Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 120
03/31/2008 05:00 PM House RULES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB207 | |
| HJR40 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| HB 207 | |||
| * | HJR 40 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RULES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 31, 2008
5:05 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative John Coghill, Chair
Representative John Harris
Representative Anna Fairclough
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Ralph Samuels
Representative Beth Kerttula
Representative David Guttenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 207
"An Act relating to questionnaires and surveys administered in
the public schools."
- MOVED CSHB 207(RLS) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40
Relating to defending the state from electromagnetic pulse
attacks.
- MOVED HJR 40 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 207
SHORT TITLE: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) WILSON
03/19/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/19/07 (H) HES, JUD
04/03/07 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
04/03/07 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/10/07 (H) HES AT 4:00 PM CAPITOL 106
04/10/07 (H) Heard & Held
04/10/07 (H) MINUTE(HES)
04/12/07 (H) HES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 106
04/12/07 (H) Moved CSHB 207(HES) Out of Committee
04/12/07 (H) MINUTE(HES)
04/13/07 (H) HES RPT CS(HES) 2DP 2NR
04/13/07 (H) DP: CISSNA, WILSON
04/13/07 (H) NR: FAIRCLOUGH, NEUMAN
04/25/07 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
04/25/07 (H) Heard & Held
04/25/07 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
05/02/07 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
05/02/07 (H) Moved CSHB 207(JUD) Out of Committee
05/02/07 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
05/03/07 (H) JUD RPT CS(JUD) 2DNP 4NR 1AM
05/03/07 (H) DNP: LYNN, DAHLSTROM
05/03/07 (H) NR: COGHILL, HOLMES, SAMUELS, RAMRAS
05/03/07 (H) AM: GRUENBERG
03/31/08 (H) RLS AT 5:00 PM CAPITOL 120
BILL: HJR 40
SHORT TITLE: ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE ATTACK DEFENSE
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
03/27/08 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/27/08 (H) RLS
03/31/08 (H) RLS AT 5:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as the sponsor of HB 207.
JAY BUTLER, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Health and Social Services
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing of HB 207, answered
questions.
PATTY OWEN, YRBS Coordinator
Division of Public Health
Department of Health and Social Services
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing of HB 207, answered
questions.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY DAHLSTROM
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Spoke as the chair of the Joint Armed
Services Committee, sponsor of HJR 40.
MCHUGH PIERRE, Director of Communications, Legislative Liaison
Office of the Commissioner/Adjutant General
Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs (DMVA)
Ft. Richardson, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HJR 40.
MEAD TREADWELL, Senior Fellow
Institute of the North
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HJR 40.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR JOHN COGHILL called the House Rules Standing Committee
meeting to order at 5:05:50 PM. Representatives Coghill,
Harris, Fairclough, Samuels, Guttenberg, and Kerttula were
present at the call to order. Representative Johnson arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HB 207-STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS
5:06:05 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 207, "An Act relating to questionnaires and
surveys administered in the public schools." [Before the
committee is CSHB 207(JUD).]
5:06:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS moved to adopt CSHB 207, Version 25-
LS0680\O, Mischel, 3/26/08, as the working document. There
being no objection, Version O was before the committee.
5:06:29 PM
CHAIR COGHILL said that although he has struggled with HB 207,
he has been persuaded to bring it forward. He questioned
whether the school districts should have the presumption to
perform surveys or should the parents have the presumption that
the school districts can't perform surveys without parental
permission.
5:07:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, speaking
as the sponsor of HB 207, provided the following testimony:
House Bill 207 will change the parental consent
requirements for anonymous surveys in schools from
active to passive. With passive consent we believe we
get good representative samples that can serve two
very important functions. One, identify behaviors in
youth, both positive and negative. And two,
understand the effectiveness of solutions to
previously identified issues and behaviors. This data
helps policy makers, educators, program planners, and
parents to better understand the important health
issues and social issues that affect young people's
chances for success.
Routine standardized surveys such as the national and
state Youth Risk Behavior Survey or YRBS, which is
conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
track trends over time and they do it nationwide in
all states. They also help guide and evaluate
important health and prevention programs. State and
federal grant programs that rely on these surveys
include tobacco prevention and control, obesity
prevention, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, safe and
drug free schools, and other substance abuse
prevention, injury prevention, including violence and
suicide prevention, [human immunodeficiency virus] HIV
and [sexually transmitted disease] STD prevention, and
more.
