Committee hears proposal to ban business fees for paper bills, sets amendment deadline
Loading...
Summary
At a Jan. 28 first hearing, sponsor Rep. Dan Sadler said HB20 would bar businesses from charging extra or different rates for customers who prefer paper invoices; members questioned whether the bill would ban discounts for customers who go paperless and an amendment deadline was set for Feb. 3, 2026.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held a first hearing on House Bill 20, which would prohibit businesses from charging customers additional or differential fees for receiving paper invoices, statements or other documents.
Sponsor Representative Dan Sadler (House District 24) said HB20 would prevent businesses from charging a premium to customers who prefer paper, arguing the change protects older Alaskans and residents with limited or unreliable Internet access. "More than 100,000 Alaskans are 65 years or older," Sadler said, and he told the committee roughly "60,000 Alaskans have no Internet access," framing the bill as addressing the state’s digital divide.
Kai Elkins, staff to Representative Sadler, presented the sectional analysis. He described a set of statutory amendments: adding a section within AS 21.36 to prohibit insurers from charging additional fees for paper copies, and adding a section to AS 45.45 to prohibit businesses from charging an additional fee or different rate for customers who prefer paper copies. The presented language includes an exception that does not prohibit fees for duplicate copies previously provided.
Committee members probed practical effects. Chair Gray and members asked whether HB20 would ban businesses from offering a discount to customers who opt into paperless billing. Sadler and Elkins told the committee the bill would bar differential pricing, including discounts that make paperless service cheaper, arguing that the long-standing status quo of paper billing should not be displaced by fees. Members raised concerns that forbidding discounts could reduce incentives for customers to choose paperless options in areas with reliable service and that remaining paper customers could be subsidized by others.
No public testimony was offered in the hearing. Representative Sadler clarified off the record that the bill applies to businesses, not state agencies; Chair Gray noted Heather Carpenter, director at the Department of Insurance, was online and available for questions. The committee set an amendment deadline for HB20 of Feb. 3, 2026, at 5 p.m., and set the bill aside for future action.
If advanced, the bill would apply civilly to businesses as defined in statute; the committee did not adopt or vote on any final recommendation during the Jan. 28 hearing.
