current consolidated fees issued to a student. REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK replied that she would follow up with more information later. 8:20:12 AM REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked why the decision to not issue an itemized fee statement was made. MR. SUKKAEW pointed to a statement made by the UAF tuition committee when the initial change was made. 8:22:00 AM CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT opened public testimony on HB 176. After ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, she closed public testimony. [HB 176 was held over].