Legislature(2007 - 2008)BARNES 124
03/20/2007 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
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| HB184 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 184 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
March 20, 2007
1:08 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Roses, Chair
Representative Anna Fairclough
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Robert L. "Bob" Buch
Representative Scott Kawasaki
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom
Representative Jay Ramras
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 184
"An Act relating to a commemorative troops license plate; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 184
SHORT TITLE: COMMEMORATIVE TROOPS LICENSE PLATE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) ROSES
03/12/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/12/07 (H) MLV, STA, FIN
03/20/07 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
JOSH APPLEBEE, Staff
to Representative Bob Roses
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 184 on behalf of sponsor,
Representative Roses and answered questions.
MARTIN BOIRE, Executive Director
Support Our Troops, Inc. (SOT)
Ormond Beach, Florida
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 184 and answered
questions.
DUANE BANNOCK, Director
Director's Office
Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Department of Administration (DOA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 184.
PAT CARTER, Volunteer Lobbyist
for Support Our Troops, Inc.
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 184.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR BOB ROSES called the House Special Committee on Military
and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:08:46 PM. Present
at the call to order were Representatives Roses, Fairclough,
Kawasaki, and Buch. Representative LeDoux arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
HB 184-COMMEMORATIVE TROOPS LICENSE PLATE
1:09:11 PM
CHAIR ROSES announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 184, "An Act relating to a commemorative troops
license plate; and providing for an effective date."
1:10:11 PM
JOSH APPLEBEE, Staff to Representative Bob Roses, Alaska State
Legislature, presented HB 184 on behalf of Representative Roses,
sponsor. He explained that the bill would authorize issuance of
a special commemorative license plate for a $40 fee. This fee
would be collected by the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV),
Department of Administration (DOA), and then may be appropriated
by the legislature to the organization Support Our Troops, Inc.
(SOT). He emphasized that the funds collected would be
distributed by a SOT disbursement board in Alaska. He went on
to say that SOT is in the process of establishing commemorative
license plate programs in 40 of the U.S. states.
1:11:00 PM
MR. APPLEBEE drew attention to the amendment offered by
Representative Dahlstrom and described in the committee packet.
He explained that it allows a disabled veteran to receive a
license plate without paying the $40 fee and without that plate
authorizing special parking privileges.
1:12:05 PM
MARTIN BOIRE, Executive Director, Support Our Troops, Inc. (SOT)
explained that the money from the sale of the license plates
will be used to assist active duty troops and the families of
deployed troops. He noted that the money is used for a variety
of needs, such as car repairs for the families of deployed
military personnel. Disbursement of the funds, he said, will be
through a disbursement board at the local level.
1:14:11 PM
CHAIR ROSES asked how much of the money generated by the sale of
the license plates would be used to pay SOT administrative
costs.
MR. BOIRE said that normally about 17 percent of the funds go to
overhead. However, in some states SOT has had to spend
thousands of dollars on state government requirements to
initiate the program. He opined that, once the license plate
program is established, it will become self-sustaining as
license plates are purchased and renewed. Mr. Boire estimated
that 80 to 85 percent of the funds will go to troops and their
families. The program will not create a bureaucracy as it will
be administered through existing local chapters. In fact, he
said, he has not had a paycheck from SOT in the past 18 months.
However, the SOT board of directors will set a salary for him
after the program meets its primary goals. Mr. Boire summarized
by saying that the message and goal of SOT is to support
military families.
1:18:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BUCH asked whether the money would be disbursed
by the legislature and whether the legislature would need to set
up a disbursement board.
1:18:42 PM
CHAIR ROSES explained that SOT already has a disbursement board
through its national organization and that it is his
understanding that Alaska would have a representative to work
with that board.
1:18:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BUCH asked if the money for the license plates
would go to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of
Administration (DOA), and they then would submit it to the SOT
disbursement board.
MR. APPLEBEE clarified that the money received for the license
plates would be deposited to the state's general fund, and the
legislature would appropriate the funds to SOT.
1:19:46 PM
CHAIR ROSES observed that SOT has sources of income other than
license plate sales; therefore, if Alaska participates in the
organization, it would be able to receive some funds from the
sale of items other than license plates.
