ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
April 29, 2024
1:34 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Chair
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
Senator Kelly Merrick
Senator Forrest Dunbar
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Click Bishop, Vice Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
ALASKA LABOR RELATIONS AGENCY
Emily Jackson-Hall - Kasilof
Jennifer Yuhas - Fairbanks
Tammy Schultz - Homer
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
SENATE BILL NO. 211
"An Act relating to the powers of the board of agriculture and
conservation; relating to loans and limitations under the Alaska
Agricultural Loan Act; relating to federal crop insurance
contributions; relating to municipal and state procurement
preferences for agricultural products harvested in the state and
fisheries products harvested or processed in the state; and
providing for an effective date."
- MOVED CSSB 211(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 257
"An Act relating to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska;
relating to public utilities; relating to electric reliability
organizations; relating to the Alaska Energy Authority; relating
to the Railbelt Transmission Organization; and providing for an
effective date."
- MOVED CSSB 257(L&C) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 153
"An Act exempting certain employees from overtime pay
requirements; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 17(HSS) AM(EFD FLD)
"An Act relating to insurance coverage for contraceptives and
related services; and relating to medical assistance coverage
for contraceptives and related services."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 211
SHORT TITLE: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS/LOANS/SALES
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/26/24 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/26/24 (S) L&C, FIN
03/01/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/01/24 (S) Heard & Held
03/01/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/12/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/12/24 (S) Heard & Held
04/12/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/29/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: SB 257
SHORT TITLE: ELECTRIC UTILITY REGULATION
SPONSOR(s): RESOURCES
03/01/24 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/01/24 (S) L&C, RES, FIN
03/01/24 (S) L&C WAIVED PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE,RULE
23
03/04/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/04/24 (S) Heard & Held
03/04/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/04/24 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/04/24 (S) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
03/27/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/27/24 (S) Heard & Held
03/27/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/05/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/05/24 (S) Heard & Held
04/05/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/10/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/10/24 (S) Heard & Held
04/10/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/19/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/19/24 (S) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/22/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/22/24 (S) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
04/24/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/24/24 (S) Heard & Held
04/24/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/29/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: SB 153
SHORT TITLE: OVERTIME PAY EXEMPTION
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
05/16/23 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/16/23 (S) L&C, FIN
03/25/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/25/24 (S) Heard & Held
03/25/24 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
04/29/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
BILL: HB 17
SHORT TITLE: CONTRACEPTIVES COVERAGE:INSURE;MED ASSIST
SPONSOR(s): CARRICK
01/19/23 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/9/23
01/19/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/23 (H) HSS, CRA, L&C, FIN
02/07/23 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM DAVIS 106
02/07/23 (H) Heard & Held
02/07/23 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
02/18/23 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM DAVIS 106
02/18/23 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
03/02/23 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM DAVIS 106
03/02/23 (H) Moved CSHB 17(HSS) Out of Committee
03/02/23 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/07/23 (H) HSS AT 3:00 PM DAVIS 106
03/07/23 (H) Moved CSHB 17(HSS) Out of Committee
03/07/23 (H) MINUTE(HSS)
03/08/23 (H) HSS RPT CS(HSS) 3DP 2NR
03/08/23 (H) DP: RUFFRIDGE, SUMNER, MINA
03/08/23 (H) NR: SADDLER, PRAX
03/16/23 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/16/23 (H) Heard & Held
03/16/23 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/17/23 (H) FIN REFERRAL REMOVED
03/17/23 (H) BILL REPRINTED
03/21/23 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/21/23 (H) Moved CSHB 17(HSS) Out of Committee
03/21/23 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/22/23 (H) CRA RPT CS(HSS) 5DP 1NR
03/22/23 (H) DP: HIMSCHOOT, MEARS, MCKAY, RUFFRIDGE,
MCCORMICK
03/22/23 (H) NR: MCCABE
03/27/23 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
03/27/23 (H) Heard & Held
03/27/23 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
03/31/23 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
03/31/23 (H) Moved CSHB 17(HSS) Out of Committee
03/31/23 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
04/03/23 (H) L&C RPT CS(HSS) 2DP 3NR
04/03/23 (H) DP: CARRICK, SUMNER
04/03/23 (H) NR: RUFFRIDGE, PRAX, WRIGHT
05/17/23 (H) ADJOURNED - ON 1/16/2024 CALENDAR
01/16/24 (H) RETURNED TO RLS COMMITTEE
03/22/24 (H) CALL FOR THE QUESTION
03/22/24 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/22/24 (H) VERSION: CSHB 17(HSS) AM(EFD FLD)
03/25/24 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/25/24 (S) HSS, L&C
04/16/24 (S) HSS AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/16/24 (S) Heard & Held
04/16/24 (S) MINUTE(HSS)
04/23/24 (S) HSS AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/23/24 (S) Moved SCS CSHB 17(HSS) Out of Committee
04/23/24 (S) MINUTE(HSS)
04/24/24 (S) HSS RPT SCS 4DP 1AM TECHNICAL TITLE
CHANGE
04/24/24 (S) AM: WILSON
04/24/24 (S) DP: TOBIN, KAUFMAN, GIESSEL, DUNBAR
04/29/24 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
LIEUTENANT COLONEL EMILY JACKSON-HALL, Governor's Appointee
Alaska Labor Relations Agency
Kasilof, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as governor's appointee to the
Alaska Labor Relations Agency.
KONRAD JACKSON, Staff
Senator Jesse Bjorkman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Read the names of the governor's appointees
to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency into the record.
HEIDI DRYGAS, Executive Director
Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA AFSCME Local 52)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the appointment
of Emily Jackson-Hall.
JOELLE HALL, President
Alaska AFL-CIO
Peters Creek, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified with concerns regarding the
appointment of Emily Jackson-Hall.
TRENTON ENGLISH, Business Representative
Alaska District Council of Laborers
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the appointment
of Emily Jackson-Hall.
KONRAD JACKSON, Staff
Senator Jesse Bjorkman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the summary of changes from
version D to version H for SB 257.
JEREMY APPLEGATE, Chief
Wage and Hour
Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony on SB 153.
JOELLE HALL, President
Alaska AFL-CIO
Peters Creek, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 153.
SHANNON DAVENPORT, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 153.
PAM VENTGEN, Executive Director
Alaska State Medical Association
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 153.
DONNA PHILLIPS, Labor Council Chair
Alaska Nurses Association
Girdwood, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SB 153.
REPRESENTATIVE ASHLEY CARRICK, District 35
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 17.
