Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
03/12/2024 05:00 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB268 || HB270 | |
| Public Testimony: Juneau | |
| Public Testimony: Sitka, Petersburg, Delta Junction, Dillingham, Glennallen, Tok, and Offnets | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 268 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 270 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
March 12, 2024
5:06 p.m.
5:06:18 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Johnson called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 5:06 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bryce Edgmon, Co-Chair
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative DeLena Johnson, Co-Chair
Representative Julie Coulombe
Representative Mike Cronk
Representative Alyse Galvin
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Will Stapp
Representative Frank Tomaszewski
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Joan O'Keefe, Executive Living, Southeast Alaska
Independent Living, Juneau; Lauree Morton, Deputy Director,
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault,
Juneau; Emily Ferry, Self, Juneau; Representative Andi
Story.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Marianne Mills, President, Alaska Geriatric Exchange
Network, Juneau; Erin Walker-Tolles, Executive Director,
Catholic Community Services, Juneau; Jennifer Carson,
Executive Director, Behavioral Health Services, Bartlett
Regional Hospital, Juneau; Tom Boutin, Self, Juneau;
Pamela Baker-Albert, Caregiver, North Way; Georgia Jackson,
Self, Caregiver, Copper Center; Edna Beebe, Self, Eek;
Pascale Hawkins, Caregiver, Juneau.
SUMMARY
HB 268 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET; CAP; SUPP; AM
HB 268 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HB 270 APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET
HB 270 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY:
JUNEAU
SITKA, PETERSBURG, DELTA JUNCTION, DILLINGHAM,
GLENNALLEN, TOK, AND OFFNETS
Co-Chair Johnson reviewed the meeting agenda.
HOUSE BILL NO. 268
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs; capitalizing funds; amending
appropriations; making capital appropriations; making
supplemental appropriations; making reappropriations;
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. 270
"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."
5:07:14 PM
^PUBLIC TESTIMONY: JUNEAU
5:08:51 PM
[Although not expressly stated, public testimony was
opened.]
JOAN O'KEEFE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUTHEAST ALASKA
INDEPENDENT LIVING, JUNEAU explained that the mission of
Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL) was to inspire
independence. The organization served seniors and
individuals of all ages experiencing disabilities. She
encouraged the committee to take a hard look at the
recommendations put forth by Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority (AMHTA). There were many items related to mental
health that were not funded in the budget or were only
partially funded. She relayed that two of the important
items that needed funding were home modifications and
upgrades, which would receive $575,000 less than the amount
recommended by the trust. If the funds were cut, many
individuals with disabilities would not be able to remain
in their homes. The trust also recommended $183,500 for the
long-term care ombudsman, which was excluded from the
governor's budget. The funds would support an additional
assistant ombudsman. She also urged the committee to
support the addition of $1 million for transit match
funding.
Co-Chair Johnson noted that the committee had adopted a
committee substitute for HB 270 earlier in the day and most
of the items mentioned by Ms. O'Keefe were included.
5:12:25 PM
LAUREE MORTON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ALASKA NETWORK ON DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT, JUNEAU thought it was
difficult to highlight the decrements to proposed services
because she wanted to believe that the administration
understood the importance of public safety. The services
were critical and it would be detrimental to cut the
services. Shelters and rape crisis centers were emergency
centers and were open 24 hours a day, every day. The
centers could not continue to do more with less and the
collective will of the legislature was paramount in order
to keep the doors open. She also urged that the committee
support increasing the amount of funding available for
victims of violent crime. If state dollars were reduced in
the present year, then federal dollars would be reduced in
the following year. She recognized that current date was
Ashley Johnson Barr day, which was a day of remembrance for
a ten-year-old girl who was a victim of kidnapping and
sexual assault. The day illustrated the importance of
funding domestic violence. She urged that legislature to
act in order to not need another special day of
remembrance.
Co-Chair Johnson noted that Representative Andi Story was
present in the audience.
5:15:34 PM
EMILY FERRY, SELF, JUNEAU, appreciated the $680 increase to
the Base Student Allocation (BSA). She emphasized that it
was critical to invest in the education system in order to
retain families in Alaska. The school budgets had been
being cut for about a decade, and she referred to a graph
showing the direct correlation between the decline in
funding and the decline in educational outcomes. In 2012,
about 22 percent of high school graduates were enrolling in
two-year or four-year degree programs but only 34 percent
of graduates were enrolling in 2022. An increase of $680
was a great start but it would not fix everything. She did
not think it would be a surprise if parents were to come
back year-after-year to ask for an increased BSA. She noted
that there were not going to be many people from Juneau
testifying tonight because a school board meeting
discussing the closure of schools was happening at the same
time as the committee meeting.
