Pilots, airlines press committee to exempt flight crews from residency rule for PFD and licenses

Anchorage-based pilots, cargo crew and unions told the Alaska House State Affairs Committee on March 17 that House Bill 295 should be amended to protect flight crews from losing Permanent Fund Dividends (PFDs) and resident hunting and fishing privileges because long, employer-directed travel makes the current 180-day/5‑year residency rules impractical for many members of the aviation workforce.

Dozens of callers — including pilots from Alaska Airlines, Horizon, UPS, Atlas and FedEx, and representatives of the Airline Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants — described the administrative burden of documenting in‑state days, frequent multi-day layovers outside Alaska, and the risk of losing benefits tied to residency.

"We have to go through our schedule for 365 days and count how long we're in and out of the state," said Dan Leary, a Horizon Airlines pilot. "When we are away, we are often only away for short periods of time in the actual destination. Often, I'm only in the city for the layover for 4 hours... The burden of proof of residency is kind of difficult to prove to the PFD department."

Union representatives asked the committee to change the bill’s language from "pilots" to "flight crew" or "flight operations personnel" so that flight attendants, loadmasters, mechanics and other crew classifications are covered. "We represent roughly 700 pilots that are residents here in the state of Alaska," said Burke Anderson of the Airline Pilots Association. "This legislation clears up the gray area in how absences are calculated." Rebecca Owens of the Association of Flight Attendants said the change should include flight attendants and other crew members.

Sponsor Representative Kevin McCabe said he focused on pilots because Anchorage is a major crew base but said he is open to amendments and would accept language to broaden the bill if the committee prefers. Committee members asked staff to gather data from the Permanent Fund Division and the Department of Labor to better quantify effected workers and the fiscal impact.

Genevieve Watusik, division director for the Permanent Fund Division, told lawmakers the fiscal note remains indeterminate but that programming changes would be required to add a new allowable absence. Watusik said earlier staff estimates of thousands of affected pilots were revised after the sponsor’s office suggested the number would be closer to a few hundred; staff removed a proposed personal-services line for that reason but left an indeterminate programming cost.

The committee closed public testimony, set HB 295 aside for future action and set an amendment deadline for March 18 at 5:00 p.m. Committee members agreed to invite Department of Labor and the Permanent Fund Division back for additional data at a later hearing.

Next steps: sponsor and staff will produce requested counts and fiscal detail; the committee signaled it may take the bill up again as early as the next hearing.