ROBIN HOLMES, M.D., Family Medicine Physician,
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony in support of HB
17.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:34:54 PM
CHAIR JESSE BJORKMAN called the Senate Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:34 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senators Gray-Jackson, Dunbar, and Chair
Bjorkman. Senator Merrick joined the meeting thereafter.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): ALASKA LABOR RELATIONS AGENCY
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S): ALASKA LABOR RELATIONS AGENCY
1:36:00 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of governor's
appointees to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency.
1:36:32 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN solicited a motion.
1:36:42 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved Emily Jackson-Hall, Jennifer Yuhas
and Tammy Schultz, appointees to the Alaska Labor Relations
Agency, be forwarded to a future joint session of the
legislature for purposes of consideration. She stated that in
compliance with AS 39.05.080, the committee reviewed the
qualification of the governor's appointees,
1:37:02 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN explained that members of the committee have
expressed the desire to hear from appointee Emily Jackson-Hall.
1:37:12 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN invited Emily Hall to put herself on the record
and provide a brief statement about her qualifications and her
desire to serve on the board.
1:37:32 PM
EMILY JACKSON-HALL, Governor's Appointee, Alaska Labor Relations
Agency, Kasilof, Alaska, said she retired from the Marine Corps
in 2020 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Her last assignment in the
Marine Corps was Staff Judge Advocate, and she was also a
military judge. She said she presided over criminal trials and
as the Deputy Circuit Judge for the Eastern Judicial Circuit of
the Navy Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. Prior to that, she served
as a prosecutor, and she did labor law for the Department of the
Navy for several years. She said she also served as Aircraft
Maintenance Officer. She said she was now a full time neutral
performing arbitration and some mediation. She said she works in
Alaska and in Chicago and Seattle, and she does a lot of
Canadian sports arbitration.
MS. JACKSON-HALL said she attended a Labor and Employment
conference and met Nicole Thibodeau, a Hearing
Examiner/Administrator for the Alaska Labor Relations Agency
(ALRA). She said it was through meeting her that she applied for
a position on the board [of the ALRA]. She had the opportunity
to participate in some of the proceedings and in their annual
meeting and found it to be very rewarding work. She said it is
important that there are people [on the ALRA board] who are
neutral when approaching matters that are presented to ALRA and
that she was not an employer, nor union [affiliated]. She
emphasized the importance for the board to follow precedential
decision and collective bargaining law to decide issues that
come up.
1:39:51 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR thanked the appointee for her service. He
referred to an Op Ed article she wrote in 2019 advocating for
Alaska to follow Wisconsin's Act 10 example, portrayed as
legislation designed to break the public sector unions. He asked
whether this was still her position regarding unions and if she
thought something like Act 10 should be passed in Alaska.
1:40:50 PM
MS. JACKSON-HALL responded that she wrote the article when she
was still on active duty and there was a lot going on in
collective bargaining. She said she was frustrated that "normal
human beings" who did not work in the public sector were seeing
the [high] price of health care and often had to leave Alaska to
be able to afford a normal standard of living. On the other
hand, she said not having a fair share to public sector
employees for the cost of what the state or the borough was
bearing for their health care costs. She said those observations
were what she was focused on [when she wrote the article]. She
said there has been a lot of change since 2019, at the national
and at the local level. She said what she found interesting
about Act 10 was that it gave public sector employees the
ability to bargain for their own contract. She said, now that
she was living in Alaska full-time and better acquainted with
the way contract negotiations go, she said her position had
evolved. She said it is very important for someone working in
the labor industry to avoid being so rigid that they can't
change their mind when the landscape has shifted. She said 2024
is a very different place for the labor industry than 2019. She
also said there is a big difference between public sector and
private sector labor. She expressed enthusiasm about the new
Teamsters and UPS contracts and said she could discuss them at
length.
1:43:44 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR expressed appreciation for folks who will change
their positions when evidence indicates that they may have been
mistaken. He noted that Act 10 treats "public safety employees"
differently than other public employees. He asked whether she
supported that distinction. He pointed out that [in her Op Ed
article], she highlighted that public safety employees
maintained their full bargaining rights, while a variety of
restrictions were placed on the bargaining rights of other
public employees.
1:44:24 PM
Senator Merrick joined the meeting.
1:44:25 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked whether the appointee still supported that
distinction. He asked whether public safety employees should
have full bargaining rights, but snowplow drivers, maintenance
workers and other public employees would have limited bargaining
rights.
1:44:55 PM
MS. JACKSON-HALL referred to "opt out" considerations by the
cities of Homer and Wasilla and noted those cities currently do
have a collective bargaining agreement with law enforcement. She
noted that she had served 20 years and 30 days active duty in
the Marine Corps and though she said does not consider military
service and law enforcement to be equivalent, they do have in
common that some of their special duties put their lives at
risk. She said, at the time [she wrote the Op Ed article] she
was not a fan of taking away the bargaining rights of high risk
employees and she highlighted the high risk nature of law
enforcement, firefighters and corrections officer's jobs.
However, she said the more time she has spent in the world of
labor and arbitration, the more she has come around to the idea
that when there is a group of people, and the law permits it,
that want to organize and bargain with their employer, it's
probably going to be better for both sides in the long run. She
advocated for an open and healthy process where those people can
bargain [with their employers]. She addressed her perspective
that people who serve in administrative services, as teachers,
and others that work in less dangerous situations on a daily
basis, than, for example, the average trooper, could also have
the opportunity to engage in collective bargaining. She said it
was an important thing, whatever workplace they find themselves
in.
1:47:28 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON noted that the appointee's reference to
"normal people," could give offense. She acknowledged that Ms.
Jackson-Hall's perspective had changed since the writing of her
Op Ed in 2019, according to her testimony. She asked whether her
personal views regarding unions, which may continue to change,
would affect her service on the ALRA board.
1:48:32 PM
MS. JACKSON-HALL answered that "normal people" was her way of
encapsulating people who don't work for any kind of a
government. She said she thought of civil servants as pretty
special people and that it is a privilege to be a civil servant.
She observed that when you have the privilege to work for any
kind of government job or big company that helps pay for health
care, that's a pretty awesome situation. She said the fact is
that health care is a big expense in the life of everyone, and
if you have a job where those costs are deferred, that's great.
She said it's really wonderful when we do have collective
bargaining agreements and the ability of employees to bargain
for cost assistance on covering their health care. She said for
normal people, like most of her neighbors, people who work as
independent contractors, people who run their own businesses,
the costs of health care are so high. She said [the costs] make
it really difficult and impact people's decisions on what they
do with their lives. She said she wanted to see people in Alaska
thrive and have the ability to do the work that they want to do,
and to support themselves and their families. She said it was
her big thing, because she had so many friends and neighbors who
struggle with the cost of health care, and she wanted to see
that somehow improve.
