Legislature(2013 - 2014)HOUSE FINANCE 519
01/23/2013 01:30 PM House FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Fy14 Governor's Budget Overview: Department of Public Safety | |
| Fy14 Governor's Budget Overview: Department of Corrections | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 65 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 66 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 23, 2013
1:32 p.m.
1:32:45 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Austerman called the House Finance Committee
meeting to order at 1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Alan Austerman, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Stoltze, Co-Chair
Representative Mark Neuman, Vice-Chair
Representative Mia Costello
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Les Gara
Representative David Guttenberg
Representative Lindsey Holmes
Representative Cathy Munoz
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Tammie Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Joe Joseph Masters, Commissioner, Department of Public
Safety; Jeff Hoover, Director, Division of Administrative
Services, Department of Public Safety; Joseph Schmidt,
Commissioner, Department of Corrections; Ron Taylor, Deputy
Commissioner, Department of Corrections; Leslie Houston,
Deputy Commissioner, Department of Corrections;
Representative Doug Isaacson.
SUMMARY
FY14 GOVERNOR'S BUDGET OVERVIEW:
Department of Public Safety
Department of Corrections
HB 65 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUNDS
HB 65 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 66 APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET
HB 66 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HOUSE BILL NO. 65
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs, capitalizing funds, amending
appropriations, and making reappropriations; and
providing for an effective date."
HOUSE BILL NO. 66
"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."
^FY14 GOVERNOR'S BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
1:33:33 PM
JOE JOSEPH MASTERS, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY (DPS), introduced himself for the record.
Commissioner Masters began a PowerPoint Presentation titled
"Department of Public Safety Department Budget
Overview"(copy on file) and introduced his staff. He
indicated that there was a large amount of information held
within the overview slides and that he did not intend to
spend a lot of time on the minute details.
Commissioner Masters discussed slide 2 titled "Department
of Public Safety."
Our Mission:
To ensure public safety and enforce fish and wildlife
laws
AS 44.41.020
Our Core Services
· Law Enforcement Patrol and Investigations
· Rural Law Enforcement
· Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs
· Statewide Public Safety Programs
· Resource Protection
· Highway Safety
Commissioner Masters stated that DPS's mission was found in
Title 44 and was very broad in statute
Commissioner Masters spoke to slide 3 titled
"Organizational Chart." He related that DPS's largest
division was the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST),
which provided law enforcement activities. The Alaska
Wildlife Troopers (AWT), the Division of Fire and Life
Safety, the Division of Administrative Services, and the
Division of Statewide Services were also housed within DPS.
He mentioned that DPS also contained three councils, which
were the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
(CDVSA), the Alaska Fire Standards Council, and the Alaska
Police Standards Council. The Alcoholic Beverage Control
Board, which had previously been housed in DPS, was now
contained under the Department of Commerce, Community and
Economic Development (DCCED).
1:37:58 PM
Commissioner Masters addressed slide 4 titled "Statewide
Impact."
· DPS is the primary statewide law enforcement agency
· Direct support Investigative assistance
· Search and rescue
· Training
· Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN)
· Crime lab
Commissioner Masters stated that the Division of AST were
viewed as the face of DPS, but related that the department
had a much broader mission. He furthered that DPS has
statutory responsibilities to provide direct support to
local communities, municipal law enforcement agencies, and
search and rescue operations. In 2012, DPS provided 7,072
assists to local agencies, 313 of which were direct
assistances from DPS's Alaska Bureau of Investigation. In
2012, the department participated in 677 search and rescues
that involved 1080 people. He pointed out that although DPS
had various search and rescue obligations, that aspect of
the department's mission was largely met through volunteer
organizations, as well as other professional organizations
such as fire departments and other rescue organizations. He
discussed DPS's training academy for law enforcement in
Sitka that provided training for state troopers, municipal
police officers, village public safety officers (VPSO), and
village police officers; the department also conducted
training to service providers and others outside of the
agency.
Co-Chair Austerman recognized that Representative Isaacson
was present in audience.
Vice-Chair Neuman inquired if the agency provided training
for local search and rescue operations. Commissioner
Masters responded that volunteer and professional
organizations had a huge role in search and rescue in
Alaska and although the department provided some training,
it only represented part of what occurred. He mentioned
that there were other training organizations in the state.
Commissioner Masters continued to discuss slide 4.
1:42:34 PM
Representative Costello queried if DPS managed the sex
offender registry. Commissioner Masters responded in the
affirmative and that the registry was one of the programs
that were housed within the Division of Statewide Services.
Representative Costello inquired if the commissioner knew
how many sex offenders were currently in the registry.
Commissioner Masters responded that he did not have the
information off hand, but that he would provide it for the
committee. He pointed out that the requested information
was also available on DPS's website under the sex offender
registry section.
Commissioner Masters stated that the next set of slides
represented a more technical look at DPS's budget.
JEFF HOOVER, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES,
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, discussed slide 5 titled
"FY2014 Operating Budget by Fund Source" and stated that
the department had a $208.8 million budget, most of which
were general funds. The general funds were made up of
general fund match and general fund program receipts.
General funds represented about 87 percent of the
department's budget. In FY14, there was an increase of
$12.2 million over the prior budget; a lot of the increase
was related to backfilling federal and other funds. He
offered that DPS's general fund was only 3.6 percent of all
agencies' general funds.
Mr. Hoover spoke to slide 6 titled "FY2014 Operating Budget
by Organization." He related that the AST Division was the
agency's largest division and represented 53 percent of
DPS's total budget. He pointed to the five divisions that
Commissioner Masters had talked about and related that the
VPSO program was under AST. He noted that AST and the AWT
were separate divisions, but that they were under the same
the appropriation.
Mr. Hoover pointed to slide 7 titled "FY2014 Operating
Budget by Line Item." He discussed that grants were a large
piece of DPS's budget; grants represented about 15 percent
of the total budget at about $30.9 million. About $15.6
million of the grants were for VPSOs and the CDVSA was
granted about $14.4 million. He shared that personal
services represented about 56 percent of the budget.
1:47:23 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze noted that the CDVSA programs were located
in DPS. He recalled that Commissioner Streur gave a
presentation that showed that a fairly large program for
domestic violence and sexual assault was in the Department
of Health and Social Services (DHSS); he inquired why the
DHSS program was not integrated within DPS. Commissioner
Masters responded that he was unaware of what items were in
the DHSS budget. He added that DPS had certain programs in
its budget that were domestic violence and sexual assault
related, but were not CDVSA related; he offered that DHSS
likely had similar items in its budget. He offered that
certain types of funding went to the agency best suited to
deal with the issue and that DHSS might be better suited to
administer certain programs.
Co-Chair Stoltze interjected that there was a general
consensus that DHSS was better suited to administer the
grant functions of DPS.
Mr. Hoover addressed slide 8 titled "Department of Public
Safety Share of Total Agency Operations." Slide 8 was
prepared by the Legislative Finance Division to show an
overall history of general funds over nine years; there was
an increase in the fund during that period of about 7.9
percent. He offered that a lot of the increase was due back
filling federal and other funds and related even with the
increase over 9 years, DPS's percentage of the total
general funds from all agencies had remained rather flat.
