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HOUSE BILL NO. 360
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO
Introduced: 2/23/26
Referred: Labor and Commerce, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to apprenticeship programs; establishing a state apprenticeship office; 1
and establishing the Alaska Apprenticeship Advisory Council." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 18.80.295 is amended to read: 4
Sec. 18.80.295. Apprenticeship programs. The provisions of this chapter 5
affecting discrimination in employment on the basis of age do not apply to 6
apprenticeship programs 7
(1) registered by the state apprenticeship office established under 8
AS 23.05.400 or the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, United States 9
Department of Labor; [,] or 10
(2) [APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS] that meet standards equivalent 11
to apprenticeship programs registered by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. 12
* Sec. 2. AS 23.05 is amended by adding new sections to read: 13
Article 6. State Apprenticeship Office. 14
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Sec. 23.05.400. State apprenticeship office; duties; regulations. (a) The state 1
apprenticeship office is established in the Department of Labor and Workforce 2
Development. 3
(b) The state apprenticeship office shall perform all duties necessary to seek 4
and maintain recognition as a state apprenticeship agency from the United States 5
Department of Labor, including 6
(1) serving as the primary point of contact with the Office of 7
Apprenticeship, United States Department of Labor; 8
(2) submitting an equal employment opportunity in apprenticeship 9
state plan and plan updates as necessary to the Office of Apprenticeship, United States 10
Department of Labor; 11
(3) registering and issuing certificates of registration to apprenticeship 12
programs that meet the basic standards and requirements established by the state 13
apprenticeship office in regulation; 14
(4) creating a policy of reciprocity with other states to ensure the 15
registration of apprenticeship programs; and 16
(5) supervising the administrative and technical activities of the 17
council. 18
(c) In consultation with the council, the office shall adopt regulations 19
necessary to carry out the purposes of AS 23.05.400 - 23.05.450. 20
Sec. 23.05.410. Director. (a) The commissioner shall appoint a director to 21
serve as the head of the state apprenticeship office. 22
(b) The director of the state apprenticeship office shall be in the partially 23
exempt service under AS 39.25.120. 24
Sec. 23.05.420. Alaska Apprenticeship Advisory Council. (a) The Alaska 25
Apprenticeship Advisory Council is established in the state apprenticeship office. The 26
council shall serve as the advisory body to the state apprenticeship office. The council 27
consists of nine members appointed by the director who must each be familiar with 28
apprenticeable occupations, as follows: 29
(1) three members who represent private sector employers in the state, 30
one of whom represents a statewide employer organization, one of whom represents 31
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an employer involved with an apprentice program targeting populations with barriers 1
to employment, and one of whom represents a statewide organization of general and 2
specialty commercial construction contractors that is familiar with registered 3
apprenticeship programs; 4
(2) three members who represent employee organizations, at least one 5
of whom represents a statewide employee organization; and 6
(3) three members of the public. 7
(b) Members of the council are appointed for staggered terms of three years 8
and serve until a successor is appointed. An appointment to a vacancy is for the 9
unexpired term. An appointed member may be reappointed for additional terms. 10
Members serve at the pleasure of the director. 11
(c) The council shall elect a chair from among its members. 12
(d) Members of the council serve without compensation but are entitled to per 13
diem and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 14
Sec. 23.05.430. Duties of the council. The council shall 15
(1) meet at the request of the director as needed to accomplish the 16
duties of the state apprenticeship office; 17
(2) assist the director in developing program performance standards; 18
(3) provide technical and professional guidance for identifying and 19
promoting best practice in registered apprenticeship programs; 20
(4) assist the director in developing, adopting, and implementing 21
regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of the state apprenticeship office; 22
(5) perform other duties as assigned by the director, consistent with 23
requirements for recognition by the United States Department of Labor as a state 24
apprenticeship agency. 25
Sec. 23.05.450. Definitions. In AS 23.05.400 - 23.05.450, 26
(1) "council" means the Alaska Apprenticeship Advisory Council 27
established under AS 23.05.420; 28
(2) "director" means the director of the state apprenticeship office. 29
* Sec. 3. AS 23.15.620(b) is amended to read: 30
(b) A person who provides training and employment services may apply for a 31
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grant from the program and may use the grant to augment or improve public access to 1
the training and employment services provided, including an [A REGISTERED] 2
apprenticeship program registered by the state apprenticeship office under 3