1:50:34 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN asked Ms. Jackson-Hall to describe the overall
mission of the ALRA board from her perspective. He asked how her
experience has prepared her to complete that mission.
1:51:01 PM
MS. JACKSON-HALL shared some of her experience as a professional
neutral. She said she heard cases of Union grievances and
unlawful practices as well as contract disputes. She said she
looked at what the contract said and made decisions based on the
evidence that's presented. She said in the case of disciplinary
grievance, her decision would be based on whether the employer
provided proof. She mentioned her experience with sports
arbitration in Canada. She explained the importance of
understanding and applying the principles of the burden of
proof.
MS JACKSON-HALL sought to clarify her position with regard to
Wisconsin's Act 10. She said her personal feelings about Act 10,
had evolved because of what ended up happening in Wisconsin. She
said it was important that people have a right to collectively
bargain for the terms of their employment. She noted that, in
Alaska, a borough or a city can opt out and employees and
employers can engage in their own system. She said the job of
the ALRA board was [to ensure that] everything's done fairly and
that the law is followed. She said her job, along with the other
people who serve on the board, if, for instance, there was a
group of people that want to engage in collective bargaining and
there's a conflict about whether or not they're legally able to
do so, the board makes sure the law is followed. She noted that
the board was composed of union and management representatives
as well as herself. She told about her experience as a judge to
illustrate that her personal feelings would not interfere with
her duty to finding whether the burden of proof had been met by
the prosecution. She also told of her experience in the Marine
Corps, following specific guidelines to make sure the law, and
the rules for the particular court were followed. She emphasized
the importance of following the law and the rules to protect
everybody involved in the process.
1:55:06 PM
MS. JACKSON-HALL said that the ALRA board was not dealing with
things like life and death as was the case when she was working
in criminal law, but she said they were dealing with people's
lives. She said work life has so much impact on the rest of
one's existence.
1:55:27 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN restated his request that she clarify the mission
of the ALRA board. He noted that they heard cases about
potential bargaining units organizing and having to decide
whether the law was followed in those instances. He asked her to
describe other issues the board addresses.
1:55:53 PM
MS. JACKSON-HALL said the only cases she had heard so far were
regarding groups designed to engage in collective bargaining.
She said the board also heard conflicts concerning points of
Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) law, but she had
not been part of that.
1:56:18 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN noted that governor's appointee to the Alaska
Labor Relations Agency, Jennifer Yuhas, was present for
questions.
1:57:00 PM
KONRAD JACKSON, Staff, Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, noted that the committee members
had the opportunity to review the resumes, or applications of
these appointees and no other concerns have been expressed
regarding the applications or qualifications. He read the names
of the governor's appointees to the Alaska Labor Relations
Agency into the record.
[Original punctuation provided.]
The Senate Labor & Commerce Committee has reviewed the
qualifications of the Governor's appointees as shown
below and recommends that their names be forwarded to
a joint session for consideration.
This recommendation does not reflect the intent by any
of the members to vote for or against these
individuals during any further session for the
purposes of confirmation.
Alaska Labor Relations Agency
Emily Jackson-Hall - Kasilof
Jennifer Yuhas - Fairbanks
Tammy Schultz - Homer
1:57:51 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN opened public testimony on the governor's
appointees to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency.
1:58:13 PM
HEIDI DRYGAS, Executive Director, Alaska State Employees
Association (ASEA AFSCME Local 52), Juneau, Alaska, testified in
opposition to the appointment of Emily Jackson-Hall. She said
she currently serves as the executive director for the Alaska
State Employees Association, representing 8000 hard-working
public servants. It was in that capacity, and also in her
capacity as a former Commissioner of Labor who oversaw the
Alaska Labor Relations Agency (ALRA) and a former practicing
attorney before ALRA that she felt compelled to speak in
opposition to the appointment of Emily Hall for the public seat
on the agency, especially after hearing Ms. Jackson-Hall's
testimony.
MS DRYGAS said ALRA was responsible for the enforcement of PERA,
the Public Employment Relations Act, and in essence, PERA
represented the fundamental right of public employees to
organize and collectively bargain. She said the legislature
explicitly recognizes that this system benefits both the public
employee and the public employer. She said ALRA should be a
neutral and balanced decision maker and while Ms. Jackson-Hall
claims to be a "full time neutral", her stated positions were
diametrically opposed to the clear public policy of PERA.
MS. DRYGAS said [Wisconsin's] Act 10 was very specific, and when
she read the Op Ed, she was extremely concerned, and she was
even more concerned after her testimony. She described invoking
Act 10 as lighting a flame under the right to collectively
bargain and described the response by advocates for collective
bargaining as visceral. She noted that it seemed antithetical to
attack unions because you want more affordable health care, when
that is exactly something that unions afford for the workers
they represent.
MS. DRYGAS concluded that it would be unwise for the legislature
to entrust the enforcement of statutory protections for workers
to someone who explicitly advocated for the elimination of those
same statutory rights.
2:01:13 PM
JOELLE HALL, President, Alaska AFL-CIO, Peters Creek, Alaska,
testified in opposition to the appointment of Emily Jackson-
Hall. She said the AFL-CIO represented over 50,000 workers in
the state of Alaska. Half of those people belong to a public
employee union, and she was very proud to represent them. She
said the 2019 Op Ed written by Ms. Jackson-Hall advocated for
one thing most specifically, and that was the ability for
individuals to bargain directly with the governments that they
work for. She found that a very curious thing compared with the
front page of Ms. Jackson-Hall's website, which advocated for
objectivity and efficiency. She said Ms. Jackson-Hall's position
regarding collective bargaining and her pursuit of a public
position on a board, indicated that she was not objective. She
suggested Ms. Jackson-Hall had something in mind and that she
was carrying a viewpoint. She said the notion that it would be
efficient in any way, shape or form, for the state of Alaska to
have a Human Resources Department large enough to negotiate
individually with every single state employee, was preposterous
and would only create chaos. She said that is what the Op Ed was
advocating. She noted her bias and that she worked for unions.
She said unions bring a lot to the table to help in the HR
environment and that they can be a tool for management to work
with in any given work site.
MS. HALL said she was very concerned about Ms. Jackson-Hall's
appointment. She said Ms. Jackson-Hall would be perfectly suited
to be an industry representative on this board. She said the
[ALRA] board was balanced with two public members, and that it
was necessary to ensure that the two public members, which are
there designed to be deal breakers, are really, really acting
fairly and don't come in with preconceived bias. She said she
remained unconvinced that Ms. Jackson-Hall didn't have a bias.
