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SB 217 Alaska Senate · 34th Legislature (2025-2026)

An Act relating to employer contributions to the unemployment compensation fund; establishing an employer contribution for the state training and employment program; and providing for an effective date.

SB 217 requires Alaska employers to pay an additional 0.4% contribution on taxable wages to fund the state's training and employment program, effective January 1, 2027. This new tax applies to all employers already subject to unemployment compensation contributions under existing law. Employers can apply credits for prior payments made under the unemployment fund to offset this new obligation. The revenue collected will directly support workforce development services through the state's employment assistance and training program.
Issues: ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill imposes new 0.4% employer tax to fund state training/employment program, directly increasing state revenue for public workforce services.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBill imposes employer tax to fund workforce development services, directly advancing employment programs and aligning with 'EMPLOYMENT' and 'LABOR' subjects.95% confidence
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Last action May 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB 217 → CSSB 217(L&C) · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to shift its focus from primarily increasing employer contributions to also establishing new employee contributions and expanding the scope to include instructor qualifications at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center. The committee version adds specific language to require employee contributions for unemployment benefits and introduces a new section mandating background checks for vocational center instructors.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from solely employer-related unemployment contributions to include employee contributions and new requirements for vocational center instructor qualifications.
REQUIREMENT

Added a new section requiring instructors at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center to submit fingerprints and fees for criminal background checks.

ELIGIBILITY

Added new subsections to the unemployment compensation fund statute to collect contributions from employees, not just employers.

FISCAL

Revised the bill title and summary to reflect the addition of employee contributions and instructor qualification requirements alongside the existing employer contribution changes.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill identifier from 'SB 217' to 'CSSB 217(L&C)' to reflect committee processing.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Apr 15, 2026
Committee
(S) REFERRED TO FINANCE
upper
Apr 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
(S) Moved CSSB 217(L&C) Out of Committee
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.