Legislature(2007 - 2008)HOUSE FINANCE 519
01/31/2008 01:30 PM House FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB310 |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 310 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 312 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 31, 2008
1:41 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Chenault called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:41:29 PM.
HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Chenault, Co-Chair
Representative Kevin Meyer, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Stoltze, Vice-Chair
Representative Harry Crawford
Representative Les Gara
Representative Mike Hawker
Representative Reggie Joule
Representative Mike Kelly
Representative Mary Nelson
Representative Bill Thomas Jr.
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Richard Foster
ALSO PRESENT
Senator Bert Stedman; Senator Charlie Huggins; Karen
Rehfeld, Director, Office of Management and Budget; Joan
Brown, Chief Budget Analyst, Office of Budget and
Management.
SUMMARY
HB 310 "An Act making appropriations for the operating
and loan program expenses of state government, for
certain programs, and to capitalize funds; making
supplemental appropriations; and making
appropriations under art. IX, section 17(c),
Constitution of the State of Alaska; and providing
for an effective date."
HB 310 was HEARD and HELD in Committee for further
consideration.
HB 312 "An Act making appropriations for the operating
and capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; and providing
for an effective date."
HB 312 was HEARD and HELD in Committee for further
consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 310
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government, for certain
programs, and to capitalize funds; making supplemental
appropriations; and making appropriations under art.
IX, section 17(c), Constitution of the State of Alaska;
and providing for an effective date."
KAREN REHFELD, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
reviewed the language section of House Bill 310, beginning
on page 43.
1:44:10 PM
Ms. Rehfeld began with Section 4, which deals with the
Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation (AADC). She noted
the request is intended to maximize the ability of AADC to
attract launch activity.
1:44:40 PM
Ms. Rehfeld discussed Section 5, the Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation (AHFC). The section specifies the amount of
corporate receipts available to the State as the 2009
dividend payment, and the dispossession of those proceeds.
The Governor is proposing to allocate the funds for: AHFC
debt service, $11.8 million for the Debt Retirement Fund
capitalization, and $47.9 million for capital projects.
Co-Chair Meyer thought the dividends should be used for in
the capital budget instead of the operating budget. Ms.
Rehfeld observed that the conversation would continue about
whether or not the debt service capitalization should come
from general funds. The Administration chose to put some of
the dividends towards paying down previous obligations,
which is a priority. The proposal also puts some dividend
money towards the capital budget. Co-Chair Meyer pointed out
that the dividends fluctuate year to year and thought the
State should be using the General Fund. He preferred the
flexibility of using the dividends in the capital budget.
1:47:05 PM
Representative Gara asked for clarification about how the
AHFC dividend is calculated and wanted to know how much it
has been the past few years.
JOAN BROWN, CHIEF BUDGET ANALYST, OFFICE OF BUDGET AND
MANAGEMENT, noted that the FY 08 dividend was around $85
million. The amount has varied. Before the statute was
changed the dividend had been around $1.3 million; after the
change to 75% of the net income, the amount has gradually
been reduced. Representative Gara asked how much of the
dividend went into the Capital Income Fund in FY 08. Ms.
Brown said she would get him that information.
1:49:02 PM
Representative Gara observed that AHFC is charged with
providing low and moderate income housing and wondered if
those costs come out of the dividend. He wondered if there
were policy as to how much AHFC uses to provide the
service. Ms. Rehfeld thought Mr. Fauske, the Executive
Director of AHFC, would have that information.
1:49:50 PM
Co-Chair Meyer clarified that the Capital Income Fund does
not have permanent fund earnings in it.
Co-Chair Chenault, referring to Section 5, subsection (c),
noted he had concerns about affecting rates by using bonds
for repayment.
1:51:31 PM
Ms. Rehfeld turned to Section 6, which addresses the
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)
dividend. The amount available in FY 08 is $23.8 million.
The Governor is proposing to utilize the funds in the Debt
Retirement Fund.
Co-Chair Meyer reiterated his argument in support of using
the dividend in the capital budget. He did not think the
State used dividends for debt retirement in FY 07 but put
it in the Capital Income Fund. Ms. Rehfeld agreed.
1:53:08 PM
Ms. Rehfeld clarified that the Debt Retirement Fund is
capitalized with general fund money and a number of
different funding sources; the Fund is then used to pay
the State's annual debt obligations, such as school debt
reimbursement.