She thanked the committee for their time.
2:03:58 PM
TRENTON ENGLISH, Business Representative, Alaska District
Council of Laborers, Juneau, Alaska, testified in opposition to
the appointment of Emily Jackson-Hall. He said the Alaska
District Council of Laborers are opposed to her appointment
based on her stated positions pertaining to collective
bargaining rights. He said the positions Ms. Jackson-Hall laid
out in the Community Perspective piece she wrote for the News
Miner gave them concern over her ability to issue fair and
balanced decisions when she is already on the record effectively
advocating for the elimination of statutory rights tied to
[Public Employment Relations Act] PERA. He thanked the committee
for allowing him to testify.
2:04:48 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN closed public testimony on the governor's
appointees to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency.
2:05:01 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN made note of the timing of the Op Ed in question.
He said the summer of 2019 followed a legislative session that
was especially tumultuous for this entire state because it threw
much of what Alaska had known into a state of chaos. He said
proposals to close prisons, to close schools, to take away many
revenue functions of our local governments had cataclysmic
reverberations throughout our entire economy. He said he did not
know of one single event in our state's recent history that
caused out-migration like the budget that was proposed in 2019.
He said to have an Op Ed piece like the one that was penned put
out the summer following that year, as a way that we could solve
some of our state's problems by simply doing away with all
public sector unions, is fascinating, at best.
2:06:21 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN expressed gratitude to the appointees for their
willingness to serve.
2:06:33 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN removed his objection.
2:06:38 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN found no further objection and announced that, in
accordance with AS 39.05.080, the Senate Records Standing
Committee reviewed the following and recommends the appointments
be forwarded to a joint session for consideration:
Alaska Labor Relations Agency
Emily Jackson-Hall - Kasilof
Jennifer Yuhas - Fairbanks
Tammy Schultz - Homer
Signing the report(s) regarding appointments to boards and
commissions in no way reflects individual members' approval or
disapproval of the appointees; the nominations are merely
forwarded to the full legislature for confirmation or rejection.
2:06:43 PM
At ease
SB 211-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS/LOANS/SALES
2:07:51 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 211 "An Act relating to the
powers of the board of agriculture and conservation; relating to
loans and limitations under the Alaska Agricultural Loan Act;
relating to federal crop insurance contributions; relating to
municipal and state procurement preferences for agricultural
products harvested in the state and fisheries products harvested
or processed in the state; and providing for an effective date."
CHAIR BJORKMAN stated that the committee adopted CSSB 211 [work
order 33-GS2386\B] on April 12, 2024, as its working document.
2:08:43 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN solicited the will of the committee.
2:08:47 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved to report CSSB 211, work order 33-
GS2386\B, as amended, from committee with individual
recommendations and attached fiscal note from the [Department of
Natural Resources, OMB Component Number 455, dated April 8,
2024.]
2:09:15 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN found no objection and CSSB 211 (L&C) was
reported from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
2:09:41 PM
At ease
SB 257-ELECTRIC UTILITY REGULATION
[Includes discussion of SB 217.]
2:11:44 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 257 "An Act relating to the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska; relating to public utilities;
relating to electric reliability organizations; relating to the
Alaska Energy Authority; relating to the Railbelt Transmission
Organization; and providing for an effective date."
CHAIR BJORKMAN noted that Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee had held several meetings on SB 257 and taken invited
and public testimony on the bill. He said during the last
meeting there was a motion to adopt a CS to SB 257 and there is
an objection still in place.
2:12:29 PM
KONRAD JACKSON presented the summary of changes in the committee
substitute for SB 257 from Version D to Version H:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Summary of Changes Ver D to Ver H
Senate Bill 257
Sections 1 and 2: No changes.
Section 3: Amends AS 42.05.762 by removing the
requirement that the Electric Reliability Organization
(ERO) participate in integrated grid planning by the
Railbelt Transmission Organization (RTO) and returning
to the current language found in statute.
Amends AS 42.05.762 by inserting new subsection 4
adding the duty that the ERO shall consider the cost
to the consumer when prioritizing reliability and
stability of the interconnected bulk-electric system.
Amends AS 42.05.762 Deletes the description of the
governing board. (Inserted in new section 4)
Section 4: AS 42.05.763 Governance of an Electric
Reliability Organization.
Inserts new section which includes the language
deleted above and further expands the qualifications
which must be met to serve on the ERO board of
directors.
2:14:22 PM
MR. JACKSON continued reading the summary of changes in the
committee substitute from Version D to Version H for SB 257:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Renumber the following sections accordingly.
Section 5: (renumbered former section 4) No Change.
Section 6: (renumbered former section 5) Amends AS
42.05.770 Regulations. To require nondiscriminatory
standards for interconnection and caps the cost
recovery of the ERO to $1.2 million.
Section 7: (former section 6) No Change.
Old Section 7 is deleted.
Section 8: (former section 8) No Change.
Section 9: No Change.
Section 10: Amends AS 44.83 Railbelt Transmission
Organization
AS 44.83.700 is amended by replacing paragraph (c)
with language expressly stating that provisions of AS
44.83.700-44.83.750 do not alter the rights and
obligations of a utility regulated by the RCA.
And, renumbers the following paragraph.
AS 44.83.710(a)(6) is amended by deleting "grid" and
replacing with "transmission".
(a)(8) is deleted (moved below), the following
paragraph is renumbered.
Renumbered (a)(9) is amended by adding reference to AS
44.83.72
2:16:11 PM
MR. JACKSON corrected a discrepancy, noting that "44.83.72"
should read "44.83.720." He continued reading the summary of
changes in the committee substitute from Version D to Version H
for SB 257.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Deletes and replaced former (b) granting optional
authorities to the organization:
Old paragraph 8 is moved to new subparagraph (b)(1)
Renumbers old 44.83.710 (b) to subparagraph (b)(2)
2:16:47 PM
MR. JACKSON continued reading the summary of changes in the
committee substitute from Version D to Version H for SB 257.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Inserts new paragraph (c) prohibiting the conveyance
by the RTO of any backbone transmission asset, without
legislative approval, prior the effective date of the
conveyance.
Inserts new paragraph (d) requiring the RTO ensure
that work performed on new construction and
maintenance of backbone assets is prioritized to give
first preference to the Railbelt utility in the area
where the work is performed. Further, the RTO must
compensate the utility for reasonable and necessary
expenses incurred and that work shall be subject to
existing collective bargaining agreements.
Former paragraph (c) is renumbered to subparagraph (e)
with a change to reference regulations necessary to
implement AS 44.83.700-44.83.750.
