HB 25-PFD ELIGIBILITY UNIFORMED SERVICES  3:25:13 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that the final only order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 25, "An Act relating to eligibility for the permanent fund dividend; and providing for an effective date." 3:25:43 PM SETH WHITTEN, Staff, Representative Andi Story, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Story, prime sponsor, introduced HB 25. He paraphrased the sponsor statement, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: The uniformed services of the United States consist of the armed services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps, and the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS). Members of the uniformed services are all treated similarly in pay, benefits, and rank. NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and USPHS Commissioned Corps are eligible for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, can be members of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and can enroll in higher learning institutions using the GI Bill. Officers of the armed services salute higher- ranking members of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and USPHS Commissioned Corpsmen, as they would salute a higher-ranking member of their own, or any other branch of the armed services. Currently there are 16 subsections of statute that allow Alaskans to maintain eligibility for the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) if they are absent from the state for different reasons. Reasons like post- secondary education, serving in the Peace Corps, and participating on a U.S. Olympic Team. Remaining eligible for the PFD while serving our country has been a long-time policy of Alaska. However, these two groups of the uniformed services of the Unite States are not permitted allowable absences for purposes of PFD eligibility. House Bill 25 would extend these allowable absences for members of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and USPHS Commissioned Corps as they serve our country. HB 25 does not change other eligibility requirements for the PFD. It allows Alaskans serving their country in the NOAA Commissioned Officers Corps and U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to remain eligible for the PFD if their duties require absences that are allowable for Alaskans in the other uniformed services groups. CHAIR SHAW commenced invited testimony. 3:28:22 PM DAVID WILKINSON, Lieutenant, Commissioned Corpsman, Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), shared his personal background and work history. He noted that he moved to Alaska in 1997 and remained in the state until he joined the U.S. Air Force in 2005. At that point, he moved out of state for three years while maintaining his Alaska residency and continuing to receive the dividend. In 2008, he returned to Alaska until 2016, at which point he joined the USPHS Commissioned Corps and was sent out of state. He explained that initially, he received the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, his PFD application was denied due to ineligibility. The explanation provided, he said, was that USPHS was a uniformed service, not the armed services. He pointed out that both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Corps and the USPHS Commissioned Corps were allowed to maintain residency in Alaska if they were gone for more than 180 days, similar to the armed services; however, NOAA and USPHS officers were deemed ineligible for the dividend, while members of the armed service remained eligible the PFD. He further noted that USPHS and NOAA Commissioned Corps officers were legally classified as veterans and therefore, entitled to the same benefits as members of the armed services. Furthermore, since his time in the USPHS Commissioned Corps, Lieutenant Wilkinson shared that he had deployed five times in six years. He concluded by highlighting the mission of USPHS. 3:34:25 PM CHAIR SHAW asked how the ranking system worked within the USPHS Commissioned Corps. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON defined the ranking system as "the same as the officer rank." He added that the Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and USPHS Commissioned Corps all utilized the same ranking structure. In contrast, the Army, Air Force, and the Marine Corps shared the same insignia; however, the names are different, he said. For example, a captain in the Air Force was "O-3" while a captain in the Navy was "O-6." 3:36:06 PM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether Lieutenant Wilkinson held a noncommissioned rank within the USPHS Commissioned Corps. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON reported that his rank was commissioned. He said his current military rank was that of a lieutenant, or "O-3." REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD asked whether there were noncommissioned officers within the USPHS Commissioned Corps. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON stated that civilians were allowed to work for USPHS; however, all commissioned officers were on active- duty status. 3:37:11 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER inquired about the PFD eligibility requirements for active-duty service members serving outside the state of Alaska. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON shared his understanding that members on active duty must return to Alaska for at least three days every two years to maintain Alaska residency. REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER shared a personal anecdote. He asked how many Alaskans would be affected by HB 25. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON reported an approximate 6,000 USPHS officers and 300 NOAA Commissioned Corps officers on active duty in Alaska. 3:39:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked whether USPHS Commissioned Corps deployments were voluntary and how long they typically lasted. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON said the deployments were typically one month long and involuntary. 3:41:06 PM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD inquired about the date of Mr. Wilkinson's most recent trip back to Alaska. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON answered three years ago, noting that he currently lived in Florida. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD sought to clarify the eligibility requirements for the uniformed services. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON said if HB 25 had been enacted in 2019, he would have qualified for the dividend. He clarified that he had not returned to Alaska in the past several years, so he no longer qualified for the PFD. REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD urged him to continue applying for the dividend to avoid "getting lost in the system." 3:43:07 PM MR. WHITTEN noted that staff from the Department of Revenue (DOR) was available to answer questions from the committee. 3:43:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG inquired about the role and impact of USPHS members in Alaska. LIEUTENANT WILKINSON attempted to clarify the question. REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG inquired about the role of active-duty USPHS officers stationed in Alaska, such as providing medical care for the Coast Guard and the Indian Health Service (IHS). LIEUTENANT WILKINSON confirmed that USPHS Commissioned Corps officers provided all the medical and dental care for the Coast Guard in Alaska. He shared his understanding that they often provided services in remote villages across the state for IHS as well. He shared a personal anecdote. 3:46:00 PM MR. WHITTEN, in response to Representative Armstrong's prior question regarding the number of USPHS Commissioned Corps officers assigned to duty stations in Alaska, reported that there were currently 193, of which 50 percent were stationed in rural areas of the state to provide healthcare to the communities. CHAIR SHAW introduced Sarah Tanja, former NOAA Commissioned Corps officer. 3:46:58 PM SARAH TANJA shared that her PFD application was denied in 2018 due to a period of absence from the state for more than 180 days. She said she appealed the decision and reached out to Representative Story with a request to change the existing statute by incorporating the uniformed services of the United States instead of the armed services only. She shared her personal background and work history within the uniformed services. She offered, for the committee's clarification, that "corpsman" was defined as medics in the uniformed services, whereas "the NOAA Commissioned Corps" was a unit of officers. She proceeded to recount the origins of the NOAA Commissioned Corps. She discussed the NOAA Commissioned Corps role in Alaska and outlined its various missions. 3:53:57 PM CHAIR SHAW thanked Ms. Tanja for clarifying the definition of "corpsman" versus "corps." He asked whether the administration had taken an official position on the bill or had any comments to share. 3:54:31 PM GENEVIEVE WOJTUSIK, Director, Permanent Fund Dividend Division, DOR, said the division was neutral on the proposed legislation. 3:54:46 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked how many Alaskans would be impacted by the bill. MS. WOJTUSIK did not know the answer. 3:55:18 PM MR. WHITTEN noted, as a point of clarification, that neither invited testifier maintained a residency of record in Alaska and therefore, would not personally benefit from the bill if it were to pass. 3:55:39 PM CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony on HB 25. After ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public testimony. 3:56:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked for the list of exemptions that qualified a person to receive the dividend while being absent from Alaska for longer than 180 days. 3:57:28 PM SEAN IRELAND, Appeals Manager, Permanent Fund Dividend Division, DOR, listed the following exemptions: full-time education; active-duty members of the armed forces; merchant mariners; people receiving continuous medical treatment; people receiving critical life-threatening care; care-takers of a terminally-ill family member; selling of an estate; members of Congress; staff to members of Congress; state employees working in a field office or other location; accompanying a minor; Peace Corps volunteers; Olympic athletes; and participants in the U.S. Department of State Fellowship. 3:59:26 PM CHAIR SHAW announced that HB 25 would be held over.