02/22/2011 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB129 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 129 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
February 22, 2011
1:04 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Dan Saddler, Co-Chair
Representative Steve Thompson, Co-Chair
Representative Carl Gatto, Vice Chair
Representative Bob Miller
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Alan Austerman
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Sharon Cissna
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 129
"An Act relating to providing a death certificate for a deceased
veteran without charge."
- MOVED CSHB 129(MLV) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 129
SHORT TITLE: DECEASED VETERAN DEATH CERTIFICATE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) GRUENBERG
01/28/11 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/28/11 (H) MLV, FIN
02/22/11 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE MAX GRUENBERG
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 129 as the prime sponsor.
GRETCHEN STAFT, Staff
Representative Max Gruenberg
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered a question during the hearing on
HB 129.
WARD HURLBURT, MD, Director and Chief Medical Officer
Central Office
Division of Public Health
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on HB 129.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:04:04 PM
CO-CHAIR STEVE THOMPSON called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:04 p.m.
Representatives Thompson, Saddler, Gatto, and Miller were
present at the call to order. Representatives Lynn and Cissna
were excused.
HB 129-DECEASED VETERAN DEATH CERTIFICATE
1:04:35 PM
CO-CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the only order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 129, "An Act relating to providing a
death certificate for a deceased veteran without charge."
1:04:49 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 129, Version 27-LS0450\M, Bullard,
2/17/11, as the working document. There being no objection,
Version M was before the committee.
1:05:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MAX GRUENBERG, Alaska State Legislature, stated
that the proposed legislation provides a limited number of free
death certificates to veterans' families in order to allow those
who are dealing with the estate of a veteran to apply for and
obtain governmental benefits, but not for other purposes. The
legislation is modeled on existing Arizona law, and will provide
additional assistance to families that are handling the affairs
of a deceased veteran. Representative Gruenberg related a
personal story that illustrated the benefit of this legislation.
He noted that the legislation has advanced in previous sessions,
but "ran out of time," and he is not aware of any opposition.
He called attention to the zero fiscal note and pointed out that
there will be a loss of revenue estimated at up to $75,000. At
the suggestion of H.D. "Dan" McCrummen, MCPO, USCG (Retired),
Version M makes two changes: references to the Coast Guard and
Coast Guard Reserves were omitted in the CS because they are
"technically in the armed services," and thereby are already
included in the bill; the Alaska Army National Guard and the
Alaska Air National Guard were eliminated in the CS, and
National Guard was substituted.
1:11:50 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked whether Dan McCrummen serves on the
Alaska Veterans Advisory Council board.
1:12:06 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he was unsure. In further
response to Co-Chair Saddler, he indicated that death
certificates can be obtained at a cost of $25 each for purposes
not applicable to the bill.
1:12:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER inquired as to how many copies could be
requested at no charge, and whether the legislation specifies
who is qualified to request copies at no charge.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG called attention to page 2, line 22,
and said:
The bureau shall issue one certified copy of the death
certificate, free, to an eligible recipient. An
eligible recipient is defined on page 2,
sub[paragraph] (A), (7)(A), lines 26 and following up
to the top of page 3, so in other words, a surviving
spouse or other relative - each one could get one -
... any heir, a devisee, and administrators, et
cetera.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG added that the estimate from the Bureau
of Vital Statistics, Department of Health and Social Services
(DHSS), has been revised to an average of three or four copies
per person, since these copies could only be used to apply for
governmental benefits.
1:14:57 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER observed the fiscal note analysis reflected
families have been known to request up to 40 copies, which would
increase the cost to the state.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he was unaware of any reason for a
request for 40 copies, as "there are just a few governmental
agencies that would provide benefits dependent upon a death
certificate."
1:15:58 PM
GRETCHEN STAFT, Staff, Representative Max Gruenberg, added that
unless 40 different eligible recipients requested a death
certificate, there would be no additional cost to the state, or
a loss of revenue, because each eligible recipient is entitled
to one certified copy.
1:16:57 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked if the death certificates were "standard-
issue government" certificates without decoration.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG indicated yes.
1:17:13 PM
CO-CHAIR THOMPSON opened public testimony.
1:17:53 PM
WARD HURLBURT, MD, Director and Chief Medical Officer, Central
Office, Division of Public Health, Department of Health and
Social Services (DHSS), stated the administration has no
position on HB 129, and he reviewed the proposed legislation.
The experience of his division is that the average number of
requests for a death certificate is 5, although the average of
3-4 requests was used in the calculation of the fiscal impact of
the bill. He advised that requests for free certificates from
family members are projected at between 1-5,000 per year;
furthermore, the division expects that as awareness of the
legislation heightens, the impact would grow and the reduction
in fees to the Bureau of Vital Statistics would be $75,000 in
Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 12), and then increase over the next five
subsequent years to $100,000 in reduced income. Dr. Hurlburt
cautioned that to maintain current staffing levels at the
bureau, income from general fund (GF) appropriations and fees is
necessary. He stated his significant concern that the bureau
would not be able to maintain its current level of service with
the loss of fees unless GF appropriations balance its budget.
1:21:12 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER surmised a party that requests 40 death
certificates paid for them.
DR. HURLBURT answered yes. He added that the bureau does not
ask for the reason for a request.
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked for an estimated fee schedule that would
make up for the lost revenue.
DR. HURLBURT estimated that a fee increase of greater than $10
for non-veteran certificates would be required. He offered to
provide the exact calculation.
1:22:53 PM
CO-CHAIR THOMPSON, upon determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony.
1:23:18 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER moved to report the proposed CS for HB 129,
Version 27-LS0450\M, Bullard, 2/17/11, out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, CSHB 129(MLV) was reported from the
House Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs.
The committee took a brief at-ease.
1:24:27 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:24 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 129 Version A.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM |
HB 129 |
| 01 HB 129 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM SSTA 3/22/2012 9:00:00 AM SSTA 3/27/2012 9:00:00 AM |
HB 129 |
| HB 129 - HMVA Hearing Request Memo.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM |
HB 129 |
| HB129-DHSS-BVS-2-21-11.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM SSTA 3/22/2012 9:00:00 AM |
HB 129 |
| 02 Work Draft for {version M} 2/22/2011.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM |
HB 129 |
| HB 129 - Explanation of Changes.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM SSTA 3/22/2012 9:00:00 AM SSTA 3/27/2012 9:00:00 AM |
HB 129 |
| HB 129 - Death Certificate Example.pdf |
HMLV 2/22/2011 1:00:00 PM SSTA 3/22/2012 9:00:00 AM SSTA 3/27/2012 9:00:00 AM |
HB 129 |