HFLR-20260519-1000

Will the House please come to order.

Members, please indicate their presence by voting.

We are waiting the arrival of other members into the chamber, and I am expecting very shortly to have enough members in place to establish a quorum.

I'm told we now have a quorum. So, will the clerk please tally the board? 27 Members present. With 27 members present, we do have a quorum to conduct business. Mr.

Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, there are no previous excused absences today.

Leading the invocation today Mr. Finance Aid himself, our very own Brody Anderson, staff to Representative Foster. Members, please rise.

Let us pray. With the deepest respect for the religious beliefs of all Alaskans, I offer this following prayer. Our Heavenly Father, as our leaders gather in these last days of session and take up the mantle of leadership Bless them with the humility and patience of Moses as he led your people to the Promised Land, remaining your humble servant through the trials and tribulations of the wilderness. The courage of Joshua as he took the Israelites across the River Jordan. His leadership was anchored in bold courage and firm commitment to you, stating, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The wisdom of Solomon when as a young king he sought moral clarity to govern justly and distinguish between right and wrong rather than the riches of wealth.

The repentance of David, known as a man after God's own heart. David's character is defined not by a lack of mistakes but by a deep remorse, repentance, and a continuous pursuit of your guidance. The zeal of Paul, once an adversary of Christians, he fought— he found communion with you, and his character shown through his tireless work ethic, church planning, and the ability to remain steady to remain steadfast through physical hardship and imprisonment. But most importantly, let your Son bless and guide us, reminding us all of his personal sacrifice he gave and the promise of a resurrection, so that when we can finally say, "It is finished," and our job is done, we can look up and take joy that our spirits will be renewed. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Representative Moore, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Representative Story. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move and ask unanimous consent that the prayer be spread across the the journal.

Hearing no objection, the prayer will be spread across the journal. Will the clerk please certify the journal for the previous legislative days? I certify as to the correctness of the journal for the 119th legislative day.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the journal of the previous day be approved as certified by the chief clerk. Hearing no objection, the journal stands approved. We have no one in the gallery, so there are no guests for introduction.

Madam Clerk, are there messages? At ease.

The House, please come back to order. Madam Clerk, a message dated May 18th saying stating, under the authority vested in the governor by Article 2, Section 15 of the Alaska Constitution, the governor has vetoed the following bill: Senate Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill Number 78, Finance, amended Senate, effective date failed House, Public Employees Retirement System. I have no further messages from the governor this morning. Are there any messages from the other body?

Messages dated May 18 stating the Senate has passed and is returning the following: House Concurrent Resolution number 23 and House Concurrent Resolution number 26, both suspending uniform rules. The Senate passed committee substitute for House Bill number 25, Labor and Commerce, with the following amendments: Senate committee substitute for committee substitute for House Bill number 25, Labor and Commerce, disposable food service ware, and it is returned for consideration. The Senate passed House Bill number 79 with the following amendments: Senate committee substitute for House Bill number 79, Resources, naming Vic Fisher Shoote Bay Marine Park. The Senate has also passed committee substitute for House Bill number 214, State Affairs, with the following amendments: Committee Substitute for House Bill Number 214, State Affairs, Amended Senate House Bill Motor Vehicles, Proof of Insurance, and it is returned for consideration. The Senate concurred in the House amendments to Senate Bill Number 29, thus adopting House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Number 29, Finance, Big Game Commercial Services Board, with a title change, HCR 23.

Madam Clerk, I need to get Krabben at ease.

House, please come back to order. Madam Clerk, messages dated May 18th stating the Senate concurred in the House amendments to committee substitute for Senate Bill number 208, Resources, thus adopting House committee substitute for committee substitute for Senate Bill number 208, Resources, amended House lease sale of agricultural land title change, HCR 26. And the Senate has passed and is transmitting the following for consideration: Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 30 by the Senate Resources Committee, suspending Rules 24C, 35, 41B, and 42E, Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, concerning House Bill Number 79, naming the Vic Fisher Chute Bay State Marine Park I have no further messages from the other body this morning. Are there any communications? There are no communications this morning.

Any reports of standing committees? The State Affairs Committee considered committee substitute for Senate Joint Resolution number 25, Labor and Commerce Supporting U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, recommends it be replaced with House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Joint Resolution number 25, State Affairs, with the same title. Attached one previously published zero fiscal note. Signing the report: Do Pass, Representatives Sinclair, Hemmschulte, and Story. Amend: Holland and Chair Carrick.

The resolution has no further referral, and I have no further reports of standing committees.

Are there any reports of special committees? There are no reports of special committees this morning, Mr. Speaker. Any citations or resolutions for introduction?

There is a special order citation calendar and House Concurrent Resolution Number 29 by the House Rules Committee suspending Rules 24C, 35, 41B, and 42E, Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, concerning Senate Bill Number 239 relating to the registration and titling of legally imported motor vehicles. I have no further citations or resolutions for introduction. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that notice and publication requirements be waived and the citations on the first special order citation calendar be considered— be made a special order of business.

Hearing no objection. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House approve the citations on the first special order citation calendar. Without objection, the first special order citation calendar is Approved.

Madam Clerk, are there any bills for introduction? I have no bills for introduction this morning, Mr. Speaker. This brings us to consideration of the daily calendar. Our intent is to work as vigorously as we can these last 2 days. There are a lot of bills before both bodies, and I would ask the indulgence of the members in terms of our ability to move as briskly as possible while certainly simultaneously giving everyone the opportunity to have their just due in terms of consideration of any legislation that might be in front of us.

