Legislature(1999 - 2000)
05/11/1999 03:43 PM House HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL
SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
May 11, 1999
3:43 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Fred Dyson, Co-Chair
Representative John Coghill, Co-Chair
Representative Jim Whitaker
Representative Joe Green
Representative Carl Morgan
Representative Tom Brice
Representative Allen Kemplen
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
* HOUSE BILL NO. 226
"An Act relating to credited service under the teachers' retirement
system for education employees on leave without pay or receiving
workers' compensation benefits because of certain on-the-job
injuries."
- MOVED CSHB 226(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 16
"An Act transferring to the Department of Health and Social
Services the authority to license all assisted living facilities;
eliminating the authority of the Department of Administration to
license assisted living facilities; and providing for an effective
date."
- HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 71
"An Act relating to licensure by the State Medical Board."
- BILL HEARING POSTPONED
HOUSE BILL NO. 175
"An Act requiring the Department of Health and Social Services to
provide notice to a community council on receipt of an application
for a license to operate a certain kind of foster group home."
-BILL HEARING CANCELED
(* First public hearing)
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 226
SHORT TITLE: CREDITED SERVICE FOR ON-THE-JOB INJURIES
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) COGHILL, Dyson, Whitaker, Morgan,
Green
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
5/06/99 1201 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
5/06/99 1201 (H) HES, L&C, FIN
5/11/99 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 16
SHORT TITLE: LICENSURE OF ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVES(S) CROFT, Dyson
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
1/19/99 22 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/99
1/19/99 22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
1/19/99 22 (H) STATE AFFAIRS, HES
2/24/99 307 (H) COSPONSOR(S): DYSON
4/13/99 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102
4/13/99 (H) HEARD AND HELD
4/13/99 (H) MINUTE(STA)
4/15/99 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102
4/15/99 (H) SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
4/20/99 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102
4/20/99 (H) SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
4/22/99 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102
4/22/99 (H) SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
4/27/99 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 102
4/27/99 (H) WAIVED OUT OF COMMITTEE
4/27/99 (H) MINUTE(STA)
4/27/99 1034 (H) STA REFERRAL WAIVED
4/27/99 1034 (H) REFERRED TO HES
4/29/99 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
4/29/99 (H) HEARD AND HELD
4/29/99 (H) MINUTE(HES)
5/06/99 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
5/06/99 (H) HEARD AND HELD
5/11/99 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
RYNNIEVA MOSS, Legislative Assistant
for Representative John Coghill
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 416
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 465-4530
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 226.
JOHN CYR, President
National Education Association, Alaska (NEA-AK)
114 Second Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 586-3090
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 226.
GUY BELL, Director
Division of Retirement and Benefits
Department of Administration
P.O. Box 110203
Juneau, Alaska 99811
Telephone: (907) 465-4471
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 226.
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CROFT
Alaska State Legislature
Capitol Building, Room 400
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 465-4998
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as sponsor of HB 16.
ELMER LINDSTROM, Special Assistant,
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Health and Social Services
P.O. Box 110601
Juneau, Alaska 99811
Telephone: (907) 465-1613
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 16.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 99-55, SIDE A
Number 0001
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON reconvened the House Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting at 3:43 p.m. [The cover sheet
for the Children's Issues Group can be found in the 3:03 p.m.
minutes of the same date.]
HB 226 - CREDITED SERVICE FOR ON-THE-JOB INJURIES
Number 0020
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as House
Bill No. 226, "An Act relating to credited service under the
teachers' retirement system for education employees on leave
without pay or receiving workers' compensation benefits because of
certain on-the-job injuries."
Number 0051
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN made a motion to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 226, version 1-LSO917\D, Cramer, 5/11/99, as
a work draft. There being no objection, Version D was before the
committee.
Number 100
CO-CHAIRMAN COGHILL explained that if teachers are assaulted on the
job and are out of duty, they lose certain benefits. They do not
accrue leave or get that time credited to their retirement benefit.
House Bill 226 simply lets the teachers have their benefits from
the effects of violent assault.
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked if he were a teacher and came down with
pneumonia, he would be covered, but if he were assaulted and was
out for three or four weeks recuperating, he wouldn't be covered.
RYNNIEVA MOSS, Legislative Assistant for Representative John
Coghill, Alaska State Legislature, came forward to testify. She
answered that there is an imparity between the Public Employees
Retirement System (PERS) and the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).
Currently for any reason, a teacher cannot buy credit service, but
under PERS, a public employee can. This bill also brings parity
because it allows teachers to fall into that same benefit as PERS.
If teachers are off the job because of an occupational illness or
injury, they can buy credit service time. Also, HB 226 qualifies
all school employees for the benefit of being off the job from a
physical injury which resulted from an assault; the employer would
pay the credited service time.
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked how many teachers are in that situation in
a given year.
MS. MOSS replied that she knows of one. There are very few
revisions in the proposed CS because of a conversation with
Retirement and Benefits to make sure that the language of the
legislation covered the intent and was very clean so there couldn't
be any misinterpretation of who qualified and who didn't.
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked if a teacher injured on the job without
being assaulted would be covered.
MS. MOSS answered that his retirement is not covered. Public
employees under PERS are covered; teachers under TRS are not.
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked why HB 226 does not have a fiscal note.
MS. MOSS answered that it would not affect the state fiscally; the
school district would contribute to the retirement if a teacher
were injured from an assault.
