Committee adopts committee substitute for HB305, setting driver pay floor tied to minimum wage

The House Labor and Commerce Committee on April 15 adopted a committee substitute for HB305, a bill addressing pay for transportation network company drivers. Co-chair Fields presented the CS, which replaces a fare-share model with a wage-floor approach tied to the state minimum wage and adds a per-mile vehicle-cost credit.

Under the committee substitute, the pay floor is set at 150% of Alaska’s state minimum wage. Committee staff calculated that with the current $14 minimum wage that equates to $21 per hour, and at the $15 minimum wage taking effect next year the 150% floor would be $22.50 per hour. The CS also includes a per-mile credit to offset vehicle wear and fuel costs; the CS adopts the 37-cent-per-mile figure used in recent California proposals and indexes it for inflation. The substitute preserves drivers’ tips in addition to any wage guarantee.

Co-chair Fields said the CS was drafted in response to input from driver representatives and industry stakeholders; staff noted the change aims to mirror California’s model while adjusting the multiplier to account for Alaska’s wage levels. Representative Colom initially objected to adopting the CS for purposes of discussion but then removed the objection after clarifying questions. With no further objections the committee adopted the CS as a working document.

What happened in committee: The CS was moved by Co-chair Fields and discussion included staff calculations of wage equivalents and an explanation of the per-mile credit. Committee adoption was by voice; no roll-call vote was recorded in the hearing transcript.

What’s next: The adopted CS will be available for members to review and research before further committee action; sponsor offered to solicit additional feedback from the industry before returning the bill to committee.