Madam Clerk, please read the first item on today's calendar. Senate Bill 146 by the Senate Finance Committee entitled an Act Relating to the Regional Educational Attendance Area and Small Municipal School District Fund Relating to Mount Edgecomb High School and Relating to Teacher Housing. The Finance Committee considered the bill, recommends it be replaced with House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Number 146 Finance with a new title, HCR 13, attached one previously published fiscal note. Signing the report do pass Representatives Bynum, Moore, Galvin, Staff, and Co-Chairs Josephson, Foster, and Schrage. I have one House Committee Substitute.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House Finance Committee substitute for— Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 146 2026 Finance with a new title be adopted in lieu of the original bill. And I would ask Representative Freer just to walk through those details of the new committee substitute very quickly before we affirm that the committee substitute has been adopted. Uh, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So in the House Finance, there was an issue, and, um, we worked with the administration. So if you all recall This bill is the companion to House Bill 174 that was passed last year that was vetoed. That was a bill that I carried, and there was an issue that we worked through with the administration and their legislative office to— there was a portion in there that mentioned teacher housing, and that was removed in House Finance. So that, that's the only change that came out of there. Hearing no objection, the Finance Committee substitute has been adopted.

Madam Clerk, are there any amendments? I have no amendments, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House Committee substitute for Committee substitute for Senate Bill 146 Finance be considered engrossed, advanced to third reading, and placed on final passage.

Hearing no objections, so ordered. Madam Clerk, please read the title for the third and final time. House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Number 146, Finance, by the House Finance Committee, entitled An Act Relating to the Regional Educational Attendance Area and Small Municipal School District Fund and Relating to Mount Edgecomb High School. Representative Freer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Permission to—. Permission granted. Thank you. Senate Bill 146 makes two important changes to the REAA fund language. First, it allows the fund to be used for both major maintenance and construction projects at Montecito High School.

Second, it removes the $70 million cap on the fund balance. Under existing law, any amount above the cap lapses back into the general fund at the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Speaker, as I said, in working with the administration's legislative office, we removed the provision relating to major maintenance for teacher housing and the regional education attendance areas. High School is a public boarding school operated by the Department of Education and Early Development. It serves students from more than 100 communities across Alaska.

Unlike other schools in the state, Manajkam is not included on the school construction and major maintenance grant list. Instead, the school falls under statewide departmental maintenance list and must rely on the department to prioritize and advance maintenance requests. This differs greatly from other districts around the state, which are able to advocate directly for their own projects and apply for major, major maintenance funding. On a personal note, Mr. Speaker, as you all know, I'm a graduate of Mount Edgecomb High School. My son recently graduated from Mount Edgecomb.

My mother attended, both of my grandparents. So this school is deeply meaningful to me and to many rural Alaskans across our state. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I stand ready to answer questions from members.

Not seeing any debate or discussion or need for wrap-up comments, are you ready for the question? Question before the body is shall House Committee substitute for Senate Bill 146 Finance pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll?

Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 0 nays. With a vote of 39 yeas to 0 nays, Senate Bill 146 has passed the body. Mr.

Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that House Concurrent Resolution 13, the title change resolution for SB 146, be taken up as a special order of business. Without objection, are you ready for the question? Question being, shall HCR 13 pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Does any member wish to change— or will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 0 nays. With a vote of 39 yeas to 0 nays, The title change resolution has been adopted.

Madam Clerk, will you please read the next item on today's calendar?

Committee substitute for Senate Bill 167, Finance, has not— is pending the report, and Senate Bill 174 is pending its report. Senate Bill— Committee substitute for Senate Bill number 211, Labor and Commerce, by the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, entitled an Act Extending the Termination Date of the Board of Professional Counselors, Extending the Termination Date of the Board of Marital and Family Therapy, Extending the Termination Date of the Board of Psychologists and Psychological Associate Examiners, Extending the Termination Date of the Real Estate Commission, extending the termination date of the Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers, extending the termination date of the Board of Social Work Examiners, relating to reports on the Board of Psychologists and Psychological Associate Examiners, and the Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers, and providing for an effective date.

Madam Clerk, are there any amendments? Amendment number 1 by Representative Bynum, beginning page 1, line 1.

Representative, uh, can we take a brief at ease?

House, please come back to order. Representative Bynum. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move Amendment Number 1. There's an objection.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be—. Keep this very brief. Mr. Speaker, what this does is this adds the Board of Engineering, AELS, to this sunset bill extension, or extension bill 211. This has been an ongoing issue for several years.

Right now the board is in shutdown. If we do not extend this board by the 30th of June, the board will be disbanded and it will be in shutdown. To revive a board is quite, quite the heavy lift, Mr. Speaker. I'm reluctant to bring the amendment because I think that we would have been able to get to a solution for this board well before now. I will say that the auditor did look at this board last year, 2015.

They made a recommendation to extend it 8 years. Their audit report said that the board is functioning well for Alaska and performing the duties of the board in the best interest of Alaska, and they recommended an 8-year extension. I won't get into any other legislation that might be pending that's associated with this board, but I'm concerned about the board. I figured I would bring this issue in front of the body, let you decide whether this is something that you want to include in here or not, but just know the consequences if the board is shut down. It is a consequence to over 7,000 registered people that are providing support, professional support for the state of Alaska.

We have many boards that provide many, many, many important issues. So I appreciate the opportunity to bring this before the body and let them decide what they'd like to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The objection has been removed. Representative Prox, do you have an objection?

I have an objection. And would like to offer an amendment to the amendment. Uh, Eddie's.

Will the House please come back to order? Representative Prox. I guess I will not offer the amendment, but I would like to maintain my objection. Thank you. The objection has been maintained.

Do you wish to speak to your objection, Representative Prox?

Are you ready for the question?

Do you wish to provide wrap-up comments, Representative Bynum?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just bringing this before the body. It'll be up to the body to decide what they want to do. But I did want to clarify, because a question did come in during the at ease, that usually you have a 1-year wind-down period if the— when the board goes to expire, that has already happened. We are in the wind down.