Sec. 44.83.720 Revenue Mechanism:
Old paragraph (a) is deleted and replaced with
language combining old (a) & (a)(1).
Renumbers the following paragraphs.
Old paragraph (a)(2) is renumbered to subparagraph (b)
and is amended to more clearly define the RTO cost
recovery methodology and be approved by the
commission.
Old paragraph (b) is renumbered (c) and amended to
more fully describe the cost recovery methodology to
be used by the RTO, to define recoverable backbone
transmission system costs and how these costs will be
shared among member utilities. These include
accounting for ancillary backbone services, backbone
system congestion and disruption of backbone
connectivity for more than 24 hours.
Inserts new paragraph (d) requiring a Railbelt utility
pass the commission approved transmission costs
directly and transparently to the utility's customers.
2:19:16 PM
MR. JACKSON continued reading the summary of changes in the
committee substitute (CS) from Version D to Version H for SB
257:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Sec. 44.83.730 Integrated transmission planning:
Old paragraph (a) is amended by deleting the term
"integrated grid plan" and replacing it with "the
Railbelt to integrated transmission plan for the
backbone transmission system."
2:19:41 PM
MR. JACKSON corrected a discrepancy, noting that "Railbelt to
integrated" should read "Railbelt integrated." He continued
reading the summary of changes in the CS from Version D to
Version H for SB 257.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Paragraph (b) is amended to require the integrated
transmission plan to fully articulate the details of
the plan.
Paragraph (c) is amended by replacing the term "grid
plan" with "integrated transmission plan"
Sec. 44.83.740 Transfer management of assets: Is
unchanged. Sec. 44.83.750 Definitions: Old paragraph
(1) "backbone transmission system" is revised to more
clearly define the system and adds a reference to
assets that are considered distribution or radial
facilities under the standards of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission which shall not be considered
part of the backbone system.
No further changes are made to this section.
Former Section 11: Is deleted.
The following sections of the act are renumbered.
Section 11: Applicability and Transition: EROs Adds
new section to the uncodified laws of the State
regarding (a) board member terms and qualification
language allowing current board members who do not
meet the qualifications, to retain their seat until a
successor is appointed, referenced in Section 4 of the
Act.
And, (b), AS 44.05.770(3) apply to costs incurred by
an ERO on or after the effective date of section 6 of
the Act.
2:21:45 PM
MR. JACKSON continued reading the summary of changes in the CS
from Version D to Version H for SB 257:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Former section 12 is deleted and replaced with:
Section 12: Transition Language: Agreements between
AEA and Railbelt Utilities
Adds a new section to the uncodified laws of the State
defining the agreement which will be established
between the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) and the
Railbelt utilities referenced in Section 10 of the
Act. The contents of this agreement are further
described in this section.
Section 13: Transition Language: Integrated
Transmission Plan and Capital Improvement Program
Amends old section 13 which adds a new section to the
uncodified laws of the State which instructs the AEA
to immediately assume the integrated transmission
planning duties under AS 44.83.700 in Section 10 of
the Act following establishment of the governance
structure under sect. 12 of the Act. Amends the
section by replacing the term "integrated grid
planning" with "integrated transmission" and adding
the term "transmission" where appropriate.
Section 14: Transition language: Regulatory Commission
of Alaska Members
Adds a new section to the uncodified laws of the State
regarding the terms and qualifications of members of
the Regulatory Commission of Alaska as detailed in
Section 1 of the Act.
Section 15: Immediate Effective date clause for
sections 12 and 13 of the Act.
Section 16: Effective date clause providing that
except for sec. 15, this act takes effect July 1,
2024.
2:23:28 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN shared with the committee the background behind
the CS and some of the rationale and methodology used to draft
the CS. He said portions of the current CS for SB 217 that were
similar or having to do with portions of SB 257 were
incorporated into SB 257 to:
• add qualifications to membership on the ERO board.
• cap cost recovery to the ERO board.
• make sure there was language to protect any utility from
islanding events or constraints within the system.
2:24:20 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN thanked Senator Giessel for incorporating pieces
of SB 217 into SB 257 and for her willingness to consider
language to prevent any utility from having to pay for costs
incurred by the Railbelt Transmission Organization (RTO) for
which they experience no benefit. He mentioned a letter of
concern by the Homer Electric Association that provided more
detail and which was available on BASIS.
2:25:59 PM
At ease
2:26:18 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and removed his objection.
2:26:26 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN [finding no further objection,] CSSB 257, version
H, was adopted as the working document.
2:26:39 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN solicited a motion.
2:26:42 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR moved to adopt Amendment 1, workorder 33-
LS1047\H.1, for CSSB 257.
33-LS1047\H.1
Walsh
4/26/24
AMENDMENT 1
OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR DUNBAR
TO: CSSB 257(L&C), Draft Version "H"
Page 7, line 31, through page 8, line 3:
Delete all material and insert:
"(1) provide for oversight of the transmission
organization by a management committee that is made up of
(A) representatives from each of the Railbelt
utilities;
(B) the executive director of the authority;
(C) the chief executive officer of the
applicable electric reliability organization, or the chief
executive officer's designee;
(D) an individual who represents a person, other
than a public utility, that owns or operates a facility for
the generation of electricity; and
(E) an individual who represents a labor
organization engaged in collective bargaining with a
Railbelt utility;"
2:26:50 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN objected for purposes of discussion.
2:26:52 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR referred to SB 257, pages 7 and 8. He noted the
Railbelt Transmission Organization (RTO) board consisted of the
six railbelt utility heads, the Alaska Electrical Association
(AEA) head and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Electric
Reliability organization (ERO). He said his [amendment] would
add two additional seats to the board. One seat would be filled
by an operator or owner of a facility for the generation of
electricity, otherwise known as an Independent Power Producer
(IPP). He noted that IPPS are very involved in this process and
are represented at the ERO. The second seat proposed by his
amendment would be filled by "an individual who represents a
labor organization engaged in collective bargaining with a rail
belt utility". He said there were a number of labor
organizations that fit that description, the largest and the one
that works most with the stakeholder utilities, was the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). He
advocated for a representative on the transmission planning
board that would actually do the work on the lines and do the
work of maintaining the facilities. He noted concerns expressed
regarding the relatively small size of the RTO board and that it
didn't have the kind of public representation that existed at
the ERO. He pointed out that the ERO was relatively large with
13 members, and a variety of public seats. He said he didn't
feel those numbers were appropriate for the RTO, but that the
two suggested additions would be valuable.
2:29:28 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN removed his objection, found no further objection
and Amendment 1 (H.1) was adopted.
2:29:38 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN solicited a motion.
2:29:41 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved to adopt Amendment 2, work order 33-
LS1047\H.2 for CSSB 257.