The school-based surveys continue to be a reliable
method for gathering valuable population-based
information on youth. The current active consent
overburdens the school system and significantly
increases the costs involved in conducting student
surveys. For instance, in Anchorage schools, they
spend $70,000 a year trying to get enough kids to come
and enough parents to come. They give pizza parties
and everything else to try to lure them to the school
so that they can get parents to sign the consent
forms. It is estimated that over 80 percent of the
parents who do not return written permission for
participation in surveys is not because they do not
want their child to take the survey, but rather
because of apathy, oversight, or student error.
This bill will change the current practice of active
permission to passive permission so that the parent
has the option to deny permission rather than the
requirement to provide written permission. Many
schools are unable to use the data they collect
because there's not enough participants. The overall
statewide response rate to YRBS in 2005 was 55
percent, which did not meet the required response rate
of 60 percent to make it a valid survey. The state
was unable to use the data or publish the report since
the data would not be representative of the high
school population.
This bill will address the concerns about making sure
that parents understand the content of the surveys.
We've changed the bill, primarily for the chairman, so
that it clearly defines what the written notification
must include: the date the survey will be
administered, description of the content of the
survey, the sponsor of the survey, and a point of
contact in the school district for the survey.
5:11:00 PM
CHAIR COGHILL directed attention to page 1 of Version O and
pointed out that the legislation still requires active consent
for everything except subsection (g) [located on page 2, lines
20-25], which speaks specifically to the YRBS. Chair Coghill
related that he intends on voting against HB 207 because he
doesn't believe that apathy is the reason parents don't provide
consent for the surveys. He opined that some parents simply
disagree with the survey, as is the case with his family. He
attributed the questions dealing with sexual orientation as well
as other leading questions dealing with sex as the reason the
survey is opposed. With all the criteria added into Section
2(d), he said he is willing to allow the legislation to move
forward from this committee. If this legislation addressed all
surveys, he said he would strongly argue against it and wouldn't
let it be forwarded out of committee.
5:13:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if the YRBS targets a specific
age group.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON deferred to Dr. Butler.
5:14:17 PM
JAY BUTLER, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Office of the
Commissioner, Department of Health and Social Services,
explained that there are two components to the YRBS. The
component that's primarily used is for high school students in
grades 9-12. While there is a middle school component for
grades 7-8, it hasn't been used in recent years.
5:15:25 PM
PATTY OWEN, YRBS Coordinator, Division of Public Health,
Department of Health and Social Services, confirmed that the
standard survey is for grades 9-12, which has been administered
in recent years and used nationally. There is a middle school
instrument that hasn't been administered since 1995 when the
program first started. However, local school districts are
allowed the option to use that survey instrument, which is half
the length of the high school survey, for grades 7-8.
5:16:39 PM
CHAIR COGHILL inquired as why one survey has been administered
and not the other.
MS. OWEN explained that [the department] conducts a statewide
survey, which is the high school survey, and a random sample
from among all the high schools in Alaska. At the same time, as
an added incentive, school districts are offered the option to
conduct the survey at the same time in order to have information
specific to the district.
5:17:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON inquired as to which survey is included
in the committee packet.
MS. OWEN confirmed that it's the high school survey.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON then pointed out that the first question
of the survey is regarding whether the age of the individual
taking the survey is 12 years of age or younger.
MS. OWEN surmised that there have been mixed ages in some high
schools, although she said she wasn't sure how that would
happen.
5:18:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH highlighted that the YRBS addresses
violence, suicide, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and body weight.
Out of 87 questions only 7 relate to sexual behavior. She
opined that the survey attempts to address the health of the
population. Representative Fairclough inquired as to whether
the reference to "a youth risk behavior survey" on page 2, lines
20-21, should be capitalized to refer to a specific survey or
whether the lower case allows flexibility with regard to any
survey from the CDC. If it should be capitalized she also
suggested the need to change the "a" to "the".
MS. OWEN related that to her knowledge the YRBS is the only
youth risk standardized survey. In further response, Ms. Owen
indicated that "a youth risk behavior survey" on page 2, lines
20-21, should be capitalized.
5:20:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH inquired as to any funding mechanism
that may be tied to this particular survey.