The board will be disbanded if it is not extended by June 30th. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Are you ready for the question? The question is, shall Amendment Number 1 pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 38 Yeas, 1 nay. With a vote of 38 yeas to 1 nay, Amendment Number 1 has passed the body.

Madam Clerk, Amendment Number 2 by Representative Prox, beginning page 1, line 1.

Representative Prox. I will not offer the amendment. Amendment number 2 will not be offered. Madam Clerk. I have no further amendments, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 211, Labor and Commerce, as amended, be considered engrossed, advanced to third reading, and placed on final passage. Hearing no objection, will the clerk read the title for the third and final time?

Committee substitute for Senate Bill number 211, Labor and Commerce, amended House, entitled an act extending the termination date of the State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors, extending the termination date of the Board of Professional Counselors, extending the termination date of the Board of Marital and Family Therapy, extending the termination date of the Board Board of Psychologists and Psychological Associate Examiners; extending the termination date of the Real Estate Commission; extending the termination date of the Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers; extending the termination date of the Board of Social Work Examiners relating to reports on the Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners and the Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers and providing for an effective date. Representative Fields? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the clerk did a great job reading the boards that are being extended by this bill, and I urge a yes vote.

Seeing no discussion or debate, are you ready for the question? The question being, shall committee substitute for Senate Bill 211, Labor and Commerce, amended, House, pass the body? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 39 yeas to 0 nays, Senate Bill 211 has passed the House.

Mr. Briefides.

House, please come back to order. Mr. Majority Leader, I believe we are about to adopt the effective date. Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date clause.

Hearing no objection, the effective date clause has been adopted. Will the clerk please read the next item on today's calendar?

Senate Bill number 239 by Senators Tilton, Myers, Kawasaki, Bjorkman, Cronk, Rauscher, Kaufman, Merrick, Yunt, entitled an act relating to the registration and titling of legally imported motor vehicles and providing for an effective date. The State Affairs Committee considered the bill attached, one previously published zero fiscal note. Signing the report, do pass: Representatives Vance, McCabe, Sinclair, Holland, Himschoot, Story, and Chair Carrick. I have no House committee substitutes.

Madam Clerk, are there any amendments? Amendment number 1 by Representative Galvin, beginning page 1, line 1. Representative Galvin. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move Amendment 1.

There's an objection. Thank you. And you have before you 2 amendments that are identical, so I just want to make sure that you know the morning will not be as long as you think. This is one amendment. And Mr. Speaker, Amendment 1— if permission to read notes for the body.

Thank you. So Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 239 updates our current law regarding SR-22 insurance requirements following an unsatisfied judgment. Um, instead of imposing a lifetime SR-22 requirement after the unsatisfied judgment is satisfied, this amendment creates a graduated system of penalties that increases for repeat offenses. The body may remember this concept as we unanimously supported the concept last week. Um, and under this amendment, a first unsatisfied judgment would require an SR-22 for 1 year, uh, a second one for 3 years, and a third for 10, and a fourth unsatisfied judgment would result in a lifetime requirement.

Alaska is currently the only state with a lifetime SR-22 requirement. Similar to the underlying bill, of which also is making a positive change as the last state to finally make that change. And I will also comment that this amendment modernizes our statutes in the same spirit that SB 239 is doing by modernizing our motor vehicle registration laws. Today, more than 3,500 Alaskans with valid driver's license are affected. This amendment provides a more balanced approach while still holding repeat offenders accountable.

This amendment is to help all Alaskans across the state that are affected by the current statute, and by eliminating the lifetime requirement. This is a zero fiscal note, in case you were wondering, as the funds that are collected— and it's approximately $2,000 a year per Alaskan— under this requirement. So there's— those funds go to the insurance company, not to the state. I respectfully ask for your support of Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 239. Thank you.

Representative St. Clair. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke to the amendment maker, and actually this was a piece of legislation that we worked on together. However, speaking with the original bill sponsor, she would ask that this piece of legislation, the underlying bill, passed through clean.

Adiós. Very brief adiós.

Come back to order. Representative St. Clair. Yes, I remove my objection. The objection has been removed. Not seeing further objection, Amendment Number 1 has been adopted.

Madam Clerk. I have no further amendments, Mr. Speaker. We have one more. Mr. Majority Leader.

Excuse me, I have one more that's being copied. Oh, brief it is.

The House, please come back to order. It's my understanding that the amendment is being handed out and just about handed out to everyone. I'm gonna ask the maker of the amendment to introduce the amendment. Representative Ruffridge. It's okay.

Sorry, I was waiting for Madam Clerk there. I will move Amendment Number 3. Objection. There's an objection. Thank you.

Amendment Number 3 is an amendment similar to the last amendment, which is an amendment that we passed in another bill just last week. This has to do with driving tests for a CDL. We had amended this into the autonomous vehicles bill, and I think that there's some concern about that one making it to the finish line. And here's a good policy that can help people with their driving instruction exams get those done in a much better time frame. This merely aligns our statute with the federal driving instruction law and, and, uh, and with one specific component.

If you take a driving test and you fail one element of it, you can go back and just do that one element that you fail rather than repeating the entire driving test again. This is currently in federal regulation, and this will adopt that in our state statute. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Happy to hear debate. Representative St. Clair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a good bill. I've heard it in, I think, State Affairs. I heard it in one of the committees. It's a good piece of legislation, just like the last amendment was.

But I know we're getting toward the end, and I'm kind of new at this, but stuffing a whole bunch of things was really not the maker's intent. She would ask, or we would ask in the future, just go ahead and contact whoever's got the bill and just say, hey, do you have any issues with with this. And with that, I will remove my objection. The objection has been removed to Amendment Number 3. Hearing and seeing no further objection, Amendment Number 3 has been adopted.

