HB 46-WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD VETERAN MEMBER  3:18:36 PM CHAIR OLSON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 46, "An Act relating to membership in the Alaska Workforce Investment Board." 3:18:50 PM REPRESENTATIVE DAN SADDLER, Alaska State Legislature, stated that this bill will improve the Alaska Workforce Investment Board's ability to improve employment prospects for an important and growing segment of the state's workforce, by adding a seat to represent veterans. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER read from the following sponsor statement [original punctuation provided]: The Alaska Workforce Investment Board (AWIB) is a 25- member board charged with helping unemployed Alaskans find jobs, and helping current workers upgrade skills find better jobs. Board members represent business, industry, education, organized labor, state government and community-based service organizations. However, there is no representation specifically for veterans, who represent a significant and growing segment of Alaska's population. Alaska is home to more than 73,000 veterans, and boasts the highest per- capita veteran population in the nation. Each month about 320 service members separate from service at Alaska's three main military facilities: Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base, and Ft. Wainwright. Polls show 80 percent of these new veterans would love to remain in Alaska, but only 20 percent do. The inability to find a good job plays a significant part in the state's loss of these highly trained, civic- minded individuals and their families. Having a veterans' seat on the AWIB will help the board develop workforce development policies to meet this group's significant needs. It will help provide a pool of well-trained employees for Alaskan employers. And it will help veterans transition from uniformed service, close any skills gap, find work and remain in Alaska as productive citizens. I would appreciate your support for House Bill 46. 3:20:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked for further clarification on the definition of veteran in AS 43.20.048. REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER answered that veteran is a person who has been honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States, including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Territorial Guard, the Alaska Army National Guard, the Alaska Air National Guard, or the Alaska Naval Militia. 3:22:05 PM CHAIR OLSON opened public testimony on HB 46. 3:22:21 PM JOSIE WILSON, Training Manager, CH2M Hill, spoke in support of HB 46 and a specific role on AWIB [Alaska Workforce Investment Board] for a veteran. She stated that her company employs veterans, noting that 9 percent of its employees are veterans, 10 percent of its construction employees are veterans, and 12 percent of Point Thomson's employees are veterans. She stated that CH2M Hill participates in the Hero-to-Hired program (H2H) that provides additional education and support necessary to transition veterans into the workforce. She offered her belief that this specific bill will help bridge the gap and CH2M Hill supports it. 3:24:23 PM GREG CASHEN, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD), stated that he oversees the AWIB [Alaska Workforce Investment Board] and formerly served as the executive director of AWIB for five years. 3:24:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES stated that the AWIB has five public members and approximately 73,000 veterans reside in Alaska. She asked whether any veterans have served on the board since approximately 10 percent of Alaskans are veterans. MR. CASHEN offered that the AWIB chair is a veteran, but he was not certain about the other members. He said that the department representative oversees the Employment Security Division which has veteran representatives at its job centers throughout the state. In addition, the department has a statewide veterans' coordinator. He suggested the department has pretty good representation for veterans' services within the department. Further, the state job centers give veterans priority service, such that they go to the front of the line for services for training and other reemployment benefits. 3:26:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES appreciated that information. She also appreciated the sponsor was not increasing the size of the board, but was using one of the slots for public members. 3:26:45 PM CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 46. 3:27:03 PM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES moved to report HB 46 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 46 was reported from the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee 3:27:35 PM The committee took an at-ease from 3:27 p.m. to 3:29 p.m.