Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
02/17/2022 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB291 | |
| HB37 | |
| SB25|| HB86 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 291 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 37 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 25 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 86 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 25-STATE GOV'T FINANCES: WEBSITE
HB 86-STATE GOV'T FINANCES: WEBSITE
4:19:14 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the final order of business
would be SENATE BILL NO. 25, "An Act relating to the
establishment and maintenance of an Internet website providing
information on state government financial transactions and
specifying the information to be made available on the website"
and HOUSE BILL NO. 86, "An Act relating to the establishment and
maintenance of an Internet website providing information on
state government financial transactions and specifying the
information to be made available on the website."
4:19:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE RAUSCHER, Alaska State Legislature, prime
sponsor, introduced HB 86, the companion bill to SB 25. He
conveyed his constituents' beliefs that the legislature did not
balance the budget and that money was being hidden from them.
He explained that HB 86 related to the establishment and
maintenance of an internet website that would provide
information on state government financial transactions.
4:21:36 PM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, prime
sponsor, introduced SB 25. He stated that fundamentally, the
bill would require the state to maintain an online, searchable
database of all state expenditures over $1,000. He paraphrased
the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
The state of Alaska spends billions of dollars each
year on everything from office supplies, professional
services and capital improvement projects. Public
accountability helps ensure that state funds are spent
wisely. All 50 states operate websites that make
information on state expenditures and revenues
accessible to the public. However, compared to other
states Alaska's site is ranked as one of the worst in
the nation at making the data accessible to the
public.
The intent of the Alaska Online Checkbook Act is to
create a free, searchable website that provides
Alaskans with easy access to detailed and
comprehensive information on state spending. This will
encourage better understanding of state operations
and, ultimately, help ensure that funding is directed
to the state's most important needs. The state
currently posts some financial information in a
downloadable spreadsheet, but this spreadsheet is very
cumbersome, must be downloaded, is difficult to search
and understand. It does not provide any "big picture"
context about state expenditures vs. revenues nor is
it codified in law. The ability to see how Alaska's
government uses public funding is fundamental to
transparency and bolsters public confidence in
government and promotes fiscal responsibility.
SB 25 will give Alaskans easy access to detailed
information on state expenditures and revenue,
empowering them to become fiscal watchdogs. It will
lead to greater government accountability and a public
better able to assist in making difficult government
decisions.
I hope that you will join me in taking reasonable
steps to ensure that Alaskans have access to our
state's financial information.
4:24:44 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
4:25:30 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS welcomed Mr. Dunsmore.
4:25:34 PM
DAVID DUNSMORE, Staff, Senator Bill Wielechowski, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Wielechowski, prime sponsor of
SB 25, provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Senate Bill
25" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. He directed
attention to slide 2, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
SB 25: The Alaska Online Checkbook Act
• Codifies and modernizes Alaska's Online Checkbook
website
• Requires the state to provide monthly and annual
financial information to the public on a user-
friendly website.
• Creates a one-stop-shop for information on
revenue and expenses.
• Provides detailed information on state
expenditures and revenue including date, vendor,
agency, and expense type
MR. DUNSMORE continued to slide 3, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Alaskans Deserve Better Transparency
In 2018 Alaska received a failing grade from the U.S
PIRG Education Fund for providing online access to
government spending data.
Alaska has no statutory requirements to maintain an
online checkbook.
MR. DUNSMORE turned to slide 4, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
SB 25: A Win-Win-Win for Alaskans
Will provide policy makers with user-friendly access
to actual unaudited revenue and expenditure data
Makes state government more accountable by making
information readily available to the public.
Allows vendors to submit more competitive bids by
reviewing previous payments.
4:27:30 PM
MR. DUNSMORE advanced to slide 5, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
SB 25 Improves Transparency and Usability
Current Checkbook Online
Can be taken down at any time.
Not searchable online, data must be downloaded as a
PDF or Excel file.
Does not include revenue reports.
Does not allow year to year spending comparison.
Does not include spending for the University of
Alaska or public corporations.