Commissioner Masters reiterated that a portion of the
increases on slide 8 were attributed to general funds and
the replacement of diminishing federal funding. He noted
that the larger increases in the last few years were in the
areas of improvements and enhancements to the VPSO program,
as well as new trooper positions.
Representative Gara stated that "in this case," the
majority of the general fund increase was not related to
backfilling federal funds and inquired if that was correct.
Commissioner Masters responded in the affirmative, but
added that it was accurate to say that a portion of the
increase was due to backfilling funds. The following slide
would illustrate the changes to federal and other funding.
1:52:23 PM
Mr. Hoover spoke to slide 9 titled "Department of Public
Safety Percent of the Total Department's Budget by Fund
Group." The slide depicted the change in the makeup of
federal and other funds. He observed that federal fund
authorization had peaked in FY10 and that other fund
authorization peaked in FY12. He relayed that in the FY14
budget, $4.2 million was shifted to general funds from
federal and other funds; the change was primarily related
to federal funding changes.
Co-Chair Austerman inquired how far back DPS could look
back in order to examine which federal funds had been
supplanted with general funds. Mr. Hoover responded that
the department could go back and look at multiple years.
Co-Chair Austerman requested that 2005 be used as a
starting point to examine which federal funds had been
supplanted with general funds and asked Mr. Hoover to
return to the committee with the information. Mr. Hoover
responded in the affirmative.
Commissioner Masters discussed slide 10 titled "Status of
Current Year."
Accomplishments
· Completion of New Crime Lab
· Public Safety Academy Dining Hall
· Selawik Post
· New Aircraft in Service
· Domestic & Sexual Violence Prevention Planning
· Highway Safety
Challenges
· Need for Core Police Services
· VPSO Infrastructure and Retention
· High Rate of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
· Federal Grant Reductions
· Bureau of Highway Patrol funding from Alaska Highway
Safety Office
Commissioner Masters discussed the first bullet point and
stated that DPS had moved its staff and scientists over to
the new laboratory in June of the current year; during this
transitional period, there was some backlog buildup, which
the department was working on eliminating. Despite the
slowdown, DPS was still able to keep up with submissions
into the lab within a 30-day-period and had eliminated DNA
backlogs prior to 2011. He stated that the department had
fully functionalized its Selawik Post and relayed that it
had dramatically reduced crime in the area. The helicopter
that would be used in the Interior was currently being
built and was expected to be delivered to Fairbanks in June
of the current year. The department was in the process of
hiring a pilot for the helicopter. He discussed the Green
Dot, Girls on The Run, Boys Can Run, and Lead On programs.
He pointed out that the Coaching Boys into Men program was
a significant program where people in leadership roles in
schools assisted athletes who had an informal leadership
role in school. He discussed the Fourth R curriculum that
assisted students with relationships. He noted that from
2009 to 2012, when the Bureau of Highway Patrol was in
place, Alaska experienced the lowest on record number of
fatal crashes and DUI related crashes. He stated that the
previous year, DUI related crashes represented 21 percent
or 22 percent of the total; historically, this percentage
was in the 30th percentile. He concluded that the number
fatal crashes were going down while the volume of traffic
was going up and related that there were only 59 fatal
crashes the previous year. In 1975, Alaska had 112 fatal
crashes even though the traffic volume was much lower than
it was currently. He offered that the reduction in
fatalities were indicative of DPS's overall strategy.
2:01:00 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze stated that the Alaska Court System budget
had an increment for getting "habitual traffic violators
back on the road" and inquired if the Criminal Justice
Working Group had consulted DPS about the increment.
Commissioner Masters replied that he had not personally had
conversations with the working group, but that it was
possible they had contacted others.
Co-Chair Stoltze asked if the Criminal Justice Working
Group would have another meeting in the current session.
Commissioner Masters responded that they met on a regular
basis and would meet again one or two more times before the
end of the current session. Co-Chair Stoltze commented that
he would require Commissioner Master's blessing in order to
pass the increment for traffic violators in the Alaska
Court System's budget. He pointed out that highway safety
measures were punitive for a purpose and expressed concern
that another branch of government would be enabled to start
an initiative to get habitual traffic violators on the road
faster than the current legal system allowed. Commissioner
Masters responded that the criminal justice working group
was a very good group that worked on enhancing the criminal
justice system to make sure things worked as best as they
could. He added that organizations did not always discuss
everything with other agencies even though they might be
affected by it.
Co-Chair Stoltze inquired if there was any ambiguity on the
issue. Commissioner Masters replied that there was not.
2:04:27 PM
Vice-Chair Neuman mentioned the governor's request that 15
VPSO positions be added each year and pointed out that the
program currently had 23 vacant positions. He inquired
where and how the funding request for unfilled VPSO
positions would be spent. Commissioner Masters responded
that the funding request was enough to get the program to a
certain level of personnel. He mentioned that the VPSOs
were not state employees and that non-profit organizations
were used to administer the program. He stated that any
unspent funds for VPSO positions were being utilized to
enhance the program. He related that there had been
considerable discussion regarding the issue of funding use
and that infrastructure support was a particular challenge
to the program. The way the VPSO program was currently
structured, there were three entities in charge of its
administration. AST, the non-profit agency, and the
community all worked together to implement the program and
facilitate different aspects of the program. The
communities were required to provide office space,
transportation, communications equipment, and a holding
cell; in reality, some of these communities did not have
consistent funding. He concluded that DPS was using the
funds to assist communities to situate themselves in a
position where they can accept and retain a VPSO.
2:08:15 PM
Vice-Chair Neuman noted that some of the VPSO position
funding was being used for the program's current needs, but
that the state was approaching a time when the budgets
would probably be more restrictive. He inquired how the
costs of operations and maintenance of the VPSO program
would be covered in the future after the "cushion" of the
position funding was gone. Commissioner Masters responded
that DPS was assisting communities with facilities that
were not state owned and that the department would not have
a responsibility to the facilities. The program was
structured to encourage communities to tap other revenue
sources. He shared that the VPSO program was never intended
to be fully funded by the state. He stated that it was not
his intent to have the state fully funding every component
of the VPSO Program.
Co-Chair Austerman noted that time was running short and
requested that substantive questions be saved for the end
of the meeting.
Representative Gara mentioned the VPSO turnover rate. He
stated that some rural organizations did not believe they
could cover the indirect VPSO costs. He queried if the
communities were responsible for part of the VPSO's salary
and wondered if it was in statue or by arrangement that
this was done. He further inquired what Commissioner
Master's stance was towards the organizations that claimed
they could not pay the indirect costs and as a result,
could not maintain a VPSO. Commissioner Masters anticipated
that there would be further discussion on the issue in
subcommittee, but that the VPSO Program paid the entire
personal services cost of the VPSOs; furthermore, there was
a capped indirect rate of 15 percent to the non-profits. He
stated that the 15 percent capped rate caused the non-
profits issues because the federal programs had a federal
negotiated indirect rate; the non-profits could not utilize
other program costs to cover the gap between the 15 percent
and their federally negotiated rate. He related that the
department had been meeting with non-profits in order to
figure out how to stay within the available funding and
restructure the program to accommodate concerns.
Representative Gara noted that he would discuss the matter
later with the commissioner, but that the goal of adding 15
VPSOs per year was "going backwards" because the state was
losing a significant percentage of the new hires. He added
that the state was not meeting the goal of 10 or 15 VPSOs
per year.
