Gatto legacy remembered at bill signing

PALMER — The bill — one of four the governor came to sign — targets would-be arsonists, but people gathered at the event Monday were mostly focused on its sponsor, the late Rep. Carl Gatto.

“Fittingly, H56 is a part of that indelible legacy of Carl Gatto,” Gov. Sean Parnell told the crowd assembled at Palmer’s downtown fire station.

Gatto, who died April 10 of the cancer he fought for a decade, was a firefighter and a medic before he entered the Legislature. The arson bill was one of the last things he worked on.

“Carl’s commitment and dedication to first responders reached far across Alaska,” Parnell said. “He wanted to make sure they returned home safely to their families.

The bill adds arson to the list of crimes for which a person can be charged for conspiring to commit. As such, it seeks to stop arsons by targeting the people who plan and prepare to commit those crimes.

“This really is an appropriate legacy for my friend Carl,” Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, said. “He never stopped being a fireman.”

Also signed into law at Monday’s ceremony were a disaster preparedness bill and two bills dealing with veterans issues.

Starting with disaster preparedness, House Bill 366 sets up a statewide system allowing fire departments and other agencies to work together in what is often referred to in emergency response circles as “mutual aid.”

“This bill kind of fills a chink in our armor statewide,” said Rep. Eric Feige, R-Chickaloon, who sponsored the bill. He noted it allows things like worker’s compensation and liability to be settled well ahead of time instead of getting in the way of responses.

As for veterans, the first piece of legislation, sponsored by Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, does two things. First it gives employers a tax credit for hiring veterans. Employers get $3,000 for hiring a disabled veteran, $2,000 for hiring a nondisabled veteran and $1,000 for hiring a veteran to do seasonal work.

“A lot of people don’t realize that veterans, particularly veterans from the Iraq War, have some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation,” Wielechowski told the crowd.

Secondly, in a provision Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, added, the legislation allows the state Department of Motor Vehicles to add the word “veteran” and an American flag insignia to licenses issued to veterans.

Saddler said the provision lets veterans more easily access discounts offered in various stores and other benefits in Alaska.

“I wanted to help veterans earn the recognition they deserve,” Saddler said. “Until now, they had to carry around copies of their discharge papers.”

If veterans want, he said, the DMV will send their information to the state’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to help them access state programs as well.

Finally, the last piece of legislation signed at the fire station waives fees associated with getting a copy of a death certificate for families of departed veterans. Rep. Max Gruenberg, D-Anchorage, said the law was modeled on one in Arizona that let his wife’s family get a free death certificate for her uncle.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.