ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
May 13, 2021
3:10 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Chris Tuck, Chair
Representative Andi Story
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Matt Claman
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative David Nelson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 12
"An Act relating to temporary courtesy licenses for military
spouses; and relating to the Department of Commerce, Community,
and Economic Development."
- MOVED SB 12 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 12
SHORT TITLE: MILITARY SPOUSE COURTESY LICENSE
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) KAWASAKI
01/22/21 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/21
01/22/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/21 (S) STA, L&C
03/04/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/04/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/04/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/11/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/11/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
04/22/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/22/21 (S) Moved SB 12 Out of Committee
04/22/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
04/23/21 (S) STA RPT 3DP 1NR
04/23/21 (S) DP: SHOWER, KAWASAKI, COSTELLO
04/23/21 (S) NR: HOLLAND
04/26/21 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/26/21 (S) Moved SB 12 Out of Committee
04/26/21 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/28/21 (S) L&C RPT 3DP
04/28/21 (S) DP: COSTELLO, REVAK, GRAY-JACKSON
05/03/21 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
05/03/21 (S) VERSION: SB 12
05/04/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/04/21 (H) STA, L&C
05/06/21 (H) MLV REPLACES STA REFERRAL
05/11/21 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
05/11/21 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
05/12/21 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
05/12/21 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
05/13/21 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
JOE HAYES, Staff
Senator Scott Kawasaki
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 12 and read the sponsor
statement on behalf of Senator Kawasaki, prime sponsor.
TAMMIE PERREAULT, Northwest Regional Liaison
Defense-State Liaison Office
U.S. Department of Defense
Olympia, Washington
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 12.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:10:05 PM
CHAIR CHRIS TUCK called the House Special Committee on Military
and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 3:10 p.m.
Representatives Claman, Rauscher, Tarr, Nelson, and Tuck were
present at the call to order. Representatives Shaw and Story
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
SB 12-MILITARY SPOUSE COURTESY LICENSE
3:10:52 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the only order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 12, "An Act relating to temporary courtesy
licenses for military spouses; and relating to the Department of
Commerce, Community, and Economic Development."
3:11:21 PM
JOE HAYES, Staff, Senator Scott Kawasaki, Alaska State
Legislature, introduced SB 12 on behalf of Senator Kawasaki,
prime sponsor, and read the sponsor statement [included in the
committee packet] as follows [original punctuation provided]:
In 2011, House Bill 28 was passed into law to provide
expedited temporary courtesy licenses to eligible
individuals transferred to Alaska with their active
duty service member spouse, so they can practice their
trade without experiencing extensive wait times for
licensure approval while they complete state
requirements. For a military spouse, expedited
temporary courtesy licenses are the fastest method of
obtaining licensure so they can get to work quickly
after relocating to Alaska.
Many states have passed similar legislation into law.
However, states such as Washington and Connecticut
also included a reporting mechanism so the Legislature
and Joint Armed Services Committee equivalent in that
state could track the executive branch's progress of
implementation. HB 28 did not include a reporting
requirement when it was passed.
Senate Bill 12 would require the Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development to
prepare an annual report of courtesy licenses issued
the previous fiscal year. This simple reporting
mechanism will help facilitate communication between
occupational boards, the state agency, the U.S.
Department of Defense who assists in relocating
service members and families, as well as Alaska
legislators with service members in their districts.
The bill will also aid in making occupational board
staff and legislators more aware of what opportunities
are available for helping military spouses enter the
Alaska the workforce.
Other states have implemented a similar expedited
licensing program to allow military spouses to
transfer their professional credentials quickly and
contribute to the local economies. While Alaska's
program is a model for other states, its
implementation has stalled with few eligible
professionals taking advantage of the program and
spouses reporting delays despite the program being in
effect for eight years. Senate Bill 12 would help
identify inefficiencies in the program before they
cause delays in productivity and ensure the program is
working as intended.
Introduced in 2018 as House Bill 262, the bill passed
the House unanimously and gained bipartisan support in
the Senate before it failed to reach the floor for a
vote. The concept of this bill is listed as a priority
for the U.S. Department of Defense by the state
liaison serving Alaska.
The passage of SB 12 would improve communication
between state and federal government agencies and
active duty families. By improving efficiency and
awareness about what opportunities are available, the
bill will help welcome military families to Alaska. I
respectfully urge your support of SB 12, a corrective
bill that will help ease the transition of military
families and get more licensed professionals to work
in our communities near military installations.
3:15:04 PM
TAMMIE PERREAULT, Northwest Regional Liaison, Defense-State
Liaison Office, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), testified in
support of SB 12 on behalf of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Military Community & Family Policy. She said that
the proposed legislation would support significant DoD
priorities for occupational licensing boards to ensure licenses
are appropriately processed for military spouses. She expressed
that the reporting requirements under SB 12 would help DoD
assess the actions of licensing boards, as well as encourage any
appropriate implementation of changes to law and regulatory
policy. She said that the Defense-State Liaison Office, in a
2017 study done by the University of Minnesota, found specific
limitations to Alaska's current expedited licensure process such
as board staff not being aware of legislation that supports
licensure portability, lack of unique processes for military
spouses, and limited available information. Since 2017, she
said, the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional
Licensing in the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development (DCCED) has worked hard to address the shortcomings,
including significantly reducing the processing time for
military spouses. She expressed that without the appropriate
supporting legislation, continuing the effort to improve
Alaska's process for military spouse licensure could be
hindered; the concern has been communicated to the governor by
the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. She
said that half of all military personnel are married, and
military spouse employment and its associated personal and
financial well-being is an important component in servicemember
retention, with 88 percent of military spouses reporting that
they either want or need to work. Military spouses are highly
influential regarding a servicemember's decision to remain in
the service, she said, and over 28 percent of servicemembers
reported that their decision to leave the military would
"largely or moderately" be affected by their spouse's career
prospects. Ms. Perrault noted that consideration of a spouse's
licensure is required when making "basing decisions," and she
stressed that military families often require two incomes.
3:17:58 PM
CHAIR TUCK opened public testimony on SB 12. After ascertaining
that no one wished to testify, he closed public testimony.
3:18:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON expressed his appreciation of the proposed
legislation and said that the consideration of a spouse's career
is "deeply meaningful" to the servicemembers in his district.
3:19:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR noted that, under the proposed legislation,
DCCED would be required to submit a report to the Joint Armed
Services Committee (JASC) each year on March 1, which, she said,
doesn't leave much time in a legislative session for identifying
policy priorities that may result from the report.
3:20:23 PM
MR. HAYES replied that he would find out why that date was
chosen.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR offered her understanding that the JASC
typically meets in March, so in the interest of being able to
make any needed improvements, it might be prudent to consider an
earlier date.
3:21:18 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
3:22:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR moved to report SB 12 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note.
3:23:08 PM
CHAIR TUCK objected for purposes of discussion.
3:23:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY expressed her gratitude to Senator Kawasaki
for sponsoring SB 12 and to DCCED for recognizing the importance
of the proposed legislation.
3:23:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER expressed his support for SB 12.
3:23:58 PM
CHAIR TUCK removed his objection. There being no further
objection, SB 12 was reported from the House Special Committee
on Military and Veterans' Affairs.
3:24:40 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 3:25 p.m.