JUNEAU – Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives passed legislation by Representative Max Gruenberg (D-Anchorage) to ensure that Alaska businesses can continue to use electronic bank transfers without violating new federal law.

“Without these changes, Alaska businesses could find themselves in costly litigation or locked out of financial dealings with businesses in states which have updated their statutes,” said Rep. Gruenberg. “By getting ahead of the curve and joining 33 other jurisdictions, we’re saving Alaskan businesses a lot of time and headache and making sure they can remain competitive across the nation.”

The bill (HB9), brings Alaska statute up to date with changes made in the federal Dodd-Frank Act passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The bill changes the state Uniform Commercial Code to make its handling of electronic transfers consistent with federal law.

Another provision of the bill allows for misspelling and other minor mistakes to be corrected in a way that ensures those mistakes do not allow people to get out of a debt or lose property based on a clerical error.