Co-Chair Chenault wondered if it would make sense to pay
for fund debt reimbursement out of the capital budget
instead of out of the operating budget.
1:54:23 PM
Ms. Rehfeld addressed Section 7, the Alaska Permanent Fund
Corporation, which appropriates funds from the earnings
reserve to the dividend fund for the payment of permanent
fund dividends and administrative and associated costs.
There is funding in Section 1 for the Division's operating
costs, inflation proofing, and the dividend fund amounts.
1:55:12 PM
Representative Gara asked for clarification regarding
amounts in Section 7. Ms. Rehfeld enumerated the amounts
transferred for inflation proofing and to pay the dividend
checks: $1.357 billion for dividends and $803 million for
inflation proofing would be transferred.
1:57:16 PM
Ms. Rehfeld turned to Section 8, the Alaska Student Loan
Corporation Dividend. The Corporation expects $4.1 million
to be available for FY 09. The Governor's budget proposes
to appropriate the dividend to several places in the
operating budget, such as $2.5 million for Alaska
Advantage Education Grants and several programs in the
Department of Education.
Co-Chair Meyer reiterated his argument concerning the use
of dividends in the operating budget.
1:58:46 PM
Ms. Rehfeld described Section 9, the Department of
Administration, which appropriates for the catastrophe
reserve account. The statute allows up to $5 million to be
swept from lapsing general fund appropriations into this
account.
1:59:46 PM
Ms. Rehfeld turned to Section 10, the Department of
Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCED).
Subsection (a) has to do with the national forest income
that comes to DCED for communities within the unorganized
boroughs. Seventy-five percent of the amount can be used
for public schools and 25% for road maintenance.
Subsection (b) covers salmon enhancement tax collected.
Subsection (c) has to do with the seafood development tax
collected and passed through to qualified seafood
development associations.
2:01:18 PM
Ms. Rehfeld described Section 11, Department of Education
and Early Development, as a departure from what the
Committee has seen in previous years. Subsections (a) and
(b) reflect the Governor's proposal to put FY 08 and FY 09
surplus into the Public Education Fund. Subsection (c)
contains language having to do with the amount necessary
to pay school performance incentive bonuses if the amount
exceeds the $2.5 million currently appropriated in the
budget. The amount of the bonus is based on the number of
schools and staff qualified to receive it.
Co-Chair Meyer said the school performance incentive
program, which the previous Commissioner supported, is in
year two of a three-year pilot. He wondered if there was
an upper limit on the amount budgeted. Ms. Rehfeld
explained that no more than 850 certified staff could
receive the bonus; she did not have the dollar amount. Co-
Chair Meyer stated his concern about the open-ended nature
of the item.
2:03:55 PM
Co-Chair Chenault wondered if the proposal should be in
the number section and not the language section. Ms.
Rehfeld said there is an appropriation of $2.5 million
under the numbers section. Part of the dilemma is that
eligibility for the bonus cannot be calculated until after
spring testing, which is late in the budget year. The
language section allows more flexibility to appropriate
additional funding before the next supplemental cycle, if
the budgeted $2.5 million is not sufficient.
2:05:03 PM
Senator Stedman referred to Section 11, subsection (b),
regarding forward funding education. He had concerns about
the dollar amount and the mechanics of where the money
would come from. He hoped the language could be
streamlined to make it clearer. Ms. Rehfeld said the
Administration's goal is to provide opportunity for
forward funding through a three-year plan.
2:07:39 PM
Ms. Rehfeld continued with Section 12, Retirement System
Funding. She highlighted the amount the Administration
proposes to put into the FY 09 direct deposit for the
Public Employee Retirement System and Teachers Retirement
System (PERS/TRS).
2:08:42 PM
Senator Stedman observed concerns regarding the $450
million appropriation to PERS in lieu of an on-going
contribution. He said the Legislature would continue to
work on the pension obligation bond.
Ms. Rehfeld pointed out a correction in subsection (d).
The rate included is 14.48%; the rate should read 13.72%.
Representative Hawker spoke to the issue of resolving the
retirement system accounts. He wondered about using some
of the large cash inflow to the State to more aggressively
pay off the money owed. Ms. Rehfeld referred to
discussions concerning how much the State could put toward
the debt to pay it off earlier. The concern is having
enough money to put into savings in order to manage costs
over time without going into the earnings reserve.
