Legislature(2021 - 2022)ADAMS 519
02/23/2022 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB281 || HB282 | |
| Presentation: Fy 23 Budget Overview: Department of Corrections | |
| Presentation: Overview: Department of Revenue | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 281 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 282 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
February 23, 2022
1:33 p.m.
1:33:38 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Foster called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Kelly Merrick, Co-Chair
Representative Dan Ortiz, Vice-Chair
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Bart LeBon
Representative Sara Rasmussen
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Adam Wool
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Nancy Dahlstrom, Commissioner, Department of Corrections;
Kelly Goode, Deputy Commissioner and Legislative Liaison,
Department of Corrections; April Wilkerson, Administrative
Services Director, Department of Corrections, Office of
Management and Budget, Office of the Governor; Brian
Fechter, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Revenue; Eric
DeMoulin, Administrative Services Director, Department of
Revenue; Representative George Rausher.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Laura Brooks, Director, Health and Rehabilitation Services
Division, Department of Corrections; Lucinda Mahoney,
Commissioner, Department of Revenue; Mr. Sidney Wood,
Deputy Director, Institutions Division, Department of
Corrections.
SUMMARY
HB 281 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUNDS
HB 281 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HB 282 APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET
HB 282 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
PRESENTATION: FY 23 BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS
PRESENTATION: OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Co-Chair Foster reviewed the agenda for the meeting.
HOUSE BILL NO. 281
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs; capitalizing funds; amending
appropriations; making reappropriations; making
supplemental appropriations; 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. 282
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; making capital
appropriations and supplemental appropriations; and
providing for an effective date."
1:34:18 PM
^PRESENTATION: FY 23 BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS
1:34:21 PM
NANCY DAHLSTROM, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
introduced herself.
KELLY GOODE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER AND LEGISLATIVE LIAISON,
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, introduced herself.
APRIL WILKERSON, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR,
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET,
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, introduced herself
1:35:43 PM
Commissioner Dahlstrom discussed the presentation,
Department Of Corrections Fy2023 Budget Overview House
Finance (copy on file). He looked at slide 2, Mission and
Core Services:
Mission: To provide secure confinement, reformative
programs, and a process of
supervised community reintegration to enhance the
safety of our communities
Department FY2023 Amended Budget Requested Positions:
2,108
Department FY2023 Amended Budget Request: $402,307.5
Commissioner Dahlstrom indicated the goal of the Department
of Corrections (DOC) was to keep everyone safe and return
members of society to return to society better prepared.
Ms. Wilkerson turned to slide 4, which showed an overall
increase of just over 1 percent between the authorized and
amended budgets.
Ms. Wilkerson moved to slide 5, which is a breakdown of the
overall budget. She noted that personnel services was the
primary driving factor, primarily driven by the staffing.
Ms. Wilkerson continued to slide 6, which was a
representation of the departments budget by division.
Representative Wool asked if personnel services was broken
down by regular and overtime.
Ms. Wilkerson responded that she could get the information
to the committee.
Representative Wool queried the trend line of overtime in
recent years.
Ms. Wilkerson indicated that the department overtime
fluctuated but was trending up, because the pandemic had
interfered with vacancies.
Ms. Goode furthered that the recruitment unit worked to
keep the department with a dedicated workforce within the
department.
Representative Wool surmised that the department was
keeping pace and sometimes surpassing the national
standard.
Ms. Goode agreed.
Representative Rasmussen asked if she had any updates
regarding the number of positions versus vacancies. She
also queried the update on current employee retention.
Ms. Wilkerson responded that the Department of
Administration (DOA) had released its workforce profile,
and agreed to provide that to the committee.
Ms. Wilkerson moved to slide 7 which was a detailed
breakdown of slide 6 that showed each of the support areas
broken out by each division and the services and funding
within each of those categories.
