HB 32-LINES OF BUSINESS ON BUSINESS LICENSE  3:35:37 PM VICE CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 32 "An Act providing for the issuance of one business license for multiple lines of business; and providing for reissuance of a business license to correct a mistake on the license." 3:35:51 PM MARY SCHLOSSER, Staff, Representative Mia Costello, Alaska State Legislature, speaking on behalf of one of the joint prime sponsors of HB 32, Representative Costello, stated that under current law a separate business license is required for each line of business or business activity. This bill would allow companies with multiple lines of business to obtain only one business license for their operations. After further consultation with the department, the sponsor agreed to changes embodied in the proposed committee substitute, including changing the lines of business to trade, service, profession, or activity throughout the bill, she said. 3:36:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 32, labeled 28-LS0192/Y, Martin, 3/19/13, as the working document. There being no objection, Version Y was before the committee. 3:37:22 PM MS. SCHLOSSER, continuing her review of Version Y, pointed out that on page 1, line 13, the language, "primary and secondary trade, service, profession, or activity" was inserted. This language, she explained, was crucial to the department to lower the fiscal note. On page 2, line 8, a new subsection was added to allow reissuance of a business license without additional fees. Additionally, on page 2, line 13, the grace period for the timeframe in which the department retains the business name in the database was shortened from the 90-day grace period previously considered to 30 days. This goal of the bill, she specified, is to make it possible to license the business rather than limit it to the line of business. She characterized this bill as a business-friendly bill as the sponsor wants to make Alaska friendly to business. She suggested this bill might help Alaska's rankings in terms of business-friendly states. She reminded members of a CNBC poll that ranked Alaska 47th out of 50 and a Forbes poll that ranked Alaska as 42nd in the nation. VICE CHAIR REINBOLD objected for the purpose of discussion. 3:39:29 PM DON HABEGER, Director, Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing (DCBPL), Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development (DCCED), said he appreciated the sponsor's willingness to work through the issues. 3:40:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT referred to the fiscal note and reasons the fiscal note changed, including that the department wants to be able to capture the old business licenses. He asked for clarification on the specific change in the fiscal note. MR. HABEGER responded that one of the big drivers is the amount of data the database can handle. The original bill would have required the department to maintain a number of lines of business. He recalled the maximum number is about 11 lines of business with subcategories under it. He suggested the recording and tracking was rather burdensome and the department anticipated increased costs to maintain the database. However, once the requirement to track was limited to the primary and secondary business, which is subsequently printed on the license, it reduced the effort necessary to maintain the database and the department could accommodate the needs of the statute. 3:41:46 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said he supports this bill. He asked whether the cost would be under $10,000. MR. HABEGER answered yes. While the proposed CS will still require some changes to the database, the division already has the primary and secondary methodology in place to track the information. These changes are not as cumbersome as tracking multiple lines of business, which he has been advised include up to 19 lines of business. He concluded that using the tracking currently in place will reduce the cost to implement the bill. 3:42:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE SHELLY HUGHES, Alaska State Legislature, as a prime joint sponsor of HB 32, offered her support for HB 32. She said that it is important to streamline the process such that one business name and one business license makes sense, in particular for the small business owner who has limited margins. Hence, if the state can help by allowing them to put their money into expanding their businesses rather than paying license fees, then this is a good thing. 3:43:53 PM VICE CHAIR REINBOLD, after first determining no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 32. VICE CHAIR REINBOLD removed her objection. 3:44:10 PM REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT moved to report the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 32, labeled 28-LS0192\Y, Martin, 3/19/13, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note and letter of intent. There being no objection, CSHB 32(L&C) was reported from the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.