Legislature(2019 - 2020)ADAMS ROOM 519
02/19/2020 01:30 PM House FINANCE
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB205 || HB206 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 205 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 206 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
February 19, 2020
3:20 p.m.
3:20:42 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Foster called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 3:20 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Jennifer Johnston, Co-Chair
Representative Dan Ortiz, Vice-Chair
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Gary Knopp
Representative Bart LeBon
Representative Kelly Merrick
Representative Colleen Sullivan-Leonard
Representative Adam Wool
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Cathy Tilton
ALSO PRESENT
Brodie Anderson, Staff, Representative Neal Foster
SUMMARY
HB 205 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUNDS
HB 205 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HB 206 APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET
HB 206 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
Co-Chair Foster reviewed the meeting agenda.
HOUSE BILL NO. 205
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs; capitalizing funds; making
appropriations under art. IX, sec. 17(c), Constitution
of the State of Alaska, from the constitutional budget
reserve fund; and providing for an effective date."
HOUSE BILL NO. 206
"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."
3:22:01 PM
Co-Chair Johnston MOVED to ADOPT the proposed committee
substitute for HB 205, Work Draft 31-GH2197\U (Bruce,
2/19/20). There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
3:23:15 PM
BRODIE ANDERSON, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER,
explained the changes in the in the committee substitute
(CS). The bill included all House Finance subcommittee
actions and changes made to the language section compared
to the CS introduced the past Monday, February 17,
referenced as version M. The new CS [version U] reflected a
total agency operations budget of $9,033,970,300.
Co-Chair Foster asked if Mr. Anderson was referring to the
summary of changes document.
Mr. Anderson replied that he was using notes and
referencing a Legislative Finance Division document titled
"2020 Legislature - Operating Budget Agency Summary - House
Structure - Numbers and Language" dated February 19, 2020
(copy on file). He informed the committee that the totals
were included on the second page. He restated the agency
operations total of $9,033,970,300. The budget included
$742,469,500 in statewide items including debt services,
retirement payments, fund capitalization, and transfers.
The following fund totals were included: $2,871,124,000 in
federal funds; $897,553,100 in designated general funds
(DGF); $1,602,942,400 in "other" funds including the
authorization of interagency receipts, airport receipts,
and corporate receipts such as Alaska Industrial
Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation (AHFC) and Alaska Aerospace; and
$4,404,882,300 [$4,404,820,300] in unrestricted general
funds (UGF). He reported that the UGF spend reflected an
increase of $258,551,200 or 6.2 percent from the original
FY 20 adjusted base. A large portion of the increase
included the $128 million correction to Medicaid funding.
The budget was $8.3 million or 0.2 percent above the FY 20
governor's requested budget, not including amendments
introduced by the governor that day.
3:26:30 PM
Mr. Anderson relayed that the numbers section reflected all
actions taken by subcommittees. He directed members to a
comparison provided in members' packets titled "Summary of
Changes Operating Budget - CS HB 205 31-GH2197\U,
Bruce, 2/19/20" (copy on file):
Summary of Changes Operating Budget
CS HB 205 31-GH2197\U, Bruce, 2/19/20
1. Deleted the previous sec. 7, which deposited the
FY21 AIDEA Dividend to the Alaska Marine Highway
System fund.
Mr. Anderson noted that the first item was in line with the
normal practice of spending the AIDEA dividend in the
capital budget. He continued to review a summary of
changes:
2. Sec. 7, p. 53:
a. Line 13, Deleted a section that appropriated
royalties to the permanent fund beyond the
constitutionally dedicated 25%;
Mr. Anderson noted that the deleted section pertained to
royalties from post 1979 fields. He continued to review the
changes:
b. Line 17, modified section (b) to deposit the
entire percent of market draw of $3,091,492,927 from
the ERA to the general fund;
c. Removed the appropriation for the Permanent Fund
Dividend;
d. Line 22, added a new section (d) for inflation
proofing, estimated to be $1,055,600,000.