1:44:04 PM
Ms. Wilkerson moved to slide 8: "FY2023 Major Operating
Budget Changes:
Add eleven positions with funding for New Mental
Health Unit at Hiland Mountain
Correctional Center ($1,663.4 UGF, 11 PFT)
.notdef Add ten positions with funding for New Booking Area
at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center ($1,428.3 UGF,
10 PFT)
.notdef Add nine Institutional Support positions with
funding for Booking and Property Staffing ($1,002.5
UGF, 9 PFT)
.notdef Recruitment and Retention Unit moved to Population
Management
.notdef Fund Source Changes:
.notdef Replace Restorative Justice funds with UGF ($391.5
UGF / -$391.5 Other)
.notdef Replace Recidivism Reduction funds with UGF
($2,950.3 UGF / -$2,950.3 DGF)
Commissioner Dahlstrom advanced to slide 9, DOC At a
Glance:
Alaska is one of seven states that operate a unified
correctional system. A state unified
system is one in which there is an integrated state-
level prison and jail system.
DOC booked 28,116 offenders into its facilities in
2021
.notdef 17,979 were unique offenders
.notdef 817 were non-criminal Title 47 bookings
As of 12/31/2021, DOC was responsible for 10,745
individuals
.notdef 4,621offenders in jail or prison
.notdef 185 offenders on sentenced electronic
monitoring (EM)
.notdef 292 offenders in community residential centers
(CRCs)
.notdef 2,959 offenders on probation or parole
.notdef 2,688 defendants on pretrial supervision (1,668
on pretrial EM)
Representative Rasmussen requested any potential cost
savings to the state related to the pretrial monitoring.
Ms. Goode replied that there was not a quantifiable
savings, but the officers would be able to remand and
return to their jobs more quickly, resulting in a time
savings to keep them for more important duties.
Representative Rasmussen wondered whether those held in the
system were in facilities that were currently at capacity.
Ms. Goode clarified that unsentenced individuals were
incarcerated, but were not yet adjudicated, and were the 56
percent that were referred to by the commissioner. She
stated that those out on pretrial supervision were not
incarcerated, because the pretrial officers were monitoring
them.
1:51:46 PM
Co-Chair Foster asked to return to slide 8 regarding
recruitment and retention. He was under the impression that
the recruiters had been HR people, and remarked that there
had been a request that correction officers worked that
unit.
Ms. Goode responded that there had been some desire that a
correctional officer work in the recruitment unit.
Representative Wool had a question on slide 9. He asked
about the pretrial numbers.
Ms. Goode replied that the pretrial numbers were not
specified in the slide, but wanted to make sure that the
information was included in the presentation.
Representative Wool asked about the specific percentages
and numbers of those incarcerated individuals.
Ms. Goode replied that there were 4621 people incarcerated
in December 2021. She explained that of that 4621 people,
there were 55 percent unsentenced and 44 percent were
sentenced individuals.
Representative Wool asked what percentage were misdemeanor
in pretrial.
Ms. Goode responded that the number was close to 160 but
the number was very small.
1:55:43 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz wondered whether the term unsentenced
meant that the person had not had a trial or whether they
had been convicted but not yet sentenced.
Ms. Goode replied that it could be either.
Vice-Chair Ortiz queried the number of those who had been
tried and convicted versus those that had been convicted
but not yet sentenced.
Ms. Goode did not know if she could even provide the
information.
Vice-Chair Ortiz wondered if the percentage of 56 had
gradually gone up or down.
Ms. Goode replied that it had been gradually going up.
Vice-Chair Ortiz asked why the percentage was increasing.
Ms. Goode could not really answer. She thought it might be
a factor of the justice system as a whole. The numbers had
been rising over several years.
Representative Carpenter asked for the number of people who
were seeking a new court date for a crime, when the people
had already been sentenced for the crime.
Ms. Goode asked a clarifying question. She said the answer
could become more complicated.
Representative Carpenter was referring to the number of
currently sentenced individuals, and had committed a new
crime. He wondered where those people were in the
unsentenced versus sentenced populations.
