SB 85-PERM FUND; EMPLOYMENT; ELIGIBILITY  1:42:41 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 85 "An Act relating to record checks for certain employees of the Department of Revenue; relating to permanent fund dividends; and providing for an effective date." He asked Mr. Limani and Mr. Bigelow to introduce the bill. 1:43:12 PM FADIL LIMANI, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Revenue (DOR), Anchorage, Alaska, introduced SB 85 on behalf of the administration speaking to the following: SB 85 - Bill Overview  An Act relating to record checks for certain employees of the Department of Revenue; relating to permanent fund dividends • The proposed legislation provides statutory authority to collect fingerprints for the purpose of conducting background checks on DOR employees including contractors that may have access to personal identifiable information (PII). • Allows merchant mariners attending qualified vocational programs to qualify for an allowable absence from the state for eligibility purposes. • Adds a new subsection to AS 43.23.008 to define the term "education on a full-time basis" for the purposes of calculating allowable absences for students receiving secondary or postsecondary education, vocational, professional, or other specific education. • Amends AS 43.23.140(d) to allow the division to use electronic notice of levy for individuals who are subjected to a court order or writ for the collection of a debt. 1:45:24 PM COREY BIGELOW, Operations Manager, Permanent Fund Dividend Division, Juneau, Alaska, paraphrased the sectional analysis for SB 85: [Original punctuation provided.] Sectional Analysis  Senate Bill 85 Perm Fund; Employment; Eligibility  Sections 1, 2, and 5: Amends AS 12.62 and AS 43.23 to authorize the Department of Revenue to collect fingerprints for completion of a national criminal history record check for the purpose of determining suitability for employment. The amendment to AS 12.62 authorizes the Department of Public Safety to conduct national criminal history checks for division employees. Section 3: Amends AS 43.23.008(a) to allow merchant mariners attending qualified vocational programs to qualify for an allowable absence from the state for eligibility purposes. Section 4: Adds a new subsection to AS 43.23.008 to define the term "education on a full-time basis" for the purposes of calculating allowable absences for students receiving secondary or postsecondary education, vocational, professional, or other specific education. The proposed definition would allow the division to include intra-academic year holidays and breaks, but not summer breaks, in the full-time education calculation, as opposed for separately calculating holidays and breaks under the current iteration of the statute. Section 6: Amends AS 43.23.140(d) to allow the division to use electronic notice of levy for individuals who are subjected to a court order or writ for the collection of a debt. Currently, the division is required to provide notice of levy via mail, despite the consent of many applicants to receive electronic notices. Section 7: Adds transitional regulation language. Section 8: Adds immediate effective date language. Section 9: Adds otherwise effective date language as of 1/1/2024. 1:49:33 PM SENATOR BISHOP asked Mr. Bigelow to expound on the background check. MR. BIGELOW deferred the question to Mr. Stair, Investigations Manager. 1:50:17 PM SCOTT STAIR, Investigations Manager, Criminal Investigations Unit, Department of Revenue (DOR), answered questions about SB 85. He replied that the background check currently looks back ten years, but the department is trying to reduce it to five years. 1:51:15 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN opened public testimony on SB 85. 1:51:46 PM RICH BERKOWITZ, representing self, stated support for SB 85 which will help individuals attending certain merchant marine vocational programs to remain eligible for the permanent fund dividend (PFD) during absences from the state. He said he had worked on behalf of U.S. flag vessel operators, including those in Alaska, since 1995 to recruit, train, and place Alaskan youth, Natives, and others to work as deep-sea mariners. He shared a brief history of partnering with the state that resulted in the hire of more than 800 Alaskans in mariner jobs. He said Alaskans initially weren't interested in attending the esteemed mariner school in Maryland because it would risk their PFD benefits, but in 1999 the legislature passed a law to ensure that Alaskan mariners would qualify for the PFD while attending this training, provided they met all the other qualifications. Their time training and time at sea were considered an allowable absence. However, in 2017 the PFD administration changed the definition of qualified vocational training which unintentionally eliminated the training program in Maryland as a qualified program. He said the PFD administration recognizes the unintended consequence and supports this bill to return to the pre-2017 allowable absence provisions for mariners. He urged the committee to support SB 85. 1:56:10 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN stated he would hold public testimony open on SB 85. 1:56:28 PM At ease. CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and continued public testimony. 1:57:09 PM RALPH MIRSKY, Chief Executive Officer, SeaLink Inc., Ketchikan, Alaska, agreed with Mr. Berkowitz that it was unfair for merchant mariners enrolled in a bona fide sea farers school not to receive a permanent fund dividend. He noted that his company was responsible for recruiting the bulk of the 800 Alaskans that Mr. Berkowitz mentioned. 1:59:41 PM SENATOR BISHOP asked Mr. Bigelow whether he had a running total of the number of mariners denied a permanent fund dividend from 2017 until today. MR. BIGELOW answered it was fewer than 20 each year. SENATOR BISHOP calculated that the total was approximately 125 over five years. 2:00:57 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked whether SB 85 was retroactive. MR. BIGELOW answered no; it is effective from 2024 forward. SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON recommended making the bill retroactive. [CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 85 in committee with public testimony open.]