Alaska Online Checkbook Act
Monthly & annual reporting requirements codified in
Alaska Statutes.
Data is searchable online by agency, vendor, year,
purpose, amount, and accounting code.
Includes both revenue & expenditures.
Allows year to year spending comparisons.
Includes revenue & expenses of University of Alaska &
public corporations.
4:28:08 PM
MR. DUNSMORE proceeded to slide 6, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
SB 25: Reporting Requirements
Revenues
Receipts or deposits.
Proceeds from taxes.
Agency earnings (sales, services, licenses, permits,
etc.).
Other revenues (Interest, Lease, Gifts, Donations,
etc.).
MR. DUNSMORE continued to slide 7, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
SB 25: Reporting Requirements
Expenditures
The names and locations of any persons to whom
payment was made.
The amounts of the expenditures disbursed.
The type of transaction, by account code, including
the purpose of the expenditure.
MR. DUNSMORE turned to slide 8, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
SB 25: Reporting Requirements
Employees and Contractors
The number of full-time, part-time, and temporary
employees by agency.
The number of independent contractors by agency.
Total general fund payroll by agency.
MR. DUNSMORE advanced to slide 9, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
SB 25: Reporting Requirements
Account Balances and Debt
Statutory Budget Reserve (SBR).
Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR).
Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account (ERA).
Total long-term debt by agency.
4:29:22 PM
MR. DUNSMORE proceeded to slides 10-11, indicating that the
current checkbook website was outdated, as it only allowed
information to be downloaded by fiscal year and was difficult to
search through; additionally, spending could not easily be
tracked by year. He reported that in FY 16, there were 78,156
individual reports in the online checkbook. Slides 12-17
illustrated examples of Ohio's online checkbook.
4:30:47 PM
MR. DUNSMORE concluded on slide 18, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
SB 25: Additional Benefits
Mississippi reported that every information request
fulfilled by its transparency website rather than by a
state employee saves the state between $750 and $1,000
in staff time.
South Carolina open records requests dropped by two-
thirds after the creation of its transparency website,
reducing staff time and saving an estimated tens of
thousands of dollars.
The Texas Comptroller used its transparency website
to evaluate spending. By monitoring contracts more
closely and sourcing services from new vendors when
the potential for cost-cutting was identified, the
state saved more than $163 million.
4:31:27 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS invited questions from committee members.
4:31:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether salary information would be
available on the online checkbook.
MR. DUNSMORE explained that an amendment in the Senate Finance
Committee had clarified that individual wage payments would not
be listed; however, state employee salaries would still be
public information.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN sought to confirm that annual salaries
would be available.
MR. DUNSMORE confirmed, reiterating that individual wage
payments were excluded to prevent privacy infringement.
4:32:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN recalled that the Alaska Public Offices
Commission (APOC) website used to allow searches for specific
donations, which could then be shared via direct link. He asked
whether the bill would allow for that type of search.
MR. DUNSMORE shared his belief that the bill did not explicitly
allow for that type of inquiry. He offered to follow up with
the requested information.
4:34:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR noted that she had signed on as a co-sponsor
because she believed in building accountability and trust with
the public. She inquired about the frequency of reporting.
4:35:28 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said the intent was to share the most
updated information as possible; however, the legislation would
be subject to existing administrative limitations. He directed
attention to page 4, lines 19-21, which indicated that
information "shall" be updated on a monthly basis.
4:36:14 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS invited a response from Mr. Zigmend.
4:36:34 PM
HANS ZIGMEND, Director, Division of Finance, Department of
Administration (DOA), as to whether or not the information could
be updated on a more frequent basis, said there were certain
limitations. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that depending on how
the technology was implemented, it could be possible. He
maintained that monthly reporting was the most reasonable
timeframe to produce accurate data.
MR. DUNSMORE in response to Representative Tarr, noted that the
Senate Finance Committee had added the terms "estimated" and
"unaudited" in several sections of the bill to allow for quicker
reporting.
4:39:00 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS suspected that there was a small niche of
government software providers. He inquired about the landscape
of potential private sector partners.