Ms. Goode asked if the representative was talking about
violations. She indicated that their number would be under
those sentences and awaiting trial.
2:01:12 PM
Representative LeBon asked about the status of the Palmer
Correction Center.
Commissioner Dahlstrom replied that the subject would be
addressed in the presentation.
Representative Rasmussen asked about a unified correctional
system, and felt that it was odd that Alaska was one of
seven states out of 50.
Commissioner Dahlstrom responded that Alaska was a state
unified correctional system. Alaska, Delaware, Connecticut,
Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia had a
unified correctional system. She stated that the state
level and city level jails were one system, so there were
not two separate systems.
Representative Edgmon had a question about community jails.
Alaska had a number of community jails scattered throughout
Alaska, and queried the number of jails in the other
states.
Commissioner Dahlstrom had not been to those states and did
not know.
Representative Edgmon asked about further information in
community jails.
Commissioner Dahlstrom replied that DOC was given a
specific dollar amount that was budgeted to the fifteen
community jails.
Representative Edgmon was cueing up the committee for an
upcoming discussion on community jails.
Ms. Goode provided some information regarding community
jails. The reason why Alaska had them was to provide a jail
confinement in areas where a jail did not exist. She
indicated that in the past she had seen up to 17 community
jails. It provided the Troopers with a local place to jail
a person.
Representative Edgmon asked where he could find the
formula. He thought it was a time-honored tradition.
Ms. Wilkerson indicated the formula was developed in 2016.
Ms. Goode added that the need and desire for community
jails continued to exist.
Representative Carpenter recalled a lawsuit about community
jails in western Alaska. He queried the results of that
case and its application.
Ms. Goode answered that DOC had been sued and had been
removed from the case, and believed that the state paid
Kotzebue. She stated that currently the jail was community
up and running, so she did not think the lawsuit would have
an impact going forward.
Representative Carpenter asked if the department had done
an analysis on which community jails would put DOC in a
bond, and what the closure of a facility would do to the
department's operations.
Ms. Goode answered that it was not an easy overview. The
topic of community jails had grown over the past month. She
stated it was necessary to look at the number of holds and
offenses, and the cost was to the Department of Public
Safety (DPS) because that department was responsible for
the transfers of those in community jails
2:12:56 PM
Representative Carpenter spoke about remands or use of the
community jail that was predominately state or
predominately city. He referenced Ms. Goode's statement
about money being divided equally, and he thought there
could be a different picture about jails being subsidized.
Ms. Goode answered stated that the division was based on a
formula, and were mostly state charges. She stressed that
the formula was not based on usage.
Representative Carpenter thought the state's usage was
being subsidized by local communities.
Ms. Goode answered they did participate. She would like to
have the conversation with some of the communities, and
remarked that the facilities were used for local holds, so
it was a partnership between the two.
Representative Carpenter asked if the majority of usage in
a community jail was 50 percent or 90 percent. He wondered
if the city was compensating the state or vice versa.
Ms. Goode replied that the department had a spreadsheet
with the information and could supply it to the committee.
Vice-Chair Ortiz wondered whether the amount of money the
state provides for community jails had been flat at $7
million.
Ms. Goode responded in the affirmative and stated, "Since
FY 15."
Commissioner Dahlstrom turned to slide 10 showing the
individual catastrophic health care cases. The cases listed
on the slide are individual cases.
Representative Rasmussen asked if it was a state or federal
statute that required the state to take on the health care
costs.
Commissioner Dahlstrom answered that it was in the Alaska
Constitution.
Representative Rasmussen asked if the state could use AFLAC
to provide insurance.
Commissioner Dahlstrom replied that after 24 hours a
patient's medical would be paid by Medicaid.
Ms. Wilkerson added that the department had looked to
private insurance. The state tried but had not been able to
achieve it.
Vice-Chair Ortiz understood that the correctional system
had some halfway houses and Medicaid picked up the costs
for individuals who resided there.
Ms. Wilkerson responded that it was partially true.