2:13:27 PM
Commissioner Masters continued to discuss slide 10.
Challenges
· Need for Core Police Services
· VPSO Infrastructure and Retention
· High Rate of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
· Federal Grant Reductions
· Bureau of Highway Patrol funding from Alaska Highway
Safety Office
Commissioner Masters related that the current turnover rate
in the VPSO Program was about 28 percent or 29 percent, but
that the number was significantly lower than the turnover
rate that the program had experienced in previous years; at
one time, the turnover rate had been over 50 percent. He
pointed out that the previous year, 28 VPSOs were added but
that "29 going out the back door" made it difficult to
achieve retention. ["29" was made in reference to the 29
percent turnover rate.] DPS was attempting to identify ways
to slow down the attrition rate and make the jobs more
appealing to applicants. He discussed the first bullet
point and stated that additional troopers were needed in
the Fairbanks Interior Region, the Mat-Su Valley, and the
Kenai Peninsula. He noted that there was an increase in
population over the past decades and that DPS had not kept
pace with additional patrol troopers in those areas. He
offered that there was a direct correlation between the
population in a service area and how many calls DPS
received; the number of service calls in Fairbanks had
nearly doubled between 2000 and the current year. He stated
that the Mat-Su Region also experienced a doubling in the
volume of service calls from 2000 until the current year.
The current patrol trooper staffing was not sufficient to
have 24-7 coverage at the Soldotna Post; there were two or
three days per week where the post was not open for full
hours with an on duty trooper. He discussed the third
bullet point and relayed that DPS was continuing its fight
against domestic violence and sexual assault. He stated
that the rates of domestic violence and sexual assault were
still high, but pointed out that there were some promising
statistics.
Commissioner Masters discussed the fourth bullet point and
related that there was a reduction of about $4.2 million in
federal receipts that had been primarily covering DPS's
trooper patrol positions and sexual assault units; there
would be a funding increment requesting to retain these
positions.
Commissioner Masters addressed slide 11 titled "Performance
Indicators."
· Law Enforcement Patrol and Investigations
· 86% homicide solve rate on AST case
investigations, which is a decrease from FY2011
· Rural Law Enforcement
· 41% of misdemeanor and felony alcohol crimes
referred in FY2012 were accepted for
prosecution compared to 36% in FY2011
· Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
· 92% of sexual assault/sexual abuse victim
service participants indicated a positive
program impact in their lives due to CDVSA
services
· Statewide Public Safety Programs
· 42% reduction in unintentional fire fatalities
compared to the previous five year average
· Resource Protection
· 5.39% of wildlife violations detected as a
percentage of total contacts which is a 10.8%
increase over the previous year.
· Highway Safety
· 50% decrease in the number of DUI fatalities
compared to the previous 3-year average
Commissioner Masters pointed out that AST had responded to
over 112,000 calls for service the previous year, which was
about the same volume as 2011. 15 homicides were reported
in Alaska in 2012, 2 of which were still currently being
worked and remained unsolved.
2:17:49 PM
Commissioner Masters discussed slide 12 titled "FY14
Significant Operating Changes."
New and Continuing Initiatives
•New Sex Trafficking Investigation Unit with 3
Investigators, $827.2 GF
•Increased Trooper Coverage (15) in Fairbanks, Mat-SU,
and Kenai, $2,833.4 GF
•Initiative for Increasing the Number of Village
Public Safety Officers in Rural Areas, $2,679.3
GF
•New Support Trooper Position for Additional
Village Public Safety Officers, $293.3 GF
•New Trooper Post in Hooper Bay with Two
Troopers, $823.7 GF
Commissioner Masters spoke to the first bullet point and
stated that DPS had been "keeping our head somewhat in the
sand" on the issue of sex trafficking. He pointed out that
the department had allowed other agencies, primarily in the
Anchorage area, to take a lead role on sex trafficking. He
observed that the sex trafficking task force had identified
sex trafficking as an area of concern that DPS needed to
focus on.
Co-Chair Stoltze spoke to the first bullet point on slide
12 and inquired if it would be part of a fiscal note with
the governor's legislation or whether it required a
separate increment. Commissioner Masters responded that it
would not be in the form of a fiscal note on a crime bill,
but was a specific increment request in the budget. Co-
Chair Stoltze queried if there would be other requests as
part of a fiscal note with the legislation. Commissioner
Masters replied that it was too premature in the process
for him to comment, but reiterated that the first bullet
point was a request by AST for an investigator.
Commissioner Masters continued to discuss slide 12. He
spoke to the third bullet point and related that DPS had
identified 66 communities that had no law enforcement
protection whatsoever; any community that had a population
of less than 50 was not included in that number. He shared
that he was not suggesting to put a VPSO in every one of
the 66 communities, but that the department would likely be
able to do so in the bulk of those communities.
Representative Munoz inquired if a community had the say of
whether or not a VPSO was stationed there. Commissioner
Masters responded in the affirmative and that the way the
department was structuring requests was that the community
made a request to the non-profit administrating entity. The
non-profit would then begin working with the community on
the logistical and programmatic pieces.
Commissioner Masters continued to speak to slide 12. He
discussed the fourth bullet point and stated that the
trooper position would assist directly with the VPSO
program; the trooper would work with the non-profits, the
communities, and VPSOs.
2:21:58 PM
Representative Guttenberg requested a breakdown of the
$293,300 increment in the fourth bullet point. Mr. Hoover
responded that there was $77,000 in startup equipment costs
the first year and that the ongoing costs were around
$215,000. He stated that the trooper personal services
portion of the funding was around $150,000 and that there
would be related non-personal services costs.
Representative Guttenberg inquired what the new trooper
position would cost after the first year. Mr. Hoover
replied that the ongoing costs would be about $215,000.
Commissioner Masters continued to speak to slide 12. He
discussed the last bullet point and stated that the Hooper
Bay post would follow the same model as Selawick and
Emmonak. There would be two troopers posted permanently
into Hooper Bay with a rotating work schedule. Currently
Hooper Bay was covered out of the Bethel post, but the
flight time in a Cessna 207 was over an hour and a half and
over an hour in the Cessna Caravan. The two troopers would
also service the villages of was Chevak and Scammon Bay. He
shared that Hooper Bay was the largest village in Alaska
and that the village of Chevak had over 600 inhabitants. He
relayed that the aforementioned villages were in
significant need of law enforcement and that the cluster of
villages had the region's highest percentage of felony
cases that came into the Bethel Post for action. He added
that the cluster of villages had the highest percentage of
inmates in Bethel's jails.
2:24:25 PM
Commissioner Masters spoke to slide 13 titled "FY14
Significant Operating Changes."