5:18:32 PM
MARIANNE MILLS, PRESIDENT, ALASKA GERIATRIC EXCHANGE
NETWORK, JUNEAU (via teleconference), explained that the
Alaska Geriatric Exchange Network (AGENET) was primarily
made up of private, non-profit organizations. The network
supported aging Alaskans and helped seniors safely live in
their own home and communities and avoid costly
institutional care. She urged the committee to maintain the
current FY 24 funding for senior community grants in the FY
25 budget. Community based services offered through the
grants included nutritious meals, daily safety checks,
adult day services, and assistance with bathing or
dressing. Maintaining the current level of funding would
mean an addition of $2.7 million in general funds. Alaska
had the fastest growing senior population in the nation and
it made economic sense to help seniors age in their own
homes. In 2023, nearly 20,000 older Alaskans benefited from
community grants at a cost of $691 per year per client. She
urged support for funding for the grants.
Representative Josephson asked Ms. Mills to repeat her last
sentence stating the cost per client.
Ms. Mills responded that it would cost $691 per senior
client per year to receive community grant services. For
seniors in nursing homes, the cost was $148,000 per client
per year.
5:22:41 PM
ERIN WALKER-TOLLES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
SERVICES, JUNEAU (via teleconference), explained that
Catholic Community Service (CCS) was a regional faith-based
non-profit that provided home community based services for
seniors and caregivers. Senior services were being reduced
while community needs continued to increase. She expressed
her concern for seniors and caregivers statewide if the
funding continued to decrease. She relayed that CCS had
never experienced such a dramatic increase in community
needs. The number of seniors receiving services had
increased by 54 percent in the past five years, from 80,000
seniors to 171,000 seniors in FY 23. The percentage of
seniors who were homebound had increased from 50 percent to
85 percent in FY 23. There was a 20 percent increase in
seniors accessing home care in the prior year. Due to a
lack of funding, the center had reduced the number of days
the senior centers were open and laid off staff in order to
pay for food for the seniors. Unless the current level of
funding was maintained, CCS would not be able to meet
community needs and it was likely that it would need to
reduce the number of days that it provided hot meals to
seniors to three days per week and it could be forced to
close one or more of the senior centers. She urged the
committee to maintain the current level of funding for
senior grants in order to avoid a potential crisis in
senior health outcomes.
5:25:29 PM
JENNIFER CARSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
SERVICES, BARTLETT REGIONAL HOSPITAL, JUNEAU (via
teleconference), testified in support of the Crisis Now
grants and crisis stabilization. She explained that the
Crisis Now system was a best practice framework for
developing and implementing services for individuals
experiencing a crisis. The services were critical in
avoiding the unnecessary use of law enforcement to respond
to a person in a behavioral health crisis. There was only
one crisis center providing services to youths in the
state. She argued that it was imperative that crisis grant
funding be added back into the budget as the current
funding was not adequate to fund ongoing operations. Other
more costly services would become more heavily relied upon
in lieu of adequate funding, such as in-patient services.
There had been positive outcomes for individuals who had
been admitted into crisis stabilization services. She asked
the committee to consider adding the $1 million back to the
budget in order solidify the continuation of crisis
services.
5:27:44 PM
TOM BOUTIN, SELF, JUNEAU (via teleconference), urged the
committee to refrain from using savings to fund the budget.
He thought that Alaska had full employment and high oil
prices and the annual oil production was not likely to
increase. He argued that spending one-time savings now was
not logical. Oil prices had dropped while the population
had doubled and there was no compensation for the loss in
profit. The media was complaining in 2023 that the
administration could not keep up with new Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment while there
were also reports that there were two vacant jobs available
for every unemployed Alaskan. He thought that Alaskans who
wanted to work in the private sector were moving away for
higher wages. The economy had unprecedented structural
problems and he did not think deficit spending was a
remedy. He opined that economic problems would not be
addressed by increased education spending or better child
care. He thought that the budget process was not
transparent enough. He was fearful that there would be
overspending. The state sector had become
disproportionately large and it dissuaded the manufacturing
sector.