Individuals had to sign up for Medicaid.
2:22:45 PM
LAURA BROOKS, DIRECTOR, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION SERVICES
DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (via teleconference),
responded that the department worked to get individuals
transferring to a halfway house.
Representative LeBon thought the list represented a variety
of health care issues. He asked if COVID-19 cases were
declining, and asked if it was the most common health care
issue.
Ms. Brooks responded that the list was only individual case
list. The COVID-19 case listed was high because the
individual was old with underlying health issues. She noted
the trend downward with the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
She was starting to see numbers drop.
Representative LeBon surmised that the list was of worst
case individuals, and stated that the other people with
COVID-19 were less than the one on the list.
Ms. Brooks would have to go back to the state's
catastrophic health care cases. The department provided the
list on the presentation, to showcase the high cost of
health care. The majority of COVID-19 cases did not end up
being hospitalized.
Representative LeBon asked about the case of the self-
inflicted wound. He wondered if there was just one case or
several cases.
Ms. Brooks responded that it was an isolated case to show
people the direction of the department's dollars.
Representative LeBon thought it would be more helpful to
know how much was spent for health care and how many
individuals were treated in the various categories such as
skull fracture.
Ms. Goode would try to pull the information.
2:29:42 PM
Representative Edgmon highlighted the high rate of mental
illness in incarcerated individuals. The state was
inheriting a population that already had health care
issues.
Commissioner Dahlstrom agreed that many of incarcerated
individuals were not healthy mentally. Often times
individuals got better while incarcerated, but some got
worse.
Representative Rasmussen asked if the state was responsible
for all offenders health costs, or only those who were
currently in jail.
Commissioner Dahlstrom replied that it was just the
individuals who were incarcerated in a facility.
Ms. Goode clarified that if a person was incarcerated as a
confined inmate in DOC.
Representative Rasmussen asked if the state considered less
expensive treatments if it was more affordable.
Ms. Wilkerson replied that people were taken out of state
to receive treatment if needed, but transportation costs
still had to be paid along with overtime of a correctional
staff.
Representative Rasmussen asked how many inmates experienced
pregnancy while incarcerated in a facility.
Commissioner Dahlstrom would provide the costs to the
committee.
2:35:40 PM
Representative Wool asked about in house billing.
Ms. Wilkerson responded that it was the department's
general funds. She indicated that Ms. Brooks did the
negotiating for reduced costs. They also had a billings
adjudicator which had reduced the cost of some of the
cases.
Representative Wool asked about the comment about someone
being out longer than 24 hours and the ability to apply for
Medicaid.
Ms. Wilkerson relayed that when an inmate was admitted to a
hospital there could be an application for Medicaid after
24 hours. However, it required the hospital to admit the
individual.
Representative Wool suggested that in other states people
were discharged out of the DOC, and whether DOC ever
discharged people for health reasons.
Ms. Wilkerson deferred to Director Brooks.
Ms. Brooks responded that the department looked at the
cases. The largest area of impact was through the
department's medical social worker to see if there could be
a bail reduction or short-term release agreement.
Vice-Chair Ortiz asked members to hold questions until the
end of the presentation.
2:41:57 PM
Commissioner Dahlstrom turned to slide 11 which had to do
with the community residential centers (CRCs).
Commissioner Dahlstrom turned the presentation over to Ms.
Goode.
Ms. Goode turned to slide 12, Palmer Correctional
Center (PCC):
.notdef Classification: Multi-custody
.notdef Capacity: General 503 / Max 514
.notdef Minimum: 176
.notdef Medium: General 327 / Max 338
.notdef Count as of 02/18/2022
.notdef 114 sentenced minimum custody
.notdef Total Budgeted Staff: 106
.notdef Current staffing on-site: 76
.notdef FY2023 Gov Amd Request $16,403.4
Ms. Goode advanced to slide 13: "Palmer Correctional Center
Reopening Status:
.notdef Major Construction has been completed and keys were
given to the Department of Corrections (DOC) August
16, 2021.