Maintain Current Services
· Replace Federal Funds with State Funds for Bureau
of Highway Patrol DUI Enforcement, $2,937.0 GF /
($4,837.4 CIP Receipts)
· Replace Federal Funds for Six Investigative
Positions in Internet Crimes Against Children,
$914.2 GF
· Replace Federal Funds for three Public Safety
Technicians, $213.0 GF / ($213.0 CIP Receipts)
· Increased Dispatch Center Contract Costs in Matsu
Valley and Kenai, $400.0 GF
· Replace Federal Funds for Meth Grant Initiative,
$131.6 GF / ($131.6 Fed)
· Fully Fund Pilot and Operating Costs for New
Interior Helicopter, $296.8 GF
· Decrease in Risk Management Allocation,
($1,026.1) GF
· Salary & Health Benefits Increase, $946.1 All
funds
Commissioner Masters discussed the first bullet point and
pointed out that the Bureau of Highway Patrol's DUI
Enforcement program was a valuable program that cost
effective and saved lives; he opined that the program
needed to be continued. He spoke to the second bullet point
and pointed out that two of the investigative positions
would be in the technical crimes unit, which dealt with
internet predation and child pornography; two of the
investigative positions dealt with child sexual abuse
investigation and two were for adult sexual assault
investigative units. He continued to discuss the second
bullet point and related that the investigators were
located between Anchorage, Palmer, and Fairbanks. He stated
that the six investigative positions were put in service
through funding that was under the American Reinvestment
and Recovery Act (ARRA), but that DPS's strategy was to
continue the positions with general funds. He discussed the
third bullet point and related that the technicians
assisted AWT. He explained that DPS was not able to send
two troopers out on patrol in a skiff and that often it was
the technician that was boat operator.
2:26:59 PM
Representative Wilson inquired if some of the positions on
slide 13 were started with stimulus funding. Commissioner
Masters responded in the affirmative and that the six
investigator positions were directly funded by ARRA.
Representative Wilson requested a list of the positions
that would be using general fund but were started by ARRA.
Commissioner Masters believed that only the six
investigator positions were directly related to ARRA
funding, but that there were more positions that were
related to federal funding. He indicated that he would
provide the requested information.
Commissioner Masters continued to discuss slide 13. He
spoke to the fourth bullet point and stated that currently,
the department had direct a contract in Mat-Su with the
City of Wasilla for their dispatch center; costs needed to
be negotiated with this contract, as well as meet increased
dispatch needs. He discussed the fifth bullet point and
stated that it funded a criminal justice technician that
assisted the drug unit troopers with various things
including dismantling meth labs. He discussed the sixth
bullet point and pointed out that it was the remaining
funding for the personal services and operating costs for
the pilot and helicopter.
Representative Guttenberg inquired if the Meth Grant
Initiative was for a technician. Commissioner Masters
responded in the affirmative and that it was a technical
level job that provided very specific types of assistance.
Representative Guttenberg commented that there were
dangerous chemicals and risks when investigators went into
meth labs and inquired if the federal government had been
funding a technician that worked in that environment.
Commissioner Masters replied that the funding for the Meth
Grant Initiative was fairly broad on usage but that it was
for assistance in dealing with meth labs, portable meth
labs, and "pop bottle" meth labs, and other efforts dealing
with the meth issue; primarily, the technicians were
utilized in a supportive role.
2:30:35 PM
Representative Guttenberg relayed that he did not want to
minimize the risk of meth labs, but recalled reports that
the use of meth and meth labs was down. He inquired if
heroin was a big issue and queried what DPS was "chasing
most." Commissioner Masters replied that the "in vogue"
drugs were still out there, but that there was a resurgence
of heroin usage in several areas of the state. He relayed
that more information would be forthcoming in the mandatory
annual drug report from AST's drug unit. He added that DPS
was seeing significant issues with prescription medication
diversions and that pain medications represented majority
of abuse.
Representative Guttenberg inquired if the committee would
get a copy of the annual drug report from AST. Commissioner
Masters replied in the affirmative.
Representative Holmes commented about a potential
prescription drug database and inquired if it was still
being pursued by DPS. Commissioner Masters responded that
the potential database had been handled through DHSS, but
added that DPS had been in lengthy discussions with DHSS at
the time regarding the issue. He noted that DHSS had
investigators, particularly in the area of prescription
frauds. He concluded that he would return to the committee
with information regarding the potential database.
Vice-Chair Neuman pointed to the fourth bullet point on
slide 13 and mentioned the increases in the dispatch center
contract costs; He queried if there was a way to deal with
the costs more "in house." He further inquired if the
dispatch centers could be handled to achieve cost savings
and safety for AST. He wondered if a contract dispute with
the City of Wasilla that the state did not have control
over could put troopers at risk. Commissioner Masters
replied that the current contract with MATCOM was about
$1.5 million and that the new budget would increase the
contract's cost. He responded that DPS would not allow the
dispatch centers to endanger the troopers and that the
department would take drastic actions to insure that this
did not occur. He addressed the first question and
responded that the department was discussing internally at
what point it became equal cost or a cost savings to
provide certain services itself instead of using contracts.
He stated that the cost to the department, the type and
quality of the service, and the interactions between
infrastructure and programs that were being discussed were
all considered by the department. He related by example
that the Matanuska Borough was talking about a regionalized
dispatch center; the department was looking at the center
to discern if it was a viable option, but law enforcement
had very specific needs that were sometimes different than
the needs for dispatching fire and EMS services. He related
that the department also looked at the boundaries of the
regional dispatch centers, but that those boundaries were
not necessarily the boundaries that the state used for its
trooper positions. He stated that there were also
considerations of fail safes and redundancy capabilities of
the department's own systems for state owned and operated
dispatch centers such as the Fairbanks or Ketchikan
centers.
Vice-Chair Neuman pointed out that making sure that Alaska
State Troopers went home to their families every night was
the highest priority.
Commissioner Masters addressed slide 14 titled "FY14
Significant Operating Changes."
Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
· Provide Additional Grant Funds to Maintain
Existing Services to Adults and Children, $287.5
GF
· Grants to Non-profits to Provide New Community
Prevention Coordinators, $300.0 GF
· Grants to Non-profits to Provide Non-residential
Services to Victims in Remote Areas (Emerging
Programs), $250.0 GF
· Coaching Boys to Men Violence Prevention
Curriculum, $50.0 GF
Commissioner Masters spoke to slide 15 titled "FY14
Operating Budget Positions."
· 890 Permanent Full Time
· 18 Permanent Part Time
· 17 Non perms
· 334 Alaska State Troopers (21 new positions)
· 96 Alaska Wildlife Troopers
· 59 Court Services Officers
· Positions in 50 locations, one new location
(Hooper Bay)
Commissioner Masters highlighted that AST currently had 18
vacancies and that AWT had 4 vacancies. He related that DPS
was at the end of a hiring process and that the department
would be receiving job offers for those who would go into
the spring academy; DPS anticipated that there would be 18
to 22 job offers. He concluded that DPS would be 100
percent filled in both trooper divisions if no troopers
left and department got "on the outside end" of 22 job
offers.
2:38:02 PM
Commissioner Masters discussed slide 16 titled "FY2014
Capital Projects."