MS. OWEN responded that the chronic disease prevention grants,
particularly tobacco prevention, rely on the data gathered by
the YRBS as do other programs, such as the safe and drug free
schools, in order to measure the impact of the programs and
alert as to the magnitude of the health problems.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON interjected that even the Boys & Girls
Club utilize the data to know on which issues to focus.
Furthermore, nonprofits can't obtain grants unless there is data
to illustrate the success of the program.
MS. OWEN related that typically 18-20 districts conduct a local
survey, of which about half were able to collect local survey
data this year. She emphasized that it helps those communities
when the state has reliable state data at the same time as it
affords the school district the ability to compare the data.
5:23:12 PM
CHAIR COGHILL, recalling his time sitting on the Health & Social
Services Finance Subcommittee, commented that there's no doubt
that [the department] relies on this information. He mentioned
that he has sought ways in which parents are involved, including
an absolute barrier to the survey unless the parents have chosen
to [provide consent]. Chair Coghill related his preference for
the parental right over the school's right.
5:24:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS opined that he didn't believe an average
18-year-old boy would answer these questions honestly in a
classroom setting with peers nearby in the room.
MS. OWEN related that [the department] does believe that for the
most part students provide honest answers. There are checks and
balances in place, such as assurances of anonymity and the
protection of privacy to the students by spreading chairs and
placing the answer sheets, without any identifiers, in privacy
sleeves. Furthermore, the CDC has performed validation studies
that illustrate that for the most part students are honest. She
then informed the committee that the computer performs edit
checks to look for inconsistencies in answers. If
inconsistencies are found, the survey is thrown out. Ms. Owen
pointed out that when Alaska compares its results to national
results, the results are very similar.
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS remarked that 18-year-old boys are the
same the world over.
5:27:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON related his understanding that the change
proposed in HB 207 is necessary because school districts haven't
had enough approval slips returned to perform the survey.
MS. OWEN answered that many approval slips are being returned,
but not all.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON inquired as to why the proposal in HB 207
will be more successful than current practices.
MS. OWEN related that currently two week's notice is given, even
if parental notice was signed earlier in the school year. The
notice of the survey is being put forth in various manners,
including public notice and notice in newsletters. She said
that to have the signed permissions returned to the district is
a burden to the district. The department is attempting to
protect the time of district personnel chasing the consent
forms. Ms. Owen explained that although the majority of the
consent forms aren't returned, the percentage not being returned
is just under the target for Alaska. The aforementioned coupled
with student absentee rates and that schools don't want to take
a second class period for students to makeup the survey means
that every percent counts in the ability to have reportable
data.
5:29:19 PM
CHAIR COGHILL reiterated his earlier question regarding whether
the school is present for the parent and child or are the parent
and child there for the school. However, he acknowledged that
some important information can be gleaned from the survey data.
5:29:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH moved that the committee adopt
Conceptual Amendment 1, as follows:
Page 2, line 20, following "of":
Delete "a"
Insert "the"
Page 2, lines 20-12:
Delete "youth risk behavior survey"
Insert "Youth Risk Behavior Survey"
There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted.
5:31:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HARRIS moved to report CSHB 207, Version 25-
LS0680\O, Mischel, 3/26/08, as amended, out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, CSHB 207(RLS) was reported from the
House Rules Standing Committee.
HJR 40-ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE ATTACK DEFENSE
5:31:41 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40, Relating to defending the
state from electromagnetic pulse attacks.
5:32:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY DAHLSTROM, Alaska State Legislature,
speaking as the chair of the Joint Armed Services Committee,
sponsor of HJR 40, explained that electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is
caused when there's detonation of nuclear devices high in the
atmosphere. The EMP sends a shock wave through the world, which
will disable the power grid and all the communication systems.
Therefore, it will cause a critical infrastructure problem. She
informed the committee that in 2007 a national commission
provided a presentation to the Joint Armed Services Committee.
5:34:57 PM
MCHUGH PIERRE, Director of Communications, Legislative Liaison,
Office of the Commissioner/Adjutant General, Department of
Military & Veterans' Affairs (DMVA), related the department's
support of the efforts of research and understanding,
particularly for the rapid response community. He noted that
there's no specific funding stream to study the impacts of EMP,
although it's being reviewed in a broad-based manner. He
expressed hope that HJR 40 would encourage the federal
government to help out with this [effort]. In conclusion, Mr.