Madam Clerk, are there further amendments? I have no further amendments, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that Senate Bill 239, as amended, be considered engrossed, advanced to third reading, and placed on final passage. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Will the clerk please read the title for the third and final time? Senate Bill Number 239, amended House by Senators Tilton, Myers, Kawasaki, Bjorkman, Cronk, Rauscher, Kaufman, Merrick, and Yunt, entitled an Act Relating to Commercial Motor Vehicle Licensing Examinations Relating to the Registration and Titling of Legally Imported Motor Vehicles relating to proof of financial responsibility for suspension of non-payment of judgments and providing for an effective date. Representative St. Clair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can only speak to the original underlying legislation, but the other two pieces are good pieces of legislation. The SR 22, as Representative Anchor stated, right now you get in an accident, you don't pay your judgment on time, you have to pay an extra about $1,000 to $2,000 a year to the insurance company because you're considered high risk. And pertaining to the CDL and driver's license from the minority whip. It's just you don't have to retake the entire test again.

It's actually a positive thing. Permission to read? Permission granted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm honored to carry SB 239 for the member from District M, my senator in the other body.

I carried the companion in this body, but it was when her version came over, it was combined and this became the vehicle. This bill is to modernize Alaska's motor vehicle registration and titling laws for legally imported vehicles. This only deals with imports. DMV is currently in the process of writing regulation that will do the same thing for domestic vehicles, but it could take up— they don't know how long it's going to take.

SB 239 is technical fix that was brought to a member by a constituent who has an import car that was unable to title title it and blocked from titling it because the registration— the regulation was drafted 20 years ago. Bottom line is, without going into a lot of detail and wasting too much time, if you have a car that's older than— current statute, if you have a car that's older than 1981, you can get it licensed. It does not have to follow federal motor vehicle safety standards. What this does is this brings us in line with the federal government, instead of 1981, it's on a scale. It starts 25 years.

So anything older than 2001 right now, with the passage of this law, could be titled, um, and not have to meet, uh, federal motor vehicle safety standards. It'll help a lot of people. I like, uh, imported vehicles. I like Toyota trucks. And you've got some military vehicles that this would fall under.

I know we had a member who had, uh, I got questions about a K-truck.

And this is good policy. We're moving up, getting in line with the federal government. It's not a new regulation. It's just aligning with, with current federal regulations. I request your vote.

Is there further discussion or debate? Representative McCabe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've heard all 3 of these bills, the underlying bill and the 2 amendments in committee. All 3 of them were good bills by themselves and I would say that this— the addition makes these great bills.

Family member has been subjected to the general ministrations of SR-22 insurance and it was very expensive and I don't think the penalty of that amount of money fits the crime. I understand the need for us— I'm not so sure that it should be in statute. It could have been in regulation, I think. But the need for us to adjust the CDL driver's test thing And the underlying bill itself is a great bill. So I urge support of it.

Thanks. Senator Ruffridge. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to echo the comments of the member from District 30. I agree actually on the could have been done in regulation.

In fact, that request has been made for over a decade for that change to be made and hasn't happened yet. So here we are. I think that is a common refrain. So I put that forward for us to consider. I think it's ultimately a good thing.

I want to thank the member that sits next to me for her work on the other addition to this bill, and then I will be in support of the underlying bill as well. I thank the body for their good work on this and apologize to the senator who I did not call this morning because we were working quickly. So thank you.

Not seeing any further debate and need for wrap-up comments. Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall Senate Bill 239, amended to House, pass the body? Members may proceed to vote.

The clerk, please lock the roll. Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 0 nays. With a vote of 39 yeas to 0 nays, Senate Bill 239 has passed the House.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date clause. Hearing no objections, so moved. Before we get to the next item on the— we have a title change.

Okay. So, Mr. Majority Leader. Yeah, Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that House Concurrent Resolution 29, the title change resolution for Senate Bill 239, be taken up as a special order of business. Without objection.

The question before the body is, shall HCR 29 pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 40 yeas to 0 nays, HCR 29 has passed the House.

Before we get to the next item on today's calendar, which on my list is Senate Bill 249, I am directing the chief clerk to request the return of Senate Bill 237 data sharing Social Security to the House from the other body. If the other body consents, we will then return back to— ask the House to return back to second reading for the purposes of taking up a specific amendment, working with Representative Underwood and I believe Representative Jimmy. So what we're doing today at this moment is just asking the other body to send us the bill back to take further action. That's all we're doing. So, Madam Clerk, could you please read the next item on today's calendar?

Committee substitute for Senate Bill 249, Judiciary, amended by the Senate Judiciary Committee, entitled an Act Relating to Virtual Currency Kiosks, Relating to Transactions Involving Virtual Currency, Relating to Unfair Trade and Deceptive Acts and Practices, providing for an effective date. The Labor and Commerce Committee considered the bill, recommends it be replaced with House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 249, Labor and Commerce, with the same title. Attached 1 previously published zero fiscal note. Signing the report, do pass. Representatives Freer, Colon, Carrick, and co-chairs Hall and Fields.

Amend Sadler. There is 1 House Committee Substitute. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House Labor and Commerce Committee substitute for committee substitute for Senate Bill 249 Judiciary amended be adopted in lieu of the original bill.

There, there is an objection for the purposes of describing the differences in the committee substitutes, so I will turn to Representative Moore to do that. Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Permission to read. Permission granted. Explanations for the changes are in— were made in House Labor and Commerce, and those changes are the daily transaction limit was reduced from $1,500 to $1,000 per day, and the monthly transaction limit was reduced from $10,500 to $10,000 a day.