2:13:06 PM
Representative Hawker argued for an expansion of the
annual budget review to a ten-year budget overview. He did
not agree with the Administration's proposal in the
budget, but felt that agreement could be reached by
looking at the issues over a longer period of time. Ms.
Rehfeld agreed.
Co-Chair Chenault mentioned conversations with the
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) which
has an appropriation in Section 1 that deals with
retirement. He thought that appropriation should be in
Section 12 instead.
2:14:34 PM
Ms. Rehfeld moved on to Section 13, the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development. Subsection (a) has to do
with payments from the fishermen's fund; subsection (b)
deals with the second injury fund; and subsection (c)
addresses the workers' compensation benefits guaranty
fund. These sections allow the benefit payments to go
forward; no additional cost is expected.
2:15:24 PM
Ms. Rehfeld anticipated that Section 14, appropriations
for the Department of Law (LAW), would elicit discussion.
The Administration proposes a multi-year appropriation of
$9.6 million from the Alaska Capital Income Fund for work
related to the gas pipeline and to bringing North Slope
natural gas to market, and to other oil and gas projects,
for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2009 and June 30,
2010. She thought there might be interest in trading the
capital income fund appropriation out with general funds
or putting it into the numbers section as a one-year
appropriation. She said coming up with the appropriate
number to include in the section is difficult and thought
that discussion would take place with LAW during
subcommittee work.
Co-Chair Meyer reiterated his concerns about the capital
budget and wondered whether general fund money could be
used. Ms. Rehfeld responded that the Administration saw
this as an appropriate use of general funds.
Senator Stedman asked for historic expenditures for the
gas pipeline over the past three years. He pointed out
that last year the Legislature was amenable to whatever
cash-flow the Administration felt they needed to deal with
the issue, but he wanted to be able to keep track of those
costs. Ms. Rehfeld agreed to provide the information.
2:18:26 PM
Ms. Rehfeld described Section 15 as a standard provision
for the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs. Five
percent of the market value of the Alaska Veterans'
Memorial Endowment Fund, expected to be about $12,400,
will be used for maintenance repair of military monuments.
Ms. Rehfeld moved to Section 16, Department of Natural
Resources, regarding about $2 million in federal receipts
received for fire suppression.
Representative Joule asked whether the number was an
annual estimate. Ms. Rehfeld said yes.
2:20:10 PM
Ms. Rehfeld turned to Section 17, the Department of Public
Safety (DPS), which includes the sum of $1.4 million for
the Division of Alaska State Troopers' narcotics task
force. Subsection (b) explains that if DPS receives a
certain amount of federal funds, the difference is
reduced. Co-Chair Chenault clarified that DPS does not
know from year to year if they receive federal money.
Representative Gara wondered whether the amount was
inflation adjusted and asked for clarification. Ms. Brown
said the dollar amount remains the same year to year. The
number does not change in the language section, but there
is an appropriation in Section 1 for the narcotics task
force. She said she would get Representative Gara more
information regarding inflation adjustment of the funds.
2:22:25 PM
Ms. Rehfeld presented Section 18, Department of Revenue.
Subsection (a) concerns the program receipts received by
the child support services agency. Subsection (b) has to
do with cost recovery for paternity testing. Co-Chair
Chenault wondered how many paternity tests are done each
year. Ms. Rehfeld said she would find out.
2:23:29 PM
Ms. Rehfeld described Section 19, Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities, as a new section
allowing for the appropriation of funds from fines
collected in "traffic safety corridors." The amount,
$44,300, is based on 50% of the collections from FY 07.
2:24:55 PM
Ms. Rehfeld moved on to Section 20, Office of the
Governor, which deals with fuel adjustments. The amount
allocated in recent years was $24 million. The current
budget retains that allocation, although there will need
to be conversations about whether this amount is
sufficient given oil prices. Co-Chair Chenault stated that
he would like to adjust the numbers to get closer to the
real cost of fuel. Representative Hawker expanded on Co-
Chair Chenault's comment.
