Legislature(2009 - 2010)HOUSE FINANCE 519
02/23/2010 01:30 PM House FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB315 | |
| HB180 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 180 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 315 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
February 23, 2010
1:36 p.m.
1:36:52 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Stoltze called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:36 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Hawker, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Stoltze, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Thomas Jr., Vice-Chair
Representative Allan Austerman
Representative Mike Doogan
Representative Anna Fairclough
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Les Gara
Representative Reggie Joule
Representative Mike Kelly
Representative Woodie Salmon
MEMBERS ABSENT
None.
ALSO PRESENT
Representative Kurt Olsen; Julie Olsen; Christine Hess,
Chief of Staff, Representative Reggie Joule; Sam Kito III,
School Facilities Engineer, Department of Education and
Early Childhood Development;
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Lisa Rogers, Alaska Society of Certified Public Accountants,
Anchorage; Dr. Norman Eck, Northwest Arctic Borough
Superintendent of Schools, Kotzebue;
SUMMARY
1:37:00 PM
HB 180 SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUNDING
HB 180 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HB 315 PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
HB 315 was REPORTED OUT of committee with a "do
pass" recommendation and accompanying fiscal note.
HOUSE BILL NO. 315
"An Act relating to public accounting; and providing
for an effective date."
REPRESENTATIVE KURT OLSEN, SPONSOR, introduced his support
staff.
JENNIFER SENETTE, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE KURT OLSEN,
described the creation and intent of the bill. House Bill
315 was crafted with the help of the Alaska State Board of
Public Accountancy and the Alaska Society of Certified
Public Accountants (CPA). She stated that the bill would
bring Alaska in line with the 45 states that had passed
similar versions of the legislation.
1:38:47 PM
Ms. Senette relayed that HB 315 would give CPAs mobility, or
the ability of a licensee to gain practice privilege outside
his principal place of jurisdiction, without additional
licensing and fees. This would allow licensed CPAs and CPA
firms in Alaska to practice across state jurisdictions with
greater ease. The bill would provide for simple majority
ownership. Under current state laws Alaskan accounting firms
must be owned 100 percent by CPAs, which discounted the
evolution of the accounting profession over the years;
accounting firms were not only employing CPAs, but
Information Technology professionals, lawyers, and other
non-CPA professionals. The legislation would dial down the
stringent requirements to allow for simple majority
ownership. The change would be helpful in attracting and
retaining new talent in the state. The legislation would
also enhance the board of public accountancies ability to
protect the public interest. Under HB 315 the Alaska State
Board of Public Accountancy would have automatic
jurisdiction over any CPAs practicing in the state.
1:40:48 PM
Ms. Senette explained that if a CPA from out-of-state was
working in Alaska, the state board of public accountancy had
the jurisdiction to address any violations of the standard.
Representative Fairclough wondered if accountants in the
state could expand multi-nationally. Ms. Senette redirected
the question to the CPAs present for questioning.
Co-Chair Stoltze opened public testimony.
LISA ROGERS, ALASKA SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in support of the
legislation. She stated that the bill had generated from
conversations among accountants who had worked to draft the
legislation.
Representative Fairclough wondered about push back from the
state of New York, as similar legislation had not been
enacted there.
1:45:02 PM
Ms. Rogers replied that New York had been slow to adopt
changes in the area of public accounting. She did not know
why.
JULIE OLSEN, PRESIDENT, ALASKA SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANTS, urged support for the legislation.
1:46:40 PM
Representative Fairclough reiterated her earlier questions.
Ms. Olsen deferred the questions to Max Mertz.
1:47:29 PM
MAX MERTZ, BOARD OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTING, JUNEAU, replied that
the legislation pertained only to CPAs within the United
States and U.S. territories. He furthered that the State of
New York had laws on the book relating to public accountancy
that dated back to the 19th century that had yet to change.
He reiterated that New York had been very slow to change
practices concerning public accounting.
Representative Fairclough asked for explanation of "practice
privilege". Mr. Mertz replied that "practice privilege" was
distinguishable from "practice permit". Mr. Mertz explained:
"When there is a CPA in Alaska practicing in another
mobility state, or from another state practicing here, if
they are serving a client that does not have a home office
in Alaska, that might have some incidental operations here,
and they are based out-of-state, so it's really incidental
practices. They can come to Alaska, or over the internet,
provide those services without having to come to Alaska and
get a practice permit, which is currently required, and will
continue to be required, if the client either has a home
office here, or the practice is other than incidental. The
premise of mobility is to allow this interstate practice
without having to go through the process of getting a
permit."
1:51:47 PM
Representative Austerman wondered if there was a way the
bill could allow the state to access out-of-state CPA
licensing information, before allowing them to practice in-
state.
Mr. Mertz said there was a companion bill circulating called
the Accountants Licensing Database, which would focus on the
issue.
1:53:31 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze closed public testimony.
Co-Chair Stoltze recognized the zero fiscal note and
solicited amendments.
1:54:12 PM
Co-Chair Hawker MOVED to REPORT HB315 26-LS130\A from
committee. There being no OBJECTION it was so ordered.