· Alaska State Troopers Law Enforcement Equipment
Replacement: $400.0 GF
· Alaska Wildlife Troopers Law Enforcement
Equipment Replacement: $400.0 GF
· VPSO Equipment: $400.0 GF
· Alaska Wildlife Troopers Vessel Repair and
Maintenance: $1,000.0 GF
· Alaska Wildlife Troopers Aircraft Repair and
Maintenance: $800.0 GF
· Alaska Wildlife Troopers Marine Fisheries
Patrols: $1,200.0 Fed
· Alaska Wildlife Troopers Enforcement Activities:
$200.0 other
· APSIN Contractor Support: $975.0 GF
· Statewide Deferred Maintenance: $1,307.0 GF
· Bethel Public Safety Hanger Repair & Renovation:
$300.0 GF
Commissioner Masters stated that DPS was currently
operating 43 aircraft and 107 vessels; 88 of those aircraft
were over 20 feet. He related that P/V Stimson was about
160 feet long and that DPS also had two large vessels in
Kodiak that were about 130 feet and 80 feet long. He stated
that the requested funding represented a nominal amount
considering the size of DPS's fleets, but acknowledged that
it was not an insignificant amount over all. He added that
on July 1st, DPS expected to go from its mainframe based
Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN), which was
referred to as "Legacy APSIN," to a new server based APSIN
system on new platforms; the Legacy APSIN would be run as a
failsafe for at least one year while DPS was simultaneously
bringing the new system online to insure interruption of
service.
Mr. Hoover pointed to slide 17 titled "Department of Public
Safety Continued Budget Growth Compared to 10 - Year Plan
(Non-Formula Only) (GF Only)." He relayed that the slide's
chart was prepared by the Legislative Finance Division and
that it projected forward the general funds for DPS's
operating budget. He stated that although the chart showed
a projected growth of 7.9 percent, it was based on the past
and was not sustainable. In the past, there had been a
number of general fund initiatives and backfilled federal
and other funds; as a result, the chart showed a growth. He
shared that the department's long-range plan projected a
3.1 percent growth, which it thought was more a more
reasonable view for general funds for the upcoming ten
years. He pointed out that the long-range plan did not
account for salary and benefit increases, but that the
those types of increases were accounted for by OMB and were
expected to be about $1 million in FY14. The long-range
plan did not account for the fuel supplemental. OMB would
also account for the fuel supplemental, which was
approximately an additional $1.1 million in the current
year. He concluded that there were things that were not
included in DPS's long range plan, which accounted for the
"gap" going forward.
Commissioner Masters interjected that the long-range plan
did take into account what DPS saw as added positions over
the next several years and the anticipated growth in the
VPSO program. He reiterated that the green line on slide 17
was not what DPS expected to see regarding growth and that
the department would stop adding positions at some point.
He added that there was only $10 million of federal funding
left in DPS's budget and that parts of that would be
eliminated; however, there would not be an entire
elimination of federal funds because there would formula
driven federal receipts still coming in. He concluded that
the reality of DPS's growth would probably fall somewhere
in between the two lines on the slide.
Mr. Hoover spoke to slide 18: "Department of Public Safety
Continued Budget Growth Compared to 10 - Year Plan (Non-
Formula Only) (All Funds)." He stated that the slide
represented a chart prepared by the Legislative Finance
Division that showed total funds. He related that the slide
showed a similar picture to the previous slide with 6.9
percent in growth; as with the previous slide, the growth
was based on the past. DPS had built into the long-range
plan realistic expectations of what would happen to
general, federal, and other funds.
Representative Gara noted that the governor planned on
adding 15 VPSOs per year and that problems with retention
required that number to be even higher. He inquired if the
"even smaller" increased budget curve incorporated the VPSO
positions. Commissioner Masters responded that the budget
curve that was being reflected contained any additional
costs that DPS had anticipated for the VPSO program.
2:44:09 PM
Co-Chair Austerman stated that because pertinent questions
arose during a presentation, he did not want all the
questions saved until the final end; however, he requested
that the timeframe be kept on track.
^FY14 Governor's Budget Overview: Department of Corrections
JOSEPH SCHMIDT, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
(DOC), began a PowerPoint presentation (copy on file) He
introduced his staff and discussed staffing changes within
DOC. He stated grading and auditing was something that DOC
was focused on and that the department had conducted a lot
of systemic changes.
Commissioner Schmidt discussed slide 2 titled "Mission."
The Alaska Department of Corrections enhances the
safety of our communities. We provide secure
confinement, reformative programs, and a process of
supervised community reintegration.
Commissioner Schmidt stated that DOC had put its mission
statement into effect in 2008 and that the department
wanted to be more than just "the incarceration piece." He
acknowledged the need for secure confinement for some
offenders, but pointed out that 95 percent of the
department's inmates were released in their lifetime; as a
result, reformative programs and supervised reentry needed
to be at the forefront of the department's decisions.
2:48:55 PM
Commissioner Schmidt spoke to slide 3 titled "DOC at a
Glance."
· Alaska is one of six states in the nation that
operates a unified correctional system
· In 2012, DOC booked 40,347 offenders into its
facilities
· As of Dec. 31, 2012, 5,958 offenders are in
prison, a CRC or on EM
· As of Dec. 31, 2012, 6,143 offenders are on
probation or parole
· 13 facilities statewide
· 13 field probation offices
· 15 Regional and Community Jail contracts
· 8 Contract Community Residential Centers
· Electronic Monitoring Programs operated
Commissioner Schmidt discussed the first bullet point and
stated that a unified correctional system meant that DOC
handled the misdemeanants, the un-sentenced felons, or
anyone with less than a year to serve; as a result, the
department had a high volume of business. He related that
because Alaska had a unified correctional system, the
comparison had to be "apples to apples" when examining how
another state did things. He explained that a sentenced
felon was a different kind of prisoner to manage than a
pre-trial felon or a very short-term misdemeanant. He spoke
to the second bullet point and stated that the 40,347
bookings represented about 23,600 unique individuals; most
of the inmates came back twice. Out of the 23,600 people,
1,850 were "non-crims" or those that did not commit a
criminal offense, but sat in jail overnight.
Commissioner Schmidt addressed slide 4 titled "Core
Services."
Provide Secure Confinement
· 13 In-state Correctional Facilities with maximum
bed capacity of 5,449 beds
· Maximum bed capacity reflects the Goose Creek
Correctional Center located in MacKenzie Point
at full operational capacity with 1,536 maximum
bed capacity.
· 1 out-of-state contract facility located in
Hudson, Colorado housing 415 offenders
· Remaining offenders to be transitioned back to
Alaska during 1st quarter of FY2014 with the
completed opening of the Goose Creek
Correctional Center.
· 13 Regional Adult Probation Offices
Commissioner Schmidt discussed the third bullet point and
stated that it was based on the FY 14 budget; currently,
Alaska had 1029 offenders in the Colorado facility. DOC
planned on having 415 offenders in the out-of-state
facility by July 1st, as well as having all the offenders
in state by the end of the first quarter of FY14.
Co-Chair Stoltze inquired if the number of contract
prisoners would go down to zero. Commissioner Schmidt
replied in the affirmative. Co-Chair Stoltze inquired if
there were other circumstances under which DOC would have
contract prisoners. Commissioner Schmidt replied in the
affirmative and relayed that there were 17 or 18 prisoners
that were contracted out for medical or safety concerns.
Commissioner Schmidt pointed to slide 5 titled "Core
Services."
Provide Supervised Release
· 15 contracts with Regional and Community Jails -
157 beds
· 8 Community Residential Centers - 839 beds
· Electronic Monitoring operated in 7 communities
with capacity to support up to 385 offenders
Commissioner Schmidt spoke to the second bullet point and
related that the department had more than doubled its
capacity in the Community Residential Centers (CRC). He
pointed out that when a prisoner was reentering society,
employment, housing, and sobriety support were the most
important factors; although halfway houses did not meet any
of these three factors, they allowed for employment, which
in turn allowed for housing and sobriety support. He stated
that more than 90 percent of people that started the
electronic monitoring program finished without an incident;
DOC had not "pushed" the program too hard in an effort to
keep the success and safety of the program at a high level.