2:27:21 PM
Ms. Rehfeld continued with Section 20, addressing
subsection (f), Division of Elections costs associated
with conducting the statewide primary and general
elections for FY 09. She flagged three pieces in the
supplemental bill related to election year, including
about $76,000 for advance printing of pamphlets and extra
costs for processing petitions.
2:28:39 PM
Ms. Rehfeld addressed Section 21, University of Alaska
fees collected for the issuance of special university
license plates. Section 22 encompasses Federal and Other
Program Receipts. Ms. Rehfeld highlighted new language in
the section regarding the AHFC and the Ocean Ranger
program receipts.
2:29:56 PM
Senator Stedman voiced concern that the revenue collected
in this section didn't appear to be sufficient to cover
the program costs. Ms. Rehfeld replied that the program,
the Department is planning on implementing, will be
covered by the receipts generated from the program itself.
She acknowledged that putting an ocean ranger on every
vessel would cost an additional $1 million. She said the
Department plans to address the issue without seeking
additional general funds. Senator Stedman wanted the
language in the section clarified.
2:31:24 PM
Ms. Rehfeld went on to fund transfers in Section 23, which
addresses fund transfers related to retirement fund debt.
She highlighted the $11.8 million from the AHFC, $13
million for state-guaranteed revenue bonds, $23.8 million
from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export
Authority, $71.4 million from the General Fund, $171.9
thousand from the investment loss trust fund, and $458,700
from investment earnings and several other transfers.
Co-Chair Chenault wondered why the federal Help America
Vote Act in subsection (b) wouldn't be a capital budget
issue. Ms. Brown explained that the Help America Vote Act
requires that the funds go into an election fund, and so
this is the capitalization piece going into the election
fund. The capital budget spins out of the election fund.
2:34:03 PM
Ms. Rehfeld turned to subsection (c), the power cost
equalization (PCE) fund. Regarding the PCE fund, Senator
Stedman asked about differences in budget amounts in the
FY 08 and FY 09 budgets. Ms. Rehfeld said the
Administration is working with the Alaska Energy Authority
(AEA) and at this point does not anticipate needing
additional funding in FY 09. Senator Stedman went on to
say the PCE fund has a payoff of about seven percent,
which is too high to maintain purchasing power. He thought
the Legislature will need to figure out how to lower that
payout down or risk the slow erosion of purchasing power.
Co-Chair Chenault agreed the issue needed to be addressed
and suggested, as an alternative, that the Legislature add
more money to the fund to secure the seven percent payoff.
2:37:41 PM
Ms. Rehfeld explained that subsections (d), (e), and (f)
have to do with the National Petroleum reserve. Subsection
(g) has to do with revenue collected and appropriated to
the fish and game fund under various revenue generated by
licenses and fees. Co-Chair Chenault wondered, regarding
range fees, how many shooting ranges the Department of
Fish and Game managed. Ms. Rehfeld thought three.
2:39:28 PM
Senator Stedman commented that the Legislature had worked
on getting the ranges out of the Fish and Game budget but
the item was pulled by the Governor. He called for a
discussion on how the Administration views the ranges and
hoped to come to an agreement on how to handle them. Ms.
Rehfeld agreed and said the Department has been working on
the issue.
2:40:35 PM
Ms. Rehfeld turned to subsection (h), relating to amounts
appropriated to the oil and hazardous substance release
prevention account. Co-Chair Meyer referred to intent
language the previous year to charge back agencies for the
cleanup rather than automatically taking money out of the
fund. The fund is being depleted as production declines.
In addition, most of the spills are caused by state
agencies. There is no incentive for the agencies to
prevent spills. Co-Chair Meyer thought charge backs would
provide incentive.
2:43:11 PM
Ms. Rehfeld explained subsection (j), fees collected for
the Alaska Children's Trust. Subsection (k) has to do with
the loan origination fees collected by the Alaska
Commission on Post-Secondary Education. Those fees go back
into the origination fee account and are used to offset
loss when people cannot repay their loans due to death,
disability or bankruptcy. Subsection (l) appropriates
approximately $9 million in federal receipts for disaster
relief funds. Subsection (m) is a $7 million appropriation
from the general fund to the disaster relief fund.
Subsection (n) deals with mine reclamation trust fund
accounts.
2:45:12 PM
Representative Joule asked how much the State spends on
disaster relief. He wondered if appropriating funds for
disaster prevention, such as erosion prevention, might be
more effective. Senator Thomas wanted to see the amounts
for relief spent after a flood in Cordova. Ms. Rehfeld
said she would get the information.