AS 23.05.400 or under 29 U.S.C. 50. 4
* Sec. 4. AS 23.15.641(b) is amended to read: 5
(b) A recipient of a grant awarded under the program may use the grant to 6
provide any of the following training and employment assistance services to eligible 7
participants: 8
(1) industry-specific training; 9
(2) on-the-job training, including apprentice training in an [A 10
REGISTERED] apprenticeship program registered by the state apprenticeship 11
office under AS 23.05.400 or under 29 U.S.C. 50; 12
(3) institutional or classroom job-linked training; 13
(4) support services, including financial allowances and relocation 14
expenses that the department determines are reasonably necessary to enable an eligible 15
participant to receive training and employment assistance; 16
(5) assistance considered necessary to help an eligible participant 17
obtain or retain a job for which training and employment assistance provided under the 18
program has prepared the eligible participant; 19
(6) purchases of basic tools, work clothing, safety gear, or other items 20
the eligible participant needs to obtain or retain a job for which training and 21
employment assistance provided under the program has prepared the eligible 22
participant; 23
(7) other costs the department determines are necessary to pay in order 24
that an eligible participant can receive training or employment assistance or obtain or 25
retain a job for which the training and employment assistance provided under the 26
program has prepared the eligible participant. 27
* Sec. 5. AS 39.25.120(c) is amended to read: 28
(c) The following positions in the state service constitute the partially exempt 29
service: 30
(1) deputy and assistant commissioners of the principal departments of 31
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the executive branch, including the assistant adjutant general of the Department of 1
Military and Veterans' Affairs; 2
(2) the directors of the major divisions of the principal departments of 3
the executive branch and the regional directors of the Department of Transportation 4
and Public Facilities; 5
(3) attorney members of the staff of the Department of Law, of the 6
public defender agency, and of the office of public advocacy in the Department of 7
Administration; 8
(4) one private secretary for each head of a principal department in the 9
executive branch; 10
(5) employees of councils, boards, or commissions established by 11
statute in the Office of the Governor or the office of the lieutenant governor, unless a 12
different classification is provided by statute; 13
(6) not more than two special assistants to the commissioner of each of 14
the principal departments of the executive branch, but the number may be increased if 15
the partially exempt service is extended under AS 39.25.130 to include the additional 16
special assistants; 17
(7) the principal executive officer of the following boards, councils, or 18
commissions: 19
(A) Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission; 20
(B) Professional Teaching Practices Commission; 21
(C) Parole Board; 22
(D) Board of Nursing; 23
(E) Real Estate Commission; 24
(F) Alaska Royalty Oil and Gas Development Advisory Board; 25
(G) Alaska State Council on the Arts; 26
(H) Alaska Police Standards Council; 27
(I) Alaska Commission on Aging; 28
(J) Alaska Mental Health Board; 29
(K) State Medical Board; 30
(L) Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education; 31
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(M) Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; 1
(N) Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; 2
(O) State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and 3
Land Surveyors; 4
(P) Alaska Health Care Commission; 5
(Q) Board of Pharmacy; 6
(8) Alaska Pioneers' Home and Alaska Veterans' Home managers; 7
(9) hearing examiners in the Department of Revenue; 8
(10) the comptroller in the division of treasury, Department of 9
Revenue; 10
(11) airport managers in the Department of Transportation and Public 11
Facilities employed at the Anchorage and Fairbanks International Airports; 12
(12) the deputy director of the division of insurance in the Department 13
of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development; 14
(13) the executive director and staff of the Alaska Public Offices 15
Commission; 16
(14) the rehabilitation administrator of the division of workers' 17
compensation; 18
(15) guards employed by the Department of Public Safety for 19
emergencies; 20
(16) marine pilot coordinator of the Board of Marine Pilots; 21
(17) guards employed by the Department of Corrections, other than in 22
state correctional facilities, to carry out the responsibility of the commissioner of 23
corrections under AS 33.30.071(b); 24
(18) hearing officers and administrative law judges of the Regulatory 25
Commission of Alaska; 26
(19) the compact administrator appointed under AS 33.36.130; 27
(20) the chief administrative law judge and administrative law judges 28
of the office of administrative hearings; 29
(21) the executive secretary of the Board of Public Accountancy; 30
(22) the director of the state apprenticeship office. 31
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* Sec. 6. AS 43.20.014(a) is amended to read: 1
(a) A taxpayer is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter for 2
(1) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for direct instruction, 3
research, and educational support purposes, including library and museum 4
acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an Alaska university foundation, by 5
a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 6
national or regional accreditation association, or by a public or private nonprofit 7
elementary or secondary school in the state; 8
(2) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for secondary school 9
level vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a school district in the 10
state; 11
(3) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for vocational 12
education courses, programs, equipment, and facilities by a state-operated vocational 13
technical education and training school, a nonprofit regional training center recognized 14
by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and an apprenticeship 15
program in the state that is registered with the state apprenticeship office established 16
under AS 23.05.400 or with the United States Department of Labor under 29 U.S.C. 17
50 - 50b (National Apprenticeship Act); 18
(4) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for a facility by a 19
nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 20
national or regional accreditation association or by a public or private nonprofit 21
elementary or secondary school in the state; 22
(5) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for Alaska Native 23
cultural or heritage programs and educational support, including mentoring and 24
tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public school staff and for students who 25
are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 26
(6) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for education, 27
research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution that is located in the state and 28
that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center under the Coastal America 29
Partnership established by the federal government; 30
(7) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for the Alaska higher 31
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education investment fund under AS 37.14.750; 1
(8) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for funding a 2
scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization to a dual-credit student to defray the 3
cost of a dual-credit course, including the cost of 4
(A) tuition and textbooks; 5
(B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees; 6
(C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary institution 7
in the state that provides the dual-credit course; 8
(D) transportation costs to and from a residential school 9
approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under 10
AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the dual- 11
credit course; and 12
(E) other related educational and programmatic costs; 13
(9) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for constructing, 14
operating, or maintaining a residential housing facility by a residential school in the 15
state approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under 16
AS 14.16.200; 17
(10) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for childhood early 18
learning and development programs and educational support to childhood early 19
learning and development programs provided by a nonprofit corporation organized 20
under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or a school district in the state, by the Department of 21
Education and Early Development, or through a state grant; 22
(11) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for science, 23
technology, engineering, and math programs provided by a nonprofit agency or a 24
school district for school staff and for students in grades kindergarten through 12 in 25
the state; 26
(12) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for the operation of a 27
nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities that promote 28
the legacy of public service contributions to the state and perpetuate ongoing 29
educational programs that foster public service leadership for future generations of 30
residents of the state; 31
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(13) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for the operation of a 1
nonprofit educational resource center that supports academic achievement in grades 2
nine through 12 by coordinating curricula and statewide competition in the subject 3
areas of economics, science, social science, literature, music, art, mathematics, 4
writing, speech, and interview skills and by providing student scholarships; 5
(14) expenditures made to operate a child care facility in the state for 6
the children of the taxpayer's employees; 7
(15) contributions of cash or equipment accepted by a child care 8
facility in the state operated by a nonprofit corporation and attended by one or more 9
children of the taxpayer's employees; and 10
(16) a payment to an employee of the taxpayer made by the taxpayer 11
for the purpose of offsetting the employee's child care costs incurred in the state. 12
* Sec. 7. AS 43.55.019(a) is amended to read: 13
(a) A producer of oil or gas is allowed a credit against the tax levied by 14
AS 43.55.011(e) for 15
(1) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for direct instruction, 16
research, and educational support purposes, including library and museum 17
acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an Alaska university foundation or 18
by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 19
