This afternoon, Governor Mike Dunleavy visited Fairbanks and signed four pieces of legislation addressing health care, timber sales, military affairs, and motor vehicles. Each bill was sponsored by a member of the Alaska Legislature’s interior delegation.
House Bill 104 creates a new category of timber sales, called expedited timber sales, for state forest land with high annual fire danger or subject to insect or disease outbreaks. The intention was to avoid merchantable timber spoiling due to insect infestation, disease, or fire. The bill accomplishes those objectives by updating forestry statutes to meet industry demands, resulting in more efficient timber sales. The legislation was sponsored by Tok Representative Mike Cronk.
“Alaska’s forests have amazing potential and HB 104 will help maximize their value. Hazardous fuel changed to biomass energy. Stunted stands of dog hair spruce thinned for better timber. Spruce infested trees harvested before they rot. Carbon sequestration increased. An industry instead of a fire waiting to happen. Thank you, Governor Dunleavy, for your dedication to improving our forests through a new management tool,” said Representative Mike Cronk.
House Bill 155, sponsored by Fairbanks Representative Will Stapp, establishes a Military Affairs Commission in the Office of the Governor. The commission’s goal is developing economic and infrastructure opportunities benefiting both military and Alaskan communities. It also removes the five years of service in the Alaska National Guard requirement for the Assistant Adjutant General positions and changing it to a preference. This change is important to expand the current eligible pool of qualified candidates and attract talent from additional areas such as service members leaving active service and staying in Alaska.
“HB155 takes the successful model of the Fairbanks Tiger Team and applies it at a statewide level, thus strengthening the relationship between the State of Alaska and our military, said Representative Will Stapp. “I was honored to carry this legislation because I understand the need for our servicemembers to feel welcome in the communities they are stationed in as well as the need for our state to develop strong economic development through our military partnerships”
HB 233, sponsored by Fairbanks Representative Frank Tomaszewski, addresses warranty work on motor vehicles. It requires that the schedule of compensation for labor must include the rates and time allowances for warranty work. It also stipulates that, unless otherwise agreed to by the manufacturer and the dealer, the schedule of compensation may not contain time allowances less than the time allowances provided in independent labor time guides.
It prohibits a manufacturer from recovering the costs for compensating a dealer for warranty work by reducing the amount due to a dealer or imposing a separate charge, surcharge, administrative fee, or other similar cost. This bill would not prohibit a manufacturer from increasing the price of a new motor vehicle or changing a schedule of compensation in the ordinary course of business.
“This legislation provides huge positive impacts for Alaskan mechanics and service technicians. The car manufacturers must now pay fair and competitive reimbursements for warranty work performed on their vehicles. This levels the playing field among the automotive service industry and creates a positive boost to car dealers’ ability to retain quality mechanics and service technicians. I applaud all those who helped to get this legislation across the finish line and thank Governor Dunleavy for his thoughtful consideration of this bill,” said Representative Frank Tomaszewski.
HB 237 will bring more qualified nurses into Alaska’s health care system by allowing the Board of Nursing to issue temporary permits to nurses seeking to reinstate their lapsed Alaska licenses so they could get back to work in Alaska more quickly while meeting all the reinstatement requirements. North Pole Representative Mike Prax sponsored the bill.
“HB 237 corrects a statutory oversight. It enables an Alaska-licensed nurse to obtain a temporary permit to practice while they are going through the process of reinstating a lapsed license. Nurses who are applying for their initial Alaska-issued license to practice already enjoy this privilege,” stated Representative Mike Prax.