33-LS1047\H.2
Walsh
4/27/24
AMENDMENT 2
OFFERED IN THE SENATE
TO: CSSB 257(L&C), Draft Version "H"
Page 10, following line 4:
Insert a new subsection to read:
"(e) A Railbelt utility that provides service
exclusively on the Kenai Peninsula is not subject to the
cost recovery methodology for the transmission organization
until
(1) the transmission line between the Kenai
Peninsula and Anchorage is upgraded to a capacity of 230
kilovolts; or
(2) a high-voltage submarine cable between the
Kenai Peninsula and the area near Beluga is operational."
Page 11, line 30:
Delete "(1)"
Page 12, line 5:
Delete "; and"
Insert "."
Page 12, lines 6 - 9:
Delete all material.
2:29:44 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN objected for purposes of explanation.
2:29:52 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN explained that Amendment 2 (H.2) is from him and
states that the Homer Electric Association (HEA) would be
excluded from the RTO cost recovery methodology until the
railbelt system is fully deconstrained. He specified that
deconstraint would be accomplished when there is a line that can
move power on and off the peninsula at 230 kilovolts, and said,
hopefully that could be done within five years.
2:30:44 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR countered that the RTO would do the integrated
[railbelt system] planning that would benefit the HEA going
forward. He acknowledged it would take a number of years to
develop those plans and asked if there was consideration for
retroactive [payment from HEA to the RTO] in which the cost
wouldn't apply [to HEA] for the time it takes to build the
cables. He noted HEA will benefit [from the new railbelt system]
just as other stakeholders will; from the work that will happen
during those five years. He asked whether HEA would be delaying
those charges for five years or fully exempting them. He
reiterated that the RTO would take a number of years to develop
the plans, and none of the rail belt utilities would benefit
from those plans until they're completed.
2:32:11 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN said HEA's proposal was that they not pay
administrative costs and other things that are incurred due to
the RTO because HEA would not experience benefits from the RTO.
He acknowledged more work was needed on SB 257 as it moves
through the process with the utilities. He maintained that other
areas of the state get significant benefit from their utilities
being unconstrained, while Homer continues to be at a
disadvantage because the bandwidth going on and off the
peninsula is lower and constrained. He said members on the Kenai
Peninsula should not be required to pay for increasing costs and
benefits that they have no ability to experience a benefit from
until they're fully integrated. He suggested members of HEA
would and should pay for planning and scheduling and other
administrative functions when they are benefiting from those
things. He reiterated that, until HEA is deconstrained, they
should not have to pay for services they're not going to benefit
from.
2:33:57 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR explained that there would not be any immediate
financial benefit to anyone until the results of the RTOs
planning work went into effect. He said the issues of islanding
or deconstraining the transmission of power was unrelated to the
RTO and to the cost recovery for the RTO, which would be doing
the planning and integration work that goes hand in glove with
the construction of [the upgraded railbelt system]. He said no
one would benefit until it was fully built. He suggested the
finance committee could look into whether any stakeholders would
be benefiting from this cost recovery methodology in the short
term and everyone [in the railbelt system] was in the same boat.
2:35:26 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN asked if there was any further committee
discussion on Amendment 2 (H.2).
2:35:28 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON maintained objection.
2:35:35 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN asked for a roll call vote.
2:35:50 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Senators Dunbar, Merrick, Bjorkman
voted in favor of Amendment 2 (H.2) and Senator Gray-Jackson
voted against it. Therefore, SB 257 passed by a 3:1 vote.
2:36:13 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced that Amendment 2 (H.2) to CSSB 257,
work order 33-LS1047\H, was adopted.
2:36:32 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN solicited the will of the committee.
2:36:33 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved to report committee substitute (CS)
for SB 257, work order 33-LS1047\H, from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).
2:36:53 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN found no objection and CSSB 257(L&C) was reported
from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
2:37:02 PM
At ease.
SB 153-OVERTIME PAY EXEMPTION
2:39:04 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 153 "An Act exempting certain
employees from overtime pay requirements; and providing for an
effective date."
2:39:45 PM
JEREMY APPLEGATE, Chief Investigator, Wage and Hour, Labor
Standards and Safety, Department of Labor and Workforce
Development (DOLWD), Anchorage, Alaska, provided a recap of SB
153. He said SB 153, if passed, would amend the existing
voluntary flexible work hour plan framework to allow businesses
licensed under Alaska Statute 47.32.010 (b)(1), (4),(5),(6),(8),
and/or (12) through (14), to enter into plans that allow for an
exemption for overtime when the employees work up to 12 hours in
a single day, not to exceed 40 hours in a single work week. The
current Flex Plan statute allows for an exemption for up to 10
hours per day for all businesses with the plan approved by the
Department.
2:40:32 PM
MR. APPLEGATE said these plans are entered into voluntarily by
employees. They are reviewed and approved by the Department, and
serve the purpose of allowing flexibility in staffing,
benefiting employees by giving them the option of trading the
applicability of some overtime for the purpose of compressing
work time into lesser days, allowing for extra days off.
However, this exemption is limited in that any work performed
outside the established plan is paid as overtime as well as any
time worked over 40 hours in a work week.
2:41:21 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR referred to a letter opposing SB 153 from the
Alaska Nurses Association. He asked whether Mr. Applegate could
comment on the issues raised in the letter.
2:41:47 PM
MR. APPLEGATE said he would not want to speak directly against
the letter. He said the letter appeared to address time worked
over 12 hours in a day. Those hours would still be considered
overtime and all employees could be required to work overtime.
He said the passage of SB 153 would not eliminate the obligation
of them to work overtime if asked by their employer. SB 153
simply allows the employee to compress their hours into shorter
workdays for the purposes of hopefully gaining more time off for
rest and family life balance.
2:43:00 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN opened public testimony on SB 153.
2:43:23 PM
JOELLE HALL, President, Alaska AFL-CIO, Peters Creek, Alaska
testified in opposition to SB 153. She noted that the Alaska
Nurses Association, Local 341 are all members of the Alaska AFL-
CIO and she highlighted the decades of advocacy to the
legislature on behalf of the union by herself and Don Ethridge.
She pointed out that no other industry repeatedly sought
legislative exemptions for worker conditions like the nursing
industry, apparently aiming to take money from nurses' pockets.