Co-Chair Johnson shared that there were no more testifiers
online and she would take an at ease to give individuals
the opportunity to call in.
5:31:06 PM
AT EASE
5:31:52 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Johnson stated that the committee would return at
6:00 p.m.
Representative Hannan shared that a school board meeting
discussing potential school closures in Juneau was
happening at the same time as the committee meeting. She
thought that 90 percent of engaged families were at the
school board meeting, which was why there was a small
number of testifiers.
Co-Chair Johnson reviewed the contact numbers for
testifiers to call in.
5:34:14 PM
AT EASE
6:02:38 PM
RECONVENED
^PUBLIC TESTIMONY: SITKA, PETERSBURG, DELTA JUNCTION,
DILLINGHAM, GLENNALLEN, TOK, AND OFFNETS
Co-Chair Johnson noted that there were no additional
testifiers. She repeated the phone numbers for testifiers.
Co-Chair Johnson relayed that one testifier had called in
while she was offering the phone numbers.
6:03:54 PM
PAMELA BAKER-ALBERT, CAREGIVER, NORTH WAY (via
teleconference), relayed that she had been a caregiver for
17 years and her client was in a wheeled chair due to a
traumatic brain injury. She went above and beyond her
required hours as a caregiver in order to ensure that the
needs of her client were met, such as driving 69 miles to
go grocery shopping. She requested that caregivers receive
dental benefits, prescription drug coverage, and eyeglass
benefits. The caregiving agencies were not covering such
benefits and caregivers were required to pay out-of-pocket.
She would like the funding received by the state to go to
the caregivers and not to the agencies. She asked what
caregivers could do to promote the availability of
benefits. She noted that her community was so remote that
it did not have running water, which meant that she was
packing water for her client when it was negative 20
degrees outside. She would appreciate it if the legislature
would consider the needs of caregivers.
Co-Chair Johnson appreciated the testifier's comments.
Representative Cronk thanked the testifier for her
comments.
Co-Chair Johnson stated that there were no more testifiers
online and the committee would return at 6:30 p.m.
6:09:21 PM
AT EASE
6:32:39 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Johnson relayed that testifiers had called in
during the at ease.
6:33:21 PM
GEORGIA JACKSON, SELF, CAREGIVER, COPPER CENTER (via
teleconference), indicated that she was a caregiver and
wanted to request more funding for at-home services. She
lived in a rural area and the current pay was not
encouraging people to work. There were no social security
benefits and employees' only option was Medicaid. Some
clients were 40 miles away and there was no mileage
coverage. Her client did not have running water and the
logistics were difficult. There were many elders and
disabled people not receiving services because the pay and
benefits were not sufficient to encourage people to work.
She argued that increased funding could improve the
problem.
6:37:48 PM
EDNA BEEBE, SELF, EEK (via teleconference), relayed that
her community of Eek was not part of the road system. She
was currently a caretaker for her mom and was also a
caretaker for her dad before he passed away. She was
responsible for her mom's meals and made sure her mom had
fresh clothing and bedding. She had only been allowed to
work for about 13 hours per week since she began caregiving
about six years ago and her mom's needs had only increased
over the years. She relayed that her mom had medical
appointments in Anchorage, but due to the weather the
appointments were often rescheduled. She argued that higher
pay would attract more applicants to the caregiving
profession. She noted that living expenses in Eek had been
steadily increasing. She urged that more funding go to the
caregivers.
6:44:05 PM
PASCALE HAWKINS, CAREGIVER, ARIS SOLUTIONS, JUNEAU (via
teleconference), requested that more money be added to the
budget for caregivers. She was a former nurse and was only
getting paid $20 per hour for caregiving. She noted that it
was costing her more money to drive to work and back home
than she was receiving in wages. Her son was now a
caregiver and would be experiencing even more financial
difficulties if he did not live with Ms. Hawkins. She
relayed that her son had been working for the same agency
for over a year and had not gotten a raise or any other
increased compensation. She loved being a caregiver but the
pay and benefits were prohibitive.
[Although not expressly stated, public testimony was
closed.]
Co-Chair Johnson reviewed the agenda for the following
day's meeting.
HB 268 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 270 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
6:49:29 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 6:49 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 268 & HB 270 Public Testimony Rec'd by 031224.pdf |
HFIN 3/12/2024 5:00:00 PM |
HB 268 HB 270 |