1:20:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI noted that the state currently
authorizes the issuance of a large number of commemorative
license plates to support various organizations, none of which
are incorporated outside the state. He expressed concern about
how to ensure that money generated from the sale of these
license plates will stay in Alaska, rather than be disbursed to
the larger, national organization.
MR. APPLEBEE said that the funds from license plate sales will
supplement funds received from the national organization by SOT
in Alaska. He went on to say that SOT is an established charity
in Alaska, and that this is the commemorative license program
that SOT has established in other states.
1:21:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI asked whether there is a board of
directors in Alaska that would receive the funds.
MR. APPLEBEE replied that a board of directors will be
established after the legislation is passed.
1:22:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI noted that there are numerous plates
currently authorized by law, such as those to support children's
services, the University of Alaska, the Alaska State Council for
the Arts and dog mushing. These other causes are for Alaska
organizations that already exist; whereas there is currently no
SOT organization in Alaska.
1:22:50 PM
MR. APPLEBEE agreed that this is a unique situation because SOT
is not a state organization, unlike the other organizations that
currently receive commemorative license plate monies.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI stated that he believes there is a
council, or other organization concerned with veterans' issues.
He voiced the possibility that it may be wise to keep money
contributed for troops "in-house" instead of giving it to a
national organization to be disbursed back to the state.
1:24:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked whether there are any license
plates, currently issued by DMV, with proceeds distributed to an
out-of-state, non profit organization.
1:25:21 PM
DUANE BANNOCK, Director, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV),
Department of Administration (DOA), replied that the state
currently does not issue commemorative license plates with
proceeds going to an out-of-state organization. He said there
is a veteran's commemorative license plate called "I Support Our
Veterans," and the legislative statute directs that the funds
collected for the license plates are used for programs
benefiting veterans.
1:25:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH informed the committee that there is
currently interest in developing a commemorative license plate
that will celebrate Alaska's 50th Anniversary of Statehood.
MR. BANNOCK replied that the state's 50th anniversary plate, if
legislation is adopted, will become the state's standard issue
license plate.
1:26:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if there are other nonprofit
organizations in the state that support troops and their
families. She expressed her opinion that support for the
existing Alaska organizations would be more appropriate.
1:27:04 PM
PAT CARTER, Volunteer Lobbyist for SOT, provided some background
information about the SOT license plate program. He noted that
the state of Florida, where Mr. Boire and SOT headquarters are
located, issues many different plates for many different
organizations. Commemorative plates, he said, are an
established and popular way to raise money for worthy causes.
Mr. Carter pointed out that often patriotic merchandise is
merely advertising, and the money raised does not ultimately
support veterans and their families. Mr. Boire created SOT as
an umbrella organization to issue seals of assurance, so that
businesses using the "Support Our Troops" logo must dedicate a
percentage of their profits to SOT. This is the source of the
additional revenue that is shared with states participating in
the license plate program.
MR. CARTER continued to say that the SOT is an apex
organization, which means that it collects and distributes money
to other related charities. The SOT organization, he stated,
ensures that any money collected in a state will be used to
support charities in that state. As with the other states
participating in this program, the funds collected for the
purchase of a SOT license plate will go to the SOT branch in
Alaska, he explained. Mr. Carter observed that this program is
a convenient method for citizens to contribute to the charity of
their choice.
1:32:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked whether there are Alaska
organizations dedicated to providing support to our troops and
their families.
MR. CARTER affirmed that there are, and that SOT will determine
their authenticity prior to disbursing funds to them.
CHAIR ROSES referred to the SOT Disbursement Methodology Policy
information, which identified nine active Alaska organizations
that are currently receiving funds.
1:33:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if the other organizations
identified were supportive of SOT.
MR. CARTER replied that what is most important for all of the
charity organizations is a steady source of income for the
troops and their families.
1:35:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if the phrase "support our troops"
is copyrighted.
MR. CARTER said yes.
CHAIR ROSES explained that it was his understanding that Mr.
Boire copyrighted the phrase to prevent its use by profiteers.
1:36:33 PM
MR. CARTER indicated that the justification behind obtaining the
copyright was to ensure that troops and their families received
a percentage of the profits from the sale of merchandise using
the phrase.
1:37:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if SOT is affiliated with the
Fan Mail for Our Troops organization.
