SB 154-BIDDER PREF MILITARY CAREER SKILLS PROG  1:33:55 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 154, "An Act relating to bidder preferences in state procurement." 1:34:12 PM SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, District K, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SB 154. He gave a brief overview of SB 154. He explained that this legislation would establish a bidder preference for state contracts for veterans and service members. It does this by encouraging businesses to hire service members who are taking part in apprentice-type programs. He said that 43 percent of post-9/11 veterans could not find work within six months of transitioning from military service. Veterans' labor force participation is around 47.7 percent, compared to 64 percent for non-veterans. He added that the unemployment rate for the spouses of active-duty members is around 21 percent. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI stated that barriers to veteran employment include a lack of transition support, negative experience with support services, a feeling of completely starting over, and perceived employer/societal stigma and discrimination. He reiterated that SB 154 would give bidder preference to companies who hire employees who have taken part in training programs that are designed to help service members find employment once they have completed their military service. 1:36:35 PM KALEB CALLAHAN, Intern, Senator Bill Wielechowski, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented SB 154 on behalf of the sponsor. He explained that the intent behind this legislation is to close the transition gap between military service members who have completed their long military contracts as they transition into the civilian workforce. He said he considers SB 154 to be a "supporting pipeline" to aid exiting service members in finding employment while also giving bonuses to those businesses that employ them. He explained that the programs are DOD SkillBridge and Army Career Service (ACS) programs, which are completed during the last 180 days of the servicemember's contract. These programs offer apprenticeships, internships, and training programs that allow the servicemember to transition directly into a career field of their choice. MR. CALLAHAN pointed out that both ACS and SkillBridge support a variety of professions and have locations across the state - including locations at Fort Richardson, Fort Wainwright, and a number of locations in Anchorage and Fairbanks. These professions range from those in the medical industry to mechanics and heavy equipment operators. He explained that this would allow the skills obtained during military service to transfer more easily to the civilian workforce - e.g. a Blackhawk mechanic could find work in a Ford factory; a combat medic could work in nursing; and Army construction officers could obtain certifications to be heavy equipment operators. MR. CALLAHAN stated that SB 154 establishes a 2 percent bidder preference; however, the preference is capped at $5 thousand, regardless of bid size. He opined that this is a modest expenditure and a win-win scenario. He stated that entities that have employed at least one person enrolled in - or recently graduated from - United States Department of Defense (US DOD), SkillBridge, or ACS would be eligible for bidder preference. He added that this applies to both service members and their spouses. 1:39:45 PM SENATOR BISHOP asked how this compares to the Helmets to Hardhats (H2H) program. He asked for clarification on the $5 thousand cap for bidder preference and how this would apply to large contracts of $1 million or more. 1:40:55 PM MR. CALLAHAN replied that the 2 percent bidder preference is capped at $5 thousand. He surmised that the majority of the contracts would likely be much less than $1 million. He stated that the intent of SB 154 is to use bidder preferences to encourage businesses to utilize the aforementioned programs. With respect to H2H, he stated that he is not familiar with this program; however, he said that it sounds similar to DOD SkillBridge. 1:42:08 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI clarified that - in contrast to H2H - SB 154 provides a bidder preference to companies. SENATOR BISHOP shared his understanding that the goal is to get more skilled people in the workforce. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI replied yes. 1:43:11 PM MR. CALLAHAN noted that veteran preference is already in statute; however, statute does not mention transitionary bidder preferences. He explained that SB 154 works as a pipeline by giving preference for servicemembers to become veterans and providing a 2 percent bidder preference. This would eventually enable businesses to employ enough veterans to qualify for the 5 percent bidder preference that is already in statute. 1:43:53 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN asked if a company would track how many employees are within the two-year graduation window from these programs and submit this information in their bid packet to determine their eligibility for the bidder preference. 1:44:20 PM MR. CALLAHAN replied yes. He added that this amount of tracking would be unnecessary, as only one employee would need to be associated with one of these programs in order to qualify for the bidder preference. 1:45:08 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN opened public testimony on SB 154. 1:45:23 PM KYLE KAISER, President, VIPER Transitions, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 154. He explained that part of the problem for servicemembers, veterans, and their spouses is access to the jobsite. He noted that there is a great deal of discussion around how to keep these individuals from pursuing careers outside of Alaska. He stated that around 80 percent of servicemen and women leave Alaska once they have completed their military career. He expressed a desire to change this and emphasized the importance of addressing the issue before they are completely separated from the military. He emphasized the importance of the 180 window to determine where these servicemembers will go and what career they will follow. He added that the apprenticeships and other skill-building opportunities will help them to step directly into the civilian workforce. He opined that SB 154 is great for servicemembers, businesses, the military, and for the state of Alaska. With respect to Helmets to Hardhats, he said that SB 154 would incentivize employers to create more spots for apprentices on their staff, thus connecting more servicemembers with the apprenticeship opportunities that organizations like helmets 2 hardhats advertise. 1:48:01 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN held public testimony on SB 154 open. 1:48:11 PM SENATOR BISHOP commented that broadband expansion in Alaska has a workforce need of 17 thousand people. 1:48:52 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 154 in committee.