JOHN CYR, President, National Education Association, Alaska
(NEA-AK), came forward to testify in support of HB 226. This
legislation will only affect those people who are actually
assaulted while working on the job. Currently, if a teacher is ill
and has to leave work, he has sick leave, which is a paid status,
and he continues in his retirement status. But if a teacher is
hurt on the job, he is eligible for worker's compensation. Being
on worker's compensation is a leave-without-pay status, which means
he is no longer eligible for the retirement benefits. In those few
cases where teachers are assaulted while doing their job, they
deserve the protection of at least keeping their retirement. In
the future, he hopes that no one needs this.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked Mr. Cyr if non-certified employees are
covered as well.
MR. CYR answered yes.
GUY BELL, Director, Division of Retirement and Benefits, Department
of Administration, came forward to answer questions. The main
section that brings TRS on par with PERS allowing people to pay for
credited service while on leave-without-pay due to an on-the-job
injury is Section 3 (d). The other sections of the bill address
the issue of physical assault to a teacher or another school
district employee. Under those situations, the employer would be
fully responsible for the cost of the TRS time.
Number 0699
REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER made a motion to move CSHB 226, version
1-LSO917\D, Cramer, 5/11/99, from committee with individual
recommendations and the attached zero fiscal note. There being no
objection, CSHB 226(HES) moved from the House Health, Education and
Social Services Standing Committee.
HB 16 - LICENSURE OF ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
Number 0758
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as House
Bill No. 16, "An Act transferring to the Department of Health and
Social Services the authority to license all assisted living
facilities; eliminating the authority of the Department of
Administration to license assisted living facilities; and providing
for an effective date."
Number 0774
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CROFT, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, came
forward to testify saying that he felt it was the committee's
discretion on what to do with HB 16. His original intention was a
consolidation of a current function to solve a perceived conflict
of interest and let the process of rewriting the regulations
continue. Another option is to try to incorporate this
consolidation into a change in function that would be a part of the
regulations. He wants this committee to decide. He has a slight
preference to do what he intended to do.
Number 0875
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE commented that to concur with the original
intention, they should probably move HB 16 as it is and move it
without the fiscal note or ask the chair to rewrite a Health,
Education and Social Services (HES) committee fiscal note that
would show the actual transition between the Department of
Administration (DOA) and the Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS).
Number 0910
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON said he believed that the committee had asked the
departments and Representative Croft if there was a way to work
this out. He repeated the philosophical questions they had asked:
Should all the licensing be under one roof? Should the licensing
be in an organization that is independent from the organization
that administers the program? Can the administration come up with
an ideal solution that heads them toward the best way to organize
and administer the licensing and inspection process?
Number 0983
ELMER LINDSTROM, Special Assistant, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Health and Social Services, came forward to testify.
He agreed that those questions were raised and probably others, and
there is a process that the DOA and DHSS are willing to commit to
that will get those answers. He noted that the committee has been
provided with a memorandum from Kay Burrows, Director, Division of
Senior Services, DOA to Alison Elgee, Deputy Commissioner, DOA,
dated May 11, 1999 regarding Timeline for review of Assisted Living
Regulations. That is a process they are committed to engage in
over the next several months. Their goal by the fall of 1999 is to
have a very good understanding of where they want to go in terms of
who should appropriately license the facilities.
MR. LINDSTROM noted that they probably need to look at different
standards for smaller "mom and pop" facilities as opposed to the
larger assisted living facilities, like the pioneers' homes. By
next fall they will have a much better sense of what they want this
system to look like. He is willing to predict that one of their
conclusions is that they will need legislation. Next year they
will know what that legislation ought to look like from their
perspective.
Number 1082
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN commented that was a good move forward. He
asked them to look at the possibility of new regulations for bigger
and smaller facilities since that greatly affects the fiscal note.
MR. LINDSTROM indicated they would be looking at that in the
regulations. This review and developing the standards will allow
them to refine their fiscal note far better than what was presented
up to this point.
Number 1159
REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN asked Mr. Lindstrom if the DHSS would be
opposed to movement of HB 16 as it is written now.
MR. LINDSTROM said he would like to pass on answering that
question. Next fall they are likely to be looking at a need for
some sort of legislative fix. He doesn't know if the sponsor would
be interested in using HB 16 as a possible vehicle for that, but
this bill needs further work.
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE commented he was favoring moving out HB 16 as
it is a simple change of administrative function that should come
up with a net zero fiscal note moving out the DOA functions into
DHSS, as it is written. If they want to focus on developing a
stronger certification and licensing process and develop certain
standards for assisted living programs, that is something outside
of what they are talking about in HB 16.
MR. LINDSTROM indicated that the Commissioner of DHSS would be
opposed to this legislation should it pass without the funding they
have estimated for the requirements at this time.
The Committee took an at-ease from 4:05 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Number 1311
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON commented that the consensus of the committee is
to hold this bill, revisit it and work with the departments. He
asked that the departments keep the HES committee in the loop and
suggested they have some concurrent meetings. The HES committee
plans to meet in August, and they would like an update from the
departments. In the meantime, a new fiscal note will be drafted.
[HB 16 was held over.]
ADJOURNMENT
Number 1365
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Health, Education and Social Services Standing Committee meeting
was adjourned at 4:17 p.m.
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