She criticized the persistent attempts by a private industry,
the nursing industry, to change overtime rules, citing past
instances of mandatory overtime, overtime exemptions, and nurse
compacting. Hall expressed frustration with the industry using
the legislature to resolve HR issues, calling it a manipulative
practice that has persisted for decades. She urged the committee
to reject the bill, insisting that private sector hospitals,
which she described as public, or private with a public mission,
should comply with Alaska law like other industries. She said
she hoped everybody on this committee would continue to serve in
this body for a very long time and would have the opportunity to
see industries that show up year over year over year asking to
treat their workers differently than employees in other
industries and be recognized for their intentions. She suggested
that after they have been working in the legislature for a
while, they would grow as tired of it as she was. She urged the
committee to oppose SB 153.
2:46:18 PM
SHANNON DAVENPORT, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified in opposition to SB 153. She introduced herself as a
surgery center nurse, hospice nurse, and President of the Alaska
Nursing Association and highlighted her current ability to work
a 10-hour day, 4-day workweek, and the supportive work
environment that allows for a good work-life balance. She
explained the potential consequences of switching to a 12-hour
overtime exemption, including the necessity to sign a contract
for 12-hour shifts and the lack of job security if the contract
is not signed. She pointed out the existing overtime 10-hour
exemption law and questioned the need for an additional 12-hour
exemption, which would reduce nurses' extra income. She
described the challenges of meeting the 40-hour workweek
requirement when surgery schedules do not align with the 12-hour
shift, leading to the use of personal paid time off or unpaid
time to fill the 40-hour commitment.
MS. DAVENPORT emphasized the commitment of nurses to patients
and families in hospice care, even when it means working beyond
the 12-hour shift. She said they stay to care for that family or
that patient, because that is an oath they took as nurses.
MS. DAVENPORT said nurses were leaving surgery centers to work
in hospital settings. She shared her experience transitioning
from the hospital setting to a surgery center to achieve a
better work-life balance, highlighting the importance of being
able to spend time with family and enjoy holidays.
MS. DAVENPORT urged the committee to oppose SB 153 for the sake
of nurses and the community, noting that she represented the
many nurses who cannot leave their patients to testify.
2:50:19 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN asked whether the hospital she left to work in
the surgery center had an exemption such as the one proposed by
SB 153.
2:50:39 PM
MS. DAVENPORT affirmed that it did.
2:50:43 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR noted that nursing is a large and complicated
industry. He noted that CRNAs were able to have flexible
schedules and asked whether that was because they're billed in a
different way, or are on a salary, or that pay varies by
location.
2:51:29 PM
MS. DAVENPORT said all of those [various pay scenarios] applied.
She said CRNAs have certain schedules depending on their
location and the contract that funds their work. She said their
contracts are different from nurses because they are advanced
practice nurses under different guidelines than operating room
nurses or recovery room nurses. She said it would also depend on
whether they were privately sponsored certified CRNAs, or if
they were part of a company.
2:52:11 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR sought to confirm his impression that three
twelve-hour days were usually more desirable than the four ten-
hour days or the five eight-hour days. He conjectured that
personnel on contracts were essentially salaried at the
hospital, and so it wouldn't significantly impact their pay,
whereas, for nurses in positions similar to Ms. Davenport's, it
would impact pay. He asked whether that was accurate.
2:52:42 PM
MS. DAVENPORT affirmed his assessment and provided a clarifying
comparative example. She said nurses with 12-hour schedules are
still paid for their full shift even if cases are canceled or
completed early, unlike nurses in settings like hers who
essentially face pay cuts.
2:53:40 PM
PAM VENTGEN, Executive Director, Alaska State Medical
Association, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 153.
She spoke on behalf of physicians who own or interact with
surgery centers in Alaska. She said the surgery centers have
difficulty hiring nurses who want to move from the hospital
setting to the surgery center setting, because the nurses want
to work 12-hour shifts, and they can't do that easily at the
surgery center. She said SB 153 would allow nurses to work 12-
hour shifts if they wanted to, but it does not in any way
require them or force them into a 12-hour shift. She said nurses
are accustomed to working 12-hour shifts which allow them to
work three days a week, giving them greater flexibility with
home life, and it can greatly reduce childcare costs. She said
SB 153 would allow nurses the flexibility that they have asked
for and she encouraged the committee to support SB 153 on that
account.
2:55:15 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR observed again that the nursing industry was
complicated. He asked whether surgery centers were currently
prohibited from offering 12-hour shifts for nurses; and if they
did provide for 12-hour shifts, he asked if they would be
required to pay overtime.
2:55:40 PM
MS. VENTGEN affirmed that if the nurses work more than 10 hours
a day, the surgery center would have to pay overtime, but they
can't cut the pay. She said SB 153 was introduced at the request
of surgery center employees and nurses who wanted to work at
surgery centers and were unable to get the 12-hour shifts they
wanted.
2:56:15 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR suggested that surgery centers having difficulty
recruiting nurses away from hospitals because of the 12-hour
shift issue could offer overtime as an incentive, along with 12-
hour shifts. He asked whether there was something legally
preventing them from doing that, or if it was basically an
economic issue.
2:56:47 PM
MS. VENTGEN said she did not know [whether it was a legal or
economic issue]. She said she had been told by multiple
physicians SB 153 was introduced to support the nurses who
wanted to move from the hospital setting to the surgery center
setting.
2:57:20 PM
DONNA PHILLIPS, Labor Council Chair, Alaska Nurses Association,
Girdwood, Alaska, testified in opposition to SB 153. She
clarified that Alaska state law allows hospitals to avoid paying
overtime for 12-hour shifts by defaulting to federal law. But
she said it was industry standard in Alaska that nurses receive
overtime pay, largely due to collective bargaining. She said
recruitment issues are not related to shift length but rather to
the flexibility and work-life balance offered by surgery centers
which offer schedules without night, weekend, or holiday work, a
significant attraction for nurses. She said surgery centers
could pay overtime and that some already do when shifts extend
beyond what is scheduled. She reiterated her opposition and said
SB 153 would erode current systems and agreements in place.
2:59:45 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN closed public testimony on SB 153.
2:59:59 PM
At ease
3:00:24 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and held SB 153 in the
Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
HB 17-CONTRACEPTIVES COVERAGE:INSURE;MED ASSIST
3:00:34 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of CS FOR HOUSE BILL
NO. 17(HSS) am(efd fld), "An Act relating to insurance coverage
for contraceptives and related services; and relating to medical
assistance coverage for contraceptives and related services."