MR. CARTER said he will get an answer to that question.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH continued to say that SOT documents
indicate it will support local agencies. It will also be a
centralized point of support for other organizations, and non
profits, that provide resources for troops and their families.
She said the following could be found on page 1 of the SOT
Disbursement Methodology Policy:
This methodology enables SOT to promptly meet the
needs of local troops and their families, because the
local Disbursement Board has immediate local personal
knowledge of who needs what. They are comprised of
local faces that the troops and their families
currently know and deal with.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH also noted that the national SOT
organization will assume the licensing and fiduciary
responsibility for the local disbursement board. She said there
is value in the fact that a national organization is in a
position to centralize services for troops, and their families
who may move from state to state. She concluded by saying that
she will support moving HB 184 from committee.
1:40:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI expressed concern about money going to
SOT without his further knowledge of the organization. He said
he felt that an Alaska veterans' organization would be capable
of disbursing funds without overhead and administrative costs.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH stated that all nonprofits have
administrative overhead costs. She stated that, in her
experience, the normal overhead costs associated with grants can
be between 12 percent and 35 percent.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI requested that the committee be provided
with the amount of the administration fees that are paid by the
other commemorative plate programs.
CHAIR ROSES observed that administrative costs would be expected
of an organization that collects and disburses funds. In
addition, the amount of the ancillary funds coming to the Alaska
disbursement board from the national SOT office may exceed its
administrative fees.
1:44:33 PM
MR. CARTER said that he concurred, and that there would be money
paid to Alaska from the sale of other products that have the
seal of assurance from SOT.
1:45:22 PM
MR. BANNOCK informed the committee that to his knowledge, the
only license program that collects an administration fee is the
Motor Vehicle Registration Tax (MVRT). He said that DMV reports
the total amount of the cost of each commemorative license plate
to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
CHAIR ROSES noted that the committee has unanswered questions on
HB 184.
1:48:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if the questions raised during
the discussion of the bill could be forwarded to Mr. Carter for
his response. She clarified that her reference to
administrative fees was to those collected by the organization
or trust, as in the case of a grant, and not by DMV. She said
she felt that the committee was also concerned about ensuring
that funds earned in Alaska will be disbursed here.
1:49:33 PM
CHAIR ROSES requested confirmation that other military charities
support SOT.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI asked if other committee members were
familiar with SOT.
1:49:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BUCH replied that he had previously heard of SOT,
but was not familiar with its processes. He questioned whether
passage of the bill would require further legislation to
establish a local board.
CHAIR ROSES noted that DMV will collect the funds from the sale
of the license plates, deposit these funds to the general fund,
and then request an appropriation from the legislature for that
amount.
1:50:58 PM
MR. CARTER assured the committee that SOT is a legitimate
Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) charity, and that its operating
expenses are approximately 17 percent. He said that DMV will
collect the license plate fees and each year the legislature
will need to approve the appropriation. At that point, SOT will
submit a report to the legislature detailing the disbursement of
funds. Mr. Carter opined that each year the legislature will
have an opportunity to discuss whether the program should be
continued.
1:53:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI expressed concern that a vote not to
support this program would be politically difficult under any
circumstances.
MR. CARTER expressed his opinion that each member of the
legislature will consider his or her vote judiciously.
CHAIR ROSES noted that legislators are often faced with
politically popular, or unpopular, issues. It is a legislator's
responsibility, he said, to vote his/her conscience and to make
sure programs such as this are meeting their objectives.
1:55:07 PM
MR. CARTER assured the committee that he will continue to be
involved in this program. He said that, in the unlikely event
that he was notified of inappropriate management, he would take
immediate steps to correct any problems.
1:55:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI asked if there are other organizations,
similar to SOT, that are funded by line item budget
appropriations through the legislature.
MR. CARTER answered that there are many charities, throughout
the U.S., that are funded through the sale of commemorative
license plates.
1:56:16 PM
CHAIR ROSES observed that SOT is an inclusive organization that
invites participation from related agencies. It also maintains
a national board of advisors made up of worthy individuals. He
noted that this openness ensures that the money appropriated to
SOT will be properly managed. Chair Roses announced that HB 184
was held over for further discussion.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:57:24 PM.
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