And then the last change, there was a conforming amendment to conform SB 249 cryptocurrency kiosk to SB 86 money transmission virtual currency The amendment was added to SB 249 because the bill was in an earlier effective date, October 26th, and then SB 87, which was not until 2027. This bill will overlay to be sure we are not adding different definitions to statute. Hearing no objection, Labor and Commerce Committee House Committee substitute has been adopted. Madam Clerk, are there any amendments? I have no amendments, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 249, Labor and Commerce, be considered engrossed, advanced to third reading, and placed on final passage. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Madam Clerk, please read the title for the third and final time.

House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 249, Labor and Commerce, by the House Labor and Commerce Committee, entitled relating to virtual currency kiosks, relating to transactions involving virtual currency, relating to unfair trade or deceptive acts or practices, and providing for an effective date. Representative Moore. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for bringing Senate Bill 249 to the floor today. Um, Commissioner Noreen, permission granted. Thank you.

I carried the companion bill and I am pleased to carry SB 249 for the member of the other body from District M. This is a straightforward, straightforward consumer protection bill. It does not ban cryptocurrency or new technology. It simply closes a dangerous regulatory loophole that scammers are exploiting to steal from our most valuable, our vulnerable Alaskans. Last year, the bill sponsor's own mother became a victim. She received what sounded like an official call from a law enforcement advisor and— sorry, from a law enforcement complete with a spoofed number and AI-generated voice telling her that she had an outstanding warrant and needed to pay immediately by a nearby Bitcoin kiosk.

She lost $8,000 in minutes, money that can never be returned. That call could have come to any one of our constituents, our parents, or our neighbors. Scammers are using high-pressure tactics, spoof government numbers, and fear to push victims straight to these kiosks Traditional banks have guardrails. Crypto kiosks have none until now. Mr. Speaker, SB 249 does not stop legitimate use of virtual currency.

It simply brings the same level of transparency and accountability to these kiosks that we already require from banks and traditional money transmitters. Our seniors spent decades building their life savings. They deserve the same financial guardrails in the digital age that we expect in every other sector. This bill passed through all committees with strong bipartisan support. It has a zero fiscal note.

It protects Alaskans without killing innovation. And I urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on 249, SB 249. Let's give our constituents, especially our elders, the protection they have earned. Representative Sinclair. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in support of this, uh, Senate bill. As many of us know, we have elders that are constantly getting inundated with misinformation. Even my mother-in-law who lives with us. She got a call from somebody, said she had to go pay something somewhere. And we need to protect our elders and our seniors and those— I don't want to say less fortunate, or those that are— get confused or overwhelmed by these scams.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative McCabe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to thank the senator— I'm sorry, the member from the other body, from District M, and most especially her mom for their courage in coming forward, not only with this bill, but also with the AARP and the senior centers in the valley. Now they have all got programs talking to seniors about warning them for this kind of thing, which is exactly what we need to do.

It takes a bit of courage to stand up and say, "Yep, I got swindled," and to put it out there how it happened. For those that don't know, these kiosks are in gas stations. You can't use the money, you can't use Bitcoin necessarily in a gas station. They're in laundromats, you also can't use them in laundromats. Sometimes they're in grocery stores.

They're not in real, you know, high-end legitimate businesses typically. And so a good majority, in fact, like 90% of the transactions done through these kiosks are some sort of shady transaction one way or the other is the estimate that I read. I would urge support on this bill, um, and, uh, and once again would certainly like to thank, uh, the senators or the representative or the member of the other body's mom, um, for her courage in this. Representative Jimmy. Hoi ana, Mr. Speaker.

I am supportive of this. I appreciate the maker from the other body as well. This does happen not only in urban areas, this does happen in villages where a lot of them get phone calls and most of the elders do not speak English, so they say either yes or no, and then the elder says yes, so that gives them permission. So I fully support this. Hoya.

Not seeing further discussion or debate and wrap-up— no wrap-up comments. Are you ready for the question? The question for the body is shall House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 249, Labor and Commerce, pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 40 yeas, 0 nays, Senate Bill 249 has passed the body.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date clause. Hearing no objection, effective date clause has been adopted. Very brief at ease.

Will the House please For our next bill before the body, Senate Bill 258, in consultation with both the minority leader and the majority leader, I would ask the privilege of the body to move back up to messages from the other body. Hearing no objection, Madam Clerk.

The Labor and Commerce Committee considered Senate Bill 258, Contract Licensing Software Applications, recommends it be replaced with House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 258, Labor and Commerce, with the same title. Attached: 1 previously published zero fiscal note. Signing the report: do pass. Representatives Freer, Carrick, and co-chairs Fields and Hall. The bill is on today's calendar.

Moving back down the calendar to consideration of the daily calendar. And hearing no objection, Madam Clerk.

Senate Bill number 258 by Senator Keele entitled an Act Relating to Contracts for the Licensing of Software Applications. The Labor and Commerce Committee considered the bill, recommends it be replaced with House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 258 Labor and Commerce with the same title. Attached one previously published zero fiscal note. Signing the report, do pass, Representatives Freer, Carrick, and co-chairs Fields and Hall. There is one House committee substitute.

Mr. Majority Leader.

Brief it is. Brief it is.

Please come back to order, Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that members adopt the House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 258, Labor and Commerce. I will ask Representative Carrick to discuss the changes in the committee substitute. Brief it ease.

Brief it ease.

Will the House please come back to order for the purposes of explaining the changes in the Labor and Commerce Committee substitute. Representative Carrick. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I'm pleased to have this Senate Bill 258 on behalf of the member from the other body from Juneau. Just briefly, the changes made in the House We've improved readability by consolidating repeated phrase, the state or a political subdivision of the state, down to just saying the state.

That's on page 2, line 6 through 7. To an existing definition, including the state or a political subdivision. On page 1, line 4, we exempt contracts under the state's alternate procurement statutes, including emergency procurements and single-source contracts. On page 1, lines 9 through 12, we have added a new subsection to make explicit the bill does not interfere with federal accreditation requirements, security certification requirements, or technical architecture for a software application. Further, on page 1, lines 13 through page 2, line 2, we've added a new subsection to make explicit that a public buyer may voluntarily bundle software with cloud hosting.

