[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6178792,"mediaKeyId","5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e","parentId",5211666,"title","Committee questions fiscal estimate, eligibility as Alaska considers address confidentiality program","audioSeconds",1110,"startMs",1114000,"endMs",3223,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e&start=1114&end=3","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e/thumbnail_1114000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6178792/Alaska/Committee-questions-fiscal-estimate-eligibility-as-Alaska-considers-address-confidentiality-program","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6178792-e4a4fb18f6b52e0108f0350d3ed9d260/orig.mp4?Expires=1770663607&Signature=c5IQLJD5hcCVdT~3vdsGKHMQcgZNaaUaBtzVNvA15gSzzTkXgY~9pkGbNI57xATAFqihDZuSYyGkGducdlBITw2RaEMHqfijre2gcUCxr2QNkXC3m56nEZDIZSTweRvvRAw5n0NPF4YyEm5Epu~f38Eqnrk7GD1VchXhsgwN3HJQ9yMMmi8TTp7kTJ0RC4IhZ8cAWj4N7r-th82GQhcjk24Ipupx-Kgp0dUS8H0mz25LoYbyCdtcb~QXucJQeoBVh5GiOZv5Eg5IsjlF-bQhTmzp3s08~wbzRRsrc3oYbWQyYnjdYTqTAW9tcyttC6JB2neoRsjSgRlbqYAkNJoKQA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alaska State Legislature","date","2025-05-18T12:00:00Z","article","The House Finance Committee heard an extended discussion Sunday on HB 104, a bill to create an address confidentiality program to help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking keep their physical addresses private. Sponsor Representative Donna Mears said the bill would make Alaska the 40th state to offer such a program and would provide an anonymized post‑office box and related protections for qualifying participants.

\"HB 104 will bring us to be the fortieth state that provides a vital level of privacy to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, by providing an anonymized post office box for folks that are under a number of different protective orders and safety plans to keep their location private from their perpetrators,\" Representative Donna Mears said.

Committee members focused on the bill's fiscal note and on who would be eligible. Representative Jimmy Galvin, Representative David Bynum and others pressed for clarity after a revised fiscal note increased projected costs; Bridal Anderson and committee staff said a new fiscal note had been filed earlier in the week. Representative Galvin asked whether the Department of Administration or other states had been contacted to explain how Alaska's estimate was developed.

Nancy Mead, general counsel for the Alaska Court System, told the committee the court system had not requested to be included in the statute and that inclusion of judges or court officers would be a policy choice for the committee. \"If judges were included, I can imagine a handful might take advantage of such an option,\" Mead said, adding that enrollment can create delays in mail delivery and is a time‑consuming administrative process.

Talia Ames, testifying from Montana's program experience, told the committee Montana runs a small program with two part‑time staff at a cost of about $22,000 per year and that other states scale differently. \"The state of Washington had 5,497 participants with a budget of $766,308; dividing that by the number of participants comes out to about $153 per enrollee,\" Ames said. She also calculated that the current Alaska fiscal note would amount to roughly $650 per enrollee under the committee's assumed maximum enrollment.

Representative Bynum asked whether a narrower pilot — for example, establishing the legal mechanism without immediately funding full mail forwarding services — had been considered. Representative Mears said mail forwarding is a small component of the bill and estimated the pool of potentially eligible peace officers and corrections staff at roughly 1,500 across the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections, but she and other witnesses said actual enrollment was likely to be much smaller.

Committee members also raised implementation details. Representative Tomczewski asked how the mail forwarding would work; Mears responded that only mail that would generate a public record (for example, school correspondence) would be forwarded to the anonymized PO box, while personal mail such as a letter from family would go directly to participants. Representative Jimmy asked about criminal penalties in the bill for unauthorized disclosure of a participant's confidential address; counsel and sponsors said the penalty is intended for those operating the program who improperly disclose confidential information, not for family or friends of participants.

The committee set an amendment deadline of 5 p.m. Monday, May 19, 2025, and recessed without a vote on the bill; committee staff said if no substantial amendments are filed the committee could reconvene quickly to act. Representative Mears and multiple committee members requested further follow‑up on the fiscal note and the number of likely enrollees before final action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","05/18/2025 12:00 PM House FINANCE","oneSentenceSummary","The House Finance Committee heard an extended discussion Sunday on HB 104, a bill to establish an address confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking and for certain peace officers.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Alaska, Alaska","taxId",78559,"location","Alaska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6178797,"House Finance advances bill to cap payday loan APRs, sponsor cites harms and out‑of‑state precedents",205,776000,981000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e&start=776&end=981","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e/thumbnail_776000.jpg","/articles/6178797/Alaska/House-Finance-advances-bill-to-cap-payday-loan-APRs-sponsor-cites-harms-and-outofstate-precedents","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6178797-dbc84add38297ba2826776d5bbb1d0f5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770663607&Signature=fz3cbConRCBoPpkOk-U9dJAtr17edy1UBu2iq32KZrSSY1s0YEpaNJdQbDGO6boFacwf3~A37rFPubdZ~FJl1F6V61SZlatuarECnDJ5X4YMWEMQezQUmqM~7a4Mx4JCrApY05Z-f61fGiV23Dd7PNMH0PKKMN26Q0-~7rvXd6H3i91u96iUSenm9juLy1LHhvrIFXGaCEtXHvXCY3pyeZJuNMDHSdesOvchB-9TuATmgTTxkAzhKZsyWgX1BnoA5kzbfmL~Y9gZE-YrjMTpossNl3xqzUCF~Uj98-9sS38AMjOjgrONWK-9ceoS2N3s7KvIQFKo34~NMJVmcFWqYQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Finance Committee voted Sunday to advance Senate Bill 39, a bill that would remove the payday‑loan exemption from Alaska's 36% APR cap under the state's small‑lending law.