2:48:18 PM
Representative Joule pointed out that currently, the State
is authorized to react, but he wondered if there was
another mechanism that could focus on prevention. Ms.
Rehfeld referred to the work being done by the Division of
Community and Regional Affairs. The Administration is
proposing in the supplemental to make funds available for
communities that are threatened by erosion. She referred
to a number of agencies dealing with prevention, but
emphasized that the question was how best to fund and
coordinate those efforts.
Ms. Rehfeld continued through subsections that are largely
standard and familiar. She highlighted subsection (s) as a
new one which proposes to put $2.5 million of the Alaska
Student Loan Corporation dividend into the education loan
fund for the Alaska Advantage Grants to fund needs-based
grants. She explained that there had not previously been
general funds in the fund.
2:52:12 PM
Co-Chair Meyer wanted to know what the overall vision was
for the program. He asked if the money would be asked for
every year. Ms. Rehfeld replied that the Administration
hoped to create an endowment that would make the funds
available on-going in order to help low-income people stay
in school. Co-Chair Meyer thought if the proposal were an
on-going program, it should be an operating budget item
and more appropriately funded with the general fund than
with dividends.
2:54:11 PM
Representative Thomas asked for a cost benefit analysis of
what the State spends on other services for people who do
not get education benefits. He thought not providing
support for people who wanted an education might cost the
State in other ways. Ms. Rehfeld expected the Alaska
Commission on Post-Secondary Education could provide
information on trends regarding the benefits of college or
training. Representative Gara pointed out that Alaska is
short between $3 and $6 million in educational aid,
according to a study done by the Board of Trustees. He
said Alaska has the second smallest amount of need-based
aid in the country.
2:57:50 PM
Ms. Rehfeld talked about subsection (t), an appropriation
of $10 million to the municipal Harbor Facility Grant
Fund, to capitalize the fund. Co-Chair Chenault thought
this should be moved to the capital budget.
Ms. Rehfeld moved to subsection (u), the appropriation for
the Alaska sport fishing enterprise account, money
collected through the sale of sport fish licenses and
deposited into the bond redemption fund, a transfer
payment for debt service on bonds for hatchery
construction. Subsection (v) is also related to the Alaska
sport fishing enterprise account, as a reimbursement for
the federally allowable portion of the principal balance
payment on the revenue bonds.
Ms. Rehfeld described subsection (w) as the oil and gas
credit fund and observed that $200 million goes into the
fund to facilitate payments of the individual refunds.
Senator Stedman made a suggestion about how future budgets
could be more clearly presented to avoid confusion.
Ms. Rehfeld turned to subsection (x) which appropriates $5
million from the general fund to the information services
fund to support information technology projects.
Subsection (y) transfers $19 million from the Alaska
Capital Income Fund to the school construction grant fund.
Subsection (z) transfers nearly $81 million from the
Alaska Capital Income Fund into the major maintenance
grant fund. The Governor proposes funding one school
construction project through (y) and twenty major
maintenance projects through (z).
Senator Stedman asked what the Administration envisioned
regarding construction and maintenance funding. Ms.
Rehfeld replied that the Governor would like to provide
some amount of annual funding toward district facilities'
major maintenance needs.
3:01:49 PM
Ms. Rehfeld addressed Section 24, which appropriates
claims against bonds for land reclamation. Section 25
allows credit card service providers to retain fees that
they charge for using credit cards for various services.
3:03:45 PM
Ms. Rehfeld explained that Section 26 addresses salary and
benefit adjustments for state and university bargaining
units. The number section is meant to cover these costs,
[based on the agreements that have been reached]; the
language section would allow the Administration to bring
forward any additional collective bargaining agreements.
Ms. Rehfeld highlighted new language in Section 27, which
addresses shared taxes. Subsection (b) allows a
municipality to assign their payment under subsection (a)
to a state agency. For example, if a municipality was
going to receive an amount under the fisheries business
tax, but they owed the Department of Administration (DOA)
some funding under the retirement system, they could
assign the payment to DOA.