national or regional accreditation association; 20
(2) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for secondary school 21
level vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a school district in the 22
state; 23
(3) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for vocational 24
education courses, programs, equipment, and facilities by a state-operated vocational 25
technical education and training school, a nonprofit regional training center recognized 26
by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and an apprenticeship 27
program in the state that is registered with the state apprenticeship office established 28
under AS 23.15.400 or with the United States Department of Labor under 29 U.S.C. 29
50 - 50b (National Apprenticeship Act); 30
(4) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for a facility by a 31
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nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 1
national or regional accreditation association; 2
(5) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for Alaska Native 3
cultural or heritage programs and educational support, including mentoring and 4
tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public school staff and for students who 5
are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 6
(6) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for education, 7
research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution that is located in the state and 8
that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center under the Coastal America 9
Partnership established by the federal government; 10
(7) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for the Alaska higher 11
education investment fund under AS 37.14.750; 12
(8) contributions of cash or equipment accepted for the operation of a 13
nonprofit educational resource center that supports academic achievement in grades 14
nine through 12 by coordinating curricula and statewide competition in the subject 15
areas of economics, science, social science, literature, music, art, mathematics, 16
writing, speech, and interview skills and by providing student scholarships; 17
(9) expenditures made to operate a child care facility in the state for 18
the children of the producer's employees; 19
(10) contributions of cash or equipment accepted by a child care 20
facility in the state operated by a nonprofit corporation and attended by one or more 21
children of the producer's employees; and 22
(11) a payment to an employee of the producer made by the producer 23
for the purpose of offsetting the employee's child care costs incurred in the state. 24
* Sec. 8. AS 44.31.020 is amended to read: 25
Sec. 44.31.020. Duties of department. The Department of Labor and 26
Workforce Development shall 27
(1) enforce the laws and adopt regulations under them concerning 28
employer-employee relationships, including the safety, hours of work, wages, and 29
conditions of workers, including children; 30
(2) accumulate, analyze, and report labor statistics; 31
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(3) operate systems of workers' compensation and unemployment 1
insurance; 2
(4) gather data reflecting the cost of living in various locations of the 3
state upon request of the director of personnel under AS 39.27.030; 4
(5) operate the federally funded employment and training programs 5
under 29 U.S.C. 2801 - 2945 (Workforce Investment Act of 1998); 6
(6) administer the state's program of adult basic education and adopt 7
regulations to administer the program; 8
(7) administer the programs of the Alaska Vocational Technical Center 9
and adopt regulations to administer the programs, including regulations that set rates 10
for student tuition and room and board and fees for the programs and services 11
provided by the department regarding the Alaska Vocational Technical Center; [AND] 12
(8) gather data on the progress of each high school graduating class in 13
a district by collecting career, postsecondary education, and residency data on each 14
student in the graduating class; the department shall gather the data required under this 15
paragraph every five years for 20 years after the high school graduation date of each 16
high school graduating class; the department shall publish a biennial report on the data 17
gathered under this paragraph; in this paragraph, "district" has the meaning given in 18
AS 14.17.990; and 19
(9) operate the state apprenticeship office to the standards 20
required for recognition as a state apprenticeship agency by the United States 21
Department of Labor. 22
* Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 23
read: 24
TRANSITION: STAGGERED TERMS. Notwithstanding AS 23.05.420(a), added by 25
sec. 2 of this Act, the initial terms of the members of the Alaska Apprenticeship Advisory 26
Council appointed under AS 23.05.420(a), added by sec. 2 of this Act, are as follows: 27
(1) one member appointed under AS 23.05.420(a)(1), one member appointed 28
under AS 23.05.420(a)(2), and one member appointed under AS 23.05.420(a)(3) serve one-29
year terms; 30
(2) one member appointed under AS 23.05.420(a)(1), one member appointed 31
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under AS 23.05.420(a)(2), and one member appointed under AS 23.05.420(a)(3) serve two-1
year terms; and 2
(3) one member appointed under AS 23.05.420(a)(1), one member appointed 3
under AS 23.05.420(a)(2), and one member appointed under AS 23.05.420(a)(3) serve three-4
year terms. 5