SB 11-MILITARY SPOUSE COURTESY LICENSE  1:31:04 PM CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the first order of business would be SENATE BILL NO. 11, "An Act relating to temporary courtesy licenses for certain nonresident professionals; and relating to the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development." 1:31:59 PM SENATOR COSTELLO moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for SB 11, work order 31-LS0262\M, Fisher, 5/3/19, Version M, as the working document of the committee. CHAIR REINBOLD objected for discussion purposes. 1:32:18 PM REPRESENTATIVE SHARON JACKSON, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, thanked Senator Kawasaki for incorporating HB 113 into this bill. Current statutes allow state and private employers to give hiring preferences to veterans and the Alaska National Guard. This bill would extend these benefits to spouses and dependent of military families and to spouses and dependents of service members that died in the line of duty. Military spouses and their families sacrifice almost as much as the service members, she said. She reported that nine out of 10 spouses are women. Census data indicates that many spouses have a college education in education or health care professions. Underemployment and unemployment are some of the major hardships that military spouses experience. SB 11 would help military families and incentivize Alaska's economy. 1:35:02 PM MERCEDES COLBERT, Staff, Senator Scott Kawasaki, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, presented the sectional analysis for SB 11 on behalf of the sponsor after she recapped the bill history. The committee heard presentations by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED). SB 11 would help ensure the transition to the work force was expedited for military spouses to allow them to join Alaska's workforce. MS. COLBERT said that Senator Kawasaki introduced the bill to require the department to report on the progress of drafting and implementing regulations for the temporary courtesy occupational licenses for eligible military spouses. In 2017, even though some boards had implemented the program some department staff was not aware of the program. Ultimately, the goal is help facilitate professional licensure for military spouses in Alaska, she said. 1:37:04 PM MS. COLBERT reviewed the sectional analysis for SB 11, Version M. Senate Bill 11 Summary of Changes Version A to Version M Section 1. AS 08.01.063(a) This amends the original statute establishing the temporary courtesy licenses for spouses of an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States. This directs the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development to make these licenses available, changing the "may" to "shall." Section 2. AS 08.01.063 (f) MS. COLBERT referred to page 1, line 10, of SB 11, Version M, which changes the language from "may" to "shall." The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) stated support for this change. She said this provision would not apply to licenses for occupations that specifically require Alaska residency, such as marine pilots. 1:38:34 PM MS. COLBERT reviewed Section 2. Section 2 reflects the original SB 11, Version A. the only change here is in (f), directing the department to submit the report to the Legislature on March 1 to all legislators, removing the reference to the Joint Armed Services Committee. The remainder of the bill adds new language for employment preferences: MS. COLBERT referenced page 23, page 3, lines 5-8 of Version M. The sponsor wanted to require the department to report compliance to the legislature by March 1 of each year. She said the language previously required biennial reporting. She said that explains the two changes to SB 11, Version M. 1:39:53 PM CHAIR REINBOLD remarked on provisions that appealed to her. She referred to page 3, line 2, to paragraph (4): (4) the department's efforts to inform each board authorized to issue a temporary courtesy license under this section and the military community in the state about the license. She directed attention to page 3, line 14, [subsection (g)], to language that encourages the boards to designate a single point of contact for public information, which she thought was helpful. 1:39:58 PM SENATOR BISHOP joined the meeting. 1:40:38 PM ERICK CORDERO GIORGANA, Staff, Representative Sharon Jackson, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, said that SB 11, Version M [incorporates HB 113] by adding Section 3 through Section 10. These provisions make changes to three main areas of statutes. Sections 3-4 would modify the statutes related to the Human Rights Commission by not prohibiting private entities from giving hiring preferences to veterans and to extend those hiring preferences to spouses of service members and their dependents: Section 3. AS 18.80.200(c) This section does not prohibit a private employer from having hiring preferences for persons described in Section 4 of this bill. Section 4. AS 23.88.010 This section repeals and reenacts the current statute by adding definitions removed from Section 5 for clarity. This section does not prohibit a private employer from having hiring preferences to active-military, veterans and families. This section adds language to include spouses and dependent children of deceased service members to the list. 1:41:47 PM MR. GIORGANA reviewed Sections 5-6: Section 5. AS 39.25.150(19) This section amends the State Personnel Act to ref reference definitions as stated in Section 6 for consistency. Section 6. AS 39.25.159(a) This section amends the employment preference for veterans or former prisoners of war by adding new language to include families of an active duty service member, veteran, or former prisoner of war. This section clarifies the type of preference given the hiring process and whether the applicant is disabled or not. Subsection (B) is removed for consistency. MR. GIORGANA explained that Section 6 would add a definition for spouse and dependent, which includes stepchildren, natural, and biological children. The bill would apply to spouses and dependents of military members, whether these members currently serve, had died, or were presumed dead. 1:42:33 PM MR. GIORGANA reviewed Sections 7-10. Section 7. AS 39.25.159(d) This section clarifies that a person may receive an employment preference under only one of the categories described in sections 5 and 6. A person may use the preference without limitation when being considered for a position for which persons who are not currently state employees are being considered. If the recruitment for a position is limited to state employees, preference under (a) or (c) of this section may not be counted. This section adds language to include spouses or dependent children for consistency with other sections. S Section 8. AS 39.25.159 (e) This section clarifies that this bill does not involve interpreting amendments of a collective bargaining agreement and makes a reference to subsection (a) of Section 6. MR. GIORGANA explained that Sections 7 and 8 would amend the state's personnel act. Currently, the state applies hiring preferences in two ways to veterans or members of the Alaska National Guard. First, veterans would obtain five preferential points when applying for a job. Second, if the state position does not use a numerical tool, the veterans would gain an opportunity to be interviewed for the position. The hiring preferences do not ensure that the veterans will be hired, but it will assist them, he said. As Representative Jackson previously mentioned, military families face many challenges. The families often move, and spouses have gaps in their resumes, so it can be difficult for them to find jobs. This bill would assist spouses and dependents and also allow the state to fill employment gaps. [Sections 9-10 were the final sections outlined in the sectional analysis, but were not discussed]: Section 9. AS 39.25.159(f) This section defines a dependent child. Section 10. AS 39.25.159(c) This section removes language that has been included in Section 6 of this bill. 1:44:28 PM CHAIR REINBOLD asked whether the point system was used in other jurisdictions. MR. GIORGANA answered that most states have a point system for active service members. Alaska will join the 24 states that have that system for spouses. The federal government also has preferences. The Department of Defense issued a letter to all governors to encourage states to take action. REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON agreed. Veterans would receive five preference points for serving, veterans with a disability would receive 10 preference points, military spouses would receive five points or 10 preference points for spouses of gold star families, which means these veterans died in the line of duty. She said the federal level offers some preference points for military spouses, but the DOD has recognized the issue and encourages states to take action. 1:47:01 PM SENATOR BISHOP remarked that he supports Section 8, [which clarifies that this bill does not involve interpreting amendments of a collective bargaining agreement]. 1:47:19 PM CHAIR REINBOLD removed her objection. The proposed committee substitute for SB 11, Version M was before the committee. 1:47:39 PM REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON offered her belief that this bill would help to integrate the lives of military and civilians. She remarked that she previously [served in the military] and was also a military spouse. She said spouses can feel isolated in Alaska. [SB 11 was held in committee.]