Co-Chair Chenault asked for more information on the cruise
ship impact fund. Ms. Rehfeld believed the estimate under
the vessel excise tax is around $46 million. About $11.5
million of that goes to the impact fund. The Department of
Revenue (DOR) has been charged with developing regulations
to allocate those funds in a way that meets the intent of
the initiative and addresses issues of concern to
communities, the cruise ship industry, the Legislature and
the State. DOR could provide information to the Committee.
The money will stay in the account until decisions are
made.
3:07:00 PM
Ms. Rehfeld added that the DOR has made payments to the
first five ports of call, amounting to less than $1
million. Ms. Rehfeld and Committee members agreed that
more discussion was needed.
3:09:39 PM
Ms. Rehfeld addressed section 28 regarding State debt and
other obligations. She said there were few changes in this
section and gave a general overview of the subsections.
(a) General funds to pay interest on revenue anticipation
notes that might be issued.
(b) Appropriates general funds for principal and interest
on state-guaranteed bonds.
(c) Appropriates $30,789,700 to the state bond committee
for payment of debt service and interest.
(d) Appropriates a sum to the state bond committee for a
bond issue premium.
(e) $13 to the state bond committee related to debt
service on state-guaranteed transportation bonds.
(f) More to the state bond committee related to debt
service on state-guaranteed transportation bonds.
(g) Appropriates $50 million to the state bond committee
for payment of debt service and trustee fees on
international airport revenue bonds.
(h) Appropriates $2 million from interest earnings of the
clean water fund to the clean water fund revenue bond
redemption fund.
(i) Appropriates $1,115,000 interest earnings from the
drinking water fund for payment of principal and
interest.
(j) Appropriates $8,061,300 from the Debt Retirement Fund
to the state bond committee for fees and payments
relating to certificates of participation.
(k) Appropriates $3,467,100 from the general fund to the
DOA for payment of obligations of AHFC regarding the
Robert B. Atwood Building in Anchorage.
(l) Appropriates $22,424,525 to the DOA for FY 09 for
payment for facilities including the Anchorage jail,
Spring Creek Correctional Center, Yukon-Kuskokwim
Correctional Center and the Point MacKenzie
Correctional Center.
Representative Hawker thought the Department of
Corrections would not move ahead on the Port MacKenzie
project at this time. Ms. Rehfeld said the Administration
has been working closely with the Department regarding the
project and the Administration will make amendments as
needed.
3:15:31 PM
(m) Appropriates $3.3 million for the Anchorage parking
garage.
(n) Appropriates $97,021,161 for the Department of
Education and Early Development for cost of school
construction under the debt reimbursement program.
(o) Appropriates $8 million to various state agencies for
reimbursement for authorized projects.
(p) Appropriates $7.5 million from the Alaska Fish and
Game revenue bond redemption fund to the state bond
committee. This is the majority of the surcharge on
sport fish licenses previously authorized and
transferred into the bond redemption fund, a payment
for debt service on the bonds issued for hatchery
development.
(q) Appropriates $2 million from the general fund for the
Kodiak jail.
(r) Appropriates $4.5 million from the general fund to the
Department of Education regarding payments for "master
lease line of credit" for debt service.
3:18:06 PM
Representative Hawker emphasized that Section 28
illustrates that the State needs a ten-year vision to
provide a context in which such large numbers make sense.
Representative Kelly agreed and thought that something
needed to be done before the State moves out of the surplus
funds.
Ms. Rehfeld moved to Section 29, language having to do with
the constitutional budget reserve (CBR) fund. Subsections
(c) and (d) are based on the dollar amounts the
Administration anticipated would go to the CBR after the
other savings and investments were taken care of.
Co-Chair Chenault wondered if leap year had been factored
in, which amounts to around $15 million for one added day.
Ms. Rehfeld said leap year had been taken into
consideration.
Ms. Rehfeld explained that the remaining sections deal with
effective dates and lapse.
HB 310 was heard and HELD in Committee for further
consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 312
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; and providing for
an effective date."
Ms. Rehfeld addressed the language sections on House Bill
312, found on page 11 of the bill. Section 7 has
Legislative Budget and Analysis language and section 8
deals with salary and adjustments in the same manner as the
operating bill in section 26.
Co-Chair Chenault recognized the process would not be easy,
but was hopeful that the Legislature and the Governor could
come to agreement on the budget.
HB 312 was heard and HELD in Committee for further
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 3:28 PM.
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