.notdef Minor construction (DOT and DOC) continues due to
the age of the facility.
.notdef July and August 2021, DOC deployed a portion of the
assigned staffing and started housing inmates in early
September to allow a "soft opening" of the facility.
.notdef On February 18, 2022, 114 minimum custody inmates
housed at PCC who are working and assisting with the
testing allowing the Department to fix smaller issues
as they are discovered.
.notdef DOC will continue in a staged approach to bring more
beds on-line and house more inmates at PCC.
.notdef Unfortunately, PCC sustained an estimated $1.0
million of additional damages caused by the windstorm
that occurred in January 2022. DOC immediately began
working with Risk Management to open a claim and all
work caused by the storm will be covered through the
insurance process.
2:46:56 PM
Representative Josephson queried a position on returning to
a defined benefits system for peach officers.
Commissioner Dahlstrom had been watching the proceedings.
She would support the administration's position.
Co-Chair Merrick stressed that she was concerned about
doing construction inhouse, and wanted more information
about the credentials of the management of the project.
Commissioner Dahlstrom agreed to provide that information.
Commissioner Dahlstrom turned to the last slide showing the
department K-9s, and stressed that the dogs had proved
their worth.
Representative Wool asked for an update on the visiting
status.
Commissioner Dahlstrom indicated visitations were important
for the inmates. Currently, eight of the facilities were in
COVID-19 outbreak status, but they all were able to have
telephone calls, and stated that there was an increase to
four free phone calls for inmates.
Representative Wool queried the percentage of inmates in
current outbreak mode. He wondered whether most inmates had
access to in person visitors
Ms. Goode responded that there had been outbreaks in eight
of the facilities, and there was no steady system
throughout.
2:53:26 PM
Representative Wool asked about the policies for inmates
regarding vaccines.
Commissioner Dahlstrom responded that the DOC vaccine
policy was to make the vaccine and vaccine information
availability, but no one was forced to receive the vaccine.
Representative Wool queried the vaccine percentage rate,
and whether there was an incentive to receive the vaccine.
Ms. Goode had the numbers, but stated that some facilities
had over 70 percent vaccination rate. She stated that
nearly 2800 inmates had received the full vaccinations. She
deferred to Ms. Brooks for more information.
Ms. Brooks noted that some facilities had an 80 percent
vaccination rate, and stated that the numbers in the
unsentenced population had a lower vaccination rate.
Representative LeBon returned to slide 10. He would love to
know how many inmates were in a drug or alcohol program.
Ms. Brooks responded that there were significantly high
number of people who were in active detox.
2:58:54 PM
MR. SIDNEY WOOD, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONS DIVISION,
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, stated that there were
urinalysis drug testing everyday as part of the security
protocols.
Representative Rasmussen asked about expanding the K-9
unit.
Commissioner Dahlstrom department had seen their value and
looked forward to developing the unit further.
Representative Rasmussen queried the cost per dog, and
whether it was allowed in community jails or only in state
facilities.
Ms. Wilkerson responded that the total cost for one dog was
about $250,000 per year.
Representative Rasmussen asked whether it was allowed in
community jails or only in state facilities.
Ms. Wilkerson stated that any jail overseen by DOC had
utilized the dogs.
3:01:23 PM
Representative Thompson asked if the dog traveled
throughout the state and whether there was utilization DPS
canine program.
Commissioner Dahlstrom responded that the duties of the
dogs were not advertised for security reasons, and stated
that DOC did work with DPS and other agencies.
Vice-Chair Ortiz thanked the presenters from the Department
of Corrections.
3:02:56 PM
AT EASE
3:04:27 PM
RECONVENED
^PRESENTATION: OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
3:04:36 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz continued to the next presentation.
3:04:58 PM
LUCINDA MAHONEY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE (via
teleconference), introduced herself and thanked the
committee for hearing the presentation.