2:53:50 PM
RON TAYLOR, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
discussed slide 6 titled "Core Services."
Provide Reformative Programs
· Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
· Sex Offender Management Programs
· Vocational Education Programs
· Educational Programs
· Domestic Violence Programs
· Faith-based Re-entry Programs
· Mental Health Services
Mr. Taylor spoke to the first bullet point and stated that
DOC had put considerable energy into expanding the
rehabilitative programs. He related that the department was
beginning to see the benefits of the substance abuse
treatment program expansion. For example, the department
would be going from a capacity of 800 in its outpatient
program, or LSAT, to just over 1300 at the end of the
current fiscal year. He relayed that the intensive
residential program, or RSAT, was at about 140 beds;
however, by the time DOC switched from the Hudson to the
Goose Creek Facility, the RSAT program would increase to
about a 220 bed capacity. He addressed the second bullet
point and stated that there were 250 sex-offender community
slots. There were 54 sex offender beds in the Lemon Creek
facility and the upcoming Palmer Correctional Center; there
were also an additional 19 beds in the CRC facility in
Bethel Tundra Center. He continued to discuss the second
bullet point and stated that DOC was able to conduct 729
polygraph exams on 435 probationers and parolees in its
system. He spoke to the third and fourth bullet points and
stated that those programs had been expanding. He related
that there would be a list of services offered by DOC
facilities that would probably be released in subcommittee
meetings. The department's vocational programs included the
small engine repair, food handler, animal care, and
apprenticeship programs in carpentry, building maintenance,
plumbing, and electrical. The department's education
programs included adult basic education and GED programs.
The department's domestic violence programs included the
CAP program, which was a 16 week program, as well as
parenting classes. He discussed that the department's faith
based reentry programs included the Transformational Living
Communities Program, which was a 12 to 18 month program in
two of DOC's institutions; there were also some mentor and
volunteer based programs. He discussed the last bullet
point and stated that it included the institutional
discharge program and the Asses Plan Identity and
Coordinate (APIC) Program.
Representative Guttenberg noted that the faith-based re-
entry programs, educational, and vocational programs were
not mutually exclusive to each other. He noted that
although faith-based programs were important to many
people, it was not a path to a job and inquired if someone
was able to take multiple programs. Mr. Taylor responded in
the affirmative.
2:57:07 PM
Commissioner Schmidt addressed slide 7 titled "Goals."
Protect the public
· Reduce recidivism
· Delay the need for construction of a new prison
for sentenced offenders
· Ensure that incarcerated offenders spend their
time in custody productively
· Work collaboratively with outside stakeholders to
achieve these goals
Commissioner Schmidt discussed the second bullet point and
related that reducing the recidivism rate would be good for
the economy and the victims. He spoke to the fourth bullet
point and offered that re-entry into the community started
when an individual walked into a prison and that if they
had a release date, an inmate should be preparing for life
on the outside.
Mr. Taylor discussed slide 8 titled "Performance
Indicators."
Secure Confinement:
Maintain zero prison escapes
· An escape from the Mat-Su Correctional Center
occurred in FY2011; however, the conviction
occurred in FY2012. This escape is included with
this reporting cycle.
Decrease the number of special incident reports
· The number of special incident reports increased
from 66 during calendar year 2010 to 106 during
calendar year 2011.
-The increased reporting is primarily
associated with expanding the definition of an
inmate-on-inmate special incident to now
include lower level assaults such as pushing,
shoving, or other incidents that may not have
required medical attention, but created a
situation that could lead to a more serious
assault.
Mr. Taylor pointed to slide 9 titled "Performance
Indicators."
Supervised Release:
Increase the percent of probationers and parolees who
satisfy court ordered conditions of release
· During FY2012, 2,007 offenders were discharged
from Probation or Parole. Of those discharged,
1,052 (52.41%) met all requirements established
by the courts to qualify as a successful
discharge. This is an increase from FY2011, where
1,820 offenders were discharged, of which 884
(48.57%) offenders met all requirements as
established by the courts.
Reduce criminal recidivism. For this purpose,
recidivism is defined as any person convicted of a
felony offense who is incarcerated as a result of a
new sentence, parole or probation revocation within
three years
· Currently, early reports show a 14% reduction in
recidivism for offenders who complete substance
abuse programs.
Mr. Taylor stated that the department was tracking the
number of people that completed its substance abuse
programs and that there was a 14 percent reduction in
recidivism from the control group. He related that the
reduction was promising and that the national average over
three years was 9 percent to 12 percent.
3:01:14 PM
Mr. Taylor discussed slide 10 titled "Performance
Indicators."
Reformative Programs:
Increase the number of individuals who complete an
institutional or community based substance abuse
treatment program
· The number of offenders completing an
institutional or community based substance abuse
treatment program increased from 424 during
FY2010, 719 during FY2011 to 1,137 during FY2012.
Increase the number of sex offender probationers who
complete a sex offender management program and who
receive polygraph testing while on probation
· The number of sex offenders that received a
polygraph while on probation decreased from 454
during FY2011 to 421 during FY2012.
Mr. Taylor discussed the last bullet point and stated that
there were several reasons for the decrease in the number
of poly graphs that the department was able to conduct;
over the past decade, the average sentence length for sex
offenders had almost doubled. There was also a 1 percent
increase of DOC's sex-offender population. He pointed out
that there was also fewer sex offenders being released to
supervision; in FY 2008, 137 sex offenders were released
into supervision, but that number dropped to 55 in the
prior fiscal year.
Representative Holmes discussed the substance abuse program
and inquired how the increased number of participants in
the substance abuse programs affected the program. She
further inquired if there was more demand than there was
room in the program and asked how many wanted to enter the
program versus how many were able to. Mr. Taylor responded
that the information would be available in subcommittee.
Commissioner Schmidt interjected that that the department
looked very carefully at who was not in the program. He
explained that one-third of prisoners would re-offend no
matter what, another third had decided that they would not
re-offend, and that it was the other third that DOC looked
at. He pointed out that although there were 40,000
bookings, 20,000 would be taken out because the booking
only represented 20,000 people; furthermore, 20,000 would
be divided into thirds and the department would discard the
numbers that were not in jail for more than 90 days. He
concluded that the "number" was in the neighborhood of
3,000 inmates per year, but that the department would
"dial" the number in because it would be part of the
department's grading.
Mr. Taylor addressed slide 11 titled "Performance
Indicators."
Reformative Programs:
Increase the number of offenders who receive a General
Education Development certificate while incarcerated
· The number of offenders receiving a General
Education Development (GED) Certificate while
incarcerated went from 254 during FY2011 to 251
in FY2012.
Increase the number of inmates who successfully
complete an institutional faith-based re-habilitative
program
· The number of offenders completing an
institutional faith-based rehabilitative program
increased from 36 in FY2010, to 44 in FY2011, and
to 46 in FY2012
LESLIE HOUSTON, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, spoke to slide 12 titled "Challenges and
Issues."