HB 315 was REPORTED OUT of committee with a "do pass"
recommendation and accompanying fiscal note.
1:55:44 PM
HOUSE BILL NO. 180
"An Act amending the percentages required to be paid by
a municipal school district receiving a school
construction or major maintenance grant; making a
conforming amendment to a bond debt reimbursement
provision referencing the percentages; and providing
for an effective date."
CHRISTINE HESS, CHIEF OF STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE REGGIE JOULE,
stated that the legislation proposed a change in the
participation share of local governments in grant funding
for school districts. Currently, A.S. 14.11.008(b)
established the required participating chair for a municipal
school district for a construction or maintenance grant
project based on the district's full value per average daily
membership (ADM). In 2008, SCS HB 373 passed the legislature
on April 11th, near the end of the session. On the senate
side a change was made, which the house concurred with on
the same day. The change placed the participating shares
into four categories; 5, 10, 30, 35 percent. For most
participating governments, the local participating share
went down, but for several local governments the share
jumped from 10 percent to 30 percent. The bill proposed to
stair-step those local governments with a 20 percent share.
The fiscal note attached was for $2.6 million. The impacted
communities were; Kake, Dillingham, The Northwest Arctic
Borough, Klawock, Nome, and Kodiak. The list of proposed
projects was located on the sponsor statement (copy on
file).
1:59:53 PM
SAM KITO III, SCHOOL FACILITIES ENGINEER, DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, testified as to
how the legislation would affect his district. He stated
that concerning ADMs; the department was examining the
average daily membership, which was the count of the
students on an annual basis, but the full assessed value of
the property for the given district divided by the number of
student in the district.
Representative Gara asked if the equation applied to
regional education attendance area (REAAs). He queried if
there was a contribution requirement for REAA villages. Mr.
Keno replied that REAAs had a limited amount of 2 percent
participating share, the participating share table only
applied to municipal governments.
Representative Doogan understood that the legislation would
reduce the participating share for districts between 275,000
and 500,000 by 10 percent. He wondered what the benefit of
the change would be. Ms. Hess replies that the increase from
10 to 30 percent, instituted in 2008, had been too extreme
for the affected communities.
Representative Doogan understood that the assumption was
that larger districts had more resources, so the
participating share should be higher. Ms. Hess replied in
the affirmative.
2:03:08 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze added that rural schools had a limited tax
base. He acknowledged the difficulty of funding schools with
a weak municipal economy.
Representative Foster asked if the legislation was an
attempt to create parity across the board for all schools in
the state. Ms. Hess replied that ultimately it was a policy
call where the participating share would fall for each
district. The smaller communities would be receiving the
reduced share.
Representative Foster expressed support for the bill.
Representative Gara summarized that if the ADM per student
was over 800,000, the municipality paid 35 percent, and the
schools on major maintenance projects were placed on the
major maintenance project list. Mr. Kito replied that the
municipality was responsible for the participating share
percentage.
Representative Gara wondered why a district would want a
project on the major maintenance list, when bonding would be
less expensive. Mr. Kito responded that when a municipality
bonded for a project, the bonds need to pay interest. The
municipality would need to weigh the principal and interest
cost against what the participating share cost would be on
the major maintenance or the grant list.
2:07:19 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze asked if the community received the money
up front if it was on the major maintenance list. Mr. Kito
replied yes.
Representative Salmon wondered who sponsored HB373 in 2008.
Representative Fairclough shared that the bill was
introduced by the House Finance Committee in 2008.
Ms. Hess added that HB373 had been changed on the senate
side.
DR. NORMAN ECK, NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SUPERINTENDENT OF
SCHOOLS, KOTZEBUE (via teleconference), spoke in favor of
the legislation. He testified that the jump from 10 percent
to 30 percent had been difficult for the district to
reconcile. He informed the committee that the Northwest
Arctic School District had done a lot independently over the
years to provide for school construction, rather than wait
in line for grants. Schools had been remodeled and rebuilt
with bonds. The 30 percent participating share had stifled
further school projects. He stated the burden that had been
placed on the region had been unfair, and the 20 percent
stair step would make a positive difference in the lives of
the students.
2:12:25 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze closed public testimony.
Representative Joule clarified that the request was not to
return to the 10 percent, but rather a mid-level percent. He
hoped as the session progressed the bill would continue to
live.
Representative Austerman asked how much more work needed to
be done on the bill.
Co-Chair Stoltze wanted gather more debt reimbursement
information for further discussions.
2:14:09 PM
HB 180 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Hawker discussed housekeeping.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 PM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 315 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 315 |
| HB 315 Sectional.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 315 |
| HB315 American Institute of CPAs FAQ.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 315 |
| HB315 ASCPA Resolution.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 315 |
| HB315 AICPA Mobility Table.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 315 |
| HB315 AICPA Mobility.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 315 |
| HB180SponsorStatementFinal Updated 2-23.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 180 |
| HB180-EED-ESS-2-22-10 NEW UPDATED.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 180 |
| HB180-EED-ESS-2-22-10 NEW UPDATED.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2010 1:30:00 PM |
HB 180 |