3:08:25 PM
BRIAN FECHTER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE,
introduced himself and turned the presentation over to Mr.
DeMoulin.
ERIC DEMOULIN, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT
OF REVENUE, began with slide 2, "Department Overview:
Mission and Core Programs":
? Mission: To collect, distribute, manage and invest
funds for public purposes
? Department Headcount with Corporations: 870
? Core Department Headcount: 424
? Department Budget: Total: $441.5M
Mr. DeMoulin turned to slide 3. He indicated that the slide
represented the personal services.
Mr. DeMoulin moved to slide 4 which provided a visual
representation of the UGF and DGF funding.
Mr. DeMoulin moved to slide 5 that showed the other funds
categories, which was mostly interagency receipts.
Mr. DeMoulin looked at slide 6, "Tax Division":
Tax Division: Collect and Distribute
? Mission: Collect taxes, inform stakeholders and
regulate charitable gaming.
? Accomplishments:
? Supported 27 tax types with over 20,000 taxpayers
and over 30,000 tax returns.
? FY21 was the largest all-time revenue year in State
of Alaska history ($29.8 Billion)
? Instituted Performance metrics to ensure work
delivery and attendance during telework.
? Leverage use of Tax Revenue Management System (TRMS)
to automate processes and maximize efficiency
? Challenges:
? Continuing emphasis on oil and gas production tax
audit timeliness
? Counting cash tax deposits in COVID environment
? Tax System has not been upgraded since
implementation in mid-2010s.
Mr. DeMoulin advanced to the tax division pie chart on
slide 7.
Mr. DeMoulin moved to discuss slide 8, Treasury Division:
Treasury Division: Invest
? Mission: to manage the state's funds consistent
with prudent investment guidelines and
Governmental
Accounting Standards Board (GASB) rules.
? Accomplishments:
? Outstanding investment performance saving
$178.9 Million in retirement obligations for FY23
? PERS and TRS performance of 27.6 percent was
the highest FY return ever and has placed total
performance in
the first quartile against peer plans. Benchmark
return of 24.95 percent equating to 2.65 percent
outperformance
? The Alaska Municipal Bond Bank entered into 57
loan agreements for $353.5 million resulting in
savings
of $52.7 million to Alaskans through reduced
borrowing costs
? Challenges:
? Maintaining return expectations in a low
interest rate environment
? Managing cash-flow in a volatile revenue
environment
? Attracting and retaining qualified
professionals (Comptroller)
Mr. DeMoulin moved to the chart on slide 9, Treasury
Division:
Major Budgetary Changes FY2023:
? Salary and Benefit increases $870.4 ($174.1 UGF and
$696.3 Other)
? Investment Management Resources $250.0 ($50.0 UGF
and $200.0 Other)
? PCI Compliance $100.0 (UGF)
? Cash Management Funding Change ($685.0 Other to UGF)
? Allocate investment Fund Authority based on 10 BPS
(Net Zero Cost All Funds/$402.7 UGF Savings)
Representative LeBon wondered whether the higher education
fund was still invested as it was before it was swept.
Mr. Fechter answered that the guidance was to await the
finalized report before the movement of the cash.
3:15:33 PM
Representative Thompson suggested that since the state
would have to liquidate certain assets, would the state
lose money.
Commissioner Mahoney responded that the department was very
cognizant about maximizing returns. The department had been
resistant to making any changes to the asset allocations.
She did not want to take money out of the current asset
allocation.
Representative Josephson noted the finance committee had
heard bills that would allow for the higher education Funds
would be separate funds. He wondered whether the
legislature was supported by the administration in that
effort.
Commissioner Mahoney was not sure what the administration
would state currently. However, her job was a fiduciary was
to keep it in the highest investment place possible. She
was trying to get clear direction from the Department of
Law.
Representative Edgmon thought it was a gap on the
administration's part to not provide direction.
Commissioner Mahoney stressed that the administration
wanted the money in the current investment.
Representative Edgmon thought it was a huge gap.
