[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6283352,"mediaKeyId","2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898","parentId",2588925,"title","Committee hears on-the-ground impacts of federal workforce reductions on Alaska parks, fisheries and local economies","audioSeconds",1048,"startMs",2723000,"endMs",3771000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898&start=2723&end=3771","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898/thumbnail_2723000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6283352/Alaska/Committee-hears-on-the-ground-impacts-of-federal-workforce-reductions-on-Alaska-parks-fisheries-and-local-economies","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6283352-a004a96051d97788854faff77578817d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771178752&Signature=ZV9yXVIwAWdp3F8ri-Q2V3PiETcZjCwBXr18OK3yz26tzaGlx-qyOtrKJjLvXZuJDdyOH-Xy0uVVMjcUJL1lfqlSiWZft4FJuwqpyCahjqFZvjI3rigPMc2sZhAVyZLSh1-Q9xx4ImdMbP87tpT2crX6wiiW7HCDhwALGOouJnImk5shu9rcn21Da-slhJ-WpAVxoIUfUVzBwBdfhnNlKCy2B04LLV7-~vxst1bu3F-p935-N6jY6OeYDA6ng5-28sYTxMOcdESxcCn9DB2KcE97R1Ll8SnOCREW5Li~8ZmyMyZ2advAlA3ewwIDR175urEHHd0ij1pEg32rWQUE0w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alaska Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","The Alaska House Judiciary Committee on March 12, 2025, devoted its final order of business to testimony about the impacts of federal workforce reductions on Alaska’s economy and public services. Witnesses included Alaska Department of Labor Director Paloma Harbour, University of Alaska researcher Brock Wilson of ISER, and multiple federal employees or recent employees from the National Park Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who described lost jobs and local consequences.

Director Paloma Harbour (Division of Employment and Training Services, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development) briefed the committee on unemployment insurance eligibility and benefits. She said most federal workers are covered for unemployment insurance but not all jobs are covered (for example, many self-employed persons, independent contractors and certain personal-service drivers are exempt under Alaska statute referenced in testimony as Alaska statute 23 25 26). Harbour explained the base-period wage test: a claimant must have earned at least $2,500 in the base period and those wages must span at least two quarters, with an alternate base period available in some cases. She described nonmonetary eligibility rules — claimants must be able and available for full-time work in their customary occupation each week, meet work-search requirements (two contacts per week in urban areas, one in more rural areas), and register in Alaska’s job bank. Harbour noted an administrative back-and-forth between claimants and employers during separation determinations and said the federal standard aims for a decision within 21 days, though real-world timelines can be longer. The department reported 138 active federal claims, and 90–95% of federal employers’ responses so far characterized separations as layoffs due to restructuring. Harbour said the state’s unemployment trust fund is “overly solvent” and could absorb a large increase in benefit costs, but low staff levels in the unemployment office could produce delays in determinations if claims spike.

Brock Wilson, research assistant professor at the University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), presented data on Alaska’s federal civilian workforce. Using state unemployment insurance payroll data, FedScope and federal surveys, Wilson said roughly 16,000 federal civilian employees worked in Alaska in third quarter 2024 — about 3.2% of the state’s labor force and the third-highest share among states. Federal civilian employment was among the state’s largest sectors and had a relatively high average monthly pay (Wilson cited about $8,641 per month). Federal workers are unevenly distributed: the bulk are employed in the Anchorage municipality, with concentration also in Fairbanks and Juneau, but per-capita reliance is higher in some rural boroughs. Wilson listed major federal subagencies that employ civilians in Alaska, including the Federal Aviation Administration, Veterans Health Administration, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Coast Guard civilian positions, Geological Survey and Bureau of Indian Affairs. He also reported that about 11.5% of the federal civilian workforce in Alaska had less than one year of federal service as of September 2024, a demographic detail cited in the context of probationary employee eligibility for agency-directed separations.

Several former or recently separated federal employees described operational impacts where they worked. Charles Morin Hill, formerly a maintenance supervisor at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, said he and roughly 20% of Lake Clark’s permanent staff were terminated and that the loss of supervisory-level maintenance staff threatens trail and facilities upkeep, visitor services, and compliance with OSHA and other health and safety codes at a park that serves a small community. Hill said he was on sick leave following surgery when he received a termination letter, that he had lost access to employment documents needed to file for benefits and that local replacement employment options in his village do not exist.

