Representing the neighborhoods of Airport Heights, Campbell Park, College Village, Downtown, Fairview,
Geneva Woods, Government Hill, Green Acres, Midtown, Rogers Park, Spenard, South Addition, Tudor and Waldron
 

Working hard • Solving problems • Getting things done

July 3, 2008
 

Senator
Johnny Ellis

July 3rd, 2008

LABOR AND COMMERCE

Friends and Neighbors,

         Judging only by headline news, you might not know that more goes on in a legislative session than raging debate over the current hot topic.  In fact, most of the work happens not on the floor of the Senate or the House of Representatives, but in committees.  That is where legislation is worked on in detail, where arguments are aired and different approaches to a problem tested before a bill is ready for a final vote.

         In addition to serving as Majority Leader, for the past two years I have chaired the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee, where legislation affecting how businesses are regulated, the terms under which people are employed, workplace safety, and professional licensing is first examined and often originates.  As you might imagine, we can be a busy group.

Chairing the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.

         During the two regular sessions of the current Legislature, ninety-five bills and eight resolutions were referred to the Labor & Commerce Committee.  Thirty-seven of those bills have now become law.  Some of these will affect only a relatively small number of you.  Other measures will have a much broader effect.

         Take, for instance, House Bill 65, an effort to curb identity theft and protect consumer information, introduced by Representative Les Gara and Representative John Coghill.  Among other things, Alaska’s Personal Information Protection Act

• controls the commercial use of Social Security numbers;
• establishes a person’s right to control the release of certain information in databases;
• establishes the right of an individual to place a freeze on the release of a credit score;

         Through hours of hearings legislators listened carefully to consumer advocates and business representatives, finally forging a bill that upholds Alaska’s traditions of personal privacy while allowing business to use information necessary to a modern economy.

Governor Palin signed the Unemployment Insurance bill into law in May.  We were joined by many of the legislators who came together to unanimously support the bill, including Representative Harry Crawford, the sponsor in the House.

         I am most proud of our work updating unemployment insurance benefits.  Efforts to increase Alaska’s benefits had failed for over a decade, leaving us woefully behind other states.  Working with House members such as Representative Harry Crawford, sponsor of a similar bill in that body, and stakeholder groups, including the State Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, we were able to patch this serious hole in Alaska’s economic safety net.

         Good committee work may seem pretty boring, but through diligence, it produces the best legislation.  Our unemployment benefits bill passed both houses of the Legislature without a dissenting vote.

Happy Independence Day

         I hope each of you gets a chance to enjoy a long weekend of sunshine.  I will be traveling the Kenai Peninsula with visiting relatives.  For everyone who is staying in Anchorage, the Municipality is hosting a day long event on the Park Strip from 8 AM to 6 PM.  Bring the whole family for a parade, great food, and fun activities.  More information is available on-line at www.anchorage.net.

         Until next week,

        Senator Johnny Ellis

http://ellis.aksenate.org