3. Sec. 9, p. 55, line 17: added a new section 9(e)
that amends the FY20 Power Cost Equalization estimate
from $32.4 million to $29.7 million based on an
updated estimate from the Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development.
4. Deleted the previous section (h) which
appropriated the $2.8 million from the Capstone
Avionics Revolving Loan Fund to the Alaska Development
Team as a multi-year operating item (supplemental
effective date, covering FY20-FY23).
5. Sec. 14(b), p. 58, line 6: added a new section
(b) that appropriates the proceeds, estimated to be
$7,800, from Veterans' special request license plates
to DMVA for Veterans' memorials.
Mr. Anderson elaborated that the proceeds from veterans'
special request license plates would assist in funding
repairs and replacements for veteran memorials. He
continued reviewing the changes:
6. Sec. 15(a), p. 58, line 17: deleted the multi-
year effect for this language and restricted it to a
single year.
Mr. Anderson noted that the Department of Natural Resources
and the Department of Revenue supported the change in
Section 15(a). He moved to the next change:
7. Sec. 15(d), p. 58, line 28: adjusted the estimate
for fire suppression from $8.5 million to $20.5
million to reflect the ten-year average for this item.
Mr. Anderson relayed the change in Section 15(d) pertained
only to federal authority. He continued to review the
changes:
8. Sec. 18(e), p. 60, line 3: added debt payments
for municipal project debt in DOTPF and AEA. The
addition totals $2,354.4 UGF.
3:30:56 PM
Mr. Anderson continued reviewing the summary of changes:
9. Sec. 19(a), p. 65, line 7: an additional sentence
was added to clarify that receipts under this section
do not include prior fund balances. The previous
language already prevented this, however, a
longstanding misinterpretation led to RPLs being
approved that were not consistent with this language.
Mr. Anderson expounded that Section 19(a) allowed the
administration to come before the Legislative Budget and
Audit Committee to request additional authority. The
additional sentence had been added for clarity. He
continued reviewing changes:
10. Deleted prior sec. 19(d) that would have allowed
for universal carryforward for statutory designated
program receipts.
Mr. Anderson relayed that Section 19(d) had been a new
request by the governor. He continued to highlight changes:
11. Sec. 20(g), page 66, line 15: amended the amount
of the deposit into the Community Assistance Fund to
$30 million from $28.7 million. The change in section
9(e) that adjusts the PCE estimate for FY20 increases
the amount available for appropriation from the PCE
fund to the Community Assistance Fund.
12. Sec. 21 Fund Transfers, page 68, beginning on
line 29
a. Deleted the prior section (l) that would have
deposited the balance of the Large Passenger Vessel
Gaming and Gambling Tax account to the Alaska Capital
Income Fund;
b. Deleted prior section (m) that would have
deposited the balance of the Investment Loss Trust
Fund into the Alaska Marine Highway System fund
Mr. Anderson elaborated on Section 21(m) and explained that
the normal practice for authorizing and spending the funds
was in the capital budget. He continued to review changes:
c. p. 71, line 4: added a new section (l) depositing
the $2.8 million balance of the Capstone Avionics
Revolving Loan Fund to the Alaska Marine Highway
System fund effective June, 30, 2020. The fund lapses
on July 1, so the FY20 supplemental effective date is
necessary for this deposit to occur.
3:33:42 PM
Mr. Anderson continued reviewing the changes in the CS:
13. Sec. 26 Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR), page
75, beginning on line 5
a. Removed the prior section (b) that would have
filled the FY21 deficit from the CBR.
Mr. Anderson noted that because the budget did not reflect
a deficit, the language from the prior Section 26(b) was
not needed. He concluded his review of the changes:
b. Added a new section (b) that appropriates
interest earned on general fund balances to the CBR
for compensation of lost earnings when the CBR is
utilized for cash flow. This section does not require
a 3/4 vote of the legislature.
