ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE  February 22, 2023 3:17 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Jesse Sumner, Chair Representative Justin Ruffridge, Vice Chair Representative Mike Prax Representative Ashley Carrick Representative Zack Fields MEMBERS ABSENT  Representative Dan Saddler Representative Stanley Wright COMMITTEE CALENDAR  CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): Alaska Workers' Compensation Board Steven Heidemann - Anchorage Marc Stemp - Anchorage - CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED Real Estate Commission Devon Thomas Durand - Wasilla - CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  No previous action to record WITNESS REGISTER STEVEN HEIDEMANN, Appointee Alaska Workers' Compensation Board Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board. MARC STEMP, Appointee Alaska Workers' Compensation Board Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board. DEVON DURAND, Appointee Real Estate Commission Wasilla, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Real Estate Commission. ACTION NARRATIVE 3:17:34 PM CHAIR JESSE SUMNER called the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:17 p.m. Representatives Ruffridge, Carrick, Prax, and Sumner were present at the call to order. Representative Fields arrived as the meeting was in progress. ^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):  ^Alaska Workers' Compensation Board Alaska Workers' Compensation Board  ^Real Estate Commission Real Estate Commission    3:18:05 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that the only order of business would be the confirmation hearings on the governor's appointees to the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board and the Real Estate Commission. 3:18:39 PM STEVEN HEIDEMANN, Appointee, Alaska Workers' Compensation Board, stated that his interest in the position stemmed from being a blue collar worker that wants to see other workers treated fairly in the workers' compensation system. 3:19:18 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked Mr. Heidemann where he works. MR. HEIDEMANN answered that he works for Alaska Airlines at Prudhoe Bay in a two weeks on, two weeks off schedule. 3:20:06 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE asked Mr. Heidemann how he learned about the opening for the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board, and why he wanted to serve on the board. MR. HEIDEMANN answered that his brother-in-law had suggested that he apply for the board while he was recovering from surgery the previous year. In response to a follow-up question, he said that he has both good and bad experiences with workers' compensation. 3:23:27 PM MARC STEMP, Appointee, Alaska Workers' Compensation Board, stated that he had previously served on the board during the 1990s and on the Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission in 2005. 3:25:16 PM DEVON DURAND, Appointee, Real Estate Commission, stated that she has served on the commission since 2021 and is now up for reappointment. She said that she has served in leadership positions with the Alaska Association of Realtors and the Valley Board of Realtors. She is the only member of the commission that is licensed as a real estate instructor. She added that she participated in creating education guidelines for real estate license renewal. She has been responsible for auditing education requirements for license renewal and reviewing realtor complaints. 3:28:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE stated that the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee has reviewed the qualifications of the governor's appointees and recommends that the following names be forwarded to a joint session for consideration: Steven Heidemann and Marc Stemp, Alaska Workers' Compensation Board and Devon Durand, Real Estate Commission. He said that signing the report regarding appointments to boards and commissions in no way reflects an individual member's approval or disapproval of the appointee, and the nomination is merely forwarded to the full legislature for confirmation or rejection. 3:29:26 PM ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committee, the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:29 p.m.