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SB0077A -1- SB 77
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SENATE BILL NO. 77
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATOR KIEHL
Introduced: 1/27/25
Referred: Labor and Commerce, State Affairs
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to national criminal history record checks for certain employees of the 1
Department of Revenue; relating t o a l l o w a b l e a b s e n c e s f o r e l i g ibility for a permanent 2
fund dividend; relating to the confidentiality of certain infor mation provided on a 3
permanent fund dividend application; relating to the duties of the Department of 4
Revenue; and providing for an effective date." 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 6
* Section 1. AS 12.62.400(c) is amended to read: 7
(c) To obtain a national criminal history record check for det ermining a 8
current or prospective employee's qualifications under AS 39.90 .210, a current or 9
prospective employee's qualifications and suitability to administer the permanent 10
fund dividend program under AS 43.23, or a contractor's qualifications under 11
AS 36.30.960, the agency or the procurement officer shall submi t the current or 12
prospective employee's or contractor's fingerprints to the depa rtment with the fee 13
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established by AS 12.62.160. The de partment shall submit the fi ngerprints to the 1
Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain a national criminal h istory record check of 2
the current or prospective employee or contractor for the purpo se of evaluating a 3
person's qualifications under AS 36.30.960 , [AND] AS 39.90.210 , or AS 43.23, as 4
applicable. In this subsection, unless the context otherwise requires, 5
(1) "agency" has the meaning given in AS 39.90.290; 6
(2) "contractor" has the meaning given in AS 36.30.960; 7
(3) "employee" has the meaning given in AS 39.90.290. 8
* Sec. 2. AS 43.23.008(a) is amended to read: 9
(a) Subject to (b) and (d) of this section, an otherwise eligi ble individual who 10
is absent from the state during the qualifying year remains eli gible for a current year 11
permanent fund dividend if the individual was absent 12
(1) receiving secondary or postsecondary education on a full-t ime 13
basis; on a break or holiday from a secondary or postsecondary educati onal 14
institution during an academic year, not including summer break , if the 15
individual is enrolled in and attends the educational instituti on on a full-time 16
basis before and after the break or holiday; or in an orientati on program 17
required as a condition of the secondary or postsecondary educa t i o n a n d t h e 18
individual immediately begins the education on a full-time basi s after the 19
completion of the orientation; 20
(2) receiving vocational, profe ssional, or other specific educ ation on a 21
full-time basis for which, as determined by the Alaska Commissi on on Postsecondary 22
Education, a comparable program is not reasonably available in the state; on a break 23
or holiday from the vocational, professional, or other specific training, not 24
including summer break, if the individual is enrolled in and at tends the training 25
o n a full- t im e ba s is be fo r e a nd after the break or holiday; or in an orientation 26
program required as a condition of the vocational, professional , or other specific 27
training and the individual immediately begins the training on a full-time basis 28
after the completion of the orientation; 29
(3) serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the 30
United States or accompanying, as that individual's spouse, min or dependent, or 31
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disabled dependent, an individual who is 1
(A) serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of 2
the United States; and 3
(B) eligible for a current year dividend; 4
(4) serving under foreign or coa stal articles of employment ab oard an 5
oceangoing vessel of the United States merchant marine or attending a vocational 6
program that 7
(A) trains students for a career in the United States 8
merchant marine; 9
(B) provides seagoing service that meets the requirements 10
of the United States Coast Guard for United States merchant mar ine 11
credentialing; and 12
(C) is approved by the United States Coast Guard; 13
(5) receiving continuous medical treatment recommended by a 14
licensed physician or convalescing as recommended by the physic ian who treated the 15
illness if the treatment or convalescence is not based on a need for climatic change; 16
(6) providing care for a parent , spouse, sibling, child, or st epchild with 17
a critical life-threatening illness whose treatment plan, as re commended by the 18
attending physician, requires tra vel outside the state for trea tment at a medical 19
specialty complex; 20
(7) providing care for the individual's terminally ill family member; 21
(8) settling the estate of the individual's deceased parent, s pouse, 22
sibling, child, or stepchild, provided the absence does not exceed 220 cumulative days; 23
(9) serving as a member of the United States Congress; 24
(10) serving on the staff of a m ember from this state of the U nited 25
States Congress; 26
(11) serving as an employee of the state in a field office or other 27
location; 28
(12) accompanying a minor who is absent under (5) of this subsection; 29
(13) accompanying another eligible resident who is absent for a reason 30
permitted under (1), (2), (5) - (12), (16), or (17) of this subsection as the spouse, minor 31
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dependent, or disabled dependent of the eligible resident; 1
(14) serving as a volunteer in the federal peace corps program; 2
(15) because of training or competing as a member of the United States 3
Olympic Team or a United States national team for an Olympic sport; 4
(16) participating for educati onal purposes in a student fello wship 5
sponsored by the United States Department of Education or by th e United States 6
Department of State; 7
(17) for any reason consistent with the individual's intent to remain a 8
state resident, provided the absence or cumulative absences do not exceed 9
(A) 180 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 10
claimed 11
(i) under (3) of this subsection if the individual is not 12
claiming an absence under (1), (2), or (4) - (16) of this subsection; or 13
(ii) under (5) of this subsection if the individual is 14
not claiming an absence under (1) - (4) or (6) - (16) of this 15
subsection; 16
(B) 120 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 17
claimed under (1) - (3) of this subsection if the individual is not claiming an 18
absence under (4) - (16) of this subsection but is claiming an absence under (1) 19
or (2) of this subsection; or 20
(C) 45 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 21