14. Sec. 29, p. 75, line 31: adjusted the contingency
language for the Alaska Psychiatric Institute
appropriation in Section 12 from "over 79 beds" to "70
beds".
Mr. Anderson elaborated on Section 29 and explained that
the Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) had been trending
upward to accommodate the needs. The adjusted language
would allow API to cover the cost of filling the last ten
beds to capacity if needed.
3:35:02 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked if there were questions on the
changes made in the bill.
Representative Wool asked for verification that the changes
adopted by the subcommittees were incorporated into the CS.
Co-Chair Foster responded affirmatively. He asked members
to contact his office if they had any subsequent questions
on the bill. The CS was largely the incorporation of the
subcommittee reports and changes to the language section.
Co-Chair Johnston MOVED to ADOPT the proposed committee
substitute for HB 206, Work Draft 31-GH2198\U (Bruce,
2/17/20). There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
Mr. Anderson reviewed the changes in HB 206. He informed
the committee that all of the Section 1 changes made by the
subcommittee to the operating budget numbers sections were
in line with the mental health board recommendations. All
of the following items were capital budget items found in
the mental health operating budget. He looked at page 3 of
the summary of changes document titled "Summary of Changes
Mental Health Budget - CSHB 206 31-GH2198\U, Bruce,
2/17/20" (copy on file). He reviewed the changes:
1. Section 1 changes made by subcommittees to the
operating budget numbers sections.
2. Page 10, line 21, AHFC Beneficiary and Special
Needs Housing: Adds $1.75 million of GF/Mental Health
and $250.0 of AHFC Dividends, increasing the total
project from $1.7 million to $3.7 million. This
matches the Mental Health Trust Authority
recommendation.
3. Page 10, line 23, AHFC Homelessness Assistance
Project: Adds $850.0 of GF/Mental Health, bringing
the project total from $7.3 million to $8.15 million.
This matches the Mental Health Trust Authority
recommendation.
4. A project in the Department of Transportation and
Public Facilities, Coordinated Transportation and
Vehicles, $1.3 million, was removed. By tradition, the
House and Senate leave an item to the other body to
add so that the budget can be addressed in the
Conference Committee.
5. There are no changes to the language section.
Mr. Anderson relayed that all of the changes in the CS
reflected the recommendations forwarded by the mental
health trust board.
Co-Chair Foster asked members to submit amendments by
Monday, February 24 at 5:00 p.m. He reviewed the schedule
for the following meeting. He reviewed the email address,
phone number, and procedure for public testimony.
Representative Josephson highlighted HB 206 as an example.
He noted that version M dated January 22 was largely given
to the legislature from the Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority with technical changes made by legislative
drafters. He stated his understanding that the current
version U was the working document.
3:43:00 PM
Co-Chair Foster agreed.
Mr. Anderson relayed that amendments would be written to
version U of the bills.
Representative Josephson asked for verification that the
amendment deadline was Monday at 5:00 p.m.
Co-Chair Foster confirmed that the amendment deadline was
Monday at 5:00 p.m. He detailed that public testimony would
be taken Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 5:00 p.m. and
Saturday at 12:00 p.m. He relayed that he had been
considering an amendment deadline of Saturday but wanted to
give members more time.
HB 205 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 206 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
3:44:11 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 3:44 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 205 & HB 206 Compare v.M to v.U 021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 205 HB 206 |
| HB 205 CS FIN WorkDraft v.U021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 205 |
| HB 205 HCS1 UGF Agency Summary 021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 205 |
| HB 205 HCS1 Al Funds Agency Summary 021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 205 |
| HB 205 TransComp 021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 205 |
| HB 206 CS FIN WorkDraft v.U021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 206 |
| HB 206 HCS1 MH Capital Project Detail 021920.pdf |
HFIN 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 206 |