Commissioner Mahoney had not talked to the administration
about the issue recently.
3:20:29 PM
Representative Rasmussen asked if the commissioner recalled
when the court ruling came through.
Mr. Fechter thought it had occurred on Friday, February 11.
Mr. DeMoulin explained that the last bullet point for the
Treasury Division was the allocation of the authority.
Mr. DeMoulin advanced to slide 10, PFD Division:
PFD Division: Distribute
? Mission: To administer the permanent fund
dividend program assuring that all eligible
Alaskans receive
timely dividends, fraud is prosecuted, and all
internal and external stakeholders are treated
with
respect
? Accomplishments:
? Online web applications continue to increase,
up to 91 percent vs. 84 percent in the prior year
? PFD has continued its work in building a more
robust Dividend Application Information System to
increase productivity and reduce turn-around for
application processing
? Challenges:
? Navigating IT and logistical challenges
? Continued analysis of continual process
improvement, automation of manual processes
? Protecting Alaskan's personal information
Mr. Fechter explained that the PFD database was the most
comprehensive, but was a security risk because of all of
the data collected in the system.
Commissioner Mahoney added that it was the most important
budget ask, as it was critical to the PFD division because
of the data of Alaskans. The current system was not enough
to provide security of the data of Alaskans.
Representative LeBon asked how many checks were still being
made.
Mr. Fechter did not have an example of the number of
checks.
Representative LeBon suggested that if there was a spring
PFD the cost would be about $8 million to process.
Mr. Fechter responded that the amount was for the whole
division.
Mr. DeMoulin moved to slide 13 to discuss the Child Support
Services Division, which did not have any substantial
budgetary changes in FY 23.
3:27:38 PM
AT EASE
3:28:12 PM
RECONVENED
Representative Rasmussen asked if there was a mechanism in
the Child Support Services Division or recourse for someone
who continued to have wages garnished after their
settlement was made whole.
Mr. Fechter replied that there were occasional issues due
to the same pot of money. He stated that those issues could
be resolved by reaching out to the division.
Mr. DeMoulin moved to the Administrative Services on slide
15 with no major budgetary changes.
Mr. DeMoulin moved to the Criminal Investigations Unit on
slide 17, which was recently centralized in the budget.
Vice-Chair Ortiz asked what went into the resources for
criminal investigations.
Mr. Fechter reported that previously there were specific
employees dedicated to each divisions. However, those
positions had been centralized in the department. Certain
issues were of a seasonal nature and it made sense to
centralize the workload.
Mr. Fechter continued to slide 19 regarding the Alaska
Housing Finance Corporation.
Mr. Fechter skipped to slide 21 for the Alaska Permanent
Fund Corporation. The corporation was looking to add 45
positions, and were also requesting an additional real
estate position.
3:35:26 PM
Mr. Fechter turned to slide 23 reporting that there were no
major changes for the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank.
Mr. Fechter continued to slide 25 regarding the Alaska
Mental Health Authority (AMTHC) that also did not have any
major changes.
Vice-Chair Ortiz returned to the request for security for
the database of the PFD.
Mr. Fechter responded that it would be in the ballpark. He
would report back to the committee about the specific
software provider bids.
Representative LeBon noted that in the prior session the
legislature passed a bill that allowed the DOA to have
short term borrowing authority. He asked for a status
update on the legislation.
Commissioner Mahoney reported having a discussion with the
chair of the Senate Finance Committee and he declined to
introduce the bill, so she thought the issue would have to
wait until the following year.
Vice-Chair Ortiz reviewed the agenda for the following
meeting. He thanked the presenters.
HB 281 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 282 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
3:40:38 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HFIN DOC FY2023 Budget Overview 02-23-2022.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| DOR Overview 2.23.22 H FIN PPT .pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2022 1:30:00 PM |
|
| HB 281 Response to Q DOC Overview HFIN 031222.pdf |
HFIN 2/23/2022 1:30:00 PM |
HB 281 |