Committee votes to report PFD cleanup bill after recap and no public testimony

Senator Jesse Kiel (Senate District B) briefed the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Feb. 7 on Senate Bill 77, a technical cleanup bill for the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) Division. Senator Greg Bjorkman presided over the session in Belcher Room 105 in Juneau.

Kiel said SB 77 is a PFD-division cleanup and explicitly not a change to the dividend formula. The bill addresses allowable-absence rules to clarify eligibility (including Merchant Mariner training, college breaks during the academic year, and medical care obtained outside Alaska) and makes three operational changes intended to improve security and efficiency: requiring fingerprinting of applicants and certain employees, stopping the public distribution of lists of PFD applicant names, and allowing the division to send electronic notices when a PFD is levied if an applicant opts in.

Kiel reminded the committee that the bill had first been heard on Feb. 3 and that the session on Feb. 7 would include a recap and an opportunity for public comment. No members of the public present in the room or online testified on SB 77.

After the recap and absence of public testimony, a committee member moved to report SB 77 (identified in the motion as version 34-LS0394) out of committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. The motion was met with no objection; the chair announced that SB 77 moves from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes and asked members to remain afterward to sign the paperwork.

Ending

The committee adjourned at 2:11 p.m.; it plans to reconvene Feb. 10 to hear additional bills.