Andrew Diamond, who had been a survey technician at the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, described being terminated 11 days before his probationary period ended. Diamond said his work deploying survey gear and maintaining electronic data-collection systems underpins stock assessments for groundfish and ecosystem monitoring (including juvenile salmon indices used for Yukon River forecasts). He warned that losing specialized technicians can delay data processing and reduce the timeliness and quality of stock-assessment inputs used in fisheries management.

Aaron Lambert, a fisheries management specialist at NOAA’s Alaska Regional Office, said he was hired in September 2024 to conduct a court-ordered Cook Inlet salmon stock assessment and was terminated in February 2025 as part of probationary-employee separations. Lambert said his removal risks delaying or disrupting the 2026 Cook Inlet assessment and could force other staff to be reallocated from other assessments or disaster-response work. He and Diamond described a workplace environment of rapidly changing guidance and mass probationary separations following Office of Personnel Management directives.

Committee members asked whether the state can replace federal functions. Witnesses said the state conducts some surveys, mainly salmon-focused, but cannot legally manage federal EEZ fisheries functions administered by NOAA and lacks the broad federal mandate and capacity to fully substitute for federal survey programs. Harbour and Wilson urged impacted workers to contact local job centers; Harbour said the department offers resume help, rapid response events, training funds, relocation assistance and limited short-term health insurance aid, and that reemployment services can be provided through local job centers though selection for that program can lag initial claims.

Representative Vance asked about job-matching success; Harbour said the department has been conducting outreach and rapid-response events but that placements from the recent federal separations were still being tracked and outcomes were not yet clear. Harbour reiterated the trust fund’s solvency but warned that delays in determinations are the primary operational risk because unemployment office staffing is low.

The committee recorded that testimonies from other separated workers had been uploaded to BASIS for public viewing. The hearing concluded with the committee setting amendment deadlines for two bills and announcing future agenda items.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","03/12/2025 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY","oneSentenceSummary","Lawmakers heard from state officials, ISER researchers and terminated federal employees on March 12 about how federal workforce reductions have hit Alaska’s parks, fisheries research and local communities.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Alaska, Alaska","taxId",78559,"location","Alaska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6283356,"Public testimony supports House Bill 62 to codify sexual-assault kit tracking and survivor rights",308,1232000,1540000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898&start=1232&end=1540","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898/thumbnail_1232000.jpg","/articles/6283356/Alaska/Public-testimony-supports-House-Bill-62-to-codify-sexual-assault-kit-tracking-and-survivor-rights","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6283356-d3cf5e2fc4f1d324bca0a6735ad46975/orig.mp4?Expires=1771178752&Signature=RCQgrGHVe5C3-HaZDT52AKg2Y3KN~D4OkH5O7eI1UO030eHjJoPluHfaG9Wx1MS~HsvRI6PhJZzOFqNApFz84W4NnmWWD9yYVmXj-D6KfI5DXnXAYgxRXXzS40rOmVQqkMCnEc2M~gnp7QiFogv9rjxF0tekn6Z2NJ7Y-s1NhvOux-yMGtqWqbCp-uNXOCYVt6h2bj6X8mUAaetgJ7oLkSsxYvuyRqNT70R1vEUvSWqJHDbcGzjx8AVqBon0JytZBD80nt9kRobEmijvej12G9TdE4sFmh-fXTVSetmdFAiu4-4d5x8PppdnXnq~wBWD6zmfAAFb8UP~jOcGW6DxLg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Judiciary Committee on March 12, 2025, heard public testimony in favor of House Bill 62, legislation that would establish or amend timelines for handling sexual-assault evidence, codify an assault-kit tracking system into law and expand survivor rights and transparency. The committee closed public testimony on the bill after two online witnesses spoke in support.

David Canaris, introduced on the record as an official with the Department of Public Safety and identified as the chief of the Anchorage laboratory, told the committee HB 62 “establishes timelines where they currently don't exist and amends timelines where they do exist,” codifies the state’s assault-kit tracking system and “provides additional survivor rights and transparency.” Canaris asked the committee to consider moving the bill forward.