Support and other services, as well as to negotiate discounts. And finally, we've added a new subsection on page 2, lines 3 to 5, to allow a public buyer to agree to a restriction on where the software may run, subject to a written best interest determination. And Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that these changes were negotiated in conjunction with the committee chairs, with the bill sponsor, and with the administration to satisfy recommendations from the administration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So hearing no objections— there is an objection.

Representative Stapp, do you wish to speak to your objection?

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, the, the bill, the CS, it doesn't have the updated fiscal note in the packet, which is $2 million.

Representative Fields. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, when the committee reported this bill, we did report it with a previously issued zero fiscal note. And the backstory there is the bill sponsor from the other body worked with the department on doing changes to maintain a zero fiscal note. After doing that, per the department's guidance, Then out of the blue came this very large fiscal note, which doesn't make any sense considering that the bill sponsor had worked with the department to do as they directed and get a zero fiscal note.

So I guess I would ask the members, what are we going to do if we have these out-of-the-blue large fiscal notes that, you know, you have to question where they're coming from and their legitimacy? So that's why we reported the zero fiscal note, which I think when you understand the substance of the bill is the accurate one.

Representative Johnson. Mr. Speaker, I guess I would have to say that if there's a concern about the veracity of fiscal notes, we need to maybe have a complete investigation of that. But if I guess I'm not— if there isn't an updated fiscal note and it should be here, we should be having all the information before us before we take a vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I'm going to rule that it is the will of the body in terms of making that determination. And I do not know if there's additional discussion, but the intent would be to bring this to a vote.

And if there is not additional discussion— Representative Sadler. Yeah, a $2 billion bill popping up at the last minute. The only responsible thing to do is say no. So bring it back, think about it, talk about it. We cannot just do this kind of thing willy-nilly.

Representative Elam. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've been tracking this bill through the process a bit, and so I know that it didn't have a fiscal note early on. Then it got a fiscal note because the realities of the ramifications of the cost of infrastructure and software licensing to the state became apparent, and then the primary sponsor of the bill did more work on the bill. So I would say that there's still a risk of fiscal impacts.

We don't really know what those actual monetary impacts are going to be, in my opinion, but I'm not the department. And so I'm just saying personally, I believe there's still a risk. Representative McCabe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, you know, manipulating of fiscal notes has become a problem in the past couple years.

So maybe I agree with you that we should do something with it to allow some chance for more explanation. So if it's appropriate, I would move and ask unanimous consent that we roll this to the bottom, waiting for a fiscal note. I agree with that.

Will the House please come to order on the issue of the fiscal notes attached to Senate Bill 258. I'm going to recognize Rep. McCabe a second time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So first, I will remove my motion and allow this to go forward, but I want to say very clearly We have got to get control of these fiscal notes. We've got to get control of the departments, and I don't care which department it is that is weaponizing these fiscal notes to manipulate a bill.

I've had it done to me several times in the past. It's frustrating. It is not what the fiscal note statute is designed to do, and we need to start highlighting these when we feel like the department whichever department it is, from the executive all the way on down to one of the departments. If they're weaponizing fiscal notes, we need to figure it out and we need to call them out on them. This cannot continue to happen.

We cannot legislate if we don't know the exact cost of these things. And if we, and you put forward a good bill, I've got a great bill that was weaponized by the, the DNR Parks Director with a big huge fiscal note because he didn't want it to go through. That can't happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the question before the body is, shall the Labor and Commerce Committee substitute be adopted?

Members may proceed to vote. Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? From yea to nay. From yea to nay.

And who was that? Representative Costello. Yea to nay. Yea to nay. Representative Elam from yea to nay.

Will the clerk please announce the vote? 22 Yeas, 18 nays. By vote of 22 yeas to 18 nays, the Labor and Commerce Committee substitute has been adopted. Mr. Majority Leader.

I have no amendments, Mr. Speaker. There are no— Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that Senate Bill 258 be considered engrossed, advanced to third read, and placed on final passage. Is there an objection?

There is an objection. This bill be held to the next and last day's calendar. Madam Clerk, will you please read the next item on the daily calendar?

House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 23, Education. Civics Education is in second reading with Amendment Number 2 offered and pending.

Madam Clerk, if you have that amendment in front of you, can you remind me who offered that amendment? Amendment Number 2 by Representative Elam, beginning page 1, line 2. Representative Elam. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, I believe that Amendment Number 2 has already been moved, so I won't do anything there.

But just to kind of bring everybody to where this is, this is an amendment that adds CTE program and grant opportunities within the state. And it was a bill that I offered earlier in session. We had a number of hearings. A large amount of support unilaterally across education, pre-apprenticeship, so labor, CTE directors, school districts. And so there's a really wide level of opportunity where we could expand and really do a lot to, to help and fix some of the things within our CTE programs across the state.

And so I appreciate the body's indulgence here in the conversation about this CTE.

And I think we did have a prior objection, if I recall correctly, once you introduced the amendment and moved it back a couple of days ago. Representative Bynum. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this amendment. Cte, career technical readiness is an important part of Alaska building Alaska and our future.

We've been talking a lot about a gas line, Mr. Speaker. Having technical readiness, career training in our schools is going to be an integral part of making sure that we're ready and able to deliver. I support the amendment. Thank you. Representative Eischeid.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the member from District 8 He is passionate about career and technical education. However, the bill before us that we're discussing is about civics education. I do note that career and civics both begin with C, but this is civics education. It's a fairly clean, straightforward bill.