3:01:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ASHLEY CARRICK, District 35, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of HB 17, introduced
herself and gave an overview of HB 17. She said, since the mid-
1990s, 28 states have required health insurance plans regulated
by the state to provide coverage of prescription drugs and
devices to also cover prescription contraceptives. Federal law,
under a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), expanded on
state policies in several ways. The ACA's contraceptive coverage
guarantee stems from the Public Health Service Act, which
requires non-grandfathered health insurance coverage and
employer sponsored group health plans to cover preventative
services without cost sharing and requires coverage of women's
preventative services as defined by the Health Resources and
Services Administration. Since the time [ACA took effect], 22
states and the District of Columbia have [through legislation]
ensured that women can receive an extended supply of a
[prescribed contraceptive] method at one time, usually a 12-
month supply, which is provided for in HB 17, rather than the
current guidelines of a one-to-three-month supply.
3:02:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK said HB 17 would put into Alaska statutes
language that is consistent with standards set in the federal
contraceptive coverage guarantee and HB 17 would mandate
coverage for dispensing up to 12 months of prescription
contraceptives at one time.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK said HB 17 was being brought forward
because Alaskans often face numerous challenges when trying to
access prescription contraceptives. She said that women,
especially those living or working in rural Alaska often cannot
take multiple trips a year to the pharmacy, not without great
cost and inconvenience. Additionally, the many women working in
high demand careers that take them away from regular providers,
such as working up on the North Slope, working in the field
doing research in our commercial fishing industry, in mining or
in other professions, makes this barrier a consistent one for
contraceptive access. A one-year supply of contraceptives will
assist many women in Alaska to balance their personal health
with work and family life. She referred to research provided to
the committee members from the Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, which shows that women who are dispensed a 12-month
supply of contraceptives show a 30 percent drop in unplanned
pregnancies and a 46 percent drop in the likelihood of abortion
compared to women dispensed just a one-to-three-month supply.
3:03:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK said she brought HB 17 forward, not only
because it's often time consuming and deeply inconvenient to
obtain these [contraceptive] prescriptions every one to three
months, but also because she said she knew improved access to
contraceptives would mean improved health for women and better
family planning. She said, under HB 17, providers would still be
able to make decisions in consultation with their patients to
decide what type and length of prescription contraceptive to
provide. She said HB 17 would not change that relationship, or
those diagnosis decisions. However, HB 17 would remove insurance
coverage as a barrier to access. In other words, HB 17 wouldn't
change what happens in a doctor's office, it would change what
happens at the pharmacy counter.
3:04:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK briefly addressed the changes to the
committee substitute for HB 17, noting the bill had gone through
several changes on the House side and the Senate side.
• On the House side, in its first committee of referral,
emergency contraception, and all reference to emergency
contraception was removed from HB 17. HB 17 does not cover
Plan B or emergency contraceptives.
• On the House floor, religious exemption language was also
added - more robust religious exemption language than what
currently exists in statute.
• The religious exemption language was clarified to more
accurately reflect the intent of the sponsor of that
amendment on the floor.
• Technical changes were added at the request of the
Department of Health and the Division of Insurance to
ensure that HB 17 would be neutral and would not generate
any fiscal note.
• Effective dates were adjusted to be appropriate to the HB
17.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK noted the presence of individuals to
answer questions from the committee and an invited testifier
online for the Committee's consideration.
3:06:28 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on HB 17.
3:06:47 PM
ROBIN HOLMES, M.D., Family Medicine Physician, Homer, Alaska,
said she was testifying in favor of HB 17 and HB 17 would
dramatically improve access to the full range of contraceptive
methods by requiring insurance to cover a year's supply of birth
control at one time, building on the Affordable Care Act's
contraceptive coverage mandate to ensure all people have timely
access to contraceptive care. She said HB 17 would also ensure
that patients and providers have full control over what
contraceptive method is used without arbitrary restrictions such
as prior authorizations or insurance-mandated management
techniques.
DR. HOLMES said, as a board-certified family medicine physician,
she had seen how access to contraception affected the lives of
Alaskans every day and had the privilege of supporting her
patients through the entire lifespan with evidence-based medical
care that empowered them to choose when and if to have a family,
as well as raising the family they had in the healthiest way
possible. Unfortunately, she said part of her job and advice
entailed anticipating barriers to accessing medications,
including insurance denials and restrictions on quantity. She
said it was known that one in three women missed their
contraception doses because they could not pick up a refill in
time. Barriers to contraception imposed by insurance companies
make no sense for Alaskans and cause significant economic and
physical harm to our population. She said she regularly had
patients who were in school and could not make it to the
pharmacy during the limited hours they are open to pick up
another pack of pills, or a motivated college attendee or
commercial fisher who is unable to fill enough contraception
[prescriptions] to get them through until they are back in town.
In many cases, her patients must rely on family or friends who
have their own families and work schedules to get the medication
they need. She said she often had patients with disabilities
whose insurance plans deny their access to certain
contraceptives, leaving them with no coverage for the methods
that are safest and most effective for them and forcing them to
use medications they cannot take due to their disability. She
said she had seen patients who at the height of their careers,
working multiple jobs or working while raising a family, who
could not get to the pharmacy to pick up contraceptive
prescriptions.
3:09:16 PM
DR. HOLMES said whether to use contraception or which
contraceptive method to use, is a private medical decision that
should be made by a patient in consultation with their
healthcare provider. Medical providers are extensively trained
in how to prescribe contraceptives safely and when restrictions
may be warranted. HB 17 does not supersede a doctor's judgment
if a short supply is warranted. When insurance companies force
people to use ultimate contraceptive methods, they are not
recommended for them. She said, in order to get what they
actually need, they cause inefficiencies in the systems that may
cause harm to the patient.
DR. HOLMES advocated for Alaska to have fewer barriers to
medications than other states. Even for those on the road
system, she said her patients have to travel for hours to access
prescriptions; and with contraception, even one or two days can
make a huge difference in a person's life. Outside of Alaska,
there are fewer baseline barriers to accessing birth control,
and we have seen how expanding access makes a positive
difference in other states.
3:10:15 PM
DR. HOLMES reported that the CDC named birth control one of the
top 10 public health achievements in the past century, and birth
control is widely credited for contributing to women's societal
educational and economic gains. Access to contraception allows
people to avoid unintended pregnancy, and unintended
complications. She said, when women were able to obtain a full
year of birth control on time, their odds of an unintended
pregnancy decreased by 30 percent and odds of an abortion
decreased by 40 percent versus when they were given a one-to-
three-month supply.
Dr. HOLMES concluded her testimony and said access to
contraception should be up to a provider and patient, not
insurance companies. She said birth control was incredibly safe.
She said the patients [providers] care for were smart and aware
of their needs and their goals and regarding decisions about if
and when and how they build their families. She urged the
committee to support HB 17 to allow Alaskans meaningful access
to contraception.
3:11:18 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN held HB 17 in the Senate Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee.
3:11:57 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Bjorkman adjourned the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting at 3:12 p.m.