Isaac Smolden, communications director at My House, a drop-in center that serves homeless and at-risk youth, said survivors of sexual assault are among the clients his organization serves and that his organization supports the bill’s provisions for survivors. Both witnesses urged the committee to advance HB 62 to the finance and support stages for further consideration.

Committee members took no immediate vote on the bill at the hearing. Chair Gray later set an amendment deadline for HB 62 of Friday, March 14 at 5 p.m., and asked members to work with committee aide Nate Graham on amendments.","Two witnesses, a state laboratory official and a youth-services director, urged the House Judiciary Committee to advance House Bill 62, which would establish or amend timelines, codify an assault-kit tracking system and expand survivor rights and transparency.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6283362,"House Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings for administrative law judge and parole board appointee",682,629000,1311000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898&start=629&end=1311","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2588925-d37fadce885be78c720217a236873898/thumbnail_629000.jpg","/articles/6283362/Alaska/House-Judiciary-Committee-holds-confirmation-hearings-for-administrative-law-judge-and-parole-board-appointee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6283362-71f7e1abacd8467262f4ca35dbd2e9b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1771178752&Signature=Yb1DGGNOCpr~53sxcXjDy4UfCWeXC2tx~8d6NGc7R5tIx8gX1BfouwOtahKllphUJY9OKvrB4p9tWgJqA1tMKAR9QeeWvmbj9gSea4yL~beIiiRTXSjIqBumU3N4LBTc~737foMo1MaEzSAD-CT3YYb4RP6Wpm5UoWFv2Q3xmqYhoXnWA5eV3~eIBUXRhl~NJ-QkmGsWvEb942algJZdqRdkqYmJFVq-CWc3uezizbro5T2DWTv2sz4GJksjTO3EI4gK2jxvyK5~G9efIW3QTQsbeCcE6J1cgzdKkkfyRc7u733iawq-h1AgJUqFehZ3vvqzMV2K4x5zt9i8Z7LDEw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Alaska House Judiciary Committee on March 12, 2025, heard confirmation introductions for two of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s appointees: Joan Wilson for chief administrative law judge and Leitoni Topol for the State Board of Parole. The hearing took place in the Gruenberg Room, Capitol Room 120, and the committee did not take a confirmation vote at the session.

Wilson told the committee she has practiced law in Alaska since joining the Alaska Bar in 1996 and described roughly 15 years of state service that included work as an assistant attorney general and assistant district attorney, and a period as director of the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office. She said the Office of Administrative Hearings was created after legislative action in 2004 to consolidate hearing officers from multiple agencies and that the office’s panel of about 10 judges provides due process for many Alaskans who lack legal representation. Wilson said the appointment is for five years and that she expects to work with the Department of Law on a possible statutory update; she offered to return to the committee if legislative changes are proposed.

Leitoni Topol introduced himself as a returning member of the State Board of Parole. Topol described decades of corrections-related work, including service as a corrections officer, probation officer, deputy commissioner in the Department of Corrections and work with the parole board in prior years. He said the board’s biggest operational challenge is ensuring access to treatment and reentry services for people under parole consideration, noting limited provider availability and program funding in some communities. Topol told members the parole board sometimes delays hearings until a treatment placement can be located.

Committee members asked no follow-up questions during the public session. The committee opened and closed public testimony on both appointees after finding no in-room or online speakers. The committee recorded that it had held hearings on Joan Wilson and Leitoni Topol in accordance with AS 39 o 5.08 and proceeded to sign the hearing report; a committee signature on the report does not indicate any member’s intent to vote for or against confirmation in later floor consideration.

The committee’s record showed Vice Chair Kopp and Representatives Mina, Eisheide and Vance present for the hearing. Staff acknowledged included Sofia Tenney (House Records), Susan Quigley (Legislative Information Office) and committee aide Nate Graham.","The House Judiciary Committee heard introductory remarks from Joan Wilson, nominated as chief administrative law judge, and Leitoni Topol, nominated to the State Parole Board. Committee members asked no substantive questions and no votes were taken; public testimony on both appointments was closed without comment.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears on-the-ground impacts of federal workforce reductions on Alaska parks, fisheries and local economies

Public testimony supports House Bill 62 to codify sexual-assault kit tracking and survivor rights

House Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings for administrative law judge and parole board appointee