claimed under (1) - (16) of this subsection if the individual i s claiming an 22
absence under (4) - (16) of this subsection. 23
* Sec. 3. AS 43.23.055 is amended to read: 24
Sec. 43.23.055. Duties of the department. The department shall 25
(1) annually pay permanent fund dividends from the dividend fund; 26
(2) subject to AS 43.23.011 and (8 ) of this section, adopt reg ulations 27
under AS 44.62 (Administrative Pro cedure Act) that establish pr ocedures and time 28
limits for claiming a permanent f und dividend; the department s hall determine the 29
number of eligible applicants by October 1 of the year for whic h the dividend is 30
declared and pay the dividends by December 31 of that year; 31
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(3) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 1
that establish procedures and time limits for an individual upo n emancipation or upon 2
reaching majority to apply for permanent fund dividends not rec eived during minority 3
because the parent, guardian, or other authorized representativ e did not apply on 4
behalf of the individual; 5
(4) assist residents of the state, particularly in rural areas, who, because 6
of language, disability, or inaccessibility to public transport ation, need assistance to 7
establish eligibility and to apply for permanent fund dividends; 8
(5) use a list of individuals i neligible for a dividend under 9
AS 43.23.005(d) provided annually by the Department of Correcti ons and the 10
Department of Public Safety to determine the number and identit y of those 11
individuals; 12
(6) adopt regulations that ar e necessary to implement AS 43.23 .005(d) 13
and 43.23.048; 14
(7) adopt regulations that establish procedures for the parent, guardian, 15
or other authorized representativ e of a disabled individual to apply for prior year 16
permanent fund dividends not rec eived by the disabled individua l because no 17
application was submitted on behalf of the individual; 18
(8) adopt regulations that establish procedures for an individ ual to 19
apply to have a dividend d isbursement under AS 37.25.050(a)(2) reissued if it is not 20
collected within two years after the date of its issuance; howe ver, the department may 21
not establish a time limit within which an application to have a disbursement reissued 22
must be filed; 23
(9) provide any information, upon request, contained in perman ent 24
fund dividend records to the child support services agency crea ted in AS 25.27.010, or 25
the child support enforcement agen cy of another state, for chil d support purposes 26
authorized under law; if the info rmation is contained in an ele ctronic data base, the 27
department shall provide the requesting agency with either 28
(A) access to the data base; or 29
(B) a copy of the information in the data base and a statement 30
certifying its contents; 31
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(10) establish a fraud investigation unit for the purpose of assisting the 1
(A) Department of Law in the p rosecution of individuals who 2
apply for or obtain a permanent fund dividend in violation of a provision in 3
AS 11, by detecting and investigating those crimes; and 4
(B) commissioner to detect and investigate the claiming or 5
paying of permanent fund dividends that should not have been cl aimed by or 6
paid to an individual and to impose the penalties and enforceme nt provisions 7
under AS 43.23.270; 8
(11) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 9
so that contributions under AS 43.23.130 are given a priority o ver donations under 10
AS 43.23.230 if the total amount o f contributions and donations elected by an 11
applicant exceeds the amount of the permanent fund dividend tha t the applicant is 12
entitled to receive; 13
(12) submit fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public 14
S a f e t y f o r a n a t i o n a l c r i m i n a l h i s t o r y r e c o r d c h e c k u n d e r A S 1 2.62.400 for the 15
purpose of determining a person's qualifications and suitability for administering 16
the permanent fund dividend program under this chapter. 17
* Sec. 4. AS 43.23.110(a) is amended to read: 18
(a) Except as provided in (c) of this section, information on each permanent 19
fund dividend application [, EXC EPT THE APPLICANT'S NAME,] is c onfidential. 20
The department may only release information that is confidential under this section 21
(1) to a local, state, or federal government agency; 22
(2) in compliance with a court order; 23
(3) to the individual who or agency that files an application on behalf 24
of another; 25
(4) to a banking institution to verify the direct deposit of a permanent 26
fund dividend or correct an error in that deposit; 27
(5) as directed to do so by the applicant; 28
(6) to a contractor who has a contract with a person entitled to obtain 29
the information under (1) - (5) of this section to receive, sto re, or manage the 30
information on that person's beha lf; a contractor receiving dat a under this paragraph 31
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may only use the data as directed by and for the purposes of th e person entitled to 1
obtain the information; 2
(7) to the division of elections as required by AS 43.23.101. 3
* Sec. 5. AS 43.23.140(d) is amended to read: 4
(d) An assignment of or levy, execution, garnishment, attachme nt, or other 5
remedy for the collection of debt applied to a dividend for a y ear may not be accepted 6
by the department before April 1 of that same year. AS 09.38.080(c) and 09.38.085 do 7
not apply to a levy on a permanent fund dividend. Upon receipt of a writ of execution 8
under (a) of this section or anot her court order, the commissio ner shall deliver to the 9
court that portion of the dividend executed on [UPON] along with the case name and 10
number. At the time payment is made to the court, the departmen t shall send notice to 11
the court that issued the writ or order and to the individual at the address provided 12
in the individual's dividend application or the electronic mail address at which the 13
individual has consented to receive notices or documents in a v erifiable manner, 14
as provided in regulations adopted by the department. The [AND TO THE 15
COURT THAT ISSUED THE WRIT OR ORDER A] notice must contain [THAT 16
CONTAINS] 17
(1) notification that all or part of the individual's dividend has been 18
seized under a writ of execution or court order; 19
(2) the name and address of the court that issued the writ or order; 20
(3) the case number for which the writ or order was issued; 21
(4) the amount seized under the writ or order; and 22
(5) notification that the individual has 30 days from the date the notice 23
is mailed in which to file with the court an objection to the s eizure if a mistake has 24
been made. 25
* Sec. 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026. 26