Senator John Dunbar, sponsor of SB 39, told the committee the measure mirrors language debated last year and that the House previously approved a similar bill 38‑2. \"This is a nearly identical bill that removes the exemption for payday loans from the 36% APR cap that's currently in our small lending act,\" Dunbar said, adding that staff had distributed written responses to questions raised in earlier hearings.

Representative David Bynum asked whether market alternatives — including bank products mentioned in the committee packet — were already meeting borrower needs and whether removing payday loans was necessary if lower‑cost options existed. \"If the market is already driving to provide an alternative low cost option, why would we be regulating and or wanting to remove also that other free market option, meaning payday loans?\" Bynum asked.

Dunbar responded that while alternative products such as Chime or bank offerings may exist, payday lenders have been shown in public testimony to trap consumers in cycles of debt. \"I'm hopeful that there will be a market based solution,\" Dunbar said, \"but 19 other states have done this. None of them have repealed it. I think it's worth our time to offer those protections to our citizens.\"

The committee had no amendments on the floor; a member moved to report SB 39 (work order 34‑LS0357\\I) out of committee with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal notes. An objection was raised by a committee member but withdrawn after the member said they intended to offer technical amendments later; the chair announced no further objections and the bill was advanced. The Division of Banking's chief of examination, Tracy Reno, was noted as being available online to answer technical questions.

With the committee's decision to advance SB 39, the bill will move forward under the committee's individual recommendations and with the fiscal materials sent to the record.","Senate Bill 39, removing a payday‑loan exemption from a 36% APR cap in Alaska's small‑lending law, was advanced out of the House Finance Committee after sponsor Senator Dunbar summarized the bill and answered committee questions about market alternatives and past legislative results.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6178801,"House Finance advances omnibus insurance bill after updated fiscal note shows $470,400 revenue gain",283,591000,874000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e&start=591&end=874","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5211666-7e21f44ef9370a3965ff851ebe037f2e/thumbnail_591000.jpg","/articles/6178801/Alaska/House-Finance-advances-omnibus-insurance-bill-after-updated-fiscal-note-shows-470400-revenue-gain","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6178801-4c3e8c76196b50262beb2aa0e53cd122/orig.mp4?Expires=1770663607&Signature=XnBQNEeY3EB1KJkgdTiBnWjDNcoU64JUUsmc~BGvHEubCDUJchN7IRJFXuXQtQcUCi69LoDQXwhX2xc3fFj7cHAqHfom71zy3-MmC6UUCMjBcunTy3uhJta~fViclWr7ExOd8Gm6OIEEhig8oHPtqZoRFp0M-UPNrWF0c-KOIUzsTROS1dUfKNOON-L9JnnWCH9ofGnnpsdVLD8-4SFsKIig7xQZI2by6O419snvnm4ZmljHLcAZM5XL~PaJURo7Aqkq3Mk69MYmZEseBVp5T9dQ7IBBZxw6xb3bqwimswCfZCyxd~Rn~0BPDwuFeeiBQqWnG6CgrlZgQ6OoNgcwxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Finance moved Senate Bill 132, the omnibus insurance bill, out of committee on Sunday after staff presented a revised fiscal note showing an increase in projected general fund revenue.

Bridal Anderson, staff to Co‑Chair Neil Foster, told the committee that a new fiscal note, dated May 17, had been placed on the record and that the primary change from the prior version was to the revenue line. \"If you've noticed, it has gone up to $470,400 of change in revenue in the positive for the general fund,\" Anderson said.

Anderson also said Lori Winghire, division director at the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (Division of Insurance), was present to answer any technical questions about the note. Committee members had no questions during the floor discussion, and the committee chair called for a motion.

A member moved to report SB 132 (work order 34‑LS0415\\W) out of House Finance with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal note. The motion carried with no objection; committee members were asked to sign the committee report. The committee did not take additional amendments during the session.

The vote to advance the bill means committee staff will finalize the committee report and the bill will move forward under the committee's individual recommendations. The committee record shows the revised fiscal estimate as part of the official file for the bill, and the Division of Insurance remained available for follow‑up questions.","The House Finance Committee voted to move Senate Bill 132, an omnibus insurance bill, out of committee with individual recommendations after staff presented a revised fiscal note showing a $470,400 positive change to the general fund revenue line dated May 17, 2025.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee questions fiscal estimate, eligibility as Alaska considers address confidentiality program

House Finance advances bill to cap payday loan APRs, sponsor cites harms and out‑of‑state precedents

House Finance advances omnibus insurance bill after updated fiscal note shows $470,400 revenue gain