· Meet 24/7 operational needs while striving to
remain within fiscal parameters
· Availability of community-based resources for
releasing offenders
· Conversion to electronic records system for all
offender files
Ms. Houston discussed the first bullet point and related
that there were a lot of unknowns regarding the operational
costs. She pointed to the second bullet point and stated
that the lack of community-based resources for releasing
offenders was a statewide problem. She addressed the last
bullet point and pointed out that the department had a lot
of paper files; the department was imaging the files in
order to reduce its footprint for storage and other space.
3:05:55 PM
Ms. Houston discussed slide 13 titled "Challenges and
Issues."
· Over the past decade, medical care costs in Anchorage
have increased by 56.2%, compared to 29.8% nationwide
(Alaska Economic Trends, July 2012)
· Increases in chronic health issues and an aging inmate
population has led to higher acuity and increased need
for higher medical care
Commissioner Schmidt pointed to slide 14 titled "Population
Information" and related that the next several slides
offered a picture of the inmate population.
Commissioner Schmidt addressed slide 15 titled
"Institutional Inmate Population 2003-2020." The red line
represented how many beds DOC had, while the blue line
reflected the number of prisoners. He pointed out that
because the department had prisoners out of the state, the
graph displayed less beds than prisoners. He stated that
the two lines on the graph would cross when Goose Creek
opened and there would be more beds than prisoners for a
short period of time. He shared that in 2015, the two lines
would cross again and that at this point, the department
would be discussing another prison. He relayed that he
would like to delay building a new prison for as long as
possible and that if the recidivism curve could be turn
"turned down just a little bit," it would delay the two
lines crossing for several more years. He pointed out that
the reduction in the recidivism of those that participated
in the department's programs was a good start.
3:08:09 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze noted that the Judiciary had stated in a
previous meeting that it did not get to control its "flow
of responsibilities." He acknowledged that DOC had to deal
with issues like mandated ambient cell temperatures and the
freshness of fruits and vegetables. He inquired if DOC
could identify what costs were court mandated issues and
opined that someone who was trying to run a prison in a
rational manner might view some of the mandates as being
absurd. He noted that DOC was not a very popular agency to
fund because no one saw or wanted to see what the
department did. He relayed that the state did not play
"catch and release" with career sex offenders and
pedophiles and made several comments regarding his opinion
of the priorities of prison conditions. He pointed to
issues with correction-officer safety and asked what the
contributing factors were regarding the discussion
surrounding officer safety. He expressed concern for the
correction officers' safety and related that the system
depended on competent management.
Commissioner Schmidt responded to the first question and
stated that although the department would not "call them
ridiculous or anything like that," there was a list of
court mandated requirements that it had to comply with. Co-
Chair Stoltze interjected that the pejorative statements
would be "on us because we have a little more license for
that." Commissioner Schmidt replied to the second question
and relayed that he wished there was a staffing ratio or
number that would guarantee no incidents; however, this was
not possible. He stated that Co-Chair Stoltze was on the
mark with his question. He related that if an incident
occurred, the department examined if the inmate was
classified correctly, if they had been disciplined in the
past, if the discipline had worked, or if they should have
been "out." He recalled that there were times that he had
wished an individual had been locked up because they should
have been and that a situation like that represented a
classification issue. The department would continue to look
at the contributing factors to officer safety. He
reiterated that in 2010, the department had expanded its
definition of what a special incident would consist of and
that the list now included chest bumping and threatening.
He offered that a baseline had been established and that
the next year, the department would be able to examine
results and hopefully determine the causes. He concluded
that DOC could not predict inmate behavior, but that it
should examine contributing factors when incidents
occurred. He added that looking at where and when things
happen were important and that maybe more staff was needed
at certain places at certain times of the day.
3:12:56 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze related that he had a lot of experience
dealing with corrections officers through his public
service. He recalled having very sobering conversations
with corrections officers in his district regarding safety
concerns. He pointed out that he had looked at the minutes
from the State Affairs Committee in 2003 and 2004, and
offered that his justification for building expensive
corrections facilities was for officer safety and not for
prisoner comfort. He added that prisoner safety was also a
concern, but that the system was currently broken.
Representative Edgmon remarked about a presentation by the
University of Alaska in which there was a model that showed
that more resources up front would decrease the deferred
maintenance problem. He inquired if DOC had ever run a
model that showed that if it could get more resources
towards substance abuse, it could bend or flatten the curve
sooner. Commissioner Schmidt responded that he believed the
answer was yes and added that although the department did
not have a model yet, the 14 percent reduction in
recidivism in the substance abuse program was the first
time that the department had counted the people who did not
come back to jail. He concluded that once the department
new the value of the programs, it knew what to ask for, as
well as what the program would produce; the department was
at the beginning stages of building a model.
Vice-Chair Neuman stated that getting corrections officers
home safely had to be number one priority. He pointed to
slide 8 and noted that the number of incidents had
increased from 66 to 106 during the last reporting period.
He noted that DOC had eliminated the Prisoner Employment
Program (PEP), which was vocational program meant to reduce
recidivism, but offered that PEP had helped keep the static
level down in correctional facilities. He opined that
prisoners had wanted to be able to participate in the
program. He pointed out that an idle mind was a bad thing
and that it created tension with the correctional officers.
He inquired if there was a way that the department could
provide more vocational training similar to the PEP
program. He concluded that not all the inmates were bad
people. Commissioner Schmidt responded that the PEP program
was set in statute to be self-sustaining and related that
the components in Seward and Eagle River were not
sustaining themselves; however, the laundry facility in
Juneau had been sustaining itself and that facility was
reactivated. He continued that there was a lot of space
built in Goose Creek for vocational training and agreed
that idle hands were a bad thing in a prison. He noted PEP
was not that systemic and that the number of prisoners
working in the industry was a small group. He concluded
that the department was reluctant to close PEP, but that
the program was unable to sustain itself. He related that
about $600,000 had been used from "one to bail out the
others."
3:19:54 PM
Representative Holmes queried if the department was
planning to address what other states are doing to contain
costs and reduce recidivism. Commissioner Schmidt responded
in the affirmative and stated that public safety and
recidivism were the department's focus. Lowering recidivism
would reduce costs, victims, and court and police actions.
He stated that prevention was better than recidivism, but
that when someone came to prison the focus was on
recidivism.
Commissioner Schmidt discussed slide 16 titled "Percent of
Offenders by length of Stay from Admission." He stated that
the graphs showed that from 2002 to 2012, the number of
prisoners serving six months or less stayed about the same
and was about half. He related that yellow piece was
significant and represented those serving 37 months or
more; in 2002, this group represented just under 7 percent,
but had since risen to 18.5 percent. He shared that it
appeared as though the prisoners in the yellow piece came
from the 7 to 12 month category rather than the 6 months or
less category.
Commissioner Schmidt discussed slide 17 titled "Standing
Population & Crime Type." He related that in 2002, 42
percent of the DOC's prison population was non-violent and
that by 2012, 56 percent were non-violent.
Co-Chair Austerman inquired how Alaska's percentage of non-
violent versus violent prisoners compared to the national
average. Commissioner Schmidt responded that he would get
back to committee with the requested information.