Also, the member from District 8's bill has not really been vetted in the Senate, or excuse me, the other body, as well as there is a fiscal note attached to, uh, the underlying bill that he would like to amend. So I would ask the body to oppose this amendment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Additional comments? Representative McCabe.

Here we go, fiscal notes. Sorry, it does say education. They both deal with education. They fit really well together with the single subject. We need to do everything we can, not only to encourage civics, which I really appreciate— civics is very, very important for our kids to understand our government and the way the country works and everything to do with their civic duty— but we also need to equip them to get a job when they— if they don't desire to go to college.

We need to start this. You've heard me talk about it on this floor before, the Matsu in particular the Wasilla Warriors— go Warriors— have the best CTE program around. It's fabulous. If you ever get a chance to go visit there, I urge you to do it. I think we should do all we can to encourage that.

I know the member from District 8 spoke about the Yamaha group down there in, in the Kenai. Fabulous program. There are so many Yamaha motors on the, on the Kenai River right now, and having people that can work on them is eminently important. Those are the kinds of things we need to encourage our high school students to do, and I fully support this amendment, and I urge the rest of the body to do so as well. Thank you.

Representative Hempschulte.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The member from District 8 has worked hard on the original bill, and his office and my office continue to collaborate on that bill. I'd like more time to work on it with him. I don't believe it's an appropriate amendment to this bill, and I urge the members to vote no on the amendment and look at the bill later in another session. Thank you.

Representative Hannon.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ask just that the maker of Amendment 2 tell us what the fiscal note is on that bill as a separate standalone bill, because the underlying bill's fiscal note is a very small one, and I suspect to do CTE grants has a few more zeros in it. Representative Schwocke. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this amendment.

I want to thank the member from Kenai for working on this diligently because CTE opportunities really are just— they are growing at a rapid pace in our state, and this really just allows for an opportunity to help move our students around throughout the state so that they can get the best possible education that, that they can. I, I do think that it fits within the underlying bill, and I hope you support it. Thanks. Representative Jimmy. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the amendment.

Growing up, I used to see my own cousins in high school doing CET programs. Now there's nothing like this in the village. This would bring back for students not to have to leave the village so they can maintain their way of life and just stay at home. Thank you.

Will House please come back to order. We're under consideration of Amendment Number 2 to Senate Bill 23, which is a civics education bill.

Amendment was being discussed by the body, and I'm looking around to see if there's additional discussion before we turn to the sponsor of the amendment for wrap-up comments, and I'm not seeing any. So Representative Elam, in wrap-up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and, and I really appreciate, uh, everybody's conversation, um, and, and really just the wide support and the opportunity I've had to be able to, to share this concept with everyone. Um, and so there was two fiscal notes that were brought in. I have one, uh, which is a zero, uh, $100,000 fiscal note, which was from Labor and Workforce Development, and then DEED had one as well, which was about a $160,000-$180,000 fiscal note that went along with that.

And that was because of some of the work for the grant administration that the department was going to have to do to be able to really help build out some of this framework within the, the school districts and throughout the state. We had some great conversations, much like we had here today. I did talk to the underlying bill sponsor for civics, and, you know, civics is a really, really important subject, and I support the bill that came over from the other body, and I really appreciate the work that he did. I do realize that this bill adds some complications and probably jeopardizes the function of his bill over, you know, getting through the process. And, you know, so I will withdraw my amendment as a departing gift to the member from the other body.

And so I really appreciate everybody's indulgence. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Elam. Madam Clerk, do we have additional amendments? Amendment number 3 by Representative Ruffridge, beginning page 1, line 2.

Representative Ruffridge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will not be offering Amendment Number 3. Amendment Number 3 will not be offered. Madam Clerk.

Amendment Number 4 by Representative Costello, beginning page 1, line 2. Representative Costello. I will not be offering Amendment 4. Amendment Number 4 will not be offered. Madam Clerk.

I have no further amendments, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 23 Education be considered engrossed, advanced to third reading, and placed on final passage. Hearing no objection, so ordered. Madam Clerk, please read the title for the third and final time. House Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill number 23 Education by the House Education Committee. Entitled an act relating to civics education, civics assessments, and secondary school graduation requirements, and providing for an effective date.

Representative Eichcheid. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Permission to read? Permission granted. It's a great honor for me to carry Senate Bill 23, Civics Education.

This bill represents a decade-long effort by the member of the other body from Kodiak, District C. Mr. Speaker, for decades we have been experiencing a quiet epidemic, one of apathy and division. With the current focus in schools on math, reading, and writing, all critical subjects, we have forgotten to prioritize the foundations of our democratic republic, an understanding of civics and government. With our vote today, we can empower our children to grow up into citizens citizens who are responsible and engaged. Senate Bill 23 is one effort among many to help restore faith and understanding in our younger generations in our system of government. This bill tasks our State Board of Education and Early Development to provide a broad list of educational resources freely available at no cost to assist our school districts with the option of developing their own curriculum assessments and lesson plans as needed.

This bill largely codifies what many districts already do regarding minimum graduation requirements and puts emphasis on civics education for our students in Alaska. This is a high-stakes issue for our state and our nation. This bill has been presented and modified over the last decade to where it is today, meeting a priority need while providing flexibility for school districts and students. Senate Bill 23 is an effort to rekindle a spirit within our education system fostering citizenship, voting, and community engagement, which is a fundamental purpose of our public education system. As we prepare for our upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, this bill contributes to that recognition and aligns with purposes consistent with our founding fathers' vision, namely of having an education system intended to create good citizens within our republic of, by, and for the people.

Thank you for your consideration. Representative Sadler. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Civics education is great. It's an unmitigated benefit for people of our country, which is by the people, of the people, for the people, to understand how the government works.

