Legislative Session Ends with Bills for Insurance, Payday Loans, and Big Game Hunting

The other signed bill, Senate Bill 15 (SB15), affects establishments that serve alcohol. It lets employees aged 18, 19, or 20 serve alcohol even though they cannot legally purchase or consume it themselves. The bill, sponsored by Senator Kelly Merrick of Eagle River, also requires retailers to post warning signs stating that alcohol use can cause breast and colon cancers.

Awaiting Signatures

Bills heading to the governor’s desk affect other business practices. Two of them address online commerce: SB113 clarifies that sales to Alaskan customers count for in-state tax purposes, and HB123 applies vehicle rental taxes to person-to-person platforms like Turo.

Two bills deal with insurance coverage. At the request of a joint legislative task force on the seafood industry, HB116 would let fishermen form cooperative insurance agreements without technically counting as insurers under state code. Meanwhile, SB133 adds requirements for insurers to streamline the prior authorization process for healthcare providers and patients.

Two bills are aimed at boosting childcare services, which many Alaskans have cited as a barrier to employment. At the recommendation of the Governor’s Task Force on Child Care, SB95 and SB96 create a tax credit for employers to offset the cost of childcare expenses and establish a program to partner with private sector entities to create incentives for employers to develop onsite childcare, among other provisions.

The payday loan industry would come under heavier regulation if the governor signs SB39. The bill would bring short-term lenders under the 36 percent interest rate cap according to general lending laws. The sponsor, Anchorage Senator Forrest Dunbar, says the current exemption allows payday lenders to charge 200 percent to 500 percent interest, affecting about 15,000 Alaskans.

A new industry could flourish under SB97, which would create a system of permits for commercial big game guides. While federal lands in Alaska have hunting guide concession programs, the bill would have applicants compete for ten-year concessions to guide in designated state lands. Lawmakers heard testimony that concessions would likely be dominated by wealthy corporate hunting lodges; Susan Allmeroth of Two Rivers warned that “government agencies may favor large, well-connected commercial operators while pushing out small, community-based subsistence guides.” Nevertheless, the bill passed with only one vote against it (from North Pole Senator Robert Myers) before going to the governor’s desk.

Finally, a long struggle for respect by interior designers is on track to become law. In a broad package of measures addressing architects, engineers, and surveyors, SB54 would allow interior designers to register with the state, enabling them to practice independently without requiring a separate architect to stamp their plans.

Cara Rude, a principal interior designer at MCG Explore Design, has been watching the legislative process play out for more than seven years. “After twenty-two years of interior design, I will finally author work in my home state of Alaska,” she says. “As a fine artist, there has never been a time I didn’t sign my work or had someone add their signature after a critique.”

Governor Dunleavy would have to add his signature to SB54 and several other bills before they take effect. Altogether, the House and Senate passed thirty-two bills during the regular session.