Pierre related DMVA's support for HJR 40.
5:35:42 PM
CHAIR COGHILL surmised that the legislature could later be asked
to provide funds for some studies. Therefore, he inquired as to
the planning that's [occurring] now.
MR. PIERRE opined that DMVA has the responsibility to ensure
that the state is able to recover from emergencies and possible
EMP attacks so that critical infrastructure will remain
[operable]. Mr. Pierre said that he didn't see any immediate
plus-up in monitor support at this time. However, he reiterated
the need to encourage the federal government to make addressing
EMP attacks a priority.
5:36:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA inquired as to how one defends against
electromagnetic pulse attacks.
MR. PIERRE deferred to Mr. Treadwell.
5:37:51 PM
MEAD TREADWELL, Senior Fellow, Institute of the North, began by
noting that he works with the defense and security program. In
1996, the Institute of the North started work on security and
defense issues after a recommendation from a former director of
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who pointed out that the
then-current federal missile defense plans didn't cover Alaska
and Hawaii. A precursor to the Joint Armed Services Committee
worked a resolution that was heard significantly in Washington,
D.C. and ultimately resulted in the withdrawal from the Missile
Defense Treaty. Therefore, today there's the ground-based
missile system at Fort Greely. He gave Alaska's legislators at
the time much credit for raising the issue. He then informed
the committee that last year [the Institute of the North] worked
with the Joint Armed Services Committee to bring the executive
director and a commissioner from the congressionally chartered
Commission on Electromagnetic Pulse to Alaska in conjunction
with adjutant generals for a briefing. Mr. Treadwell mentioned
that much of the U.S. military equipment is hardened against
EMP. He then mentioned that in 1962 there was a high altitude
nuclear test performed by the U.S. that shut off radio stations
and electricity in Hawaii 800 miles away. The aforementioned
resulted in the Atmospheric Test Ban Treaty between the U.S. and
the Soviet Union.
MR. TREADWELL then turned to where [the nation] is most
vulnerable from missile attack. He said that it's unlikely that
there would be a missile exchange with a super power. However,
it's a higher likelihood that one scud missile from a container
ship offshore could be aimed at the U.S. Depending upon the
location of the detonation, it could result in the loss of
communications and power to half of the nation. The
aforementioned is why the commission was created and continued.
The commission is working on plans for states in the event of
power and communication disruption from an EMP. This resolution
urges the federal government to put funding forward, accept the
resolutions of the commission, and move forward in a national
planning basis. He then reviewed the broader work to defend how
Alaska would run its pipelines and have heat and power, which
hasn't been addressed as well. He then applauded those who have
taken the lead on this issue and made it part of all the hazards
to the state.
5:43:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON asked if the only type of EMP weapons are
nuclear blasts.
MR. TREADWELL said EMPs are the only ones he is aware of that
would have broad, high intensity, short-duration bursts.
However, he said he believes there are smaller ways to
dramatically short out systems with jolts, but they would
require connection to an electric power grid.
5:44:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON mentioned that some television programs
show EMP technology being used to stop an automobile in a chase
situation.
5:44:42 PM
CHAIR COGHILL pointed out that the resolution refers to the full
range of risks, which is fairly broad.
5:45:06 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA inquired as to any treaties that are in
place to address this issue.
MR. TREADWELL answered that there are several reports that other
countries have been preparing weapons such as EMPs. Unless a
specialized weapon is constructed, it's simply a nuclear weapon
on a scud missile.
5:46:37 PM
CHAIR COGHILL remarked that he is glad the issue has come
forward, but he questioned how the state would implement it.
MR. TREADWELL interjected that Alaska, as the home for the
ground-based missile defense system for the U.S., needs to be
aware of the threats that EMPs pose. Although the scope of [the
ground-based missile defense] system isn't enough to defend a
major barrage of attacks, the system is aimed at small actors
with no return address. Having an understanding of the threat
in the rest of the country would help folks understand how
valuable the missile defense system is, he opined.
5:48:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KERTTULA commented that [the resolution] might
want to also encourage the development of other methodologies
beyond the ballistic missile defense system.
5:48:39 PM
CHAIR COGHILL pointed out that the language on page 2, lines 22-
28, would likely encompass that.
5:49:06 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS moved to report HJR 40 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
5:49:24 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Rules Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 5:49:38 PM.
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