You know, we here in this building work in the belly of the beast. We all, by our actions and our blood, sweat, and tears, demonstrate our belief in the value of civics and civic engagement. I'm not sure if a civics class in high school or elementary school sparked some of our interest and dedication to the public's business. I would offer that if we are going to have a civics education, that we not include in the original curriculum what has gone on here the last couple days. That is not elementary school stuff.

That is graduate-level stuff, Mr. Speaker. You know, a public school education, public school curriculum rather, is not the be-all end-all to all of society's problems, as I've spoken, I hope, passionately about that on this floor earlier. And I regret that we have to go to public school curriculum to restore to our youth what should have been there all the time. And as we, as I suspect, vote to pass this bill and implement this curriculum mandate, that we model good civic behavior, that we engage in civic education, I go to my schools whenever I can. I teach kids about civics.

I tell graduates that they should register to vote, participate in the process. They give them a Constitution. I believe in civics education. It's what sparked my interest in this world. But we must model that in our everyday activities, both as citizens and as legislators, to supplement this civics education in public school.

So I will enthusiastically support that and hope all the kids are watching, learning, and hope they can do better. And Representative Sadler, I agree with your Comments as they pertain to the last couple of days. Representative Schwanke. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this piece of legislation, and I want to thank the member from the other body from Kodiak for his persistence in pushing through civics education for our youth.

And I'll just say thank you to the representative from District 22 for so eloquently describing why this is important, and I will be be supporting it today. Thank you. Representative Costello. Thank you. Well, I rise with— hate to break it to the member from District 24, but when I was a teacher, I actually brought students here to the House Finance Committee.

They debated the budget crisis live on public television in a mock House Finance Committee co-chaired by then-Con Bundy and Eldon Mulder. So they have seen some of the stuff that happens here in the Capitol. But I actually rise in support of the bill. I think that it's very important that we provide opportunities for young people to learn about our founding, and I will be in support of this bill. Representative Jimmy.

Wayáana, Mr. Speaker. I probably am going to be the only one in opposition, and I think it's for clearly for reasons why being Indigenous, and it's missing a lot of of the historical facts that are not— that would be taught. For one of them, government was based— the government adopted the Iroquois way of governance. So for me, this is an insult that there is no acknowledgment of Indigenous whatsoever. So I will not be supporting.

I have nothing against the member from the other body, but I will not be supporting this. Thank you. Brief at ease.

Brief at ease.

Will the House please come back to order? We are debating final passage of Senate Bill 23 pertaining to civics education. Representative Vance, I believe you're next in the queue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this for a variety of reasons. You know, I think the member from Kodiak, if there's anything that he's known by, it is his love for education and history and leaving a legacy of civics and love for our country and love for our government. He's definitely maintained a respect for the legislature during his tenure that I hope we continue on. And I think that's part of the love of what's in this particular bill.

I also have constituents who have highlighted to me the importance of requiring civics education. When I was in Homer High School, we had a class that we had to take as a senior that we called government. And I learned about, you know, we did a mock trial serving on a jury. Learning about the different functions of government. We had some great debates about the topics of our time, and it was a wonderful learning experience.

I'm especially appreciative of this— how specific the requirements for civics education is in this bill, saying that we have to teach about the founding fathers of our country, we have to use the founding documents, which I think is important. There's so many specifics that I think really give the breadth of civics education, and all the way up to modern participation, that it's going to be a well-rounded curriculum. And, you know, so many of our young people don't know what the Federalist Papers are, and they're really missing out on understanding really where some of the thought process came from in the government that we often take for granted. I'm one of those crazy people who have the Federalist Papers and encourage my kids to have them. They are downloadable on Kindle, by the way.

Um, and knowing what were the debates of our founding fathers of those times and to, to look back and reflect that we're having those similar discussions today. And for our young people to really look at that and look at the principles of our government, how we came together as, uh, the, the various states and inform the government that we have, I think we're going to get that depth that we're seeing in the young people that want to engage with us. We've seen them engage on a much deeper level. But I will also counter the recommendations from the member from Eagle River. My kids have been here and they said, actually, government is not much different than middle and high school.

So, you know, I don't think we should be afraid to Let them participate in the sausage making and understand that, that it's messy and there is a tension between the branches as our founders designed. And so I just want to say thank you to the many years of diligence to get this bill this far. And I love it that it's falling on the 250th anniversary of our independence. Representative Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today in support of SB 23. You know, if this is one of the last bills I co-sponsor in my tenure here in the state legislature, I think that's pretty good. I rise, you know, as someone that started their beliefs politically as hearing what happens through civics class. And I honor Staff Sergeant Smith, Mr. Dubois, and a multitude of other teachers I've had over the years who inspired me and maybe struggled to get through to me through my thick skull about all of what America is about. And I think there is no better time time to pass a civics course for people or for kids to learn about the United States, about this government, about Alaska Natives, and about international relations than what is currently in front of us.

And through having a civics course, um, I do wish that eventually during this course they are tasked with taking United States citizenship test. I think that is something that should be broadly supported. I'd I did not put an amendment in for this bill because I want to see it cleanly go through, but I think that's something that a future legislature could maybe look at, uh, because I believe that if a citizen, uh, of this country, uh, or someone who immigrates to this country and takes a citizenship test and learns about America, then, uh, birthright citizens should already have that knowledge, uh, at hand. Um, yeah, that's about all I have to to say on this, and I encourage everyone to support this. And it's a good piece of legislation, and I'm glad it took us to get it done.

Thank you. Are you ready for the question?

The question being, shall House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 23, Education, pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 37 Yeas, 3 nays. With a vote of 37 yeas to 3 nays, Senate Bill 23 has passed the House.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date clause. Hearing no objection, so moved. And I would like to say to Tim Lampkin, who has gotten quite a civics education carrying this bill for all those years, please let Dr. Stevens know that he's got a good bill at hand here.

With that, the House will be at ease until approximately 12:50.