Commissioner Schmidt addressed slide 18 titled "Percent of
Offenders in Institutions by Sex." He relayed that in 2003,
less than 8 percent of the department's prisoners were
female, but that the figure had increased to 12 percent. He
related that the female prisoner population was growing at
6 percent and that the men were only growing at 2.25
percent. He stated that females were still a relatively
small group, but that as time went on, more females were
coming into prison.
Ms. Houston spoke to slide 19 titled "FY2014 Budget
Challenges." She stated that DOC was not starting any new
initiatives, but was looking to "prove up." She explained
that the department would be spending the next few years
grading and auditing in an attempt to create efficiencies.
3:23:29 PM
Ms. Houston discussed slide 20 titled "FY14 Operating
Changes."
· Salary and Health Insurance Increases $ 189.6
· Maintain Current Level of Services $ 3,713.6
-Regional and Community Jails - GF $2,000.0
-CRC annual CPI rate increase - GF $843.0
-Core Services Increment - GF $1,145.6
-Education - I/A $25.0
-Eliminate GCCC - SDPR ($300.0)
· MH Trust: One Time Item Reversal ($ 511.5)
· Mental Health Trust Recommendations $ 506.2
Ms. Houston discussed the $2 million increment for regional
and community jails and related that it would complete the
phase 2 and the final phase of the DOC's Cost Equity
Allocation Plan. The department was attempting to figure
out how to further sustain the jails once they were
completed. The department was proposing to enter five-year
contracts with a consumer price index cap of 2 percent for
the regional and community jails that was similar to the
community residential contracts.
Representative Gara pointed out that DOC was claiming it
would be proving up and was not looking to add new
programs. He mentioned the prior round of questions by
Vice-Chair Neuman, Representative Edgmon, and
Representative Holmes and offered that the department had
proved up. He related that Commissioner Schmidt had
indicated that if the department was able to admit more
people through substance abuse programs, it would reduce
recidivism. He agreed with Vice-Chair Neuman that the
department had shown that there was a benefit to vocational
training. He added that he expected job training programs
to lose money in a jail and inquired if there were modest
improvements to substance abuse and vocational programs
that would result in a lower recidivism rate. Commissioner
Schmidt responded in the affirmative and that in this case,
proving up could mean interchanging a piece of a substance
abuse program that was not working well into something
else. He relayed that DOC's strategy was to know and
discuss the numbers first and that when a program was not
working, the department would rather turn it into something
that did work. He opined that "modest improvements" was a
good way to characterize what the department planned on
doing. He concluded that the department needed to first
spend the money that it was allocated for its allocated
purpose; at this point, if the department was struggling to
get contracts out at the end of the year, it would be in a
better position to get more funding. He pointed out that
the department wanted to make sure that the programs were
in place and effective.
Ms. Houston continued to speak to slide 20 and discussed
the CRC annual CPI rate increase; the break-down of the
funding was $688,500 for contract beds and $154,500 for per
diem beds that were paid for on an as-needed basis. She
spoke to the slide's core services increment and relayed
that it primarily represented DOC's charge backs to the
Department of Administration in all areas of core services.
She discussed the slide's education increment and related
that it was an increase to the inner-agency receipts for a
reimbursable services agreement with the Department of
Education and Early Development. She mentioned the negative
increment for Eliminating GCCC - SDPR and explained that it
was statutorily designated program receipts; this was a
temporary item that was utilized to hire the Alaska
Planning and Architecture firm, which had helped make sure
the state's interests were being met during the planning
and construction of Goose Creek.
3:28:18 PM
Co-Chair Austerman queried if the Goose Creek position that
was eliminated had represented a one-time funding request.
Ms. Houston responded in the affirmative.
Ms. Houston pointed to slide 21 titled "Department of
Correction Share of Total Agency Operations." She stated
that the slide's chart was prepared by the Legislative
Finance Division and that it showed the department's
general fund. She noted that the chart spiked from 2012 to
2013 when Goose Creek was added.
Ms. Houston addressed slide 22 titled "Department of
Corrections Percent of the Total Department's Budget by
Fund Group." She pointed out that the slide represented
DOC's funding from all sources and that the funding
primarily consisted of unrestricted general funds. The
slide's yellow area represented designated general funds,
which were the Permanent Fund Dividend criminal receipts
that were placed into the inmate healthcare program. She
mentioned that the department had general fund program
receipts for its electronic monitoring program.
Ms. Houston discussed slide 23 titled "Department of
Corrections Continued Budget Growth Compared to 10-year
Plan." She related that slides 23 and 24 would look very
similar. She stated that slide 23 was developed by the
Legislative Finance Division; the solid line represented
the department's annual management plan numbers. The dotted
black line reflected the department's ten-year plan with
initiatives and diverged from dotted green line, which
represented the continuation of 7.1 percent annual growth.
She related that the 7.1 percent annual growth included the
fiscal years when Goose Creek was being brought online and
opined that the actual growth rate was probably between 3
percent and 4 percent; as a result, the growth would be
closer to the ten-year plan. She pointed out that the slide
did not include future employer costs.
Ms. Houston discussed slide 24 and offered that it looked
very similar to the last slide because DOC was primarily a
general fund agency.
Ms. Houston addressed slide 25 titled "FY14 Capital
Changes."
· Maintain Current Level of Services $ 6,065.0
-Annual Facility Maintenance and Repairs
-Deferred Maintenance Projects
-Regional and Community Jails Repairs,
Renovations and Equipment
Ms. Houston noted that the DOC was seeking $1 million for
its annual facility maintenance and repairs projects and
$4.84 million for deferred maintenance projects, which were
multi-year projects; there were some positive returns on
the projects that that been completed. The department was
also requesting $225,000 for the regional and community
jails repairs renovations and equipment; this funding would
be shared between the 15 community jails to cover areas
under fire life and safety.
Co-Chair Stoltze expressed his appreciation for DOC's
purchase of about $32,000 of Alaska grown products in FY08.
He stated that in FY12, the department had increased its
Alaska grown purchases to over $113,000. He discussed an
appropriation the prior year by the House Finance Committee
in amount of $3 million for Alaskan food in schools and
noted that the governor had re-submitted the request. He
concluded that the institutional buying made a "huge"
difference to agricultural community in Alaska.
3:32:28 PM
Representative Thompson directed the presentation back to
slide 12. He pointed to the third bullet point and inquired
if any more capital was needed to accomplish the conversion
of the electronic records system. Ms. Houston replied in
the negative and shared that DOC already had the scanners
in place.
Co-Chair Austerman thanked Rep. Isaacson for his presence
in the committee and offered that more members of the
Legislature should come to the overviews in order to get a
head start on their subcommittees.
3:33:15 PM
Co-Chair Austerman discussed the following meeting's
agenda.
HB 65 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 66 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
3:34:25 PM
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 3:34 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DPS HFIN overview FY2014.pdf |
HFIN 1/23/2013 1:30:00 PM |
Public Safety Overview |
| FY14 HFIN DOC Overview 1-23-2013.pdf |
HFIN 1/23/2013 1:30:00 PM |
HFIN Corrections Overview |
| DPS FY14 House Finance Questions Response 1-25-13.pdf |
HFIN 1/23/2013 1:30:00 PM |
DPS Overview Response |
| DOC-HFC Overview Answers.pdf |
HFIN 1/23/2013 1:30:00 PM |
DOC-Overview Response-HFIN-1-23 |