Legislature(2015 - 2016)
2016-07-11 House Journal
Full Journal pdf2016-07-11 House Journal Page 3169 HB 257 The following was engrossed and enrolled, signed by the Speaker and Chief Clerk, President and Secretary of the Senate, and the engrossed and enrolled copies were transmitted to the Office of the Governor at 1:38 p.m., June 20, 2016, with a fiscal note packet and a manifest error memorandum (page 3080): CONFERENCE CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 257 "An Act making appropriations for the operating and capital expenses of the state's integrated comprehensive mental health program; making supplemental appropriations; and providing for an effective date." Also transmitted was a copy of the following letter dated June 17, 2016, to Mr. Russ Webb, Chair, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority: "Dear Mr. Webb: Pursuant to the requirements of AS 37.14.005(c), this letter and the enclosed reports describe how the funding contained in HB 257 (the FY17 Mental Health budget) and HB 256 (the Operating Budget) differ from the FY17 Mental Health Trust Authority's (Authority) funding recommendations for the State's integrated comprehensive mental health program. While the statute requires reporting only on general fund expenditures, information regarding expenditures of Authority receipts is also included in the attached reports. Operating Appropriations For mental health operating program funding, the Agency Summary report compares the FY17 Mental Health Trust Authority operating 2016-07-11 House Journal Page 3170 budget recommendations to the Governor's request and to the appropriations passed by the legislature. Note that, for comparison purposes, Authority recommendations include FY17 salary adjustments and base transactions requested by the Governor. This brings the FY17 total recommendations to $221.7 million (column 1). The Governor requested $221.6 million (column 2), and the Conference Committee's budget totaled $221.4 million (column 3). The Conference Committee budget is $116,200 (0.1 percent) less than the Governor's request. In addition, · another $5.2 million (column 4) was appropriated to fund fiscal notes associated with SB 91, SB74, and HB188; and · $11 million of UGF was added in DHSS/Behavioral Health as a FY16 supplemental (column 5) to develop additional substance use disorder services and may be expended in FY16, FY17, FY18 and FY19. Governor's Request. An enclosed Transaction Comparison report shows differences between Authority recommendations and the Governor's request. The only difference between the two is that the Authority requested $200.0 ($100.0 of UGF and $100.0 of MHTAAR) for an IT Application/Telehealth Service System Improvements project in Senior and Disabilities Services Administration. The Governor's budget includes the MHTAAR funding but excludes the UGF. Conference Committee Budget. The legislature treated the Governor's request as a starting point for budget deliberations. Authority recommendations excluded from the Governor's request were not deliberated. Other than the differences listed below, the legislature approved the Mental Health Budget as submitted by the Governor. · The legislature denied $116,200 of funding for salary adjustments associated with Alaska Care health insurance rate increases. · The legislature added an $11 million supplemental appropriation (Sec. 9, HB 257) to the Department of Health and Social Services to develop additional substance use disorder services. This funding is available in FY16, FY17, FY18 and FY19. 2016-07-11 House Journal Page 3171 · The legislature added $5,217,800 of funding related to fiscal notes (see below for more details). Fiscal Notes. An enclosed Mental Health Bill Fiscal Notes document highlights legislative appropriations for fiscal notes that were included in the Mental Health Bill (Section 2, CCS HB 257) for the following three bills: · HB188 (Person with Disability Savings Accounts): $60,000 MHTAAR · SB74 (Medicaid Reform; Telemedicine; Drug Database): $2,157,800 MHTAAR · SB91 (Omnibus Criminal Law and Procedure; Corrections): $3,000,000 Recidivism Reduction Fund Capital Appropriations The Authority recommended a $14.75 million capital budget. The Governor's request totaled $11.8 million (a reduction of $2.95 million). The enclosed Project Detail by Agency report shows how the Governor modified the Authority's recommendations. The legislature approved the Governor's request as submitted. We appreciate the good working relationship between the Authority and the legislature. If you have questions regarding the enclosed reports, please contact Amanda Ryder of the Legislative Finance Division at 465-5411. Sincerely, /s/ Senator Pete Kelly Conference Committee Chair Representative Mark Neuman Conference Committee Vice Chair Enclosures Agency Summary Transaction Compare between MH Req Tot & Gov Amd+ Mental Health Bill Fiscal Notes Capital Project Detail by Agency"