4:39:46 PM
MR. ZIGMEND listed several software options, such as
BusinessOptix and Tableau.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS, referencing the fiscal note, asked how the
$65,000 figure was arrived at.
MR. ZIGMEND explained that $65,000 was based on an estimate from
the Office of Information Technology (OIT), DOA. He
acknowledged that until the procurement process had been
completed, that figure was only an approximation.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS presumed that OIT had considered licensing
agreements from different vendors and what that might cost.
MR. ZIGMEND confirmed. He reiterated that there was a range of
potential outcomes.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS inquired about annexing the University of
Alaska (UA) and public corporations into the online checkbook
and asked what that would cost.
MR. ZIGMEND explained that the university would have to provide
that information to DOA for it to be presented on the online
checkbook.
4:44:28 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS sought to confirm that currently, UA
financials were not represented on the online checkbook;
however, under the proposed legislation, UA financials would be
included, which would require additional work. He asked if that
was accurate.
MR. ZIGMEND said, "That's correct."
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked whether that would require extra
expense.
MR. ZIGMEND believed that any extra cost would be to the
university, as they would be responsible for compiling and
providing the reports.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked whether any conversations had
transpired with the university.
MR. ZIGMEND said the Division of Finance had not communicated
with the university.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked which public corporations would be
affected by the bill.
MR. ZIGMEND offered to follow up with the requested information.
4:45:59 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
4:46:48 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS said a list of corporations would be
appreciated in order to anticipate implementation requirements
and costs.
MR. ZIGMEND offered to follow up with the list of corporations
that would be impacted.
4:48:48 PM
MR. WIELECHOWSKI, in response to a question from Representative
Vance, explained that the effective date had been a big issue in
the Senate State Affairs Committee. He noted that he would
prefer an immediate effective date. He said it was unclear why
it would take two years to implement the legislation and
deferred to DOA.
4:50:01 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened invited testimony.
4:50:54 PM
VERI DI SUVERO, Executive Director, Alaska Public Interest
Research Group (AKPIRG), expressed strong support for both
bills. They paraphrased their written testimony [included in
the committee packet], which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
The Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG),
established in 1974, advocates on behalf of public and
consumer interests. To our knowledge, we are the only
non-governmental, non-profit organization focused on
addressing Alaska-specific consumer interest issues.
Transparency is a cornerstone of a democracy. It's
also essential for good government. Most Alaskans want
to know what government is up to with their public
dollars. These Alaskans, including legislators, want
this information to be easy to find.
AKPIRG supports SB 25 The Alaska Online Checkbook
Act. The implementation of the Department of
Administration's Alaska Online Checkbook is critical
because it enables the public to better understand
what their government officials are up to and how they
spend our public dollars.
Public access to state financial information
accomplishes many things: it empowers Alaskans,
including legislators, is an important element of
government accountability, and provides a more
functional system of checks and balances.
While the current Online checkbook suffices for now,
the enhancements contained within SB 25 facilitates a
more seamless process when members of the public
review state spending. These improvements include
searchable features, addition of procurement documents
and agencies who do not use the state accounting
system, and embedded links to primary financial
documents, among other things.
We believe it is important to make this Online
Checkbook so that expenses can be reviewed with the
most ease possible. All accounting system codes should
be specific to the associated transaction and
identified with explanations. Accounting terms should
be defined, ie. roll up. A chart of accounts guide
would be a helpful tool for the public.
We also believe that credits like tax credits,
subsidies, and other costs need to be included in the
Alaska Online Checkbook in order to reflect the true
cost of certain policies like senior credits, tax
credits, education subsidies, etc. These figures would
greatly aid in the public's understanding of where the
money goes--or doesn't go, in these instances.
Lastly, interagency receipts should also be included.
Especially if they deal with personnel, travel, and
relocation costs.
The Online Checkbook system should be simple so that
everyone can understand it--and in order to do that,
it must have all the information, so Alaskans can see
the true costs to run our State.
4:53:11 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that HB 86 and SB 25 were held
over.